Species: Redtail Surfperch (Amphistichus rhodoterus) Location: Winchuck River Mouth, Brookings-Harbor, OR Date: September 8, 2009 From a journal entry of a same date: “With careful planning, and about $220 apiece, Ben (Blanchard) and I got to go on an incredible trip. The drive was full of conversation and excitement. The worst part of the drive was the last…
Species: Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) Location: Topsy Reservoir, OR Date: May 29, 2009 If pigeons are rats with wings, bullheads are rats with fins. For whatever reason, Brown Bullhead catfish have established themselves as the invasive every real angler loves to hate in almost every major basin across the country. Oregon is no different. Why someone would ever decide…
Species: Northern Pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus oregonensis) Location: Umatilla River, Pendleton, OR Date: July 21, 2008 We’ve established I hate baseball. I respect it and those who play it, but it bores me to tears. So, when my brother Gabe’s team made it to the Little League state championship tournament for a chance at the Little League World Series, I…
Species: Walleye Surfperch (Hyperprosopon argenteum) Location: Seal Beach Pier, Seal Beach, CA Date: June 13, 2008 Here’s another one straight from my journal: “Although my last night (of my Senior Trip) happened to be Friday the Thirteenth, I had to try one last time. At eleven I headed out, eager to add one more species to my life…
Species: Calico/Kelp Bass (Paralabrax clathratus) Location: Huntington Beach Coastline, CA Date: June 12, 2008 I wrote a detailed account on how and when I caught my first Calico/Kelp Bass as part of my How I Got Hooked series. From How I Got Hooked — The Third Lesson (Part 2/2): Determination. “The Charter One day of the trip included…
Species: White Croaker (Genyonemus lineatus) Location: Seal Beach Pier, Seal Beach, CA Date: June 11, 2008 You meet all sorts of people fishing. Some of them are terrible. Some of them are great. My senior year of high school, the Class of 2008 went to Seal Beach, California. Within an hour of arriving, I’d already started fishing. I…
Species: Tui Chub (Gila bicolor) Location: Lost River, OR Date: April 13, 2008 Before I learned where to chase big trout in the spring, I used to drive out to Crystal Springs County Park during Spring Break or any time I had free from sports. Lonely Luke would fish for anything that would nibble his lonely worm. That…
Species: White Crappie (Pomoxis annularis) Location: Gerber Reservoir Date: July 15, 2007 If you’ve kept up with this blog, you probably know that I started keeping fishing journals when I was 14. Let’s be real. I’m quite confident in my writing abilities now, but my early teenage prose wasn’t always the best. Still, as I look back, a…
Species: Kokanee Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) Location: Odell Lake, OR Date: August 6, 2005 As a kid, I think I fished from a boat maybe half a dozen times. For that reason, I remember every time I had this opportunity afforded only to the wealthy very clearly. *** When the family headed to Odell Lake for the first time, I…
Species: Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) Location: Brookings Coastline, OR Date: May 26, 2005 It had started the day before. My first time on the ocean, I rode out in a small Bayliner in the afternoon. The handful of students and three chaperones who decided to brave the afternoon waves thought it would be worth it. The newness of the experience…
