Species: Blue Rockfish (Sebastes mystinis) Location: Brookings Coastline, OR Date: May 26, 2005 This part of the trip was uneventful. After catching several of the larger Black Rockfish, I pulled up a much smaller fish with a bluish tint and faint stripes on its face. I was told “That’s just a small blue,” and I should “throw it back.”…
Species: Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) Location: Hoover Ponds, OR Date: July 31, 2004 Bass fishing is the closest thing the fishing community has to professional sports. A handful of the top competitors even make a living off of it. The millions of dollars spent on endorsements, the fact that people actually watch it on television, and the sponsors lining…
Species: Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) Location: Hoover Ponds, OR Date: July 31, 2004 The Bluegill were lined up in the shallows, but slightly larger, more insidious fish skirted the edge of visibility, feinting in and out of the shadows in a cruel tease. I had no idea what they were, but Dad thought they might be perch….
Species: Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) Location: Hoover Ponds, OR Date: July 31, 2004 Baseball is like Trump’s Twitter: hard to watch. For that reason, I decided to take a break from my brother’s game in White City to walk around. As I neared the back fence, I caught sight of a pond. It wasn’t large, but I saw…
Species: Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) Location: Various Southern Oregon Streams Date: May 29, 2004 This isn’t my photo. I desperately wish it were, but I haven’t captured a Bull Trout on hook and line since high school, and the few populations remaining in Southern Oregon are heavily scattered and/or inaccessible to anglers. Update: As of late 2018, I found a…
Species: Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) Location: Various Southern Oregon Streams Date: May 29, 2004 I caught dozens of these between my first fish and 2004; however since I didn’t keep records and don’t have pictures, I must defer to the journals I started in 2004 to determine species order. Brook Trout were widely introduced to Oregon nearly 100…
Species: Rainbow Trout (Oncorynchus mykiss) Location: Howard Prairie Reservoir, OR Date: Uncertain This is hazy. I’m not sure what day or even what year it was that I caught my first Rainbow Trout, but I have a picture, and I have a memory. My dad used to take me fishing with him, using an old canvas…
Klamath River, OR Trip Date: October 12, 2014 The Klamath River is magical in October. The mornings are crisp and cold, and until the sun hits the water, your line will freeze if you take too long between casts. The afternoons are warm enough to shed the sweater and pants in favor of Hurley board shorts…
Klamath River, OR Trip Date: October 3, 2012 Alfred Lord Tennyson once said: “Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.” Well, Tennyson was obviously a fisherman, because anyone who has fished enough understands just how painful fishing can be. It doesn’t stop at painful. In fact, at times, it can be…
Big Butte Creek, Little Butte Creek, Medco Pond, Willow Lake, OR Trip Date: August 5, 2011 “A good plan implemented today, is better than the perfect plan implemented tomorrow.” General George S. Patton’s words should be taken to heart in our daily lives, but are especially true when it comes to fishing. Research and reading are incredibly important, but…
