Fishing the Columbia sinse the 40,s

[Fisherfield]

Welcome! Thanks for sharing your story of the good ole days. Can't wait to tell my great grandkids about how I used to catch fish. They will be using scale sensors to catch their fish by then!

[fishpez]

Awesome story and welcome.. I'm sure Oregon was even more beautiful then...Thanks for sharing.

[Lwagg2]

:grin: great story I love hearing about the old days!
welcome to the board, don't you just love the old p-14, I got one tooo

[shalom]

Welcome P-14 glad to have you on board. What a great boat that you have. I all ways though that I might have one. I now fish for bass . I still fish for salmon and steelhead,
My wife gets hungry for salmon and gets after me to catch one so that she doesn’t have to buy one .I guess I will never have a P-14.

[bucketmouth]

Hey, P14. Great story. My dad moved to Rainier in the 1930's. Lived there until end of the War. My mom grew up in the Rainier area too. I bet she knew of your family. Seems like she knew everybody up in that St. Helens, Rainier area.

Welcome to ifish.net.

[Carl]

Vernon, I did my introductory story just this last week, so this if my first opportunity to welcome someone aboard. I think you have about nine years on me, but I can certainly relate to your story.

I also picked strawberry’s.....and beans.....and pealed chitum bark (cascara)....and picked up pop bottles along the road for income. However, I did not get to order any luxury items (like your fishing pole), my mom used the money to order my school clothes from Monkey Wards.

You are probably right on about the Spin ‘n Glows in the 50’s. My Uncle Ralph’s favorite river was the Claskanine and I believe he used those things.

Well anyway, welcome aboard Veron. Pretty neat site, huh?

Carl Affolter

[finclipped]

Welcome p-14. I am sure you have seen your share of changes over the past 60 years.

[Kentucky Hog Hunter]

Welcome P-14...

That was a great story...Look forward to many more...

[Degner]

Great story.

[Pete]

P-14, Thank You! I was delighted by your story and hope you'll share more of your memories. It would be easy to assume that sportfishing was always practiced on the Columbia, looking at what goes on today. A great perspective on how things have changed!

[Fast Water]

Thanks for the story P14 and welcome to Ifish!

[Buck]

Do you remember a light green glass-over-wood boat called the Filbuck fishing out of the Scappoose area? That was my dad's boat, and most of the time, he had a kid (me) with him trolling along with a cherry bobber or copper Luhr Jensen spinner on the end of the line. I also remember that if I wanted to try a flatfish, it was either silver or red, and either a U-20 or the bigger one. I would have been wide-eyed to say the least at all the choices of Kwikfish nowadays. My dad started fishing that area in the late 40's.

[Beerbelly]

Welcome

[blacktail519]

Great story P-14! :smile: I love hearing stories of yester years. I too live in the area, and would enjoy getting together for a springer outing! keep in touch. Todd

[fishdog]

Welcome aboard P-14 and other St. Helensite. Great story. I to had a P-14 at one time good boat. See you at the dock sometime I fish there to now&then.

Goodfishin :Arch :smile:

[Raven1]

Great story P-14, it's amazing what changed both good, and bad come with time. It makes you wonder how my kids will be fishing in their advanced years.

Love it! Thanks for sharing :smile:

[Old p-14]

