Friday the 13th Hawthorne report

Report? You want a report? Ok.

I hooked up with TXPaddler and GatorBait and planned to meet with them at the Hawthorne launch between 7 and 8. I got there about 9 after spending an hour and a half looking for my expensive foreigner license* (Oregon is very proud of their fishys).

 It was a BEAUTIFUL morning and as I made my way down to the ramp, I remembered why I really wanted to bring the wheels.* From the dock I saw at least 7 stinkpots doing the slow waltz on the southside of the bridge and 4 more between the Hawthorne and Morrison. Wonder if it had anything to do with this pic** from ifish from the day before? Hmmmmmm,



I put down the boat and spent the next 45 minutes fiddling with the FF only to discover that I have a short in the cable near the head unit.*   By then, the Hawthorne fleet had dwindled to 2 boats south and one to the north. But that's OK, its still a beautiful morning. I put the boat in the river which is little involved as the dock is about 2' off the water, but no real biggie. I bent over the dock and heard "ka-ching, ploombp"
Terminal rigging? no. Cell phone? no. THE KEYS! 
They were securely tucked away in the top  pocket of my waders. Secure unless you hang over the dock sideways and upside down at which point the previously taut neoprene flex's and the keys bounce off the gunwale and dissappeared for the bottom of the Willamette 40' away.*
After the dancing and singing, I collected myself, and decided to go fishing (it was a beautiful day). I got into the boat and noticed my new net was overboard. Again, no biggie as it comes with a nifty elastic leash that was securely clipped behind the seat. I reached for it and it parted in 3 places and my new net went sinking away downstream.*

So there! You wanted a report? THERE! THERE IS YOUR STINKIN REPORT!!!!!!! I hope your happy!


Actually,
after all that, it really was a nice day on the water.
There was a nice lady on the dock who picked up my net just before it sank (thank you nice lady! ) Then, as I was about to paddle off, I noticed what looked like a good sized (+2lbs) smallmouth floating by. It moved so I picked it up to exam it and it was still very much alive. It had 2 vertical cuts that I guess made it a sealions reject. I waved it back and forth in the water like them there fellers on the television and she took off like a shot straight for my keys  (she did not bring them back though). No pics as the camera is in FL. (can I still count it for AOTY?)
 
TXpaddler and Gatorbait came up about then from a paddle up to Willamette park. Nice paddle, but no fish. We visited for a bit and made some tentative plans for next week and they were off. (Nice to meet you guys!). Once I finally got out I did not get a fish, but the rig worked really well and I did not lose any gear. That's remarkable as that area is a gear eater. That rig is pretty strong as I pulled up a couple of substantial branches and was able to get un-hung from some significant snags.  DeepColor came by at lunch time and we talked for a minute then he made sure everybody knows I sport a pink paddle top (Nice to meet you too ) All in all not too bad a day.


*  nobody told me it was Friday the 13Th
**(For those not from Portland, the fish pic was taken from the EXACT location of the 7 boats)

I still want to know what happened with losing your keys and all.  Did you have to hike it home in that pink paddle jacket.  BTW, I'm not sending you the red paddle jacket.  You just look to good in that pink one!!!     

-ALlen

happy, very happy...Made my day sound just peachy..

Damn Wali, That sucks about dropping the keys. Did you have a spare key for the rig?.  

I had no idea it's was friday the 13th, That explains alot...

Nice report FFTW!  Makes me kinda glad I stayed at work yesterday.  kinda.

The Keys
Actually the key and the remote fob. Of course it is a stupid expensive chipped key that I'd just replaced with that fob a few months ago. I called a fellow who was working on my house and asked him to bring the key and remote fob that I'd found while cleaning up the night before.* He brought it, but it did not have the car key on it and the remote did not work. I went back home to look for it and to get him back to work. No key. I called AAA and asked them to send a locksmith and drove back in my other car. I told AAA that I'd lost the key and she tells me that my policy covers up to $100 to replace it. 
The locksmith gets there and says it will cost $199   
He openen up the car  and then he tells me that he needs proof that I own the van. Its a company car and the office just closed 
To shorten an already too long story that has nothing to do with fishing: I left the van parked in th e lot and my wife fedex'd a key to me that will probably get here Monday. She was not amused 
I need to go buy another ticket now to keep from getting a citation for parking too long. Guess I better go fishing again




*You know, I have got to be one of the luckiest SOB's on the planet, it's just that it falls on both side of the coin equally. Oh well, I guess it just keeps the universe in balance 

LOL, Oh man..Somehow i knew there was more story to the story...

