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Its Better to Have Hooked and Lost..........

Posted by Mark Saturday, January 24, 2015 1 comments








 
...........than to have never hooked at all.

The grab was nothing out of the ordinary. Good solid pull followed by a squealing Hardy. A couple short runs then the fish came straight at me. I reeled to keep tension on the line as the fish moves upstream. "its a big buck" my buddy said to me as we both kind of recognized by the fishes behavior it was probably a boy. I still had not felt the full weight of the fish as it had been a highly erratic fight so far. As the fish moved upstream I put the wood to it and tried to roll him over or change his course. Not happening. My 7wt was bent to the cork and I was pulling as hard as I dared with 12 lb test. That's pretty hard. The fish was not phased in the least and just kind of did what he wanted. Another good line ripping run downstream and then more of the same. As I reeled and pulled, he just sort of swam and meandered his way back upstream. He got even with me and then went around a mid river shelf and sulked on the other side.

The line was over or under or around the shelf in such a way that I lost connection with the fish. I know he's still there but can't get an angle on the line or the fish with the current and structure hampering my efforts. My wise buddy says " Get downstream of him and pull him off backwards" This seemed counter-intuitive to me as it looked like the line was around the front of the rock and the current was keeping it down. The fish was on the far side. But, I was ready to try anything at this point so I slowly walked downstream, getting below the fish a ways and pulling the whole time. Finally, as I got below him I could again feel the throbs of a heavy fish still on the line but still around the rock somehow. I moved a little farther down and the fish came to life, surging and thrashing at the surface, throwing his massive body side to side and raising a ruckus. Still around the rock I staggered through the rocks reeling and pulling hoping to free the fish from its predicament. I stumbled and fell in, putting an arm down and feel the cold North Umpqua water pouring in by the buckets. I wobble to my feet colder and wetter. The fish makes one last thrash on the surface and saws the line off and we part ways. We both see the massive body and tail of a wild winter steelhead bolting for its new found freedom and he is gone.

The chances at these truly huge fish are fleeting. To get them to eat a swinging fly is one thing, to land them is another altogether and always a gamble. Everything must go perfectly and gear and knots must be perfect. That may easily have been the biggest fish I will see this year, maybe for years. I was privileged to encounter it and feel blessed to be near and know a river where these fish swim.

Remember, landing the fish is not always a  possibility. Be thankful for the encounter and be ready for the next one.........

Proverbs 21:13 The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.

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What the Frack?

Posted by Mark Saturday, January 17, 2015 0 comments



 If You Love These.............



The Jordan Cove Project has kind of flown under the radar but now is crunch time. We need all your comments to deny the permits needed for this project. This is a bad idea in every way. There is a huge potential impact to our native fishery watersheds in Southern Oregon if this goes through.

Below is a sample letter that can be used that covers the basics. Also listed is the three agencies that these letters should be sent to. 

Thanks for all your help!



Protect Southwest Oregon’s Rivers From Fracked Gas Export

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are currently asking for public comments regarding the impacts of a proposed gas export terminal and pipeline across the salmon watersheds of southwest Oregon. Both agencies are responsible for evaluating required Clean Water Act permits and protecting our public waterways. If these permits are denied the Jordan Cove project is dead in the water. Now is the time to let the agencies know you value clean water more than dirty energy and to deny these permits!

These permits deal with the proposed 230-mile pipeline to transport fracked gas from Malin to Coos Bay, through the watersheds of the Klamath, Rogue, Umpqua, Coquille and Coos Rivers. The project would involve a 36” pipeline crossing 400 different waterways, clearing important streamside forests and dumping sediments into clear water streams. Additionally the terminal site would require extensive new dredging in the sensitive estuary of Coos Bay. All told this would result in 5.8 million cubic yards of fill dumped into salmon strongholds throughout southwest Oregon.

TAKE ACTION: Send a letter to DEQ and the Corps describing how you consider the project not in the best interests of the public, and your concerns that the project would harm water quality and salmon habitat. Your voice matters and now is the time!

Please personalize your letter and let the agencies know how you personally value clean water and salmon, or how this project would affect you and your quality of life.


Sample letter
Letters should go to these three:

Please deny certification or permits for Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector NWP-2012-441

Dear Governor Kitzhaber, Director Pedersen, Director Rue, and Colonel Aguilar,

I urge you to deny all permits or certifications for the proposed Jordan Cove LNG export project and associated 230-mile pipeline (NWP-2012-441).

Salmon are an iconic part of the Pacific Northwest and an important part of our regional economy. The proposed more than 5.7 million cubic yards of fill into 400 waterways throughout southwest Oregon would harm the habitat these fish depend on. The threatened watersheds, including the Klamath, Rogue, Umpqua, Coquille and Coos Rivers are known for their salmon and steelhead fishing throughout Oregon and the US.

Salmon depend on clean cold water, and many areas of southwest Oregon already face problems with warming waters and sediment. In fact, substantial money is spent by state, federal and private entities to restore clean water and improve salmon habitat throughout the region. Dumping fill into our streams and removing important streamside forests to make way for a gas pipeline would not only make conditions worse in these important watersheds, but would squander the public investment in salmon restoration.

The extraction, transport and eventual burning of fracked gas cannot be considered a bridge fuel. The gas in question – methane – is 86 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, and recent studies from Stanford to NASA point to the lifecycle of gas being as bad for the climate as coal. Once Boardman coal plant shuts down in 2020 the Jordan Cove project would be the single largest greenhouse gas source in the state of Oregon, if we allow it. Exporting gas to new markets would accelerate fracking in the Rockies and would damage the State’s efforts to halt climate change.

The pipeline route threatens 300 Oregon landowners with eminent domain – the condemnation and theft of their property – for the exclusive benefit of a Canadian gas company. Not only would their land be possessed, but lower pipeline safety standards in rural areas raise the risk of accidents for a pipeline company that has seen three explosions on their gas lines this year alone. Landowners and rural emergency responders are simply not equipped for the risk of any accident or intentional attack on a pipeline or facility involving more than 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day.

Finally, the U.S. Energy Information Administration tells us that exporting gas and bringing American consumers into competition with the world market for this gas would raise rates in Oregon and throughout the U.S. Higher gas prices would harm ratepayers and domestic manufacturing, shipping more jobs overseas.

This project would harm Oregon’s clean water and the people and species that depend on it. It is clearly not in the public interest, and I urge you to protect the people and watersheds of Oregon from exploitation by denying all permits and certifications that your agencies are evaluating.

Thank you.

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