THE TROUT LINE
Tualatin Valley Chapter News
December/January 2005/2006
Chapter Meetings are held at the LUCKY
LABRADOR on the second Wednesday of
each month at 7:00 pm with a social get-together and the
formal meeting at 7:30 unless otherwise noted in the
newsletter or website. Lucky Labrador, Multnomah
Village, 7675 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland, (503) 244-2537.
Food and Beverages available.
Board of Directors Meetings held just prior to our
monthly Chapter meeting at 5:30pm at the Lucky Lab.
Free Beer, Wednesday, December
14, John Shewey on Tropical Fishing
While winter is settling in here, the sun is shining on some
other fishing destinations, and John Shewey will take us
to some of the better ones in this tropical blue-water
fishing program covering not-too-faraway places such as
the Bahamas and Mexico. John Shewey is a life-long
devotee to fly fishing, wingshooting and the outdoors in
general. John is now the managing editor for Northwest
Fly Fishing magazine and author of many fishing and
wingshooting articles. Books include: Northwest Flyfishing,
Trout & Beyond; Flyfishing Northwest Waters; Mastering
The Spring Creeks; Oregon Blue Ribbon Fly Fishing; Fly
Fishing For Summer Steelhead. We also know him as a
very popular guest speaker who has presented some
fantastic programs for our club. This is another you want
to get to. Yes, the beer is on us. Limit one pint.
See John s interesting article in this issue.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Guido Rahr of the Wild Salmon
Center Analyzes the future of Pacific
Salmon. As president and CEO of the Wild Salmon
Center, an international conservation organization, he is
on the forefront of the battle to protect wild salmon, trout
and char and their habitats along the Pacific Rim. He s
also a much sought-after speaker, with a Masters of
Environmental Studies from Yale University and has
developed conservation programs for Conservation
International, the Rainforest Alliance and Oregon Trout
(where his work won the President s Award from the
American Fisheries Society) and the United Nations
Development Program. With his colleagues at the Wild
Salmon Center he s launched fish refuge programs in the
United States and Russia including the world s first
whole basin salmon refuge. Guido will speak to our club
about the prospects for Pacific salmon recovery over the
next 20 years, and the local efforts and current battles
happening here and now in Oregon
To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds
Editor: David Illig
Editors Column Paper is Back!
Why? It seems that it works. Microsoft, Intel,
AOl, Google, etc tell us that the computer and the internet
is always the best way to do things. But sometimes the
data tells a different story. We made the decision a year
ago to move the newsletter to a downloadable version you
could either look at at the website or you could download
your own copy. There were three advantages that
motivated us. Number one by far was that this method
would reduce our costs drastically. No Printing costs. No
mailing costs. This would allow us to use our limited
money resources for projects and speakers we might
otherwise not be able to do. Secondly, the internet option
allowed us to post the newsletter in color. This was very
nice for our Fly of the Month and those motivational
pictures you enjoy. I never did get to the fold-out stage
but I was thinking about it. The third issue was the labor
savings around copying, mail labels and mailing, most of
which landed on Eric Thompson s able shoulders. As we
often are forced to say: It seemed like a great idea at the
time. Heck, it still sounds like a good idea as I write this.
However, another saying is: The proof is in the pudding.
After a year of trying we looked at the data. Almost
nobody was looking at the newsletter on line. Our
chapter has almost 600 members. Only around 250 signed
up for our email mailing list. At times our web site had
10-25 hits in a month. And the Board members were sent
an attachment copy of the email direct from the editor
and even they weren t using the standard method.
It seems that people wanted something in their hand and
they weren t willing to go through the process of finding it
and printing it out themselves. It s not that the newsletter
was low in quality. We had many fine articles. Great fly
tying. And thoughtful messages as well as useful info. But
nobody was reading it. So we have decided to go back to
our Bi-monthly mailed newsletter. We re back in your
mailbox.
We thought long and hard about the cost and effort but
decided it was worth it. You re worth it. And it s worth
reading. The hard copies that arrive at your home will be
in Black and White. However, each issue will also be
posted on the web as we have been doing so you can get
colored pictures if you want. And also archive issues.
Although there may be a touch of disappointment, there is
more excitement about figuring out what reality is and
moving to get a worthwhile newsletter read. And we would
like to strongly encourage you to begin contributing
articles, pictures, and interesting material to make it
worth our effort and receiving. Yes, we need your help.
We re not talking Hemmingway, here. But if he/she s out

