FALL IS IN THE AIR……..SALMON & STEELHEAD are on the move. Now it does not get much better than that…….well, maybe another win by the DUCK’s would be great too !! Stay with me on this month’s column, I have got a secret I’ll be sharing with you all.


SEPTEMBER just went flashing by with 2 new Club Members (Jack Pyle & Butch Mimich) joining our ranks. Jeannine Roederer is back in fine fettle, now we need to work on getting Shutter Bug (AKA Charles Burke) to the same place, and all will be right with the world. You all seem to be enjoying the Breakfast Meetings at Agate Beach Golf course and what a great general membership meeting we had with Alan Canfield sharing his “Secret Salmon Techniques.” Phil Reed was also available to augment some of Alan’s Good Stuff !! Did I mention our involvement with ODFW & the “Great Smolt Feeding Assist?” Several Members of our Club stepped in to give James Ray a hand in feeding 20 thousand of those “Bad Boys” before they were released to the wild. Then we got involved with the U-Da-Man Fishing Tournament by helping them make a really cool sign. Sparky (AKA Bill Furgason) did the lettering and it’s a master piece !! Drifter (AKA Ron Gibbs) placed an order for 12 more Club Ball Caps, so if you want in on this, make sure he sees the color of your money. Another first for the Club…..”The Great Salmon Fish Along,” yes, we did a 10 man, 3 boat Fish Along on the Alsea River. Only 1 fish was caught between the 3 boats…..you will have to ask around to find out who the lucky guy was, but I can tell you the Salmon was delicious. This was a really fun expedition, which would not have been possible with out the boats provided by Brian Hudson, Alan Canfield & Big Fish (AKA Wayne Hill). Big Fish gets a special Att’a Boy for his efforts to get the Alsea Fish Along organized…..it was a little bit like “Herding Cats,” but he pulled it off. I suppose I should mention my week of Fly Fishing on the Metolius River. It was a humbling experience. I caught/released 3 Rainbows all week. This is a very technical river to fish (7X tippets & size 20 flies), very clear water and hundreds of fishermen all season. If this sounds like a classic case of rationalization you may be right!! However Mary & I had beautiful weather and a great time…..I will be back to the “M” next year. It has been said, eating a little bit of Crow once in a while keeps a guy humble!!


OCTOBER looks like it will be a good month. On the 5th, we start off with our fun monthly Breakfast Meeting, which we hope to “spice up” a bit with you all sharing a funny fishing story or joke with the gathering. By the way, you have got to ask Sparky about his dog sitting story and maybe you can get Drifter to tell you about his recent motorcycle adventure. Rumor has it, that several of the new folks moving into our LVH Community are fishermen. When you meet & greet them let’s see if we can invite them to attend one of our meetings with an eye to having them join our Club. On the 19th, we will be doing a behind the scenes tour of the Hatfield Science Center. As always, we will meet at the Club House & Big Fish will get us into car pools to go down to the center by 10 AM. This should be a fun and informative field trip….don’t miss this one & feel free to invite a guest. The Big Creek Litter Bag Operation appears to be working well and Big Fish will be letting us know more about maintenance needs as we get into the month. Just as an aside, I will be going down to the North Umpqua River to try my hand at Fly Fishing for some late Summer Run Steelhead…..this could be another “Crow Eater”….I’ll let you know how this turns out !!

This is the moment you have been waiting for, it’s secret time…..some of you may know today (9/30) is my birthday. Yes, the Old HOOK cranked over 66 big ones today. All in all, they have been good ones. Oh, there have been a couple of bumps in the road, but that’s about par for the course. I have been blessed with a wonderful lady, 4 fine sons, good health & 2 nickels to rub together. Then there are my friends…..It has been said, “A man is very lucky if he is able to count the number of his friends on one hand.” I want you all to know how much our Fishing Club means to me. The camaraderie we all share continues to be very meaningful to me, and I am very proud to have been your President over this past year. The Board Members you all elected are “Top Notch Individuals” and they really care about You & the Club. I think it is important for us to recognize that it was Jack Scherer’s Vision that got our Club started, and now it is incumbent on all of us to keep his vision alive into the future.

In closing, I’ll leave you with this thought…..”The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.” This sounds like some fishing trips I have been on. I suppose, there’s a message in there someplace, but I’ll be darned if I know what it is!!!

Well that’s the top of the news as it looks from here. Hope to see you on the water.
THE HOOK