My first saltwater fish, a Black Rockfish, was also my second, third, and fourth saltwater fish.

Species: Black Rockfish (Sebastes melanops)
Location: Brookings Coastline, OR
Date: May 25, 2005

Elementary school was terrible, junior high was better, and high school was all right. As a freshman, I was awkward in the way most freshman are, but I was also extra awkward in my own, special way.

I’m not sure I really knew what I wanted, or what I was interested in outside of hunting, fishing, and trapping. But even those were more intellectual interests than anything else. Sports were okay, and I competed in soccer, cross country, basketball, and track as a freshman, but I hadn’t found my niche.

Then came the Biology Trip.

It was a chance for freshman in Mr. Dean’s biology class to head to the coast for a few days of tide pool examinations, hiking, fishing, and maybe, when left to our own devices, the roasting of a banana slug over the fire and subsequent dares to eat it.

We unpacked the vans, put up the tents, and threw around a football while waiting for instructions. That was fun. I could catch pretty well. Unfortunately, I couldn’t (and still can’t, really) throw very well. So much for impressing anyone and solidifying my position as a cool jock.

I was saved from my miserable throws by an announcement. We were told anyone interested in fishing should hop in the van.

It sounded like a nice break, so I hopped in.

***

The 14- or 15-foot Bayliner was not big. In fact, it was hardly a seagoing vessel in the conventional sense. Even still, I climbed in. The harbor was calm and sheltered, and my dad had told me how “Brookings has the safest bar in Oregon,” so I didn’t think much of it.

The ocean was relatively calm, but being on it for the first time — in a small boat, no less — quickly made me queasy. I wasn’t the only one, either.

Everyone on our boat was some level of seasick, but I wasn’t the worst-off, so I was able to fish. My four-inch Wild Eye Swim Shad, the swimbait I know use more than almost any other lure, quickly snagged the bottom, and it wouldn’t be the only time that afternoon. Fortunately, I eventually got it to work long enough to catch a black fish that looked remarkably similar to a Largemouth Bass — except an evil-looking version of it: black and sinister with large spines.

Three more eventually followed suit before another angler on the boat landed the fish of a lifetime, and I later put my head entirely inside of its mouth (read about that here).

Something in me changed that day, I got a stronger sense of identity: I was a fisherman now.

#SpeciesQuest // #CaughtOvgard

Read the next entry in #SpeciesQuest here: Species #10 — Blue Rockfish.

Luke Ovgard Bottom Fishing, Saltwater Fishing, SpeciesQuest , , , , , , , , , ,

77 Replies

  2. Even the gods, if they exist, must laugh from time to time. Perhaps what we call tragedy is merely comedy from a higher perspective, a joke we are too caught up in to understand. Maybe the wisest among us are not the ones who take life the most seriously, but those who can laugh at its absurdity and find joy even in the darkest moments.

  3. If everything in this universe has a cause, then surely the cause of my hunger must be the divine order of things aligning to guide me toward the ultimate pleasure of a well-timed meal. Could it be that desire itself is a cosmic signal, a way for nature to communicate with us, pushing us toward the fulfillment of our potential? Perhaps the true philosopher is not the one who ignores his desires, but the one who understands their deeper meaning.

  13. I have read a few just right stuff here. Certainly price bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how so much attempt you set to make this sort of fantastic informative site.

  14. Hi, just required you to know I he added your site to my Google bookmarks due to your layout. But seriously, I believe your internet site has 1 in the freshest theme I??ve came across. It extremely helps make reading your blog significantly easier.

  15. Hey there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any trouble with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing several weeks of hard work due to no backup. Do you have any solutions to stop hackers?

  18. I absolutely love your website.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you create this amazing site yourself? Please reply back as I’m wanting to create my own personal blog and want to find out where you got this from or what the theme is named. Appreciate it!

  19. Good – I should definitely pronounce, impressed with your website. I had no trouble navigating through all the tabs as well as related info ended up being truly easy to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it in the least. Quite unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or something, website theme . a tones way for your client to communicate. Nice task.

  20. You have observed very interesting details! ps decent website . “Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.” by Sally Koch.

  21. Thank you for sharing superb informations. Your web-site is very cool. I am impressed by the details that you’ve on this site. It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for extra articles. You, my pal, ROCK! I found simply the information I already searched everywhere and just couldn’t come across. What an ideal website.

  28. Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed reading it, you will be a great author.I will ensure that I bookmark your blog and will often come back later in life. I want to encourage one to continue your great writing, have a nice afternoon!

  29. hey there and thank you on your information – I have certainly picked up something new from right here. I did on the other hand experience some technical points the use of this web site, as I skilled to reload the site lots of instances prior to I may get it to load properly. I have been wondering if your web hosting is OK? Now not that I’m complaining, but sluggish loading instances instances will very frequently affect your placement in google and could injury your high-quality ranking if ads and ***********|advertising|advertising|advertising and *********** with Adwords. Well I am adding this RSS to my email and can look out for much extra of your respective exciting content. Make sure you replace this once more soon..

  30. fabuloso este conteúdo. Gostei muito. Aproveitem e vejam este site. informações, novidades e muito mais. Não deixem de acessar para se informar mais. Obrigado a todos e até mais. 🙂

  31. fantástico este conteúdo. Gostei bastante. Aproveitem e vejam este conteúdo. informações, novidades e muito mais. Não deixem de acessar para descobrir mais. Obrigado a todos e até mais. 🙂

  37. Hello, i think that i noticed you visited my website thus i came to “go back the choose”.I am attempting to find things to improve my website!I guess its ok to use some of your concepts!!

  39. Я прочитал эту статью с большим удовольствием! Она написана ясно и доступно, несмотря на сложность темы. Большое спасибо автору за то, что делает сложные понятия понятными для всех.

  48. I discovered your blog site on google and check a few of your early posts. Continue to keep up the very good operate. I just additional up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. Seeking forward to reading more from you later on!…

  52. Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?

  55. A lot of of whatever you articulate happens to be astonishingly appropriate and that makes me ponder the reason why I had not looked at this with this light previously. This article truly did turn the light on for me personally as far as this specific subject goes. However at this time there is actually 1 point I am not really too cozy with and while I try to reconcile that with the actual main idea of your point, permit me see what all the rest of the subscribers have to point out.Well done.

  56. Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I’ve really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again very soon!

  57. hello!,I like your writing so much! share we communicate more about your post on AOL? I require an expert on this area to solve my problem. May be that’s you! Looking forward to see you.

  58. Hello my family member! I want to say that this post is amazing, nice written and include almost all vital infos. I would like to see more posts like this.

  64. Thank you for another informative website. Where else may I am getting that type of information written in such a perfect method? I’ve a challenge that I’m just now working on, and I have been on the look out for such information.

  68. Greetings from California! I’m bored at work so I decided to check out your blog on my iphone during lunch break. I love the information you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m shocked at how quick your blog loaded on my cell phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, good blog!

  70. I have been surfing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the net will be a lot more useful than ever before.

  72. Thanks for sharing excellent informations. Your web-site is so cool. I am impressed by the details that you?¦ve on this blog. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for extra articles. You, my friend, ROCK! I found simply the info I already searched everywhere and simply could not come across. What a perfect web-site.

  76. Spot on with this write-up, I truly think this website wants far more consideration. I’ll in all probability be once more to read much more, thanks for that info.

  77. Great blog! Do you have any tips and hints for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you advise starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m totally confused .. Any ideas? Thank you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Species #8 — Black Crappie
Species #10 — Blue Rockfish