by The Troutist, October 11, 2013

I would like to start this column with a special shout out and a very big thank you to Pam Iman and LaVonne Hall-Mershon. These ladies ran the Mess Section from the ground up, planning, purchasing, cooking, and taking care of all of us. I find that most times they get overlooked for all the hours they put in before, during, and after this event. Without them this camp would not be the success that it has been over the years. Thanks again ladies, look forward to seeing you again next year.

Day Three: On this day I was to work out of my good friends boat Dub Burnum. Dub is not a guide but he is what I consider to be a professional angler, what I mean by that is he is on the water four to five days a week. He is also a student of the sport looking for perfection every time he is on the water. Dub also takes out folks that would not normally have a chance to work the waters for salmon. I can’t speak highly enough of this man, his generosity, and skill makes him a true sportsman. I only wish there were more folks like him; it is a privilege to call him a friend.

Knowing that my main job is to get photos, the story, and that fishing is just a side benefit for me, still I couldn’t help but have visions of grandeur at filling my punch card once again. I would be joining Steve Ichinokuchi, President/CEO of Izorline, Jim Duntley, the National Sales Rep for Izorline, and Rob, I didn’t get his last name but he was filming footage for a TV Show that is viewed in the Spokane area on the FOX station on Sundays after the ball games. The main phrase of the show is “Living the dream”. The wind was making the water a little rougher than normal but it was tolerable. You would really have to pay attention to your rod tip looking for just the slightest tug. This is always interesting when you are bobbing up and down with the waves. Added to my responsibilities was to shoot some of the footage whenever Rob was to hook-up. Needless to say I didn’t get any still shots of Rob.

This was going to be one of those tough days, no I am not saying we got skunked but limits were not the order of the day. Rob managed his limit, Steve landed a jack, Jim landed a nice 25 pounder, which I was to find out later was his biggest salmon ever. I did manage to put a jack in the boat but that was it for me all day. It was so slow for me that the only reason I re-baited my hook with eggs was because they turned completely white. On the bright side I can say I got one bite and caught one fish. There were a couple missed, and a couple lost, not a great day, but on the other hand not a bad one especially considering we battled the wind most of the morning.



The wind finally got the best of us at 11am and we called it a day. We launched out of the Celilo Launch which is about a two mile run down river from the mouth of the Deschutes. This turned out to be a really wild ride with waves coming over the bow and hitting us with sheets of water. Good thing I brought my raingear. I guess I should have put my rain pants on, by the time we got in we were all soaked. When the mighty Columbia gets angry she definitely lets you have it. I had big plans of sending my friend Cee Dub down the road with a nice salmon because he had to leave early this year and wouldn’t get a chance to work the water. Instead all I had for him was a jack, but not to worry Bruce Warren sent him down the road with a very nice salmon. Way to go Bruce.

That night Mack’s Lures put on their presentation and every one of the pro-staff was a part of it, that’s right even me. We stole the show, not only did we know the products and how to employ them but we actually use them. Once the presentation was over we were swarmed as we handed out some samples and went into detail on how the items of interest could best be used for their angling needs. I was told by several folks that this was the best presentation they had ever seen given at a fish camp. I can only say my bosses GM Bob Schmidt and National Sales Rep/Pro-Staff Director Bobby Loomis were very pleased.

The next day I was to be out on Bruce Warren’s boat with Dave Graybill, his camera-man Eric Granstrom, and Loren Dunbar of Hevi-Beads, Loren is co-owner of the company. Yes that’s right shooting some more video for an upcoming episode of Dave’s. The wind had died down a bit once again making angling tolerable at least for a few hours as we were to find out soon enough. Our leaders were Izorline’s 20 lb test XXX mono, .08 smile blade with two beads above a 3/0 barbless hook, and eggs were the choice for this outing of hover fishing. Once again it didn’t take the wind too much time to gradually increase making the day a little more challenging. Loren was the only one to fill his punch card with two nice ones in the mid to upper teens. Dave landed a nice one also in the upper teens and lost one. Eric put a jack in the boat and got some great video. Myself, well I lost two the first one was a very nice one judging by the bend in my rod and the amount of line he peeled off at will. The second one I actually got to see and he was twenty pounds if he was an ounce. He looked at me, spit the hook, gave me the middle fin, and swam off.

At 11am the wind was so strong we finally called it a day and all things considered it was a great day. In my opinion anytime you have fish in the box it is a good day. Bruce headed the boat into the wind and headed back to the launch. This ride was just as wild as the day before, sheets of water coming over the bow and hitting us in the back with some force. Luckily I remembered to put my rain pants on for the trip back, this time I was in much better shape than the day before. Well I hope you have enjoyed these columns on fish camp and next week will be my final installment. The question is would my luck change? Check out next week’s column.

So until next time may your next trout be your trophy mount. The Troutist-“Uncle Wes” Malmberg.




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