Think Like a Fish

Thanks to Mike Carey, editor at Northwest Fishing Reports, for publishing my humor articles "Think Like a Fish"  and "Combat Fishing."

There will be one article a month until March, and maybe after that if winter steelhead season's icy conditions don't numb too many brain cells.

The Only Thing Better Than One Fish, One Mermaid, is a Mermaid With a Fish

One Fish, One Mermaid

Coho Have Arrived

I'm super angry at Suzette.  In our prenuptial agreement it clearly says "Shall not use Scott's fishing rod or share his secret bait cures . . . ." I went to driftwood to write a poem and caught her coho-handed as you can see.

Mermaid Photo and San Juan Kayak Trip

Being a wild mermaid, Suz was able to call wild orcas close in 

for spectacular leaps.  She took this photo with her phone.

Best mermaid I ever caught

I'm no scientist, but I think the kayak goes faster if the person in front helps row.

Suz and I were married Aug. 1.  We went sea kayaking out of Friday Harbor for the honeymoon.

Something is still wrong with my camera lens, as Suz's salmon on top looks bigger than mine.  I went to the camera shop and the guy said, "Ain't nothing wrong with the lens.  It's yo head." Obviously, he knows nothing about fishing, and less than nothing about photography.

Mike Carey, editor at Northwest Fishing Reports, asked me for an article a month so I can test my humor stories.  He just published my first one "Locals Only," and I also wrote ones for future issues and newsletters on "The Art of Mentoring," "Thinking Outside the Tackle Box," "Combat Fishing," and "Identifying Angler Types for Fun and Profit."

Think Pink

Giant schools of pink salmon came through the Strait last week, and Suz and I  intercepted 

two. Mine is on the top but something is wrong with my camera lens that makes 

hers look bigger.

The problem fishing with Suz is it's hard to keep my eyes on the river. 

This is her huge Thompson River, B. C., rainbow caught while I was distracted.

Pacific Northwest Salmon Dance

The Moment We All Wait For

Suz Scouting for Ocean Salmon

ADABoats.com Makes Lakes Wheelchair Accessible for Disabled Veterans and Others

Click above to see an "ADA Boats Review" by Mike Carey of Northwest Fishing Reports trolling Lake Stevens north of Seattle for kokanee.

Fellow Washington fisherman Mike Mayes sells and rents wheelchair-accessible boats expanding opportunities for disabled veterans and others anywhere in the world.  He said his boat "Independence continues to serve the Fishing Access Network, and produces smiles on everyone she carries." Mayes, founder of ADABoats.com, said design of Independence was guided by disabled friends. That is exactly what I like about him.  In three years of conversations about the best places, times, and gear to catch salmon and steelhead, he has always been a great listener.  Watch the above video. He can be a reached at info@adaboats.com

Then and Now

Then

Now

Suz and I had a big fight.  We were raised fishing the same rivers like the Molalla and Clackamas, and ocean reefs, so I guess it was only natural sooner or later she demanded to know my secret fishing spots. "Look," I said, "I bought you a diamond ring.  Isn't that enough?  I'm not giving you my secret fishing holes that took a lifetime to find.  That kind of intimacy and trust takes years.  If it's okay with you, I'd like to keep them between me and God."  She said it wasn't okay. 

"Let me get this straight," she said.  "You trust me enough to marry me, but not enough to show me your secret fishing spots?"

"How it is," I said.

She responded by purposely knocking off one of my big spring chinooks with the net (She swears it was an accident. Yeah right.).  Of course, we broke up over it. It was a nice fish that by all rights should have been in the box.

Now we are back together, and using her mermaid magic, she has my secret spots.  Or thinks she does.  I didn't tell her I learned from a Joseph Campbell video how Navajo US Army scout and storyteller Jeff King left out an essential piece of the story until the initiate was ready. 

Now is the time to remove the lower four Snake River dams.

See the 7 min. film Remove the Dams to Save the Salmon? selected by National Geographic editors and showcased at National Geographic Society.

Rivers Cooking Salmon, EU Cooking Greeks

With rivers heating way above normal and falling to never before seen water levels, now is a good time to ocean fish.  River salmon, steelhead, and trout are in serious trouble due to drought, lack of water-sustaining snowpack, and recent heat. 

Today, the mighty Columbia River is 73 degrees and the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, went over 80 degrees.  Both temps are too hot for good salmon survival.  A 2004 chart at Willamette Riverkeeper notes "Instantaneous" death at 90 F and death in "Hours to days" at 70 F to 77 F.

Henry Miller, of the Statesman Journal, reported "Chinook salmon are more prone to disease, injury and stress when water temperatures rise above 60 degrees. At 70 degrees, the fish start to get into real trouble."  In the same article, Tom Friesen, ODFW Manager of Upper Willamette Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Program, noted "we don’t [usually] see dead spring Chinook in the main-stem Willamette until mid-summer” but added "Fortunately, many of this year’s spring Chinook have already entered the tributaries, which should help ensure their survival."  That is, if there is enough water for fish, their red dotted eggs, and offspring.  In a worst case trend, life wouldn't be the same without salmon.  Food, legend, initiation, family bonding, and sacredness of places and experiences in those places would be lost.

Before you pack up and move, consider the Pacific Northwest is ranked as a much better than average place to be during climate change, according to a study from the University of Notre Dame. The study notes, "Vulnerability to climate change is based on six factors: food, water, health, ecosystem service, human habitat and infrastructure. The readiness index is made up of three components: economic readiness, governance readiness and social readiness."

Climate destruction and social response are two main themes in my new book Industrial Oz forthcoming from Vermont's Fomite Press before the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) in December.

Regarding economic readiness, the global banking scandal of 2008 "almost brought down the world’s financial system" according to The Economist, leaving many governments and citizens in much worse shape to deal with climate disasters like droughts, heat waves, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.  Power drunk bankers and arrogant politicians in the face of climate change are like combining the Exxon Valdez with the Titanic, and hoping for a good ending.

Regarding the possible "Grexit" news today, I know Germans have been good at paying taxes, and overall Greeks not so good, but I agree with Noble Prize in Economics winner Joseph E. Stiglitz, who noted today in USA Today, "Europe must back away from Greek austerity cliff."  Rules for everything are changing fast.  Nature clearly teaches adapting is necessary for survival.  

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.

Finding May Salmon

New friends arrive daily from the sea.  My 4-year-old nephew said "Fish are friends, not food." from watching Finding Nemo 47 times with my brother.  I answered with a university-level lecture on the either/or fallacy, explaining "Fish are friends and food."

More May Salmon

I caught this 17 pounder and 8 pounder.  The great thing about springers is both cut beet red.

May Salmon

My first day back in Oregon my river friends were waiting.

Books Push Back

Twice in the past month writers asked to see my new book Industrial Oz coming out before the Paris Climate Conference in December.  "Word or PDF?"  I asked.  Both wanted hard copies.

I liked this because hard copies are more intimate, more human.  We are, after all, hard copies ourselves. Maybe hard copies push back against the info glut and social media in cyberspace.  I recently fished beside a well-known angler in Washington.  "I heard you had a fish blog," he said, "but I never looked at it -- too busy fishing."  Made sense to me. While speaking, he hooked and caught a bright 12 pound data-driven hen steelhead, if data we are talking about is what ecologist Eugene Odom said has been "flowing for millions of years."

If cyberspace continues to take over, I imagine in the future, before you date, you will read about a person first instead of making mistakes we all make.  Prospective Jane or Jack will hand you a bio drive to wade through medical history, genetics, life expectancy, etc.  But something essential and mysterious will still be hidden.  Something about the way neurons fire, misfire, and fail to fire, and something about choices made, choices never made, and choices that will happen.

In contrast, salmon and steelhead feel the urge, choose an attractive partner, and mate.  The river takes care of the rest. Somewhere between data-wading and instant gratification of salmon-love, there must be a balance.

Watching spawning salmon, I reflect that when I die, my ashes are going in a secret river, not blasted into cyberspace.

NASA scientists tell us cyberspace may one day have trouble due to solar storms.  On July 23, 2012, Earth was only a week ahead of a solar storm passing through our orbit, which, if it hit, would have disabled even toilets "because urban water supplies largely rely on electric pumps," according to NASA. An article at Science News reported such a storm would "knock modern civilization back to the 18th century." This NASA Science Casts video, which explains the event, cites a National Academy of Sciences study noting a direct hit, calculated by physicist Pete Riley at 12% in the next 10 years, would mean an "economic impact [which] could exceed 2 trillion dollars."

I guess that means my poem "What If One Night a Big Solar Storm Went By?"
in Industrial Oz may not be that far off.

Then there is the global warming issue. According to columnist Paul B. Farrell, a Scientific American research study estimated $60 trillion could be taxpayers' global warming cost by the year 2100. Farrell noted the global GDP is $75 trillion. By 2100 human population is expected to be 11 billion. That means even if we are lucky enough to maintain output, which we won't be, $15 trillion to take care of everything else with an extra 4 billion people.  According to Isaac Asimov, most humans lead "a miserable, starvation level of existence. And it will just get worse as the population continues to go up [. . .] Democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive it. Convenience and decency cannot survive it. As you put more and more people onto the world, the value of life not only declines, it disappears." Some, reading this, may wonder, "Yeah, but will I be able to afford my Netflix?"

It would be great if our money could buy us another planet to live on, but the light-year distance between life-friendly planets is too far for our technology and, dare I say, our ideology, not to mention the reported problem of astronauts' brains fried by radiation which exceeds damage even from watching "Fox News" (see comments section below article). As Shelley noted in his famous poem "Ozymandias," Impermanence is law.

Impermanence is another reason books matter.

I'd better get an extra fishing rod in case that solar storm thing happens.

Just in case of solar flares or global warming catatrophe, I put one of my historical poems on clay which is good for the next three ice ages, if humans survive.  Otherwise, maybe highly-adaptable roaches, expected to outlast us, will read it with their feet which I guess is a little better than not being read at all, as many modern poets complain.  Take heart. I wonder how well Shelley would have done competing against Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for the precious few moments any of us have on Earth. How many hits or visits would "Ozymandias" have had compared to "Ozzy Osbourne," and, with all those salmon and steelhead to catch, would it have mattered anyway?