The Mighty Columbia

I did something that I've been wanting to for quite a while now. Fish for Salmon. I went with my buddy, Steve, who goes at least 6 times a year and knows the good spots. He's been inviting me for years now and I finally took him up on it.

It was an incredible experience. Everything from wadding waist deep into the murky water of the Columbia river before dawn to the intense struggle against a Jurassic sized fish.

Not to say that I caught one. Because that would be lying. But I did witness the catching of one. And a big one at that! It weighed in at 35 pounds of pure chinook Salmon. We were actually fishing for Coho Salmon, but it's the early part of their run right now. Steve happened to catch the tail end of another chinook run.

Steve said after the fact that it was the hardest fighting fish he'd ever landed. During the struggle the reel even popped off his pole! Fortunately he had already worn the thing out and it he managed to bring the fish all the way in.

We got it up on the bank and realized quickly that it was going to take both of us to haul it the quarter of a mile back to the tent. We put it on a 10 foot branch and carried it Caveman style.

Even thought I did not catch anything, I'm hooked. I'm planning another trip in just a few weeks.

A long meeting doodle

My son is pretty into Giraffes right now, so I drew him this during a meeting.