I moved to St. Helens in 1940 from Wyoming when I was 6 years old. I started fishing when I was about nine. I could go to the local hardware store and buy about 50 feet of braided line and a few hooks for about 40 cents. The grocery store had sciens of salmon eggs for 15 cents each. I used the eggs for trout fishing in the local steams. I fished the Columbia for catfish and pearch using mostly worms. I would wrap the line around a stick. I would tie the hook on the end of the line and use a nut or a washer for sinker. I would go under yhe docks of the old sawmill and jig around the pilings for crappie., using a worm until I caught the first one and then would cut it up and use it for bait. When I was about 12, I picked strawberries and earned enough to send to Montgomery Wards for a Metal telesoping pole and a Ocean City reel. The pole soon rusted out but I still have the reel. I can rember all the commercial fishing that went on in those days. Seems like they netted salmon all summer lon, mostly at night. There was a dock in St. Helens where the unloaded their gatch. They were iced down and trucked to a cannery in Astoria. Not many people fished for SAlmon in those days. Boats were scarse and the common thought was that salmon didn't feed after they entered the river. Those who were lucky enough to have a boat used mostly spinners. The rods and reels were primitive by todays standards. The reels had leather straps for drags. I can't rember exactly when salmon fishing became a popular sport. It must have been in the 50,s when fiberglass poles and spin reels came out. also spin glo,s. People fishing from boats used either herring or flat fish. The flat fish came in 2 colors, either silver or flourecent red. You had achoice of 2 sizes. I rember when the legal size for sturgeon was 30 inches and no limit, no tag. After more than 60 years fishing the Columbia, I still enjoy it. I still fish for sturgeon off the ciy docks behind the courthouse at St. Helensand when the salmon fishing heatys up, I will be trolling in my old P-14 around the mouth of scapoose bay. Thank you Jennie for making it possible for and old man to tell of the good old days.

[Fishfeet]

Hey P-14! Welcome to the club! Great story. Hope to see you out there on the water one of these days. Fishft.

[Sadie-Lynne]

Welcome P-14, Enjoy hearing old stories

[Slingshot]

Great story :smile: Welcome aboard

[TillamookChinook]

Welcome to IFish. We are honored to have you. Great story and I look forward to hearing some more from "the good ol' days".

TC

[FISH HAWK]

Great story! [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] Welcome

[zipper]

Welcome! Keep the stories comin'! Help educate our young. zip

[Time Off]

Experience is always appreciated! :smile: Welcome aboard!

[FallRiverGuy]

Good story and welcome to Ifish. I was reminded by your story of when I was a kid. I learned to fish for catfish at an old mill pond by our house. I used a nut for weight too.

[Bill Monroe]

Vernon,
That was pretty rich...let's share it with others for perspective? Please call me at the paper when you get a chance.
Thanks,
Bill Monroe
503-221-8231
PS Do you know Gaine Moxness in St. Helens? Another old timer who was a close family friend when I was a child in Astoria...dad was a Navy dentist at Tongue Point and Mox was a forester.

[ 02-11-2004, 03:32 AM: Message edited by: Bill Monroe ]

[dampainter]

welcome p-14, sure wish I were around here at that time, what`s the biggest salmon/ sturgeon that you`ve caught, were the fish bigger then then they are today?

[Marc400]

Hey P-14 you probly know me then i go fishing of the dockes all the time i was down the saterday...
It is so great to have some old storys told this days of how it realy was.

[BigFishFever]

Welcome aboard...Loved reading your story...looking forward to many more!

[FishinTechnician]

Enjoyed your story. We would see lots of P-14's trolling at Swan Island in the the late 50's, early 60's before they put in the drydock. Guys would troll double wire spreaders with a spinner on top and a Flatfish or wobbler on the bottom. If you can believe it there were a lot more boats fishing that spot then then there are now. We would see 50-75 boats there on a weekend day and lots of fish caught. Remember John's hamburger stand on the slough just above the mouth of Scappose Bay? When we were kids Dad would run in there for a midday cup of hot chocolate. Boy those were magical days when I was growing up.

[SPAZZ]

Welcome. Great story [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

[SafetyChain]

Welcome. Great story and thanks for sharing.

[Bob Barthlow]

Old p-14, welcome to the board and thanks for the great story.

[Wreckless]

Thanks for the memories P-14 and welcome!!

My grandpa kept his boat at coon island for as long as I can remember. I still have his metal rods, leather thumb drag reels and his old tackle. Including the #7 Hildebrant spinner that I got my first springer on :smile: .

Bill monroe has a great idea writing about "the good old days". I'll bet you've got some stories!!!

Thanks again for the flash back to fishing with my grandpa :smile: