Oregon Coast for Salmon Fishing

A while back, search and rescue hiked up Water Canyon and rescued a couple from Oregon. They run a fishing charter business. Hiking down, the couple gave out cards and said if anyone was ever in Oregon, they would take them salmon fishing for free. Merril was planning to be in Oregon to work the radios for a race near Mt. Rainier. He asked if I might be able to break away for the weekend and fly up to meet him and we'd fish and see the Oregon Coast. Absolutely! Wade heard about it and asked if he and Sheri could come because Wade was on that rescue as well. Fine by me! I flew into Portland, OR and Merril and I got some Voodoo Doughnuts. 

We met up with Sheri and Wade the next day and we drove from Portland, OR to the coast. We stopped at an dirigible (blimb) air museum that was pretty awesome. We checked into our hotel at Otter Creek and got some groceries for the next few days. 

I was a little nervous for the next day because I've only been on the ocean in big boats. I didn't want to get seasick but didn't want to take dramamine and be asleep the whole day either. I bought some ginger lozenges, pretzels, and read up on how to keep seasickness away.

We had to be on the boat bright and early the next morning. I sent a bunch of cold weather gear with Merril so I had snow pants and my snow coat. It was still a little cold with the ocean spray at 6:00 a.m. We rode in the boat for about 45 minutes to reach the salmon fishing grounds. 

Luckily the weather was fantastic! Low waves and little wind. I kept breathing and keeping my eyes on the horizon. I did have a moment when I felt queasy but I was able to breathe my way out of it and nibble some pretzels. Most of the time I was doing great! Merril and Wade had a moment as well but none of us had to throw up so that's a win!

We were able to catch and keep two hatchery salmon a piece. All the native salmon had to be thrown back. The fishing was fantastic! We had four poles in the water and there was almost always one that needed to be reeled in. A lot of the fish were native salmon and had to be thrown back and some flipped off the non-barbed hooks. Part way through the day, a pod of humpback whales neared the boat. That was awesome!

We stayed out until we caught our limit and headed back around noon. Dave Petersen was our guide and he cleaned the fish and we put them in our cooler. I think I got a little sunburned.

Afterwards we visited a lighthouse and some tidepools.

Then we went back and had a nap. Later we explored the beach near our hotel.

We found a ton of wild blackberries called marionberries. Wade's trying to get some without getting thorns.

We stayed at the Inn at Otter Crest. They had several hydrangeas growing.

The Oregon coast is beautiful. A little cold too. I wore pants, long sleeves and my down jacket the whole time.

The next day we found this cool bridge.

We drove up to a viewpoint and could see our hotel.

Then we drove back to Portland so Wade, Sheri, and I could catch a flight and Merril had to drive all the way home. It was a great little trip! We'll have fish when we get home!