Good Gawd , FFT! I feel guilty as hell for the amount of laughing I did upon reading this.

I forgot it was friday the 13th yesterday as well, and put on my hiking boots and rock-hopped out on the jetty here. I tossed a 1/4 oz leadhead jetty worm (metal flake motor oil) with fresh anchovy oil on it and got my limit of black rockfish in less than 2 hours. I was getting mostly small ones, about 11" to 12", so I started letting them go when I was 2 fish short of my limit, and finally ended up with 2 larger ones. No yak involved, and no pics, but no bad luck either! I guess in my case, ignorance was bliss.

Please excuse me from sneaking in a WA "stealth" report here, but sometimes I like to hide my reports in unlikely places.

Wow!  FFT, that story would be one of the exceptions to the old saying....

"A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work"   

With all this chat about paddle leashes, and pole leashes, it looks like you should be adding a leash to your car keys now.   

wali, not to preach, but maybe start using a little 1 litre dry bag to stow watch, wallet, heys etc's in that you can drop into a close by hatch or somethign? works good for me..

btw, i noticed thats not your usual ride....cobra instead of the hobie?

Every year I spend a fair amount of time free diving local rivers, mostly willy & clack for lead, lures, gear, motors  anchors etc, you name it (oregonian box, shopping cart, parking meterhead, old munitions, bicycles, whole toolbox full of tools you get the idea).  You would also be surprised how much lead a guy can find.  I bring home about 4-5 five gallon buckets full of sinkers (mostly from "plunkers" off the bank) over the course of a summer.  I also dive all the boat ramps in  my area and one thing you can always count on finding is KEYS.. I have about a 1/2 a coffee can full of found keys, find a few cell phones too but I just toss what's left of them in the trash, and rusty pocket knives you find quite a few of those too. If it sinks and people carry it in their pockets you can find it on the bottom right next to the dock

Geez Wali, Friday 13.  glad your OK & there weren't any rouge vacuum cleaners around.
Is that your Cobra XL?

wali, not to preach, but maybe start using a little 1 litre dry bag to stow watch, wallet, heys etc's in that you can drop into a close by hatch or somethign? works good for me..

WR,
Are you familiar with the saying "preaching to the the choir?"
I have three (3!) of varying sizes and a couple of dry boxes,,,,,,,
in Jacksonville.

That boat is a the Malibu Extreme in yum yum yellow. That's the result of the last time I went up to see those Washington boyz. It's a BIG ol' boat and has become my West Coast boat. It paddles pretty well although I really miss the pedals up here and my Cobra XL is red. When I put them all on the trailer they look like a giant box of Popsicles.

Every year I spend a fair amount of time free diving local rivers, mostly willy & clack for lead, lures, gear, motors  anchors etc, 

That is a waaaay superior idea and I'd love to join you sometime. I know a couple of times I have left Eagle Creek and felt like I'd come from a GI Joe's parking lot sale from stuff that I've caught or picked up off the ground, not to mention hand fulls of old line and trash. I always think of it as payment for hauling out a bag or two of garbage.

wali, not to preach, but maybe start using a little 1 litre dry bag to stow watch, wallet, heys etc's in that you can drop into a close by hatch or somethign? works good for me..

WR,
Are you familiar with the saying "preaching to the the choir?"
I have three (3!) of varying sizes and a couple of dry boxes,,,,,,,
in Jacksonville.

uhhh yeh i am  ... is why i approached the subject with some trepidation.   i learned that same lesson banking it for cutties , but was able to retrieve via snagging methods.