Rivers of a Lost Coast

• Posted on 01/21 at 10:23 AM

The 3-day Sturgeon battle

Like Russian River silver salmon, steelhead, shad and sturgeon, the river’s once plentiful sturgeon population has also been decimated. The enormous pre-historic fish, which can have a lifespan longer than humans, may weigh over half a ton (450 kg) and attain a length of 18 ft (366 cm). The prized fish are famous for the enduring fights.

In this minutes and a half clip, Russell Chatham recalls a story about a 3-day battle with a behemoth sturgeon.

Posted by Justin on 01/21 at 10:23 AM in Ramblings • (2) Comments • Permalink

• Posted on 01/14 at 04:23 PM

A Vernacular

In the flats of Florida there are daisy chains and meatballs, strings and bandits. If you’re lucky you’ll get an eat, maybe even a jump. In the Sacramento Delta there’s always shakers and schoolies. Wait long enough you might even get a toad. In the Catskills they fish with coffin flies. Anywhere it’s a memorable day if you get spooled, a forgettable one if it’s a skunk. Rip, short-strike and refusal. Clinch, surgeons, blood, loop, and the bimini twist. Steeple, double-haul, rodeo, roll and pile.

It’s a sport with a vernacular. Some terms tied to local others floating through the sport. An Angler’s library of terms seems to have become an acceptable measure of one’s competency. Did you hook up? Any Head Shakes?

The north coast was no different. You had to know the lingo if you were gonna step into the lineup. What kind of head were you using? I think I had a rub. Looks like that guy’s a washer.

And then there was The Bucket. It was a Bill Schaadt term made famous in a 1970s article by Bob Nauheim. The idea was simple, on any river, at any time of year, at any given moment, there was always a bucket. One place where you as angler had the greatest concentration of fish, the greatest odds of putting your fly in front of hungry fish. And this is what separated California fly fishing during the 1950s from Oregon and Washington. Unlike the northern states, were a more gentlemanly approach to the sport has always ruled, in California it was a selfish game. Find the bucket, beat everyone else there and don’t leave unless you’re deathly ill. 

Posted by Justin on 01/14 at 04:23 PM in Ramblings • (0) Comments • Permalink

• Posted on 01/05 at 10:14 AM

100 Years

Early last month, legendary Eel River fly fisherman Nelson Rossig celebrated his 100th birthday with a handful of his closest angling friends. Nelson who first fished the Eel as a young kid, was an invaluable asset while producing Rivers of a Lost Coast. Nelson continues to fly fish the Eel in the summer and fall, giving truth to the often humorous bit of wisdom "days spent fishing aren't deducted from life."

Nelson remembers as a kid walking the gravel bars behind Eureka's elite fishermen and collecting broken off flies lost in the rocks. He was a regular in the shops of the great Eel River fly tiers Sam Wells, Jim Pray, Lloyd Silvius and Art Dedini. Fishing the river during the golden era of California steelheading, Nelson remembers the articles of Zane Grey and H.L. Betten, the books of Claude Kreider and Clark Van Fleet, the influx of southern anglers in the 40s and 50s and the arrival of great anglers Bill Schaadt and Ted Lindner.

He fondly remembers Ben Anderson, Joe Dickerson, Harry Hornbrook, Mike Kennedy and the other graceful pioneers who came before him. Nelson still recalls when fly fishing was only practiced by wading, when leaders were made of gut, when silk lines had to be coated in Dacron and when bamboo was replaced with fiberglass.

Nelson"#39s interview for Rivers of a Lost Coast has been archived in the special collections department of the Humboldt Room at the Humboldt State Library.

Happy Birthday Nelson!

** (Nelson Rossig in orange is surrounded by Stephen Rosenberg to his right and Conrad Calimpong to his left. Forrest Willis is wearing a black hat. Photo courtesy of Stephen Rosenberg.)

Posted by Justin on 01/05 at 10:14 AM in Ramblings • (0) Comments • Permalink

• Posted on 12/19 at 10:59 AM

A Mentor

With a little plug by Brian Hoffman for Rivers of a Lost Coast in the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday morning, things were off to a good start. The realization that post-production is over and our dire need to “de-clutter”, quickly cramped the good vibe. A little spring-cleaning in the middle of December (sounds like a bad Dolly Parton Christmas song). Dumping the old files, I came across some story-notes from Larry Cullens, a long-time coastal fisherman who has thrown all his chips into the salmon fishing pot.

A Little background: Larry, to say it mildly, has an intimidating presence. Broad shoulders, thick worn hands, he protects against cataracts with a pair of reflective sunglasses that have an eerie familiarity to the warden in “Cool Hand Luke.” He lives alone and splits his time between Gold Beach and Crescent City. When he walks to the boat, it’s with a limp; junior college football injuries added to a life of hard labor. He is quiet on the river now, although from what we’ve heard, it was not always that way.

For Rivers of a Lost Coast, we met with Larry in the fall of 2006, on the banks of the Rogue River. When I saw his long silver ponytail, I immediately realized I had seen him before. Twice to be exact; once in a pram about 300 yards from where we stood and another time at the Bailey hole on the Smith River. He has that kind of presence.

Larry was a good friend and understudy of Ted Lindner, one of the focal-characters in Rivers of a Lost Coast. When old age finally forced Ted from the river, he retired many of his personal belongings to Larry. Included was Ted’s small, heavily used travel trailer. It was the trailer Ted lived in for the last 40 years of his life; it was his home.

Although in his younger, wilder days Larry saw his self as a stark contrast to the disciplined and strict Ted Lindner, the two befriended and dissolved their differences through fishing. In his own words he saw their friendship as “highly unlikely.”

So on that day in the fall of 2006, we talked with Larry about Ted, about a life dedicated to salmon fly fishing, about the admiration you keep for those who take you under their wing. He has a handful of names. Ted kept in the highest regard.

As he retold the stories he was emotional. More than most, Larry wants to pay tribute to the older generation. He talks little of his own angling skill. Never mentions what I already know, that he is a former world-record holder for Chinook Salmon on the fly.

When the interview was over we left the river and headed back to Larry’s for a salmon bar-b-que. He pulled his truck into the small lot and parked next to a trailer. Larry still has Ted’s trailer. Ted’s home is now his own. Maybe that is why Larry understands so well the connection we keep with our mentors.

If you’d like to hear some thoughts from Larry he is included in ”The Fishing Lifestyle” audio clip.

On the message board below we encourage you to share your stories of the anglers who got you started and kept you hooked.

Posted by Justin on 12/19 at 10:59 AM in Ramblings • (6) Comments • Permalink