This would be our first day fishing for salmon on the Rogue River. JB and JC took off to go fishing with a river guide. Vince and I made our way back toward town in the little Suzuki that had a small aluminum boat strapped to a roof rack. Just before getting to highway 101, Vince turned off to go into the "Lex's Landing" parking lot where there is a store and a launch ramp.

Vince and I went into the store where Vince showed me what I needed in the way of fishing tackle. I rented fishing tackle for the day which included a rod, reel and a net. Vince quizzed the women in the store about fishing conditions while I was getting a supply of bait. With a full set of tackle, a supply of bait and a couple of Rogue River salmon rigs, it was time to learn how to use this stuff. This was my first time to go salmon fishing, so Vince spent a little time instructing me as to how to bait-up my line for trolling.

As we walked out of the store to launch the boat I took note that one side of the parking lot was all torn up with some sort of construction going on. We later would learn that a small RV campground was be built that would be ready for the next years fishing.

It didn't take long for Vince to back the car down the launch ramp where the two of us lifted the boat off of the car roof-rack. With the boat in the water the engine was installed in short order. The moss growing on the rocks, located on the side of the boat ramp, caught my eye as the bright sunshine caused the moss to seem to light up a very bright green.

Vince works to bring the little outboard engine to life

The outboard motor was being a bit difficult to start. Vince pulled several times without the engine starting. After a few adjustments and a few more yanks on the starter rope, the outboard motor came to life belching out smoke-filled exhaust for a few minutes. Once the engine smoothed out, Vince drove the boat over to the dock while I drove the car up to the parking area. We were now ready to get out on the river in pursuit of the salmon coming in from the sea.

We were out on the water at a respectable 8:30. Vince set a course that would have us cruising toward the mouth of the river taking us under the Patterson Bridge that carried Highway 101 traffic.

The boat comes around the dock to head for the Patterson Bridge

This is the last section of the beautiful Patterson Bridge that will be renovated

Suddenly I had a strike on my line. It took only a second to figure out that I was reeling in a very small catch. The fish* looked very unusual to me so I took a picture of it to allow me to identify the critter later.

We caught 2 or 3 of this type of unusual little fish

After passing a row of condos on the north bank, a row of very small houses appeared. Many of these tiny structures were whimsical designs such as a lighthouse and a sailboat. The houses were built to give homes to feral cats. In other words, these truly were "Cat houses." So now I can say that I've seen the cat houses of Gold Beach, Oregon.

While trolling toward the mouth of the river we passed this row of condos

These are real "cat houses" located on the bank of the Rogue River

We reached a point in the river that wasn't far from the ocean where Vince turned the boat around and headed upstream toward the bridge. The bridge was in the final stages of renovation. The work had been going on for a few years. The technique used to rebuild the old bridge was an interesting process with a portion of the bridge being covered with an enclosesure. This enclosure was built around the south end of the bridge. Then when the renewal of the cover section was complete the cover was moved north to the next section to be renovated. While the main structure was rebuilt the railings were completely replaced with a lot of the old concrete railings appearing at businesses in the area.

The boat is heading upstream leaving the bridge behind

Boat traffic could get busy at times — mostly between the bridge and the ocean

One thing impressed me was the way Vince can drive the boat and troll while maneuvering among the crowd of other boats that had long fishing lines trailing behind them. There were never any fowled lines or run-ins with other boats. The boat traffic decreased the farther upstream we traveled. Vince knew where there was a deep hole near the area where we would turn around and head back down stream. It was near this area that Vince had a strong strike on his line.

This was the first time I had been this close to the action of reeling in a fish like this. It was exciting to see the fish at the end of the line leave the water and take to the air. There were a couple of strong twists and shakes before the fish splashed back into the water. Again the fish flew through the air dancing on its tail. The finned critter put up a good fight as Vince reeled the fish closer and closer to the side of the boat. Then the fish tried to swim away pulling on the drag of Vince's reel. The fish was finally coaxed in close enough that I was able to reach the fish with a net and bring the fish aboard the boat.

Vince caught a salmon nice enough to keep

We began to see the mail boats returning from there day-trips up-river. I like to watch the boats zoom in skimming over the water propelled by multiple jets of water. It was mid-afternoon, so we decided to head in for the day.

As our boat traveled in the direction toward the bridge, several other boats were seen with the passengers still trolling. One boat had a dog that rode up front at the bow of the boat looking very much like a k-9 figurehead. I've seen that sort of thing before.

The mail boats began to return in mid-afternoon

Jet boats were coming back from upriver at approximately 15 minute intervals

Finally Vince maneuvered the boat up to the dock at Lex's Landing. Vince took his fish up to have it filleted. There is a cleaning station at the edge of the parking lot where a man cleaned fish for customers of Lex's Landing. The cleaning station had a drain that emptied into a pipe that had its outlet a short distance above the edge of the water. The fish scrapes hardly had a chance to hit the water before seagulls swooped in to claim the tasty morsels. Anything that got past the gulls was grabbed from below the water surface by sea lions.

A seagull feeding frenzy takes place at the outlet of the cleaning station drain

By the time we got around to pulling the boat out of the water, the boat ramp was too busy for us to take the boat out without a trailer. The young woman working at Lex's Landing brought her truck around with an empty boat trailer and backed it down the ramp where Vince and I could put his boat on the trailer. With the boat on the trailer, it was pulled up to the parking lot next to the Suzuki where it was fairly easy to transfer the boat to the roof rack on the car. There was no extra charge for the personal service.

I returned to camp without catching a salmon, however, I still had another day ahead to get a chance to catch a fish. The other guys were not in camp when Vince and I returned. By the time everybody was back in camp it was time for another group meal. These meals were always a nice time to visit and talk about the activities of the day.

After dinner it was time for another evening sitting around a warm campfire. This time of year the weather turns cool very quickly after sunset. While visiting, I noticed a very large flock of quail moving slowly in front of Vince and Cliffie's motorhome. This was a nice way to end another fun day.

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