Sockeye Madness

I read somewhere variety of diet is important so I took a day off from chinook fishing to go sockeye fishing.  I caught this on a small green Spin-N-Glow with a piece of shrimp. It was a delicious fish.

Small Water Salmon

Hooking big fish in small water was described by a friend as "fighting a gorilla in a storage unit." There will be bloody shins and lost fish, but I can't think of a better way to spend a June morning. The problem, of course, is ropey lines allow control but mean fewer hookups.  Lighter lines mean more hookups but then you can't horse salmon ashore. I fished small water salmon in B. C., Washington, and Oregon with mixed success.

Recently, on my way to small water salmon, I passed weary construction workers who stared at my fishing pole like thirsty men in a desert.  "Well, somebody's got to do it." I said, and received a hearty laugh.

Fishing with Suz a few years ago, we spoke with a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman's wife while waiting for the verdict to fish his Washington property.  "How did you get your hair to do that?" asked Suz, and they spoke like old friends.  Light bulb.  The next time a guy crowded me small water salmon fishing I would try that to drive him away.

Before long, it happened.   A fisherman inched closer and closer until it became uncomfortable.  "How did you get your hair to do that?" I fired.

"Do you mean the highlights?" he asked.  Utt-oh.

In other words, there is always a balancing act in small waters between remembering we are spiritual beings and primitive harvesters.  Competition means conflict.  Rumi said, "God is the only real customer," which is true since everything else is temporary.  I received comments about my blog post below as being "sort of heavy" by mentioning all fish in all seas may be dead "by 2048."

If not then, scientists say in a billion years the sun will evaporate all oceans so life on Earth will be impossible.  This means Rumi is right.  What matters is the regenerative power of the universe to make new salmon and salmon fishers.  Jesus said in Matthew 3:9: "I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham."  And He did.  And He will.

Most best fishermen I have known have been deeply spiritual.  This is going to become even more important as drought continues, competition increases, and salmon runs drop.  Yesterday, I read water over 60 degrees will start killing salmon, and this is happening in the Clackamas, Santiam, and Willamette.  In worse news, 75 degree water is predicted in Northwest watersheds this summer which will mean massive salmon die offs.  Unfortunately, cassin's auklets are facing a similar fate in what has been noted by Craig Welch of National Geographic as "Unprecedented."  Also at National Geographic, I read Ken Balcomb's June 11, 2015, essay linking loss of chinook salmon to extinction of orcas.  Balcomb is a Senior Scientist, Center for Whale Research, in Friday Harbor, WA.  He wrote, "As a nation, we are dangerously close to managing the beloved southern resident killer whale population to quasi-extinction (less than 30 breeding animals) as a result of diminishing populations of Chinook salmon upon which they depend."  The comments after Balcomb's article are interesting and show both sides of the Snake River dams breaching issue.  After reading all of the comments, my vote goes to Balcomb.

Spawning Run

How many seeds inside a seed? 
How far does north go? 

I’m on my spawning run north

over I-205 Bridge

and salmon below in the Columbia

are on theirs.

The Statesman Journal reports

over 60 degree water is killing them

in the Clackamas, Santiam, Willamette

before they have a chance

and, unless lightning strikes

minds of politicians in Paris,

I wonder how long before we  
have lost our chance.

If You Love This Planet, See Rob Stewart's Revolution

The authenticity of Rob Stewart's film making, historical perspective, accurate knowledge, and list of victories won by activists make Revolution an essential film.  But what would you expect from a guy who successfully fought a $400 a pound shark fin industry in his previous film Sharkwater which helped ban shark finning in 100 countries, and led to a 70% reduction of sales in China?

A great quality of Revolution was its blend of personal focus with macro focus.  It reminded me of Derrick Jensen's essay "Forget Shorter Showers." In other words, nonviolent civil disobedience is gaining traction, twice resulting in the arrest of James Hansen (2011 and 2013), former director of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. The second time he was arrested with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

John Muir noted, "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe."  Let me explain.  The online device you are using to read this is made possible by burning carbon.  Your car, house, clothes, and food are the same.  You may know this.  What you may not know, as Stewart's film Revolution shows, is all this burning of carbon leads to ocean acidification which means, unless we stop soon,: 1) all fish in the oceans may be gone "by 2048"; 2) technicolor coral reefs may be gone in "50 years time, probably even 20 years" to be replaced with ghostly white emptiness; 3) phytoplankton, "responsible for half the oxygen we breathe," are dying.  Scientists claim "2/3 of world species may be gone by the end of the century." Coal, the worst offender, accounts for "44% of energy" in the United States, as China builds one new coal plant "per week."  Hell, you may think, what's the point of even trying?  I'll just go fishing. The answer is this film is not just about gloom because it empowers viewers with knowledge and real world examples to be part of the solution. In short, there will be no salmon if all fish in the ocean are dead.

Before I watched Revolution, it was reported Shell, responsible for new Arctic drilling (making Seattle Mayor Ed Murray an anti-drilling activist) plans on a 4 degree Celcius increase, even though scientists worldwide agree that would be catastrophic. Our planet is a blue jewel worn by an oil industry harlot named the U.S. Congress that puts a dollar value on Earth. This is the same as pretending water cares what you name it, or vital resources can be restored as fast as zeros and ones in banking computer databases.  Ask Californians how they will buy their way out of the worst drought in 1,200 years. Captain Kirk (William Shatner) wants a pipeline from Seattle to Lake Mead since California only has a widely-reported year of above-ground-water left. As a backup, the LA Times reported "decades worth of groundwater remain [unless rate of use increases]." The LA Times also noted the state lost 12 million trees due to the recent drought, with "millions more [dead] trees" expected.  To give you a sense of the value of water, consider the alleged $50 a gallon charged during the Oct. 17, 1989, Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco/Oakland or worse, a 2014 water bill "over $4,000" for a Detroit resident, as reported to the United Nations Human Rights Team investigation.  Thomas Jefferson wrote "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever."  The injustice we are collectively causing to future generations is unprecedented.

The film Revolution is about a different and better story.
Watch Now - Revolution

Watching the film with headphones in a public library, the beautiful photography made me cry for what is dead, dying, and what may be lost on land and in the sea, as three children stared at me in sympathetic confusion.  I hiked old growth forest that morning so I was more open than usual. Watching the children, I recalled the Iroquois Confederacy thought seven generations ahead long before white colonists arrived in their country as opposed to our senators elected to six year terms, representatives elected to two year terms, a president elected to a four year term, and business plans commonly much shorter.  Profits are taken and companies move on without regard to costs inflicted on others and future generations. Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef made this clear with his idea of Barefoot Economics.

Watch the Revolution film, and reflect on what we can do to bear witness, and take action.  A friend has a Bruce Lee poster that says, “Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.”  I joined 350.org and supported students at my college wanting to divest from coal and fossil fuels. Foothill-De Anza Community College District in California already has.

Three for the Road

At sunrise I caught two adults and a 23 and 1/2 inch jack.  A Bavarian tape measure with a double 22 inch mark was handy. On a humorous note, I wore a white latex glove to test a new salmon egg cure, and one of the locals said I was Michael Jacksoning it.

After that, one of the regulars was upset because I brought a banana, considered bad luck for fishing.  I assured him it was okay, though, because it was an organic banana.

I will visit my mermaid then another set of rivers.