there you re also welcome. This is a great place to
practice. And we don t own the copyright of your piece so
you could publish it elsewhere as well.
Another year is starting, 2006. Unbelievable. Please
consider getting involved in TV TU. Get involved with the
Newsletter of course. Come to the meetings which are
consistently interesting and fun. Get involved in our
projects. Get involved in TU related conservation projects
around the state. Join the Board. Write letters. Go fishing.
Teach fishing to youngsters. Did I say go fishing more.
Contribute and you ll get back. By the way, if anybody
with plenty of cash wants to fund the publishing and
sending of all our newsletters of the last year that didn t
get read, as a one time thing, please contact Treasurer
Rod and he will cash your check. It would make a nice tax
deduction. I ll take out all the dated material.
Ok, read this whole thing. Enjoy. Start writing and taking
pictures. Get involved. See you at the December and
January meetings. May you have inspiring holidays and
may 2006 be a great and healing year for us all.
David Illig
2
the shank behind the post. Repeat this until the
post is securely raised and then wrap a few wraps
around the post base to keep it from flaring to
badly while fishing.
5. Tie in the dun hackle behind the post make 1 to 2
wraps around the post with the hackle. (keep it
fairly sparse)
6. tie off the hackle.
7. Whip finish in front of the post and glue.
Hints:
· I like to make my flies fairly sparse so they ride
low in the water. You should grease just the post
and hackle. Let the body settle down in the
surface film.
· If you want to build a slight bulge in the thorax
you can either do it with the thread (my normal
process) or you can dub a very small thorax (after
you tie in the wing hackle and before you wind the
hackle on). Make sure to keep the body dubbing
fairly thin the most common mistake I see by
folks just starting to tie this pattern is to make
the body too thick these mayflies are dainty.
All other steps are the same.

I slipped down the trail to the waters edge a nice eddy

Fly of the Month just below White River. Several nice redside were working
The Parachute Blue Winged Olive the small baetis hatch coming off this fall. After greasing
up the tip of the fly line to keep it floating, I laid out a
good cast. The white post made the miniscule fly stand
This month s fly of the month is the Parachute Blue
out against the dark background. The current pulled the
Winged Olive. The blue winged olive (BWO) or Baetis, is a
fly around on a curve heading for the closest trout. A
members of the mayfly family and available to trout
slurp and ripples marked where the fly was a second ago.
nearly every month of the year. At this time of the year,
I lifted my 3 wt to the strong and satisfying pull of a 16
BWOs and midge are about the only hatches available to
redside.
feeding trout so they become especially important.
There are several different patterns that imitate the Baetis,
m at that age where small dries are difficult for me to
but for me, the parachute is my preferred pattern. The
see and fish. However, the parachute allows me to
reason is it s big visible post, a necessary feature of a
occasionally enjoy the art of fishing the dry fly a very
small pattern like this. Here s the pattern
satisfying experience when the conditions are right. Try
this pattern out, I think you ll find it will quickly become
Parachute BWO one of your favorites too. Tight Lines, Alex
Hook: Down or straight eye dry fly hook
sizes #18-#22. Orvis s big-eye hooks
are nice for these smaller flies.
Thread: Brown or dark olive, 8/0 thread, or
even 10/0 on smaller patterns.
Tail: Blue dun rooter hackle fibers
Body: Tying thread, shaped to body shape
Front Abdomen Very small amount of olive or
(opt): brown Superfine dubbing
Post: White calf-tail, stacked
Wing: Blue-dun dry fly hackle

1. Tie in a several hackle fibers from a quality blue-

dun rooster neck or saddle. They should be about
1.5x the body length (mayfly tails are quite long)
2. Shape a thread body.
3. Stack a small pinch of calf-tail (I sometimes trim
the wavy tips)
4. Tie in the calf-tail post about 1/3 of the shank
back from the eye of the hook with tie in points
facing rearward and post facing forward. Stand
up the post with thread wraps winding around the
front side of the post and pulling back and around
To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds

Fly Tyer s Corner Dick Rohrbaugh
Over the years tyers have accumulated a lot of creative
ideas. In tying, like everything else, experience is always
the best teacher. Here is a new set of tips to try the next
time you tie.
Technique
In this issue we will concentrate on the single issue of
proportions. Even if they have begun to master
techniques for applying wings, tails, etc., many beginning
tyers end up with flies in which the wings are too short,
the tails too long, the hackle too heavy or some other
twist that significantly alters the intended appearance of
the fly. A good sense of proportion comes easily to some
tyers, but to others it is a major hangup they never really
get past.
If you look in the fly tying books you frequently find
chapters that go to great lengths to explain the proper
proportions for a given type of fly. On traditional Catskill
style dry flies, for example, we were all taught that wings
should be the length of the hook shank (thus long on
larger hooks and short on smaller ones), that tails should
be about the same length, that the hackles should be one
and a half times the hook gap, that we should put 2-3
hackle wraps behind the wing and 3-5 in front -- and so
forth. Got that? There is an easier way.
3
difficult to get a feel for the difference between, say, a
size 14 and a size 16 Adams.
I should note that learned this trick from a commercial
tyer who had been tying royal wulffs for years. She
mounted an example of every size wulff she ever tied on
the edge of a 4x6 card and kept that right in front of her
when tying the pattern commercially. Even after years
with that pattern she still got the card out and checked
herself from time to time as she rolled through hundreds
of dozens each year.
Is it necessary to be that scrupulous about it? Probably
not. But it is a great way to learn fly proportions,
especially when first learning to tie or when tying a new
pattern. In fact the only commercial flies I have
purchased in the last thirty years (well, almost I hate
tying bombers, waller walkers and various epoxied flies,
and therefore prefer to buy them; especially since I don t
fish them very often) were new patterns bought for just
this purpose.
Dick

Before we get to the simpler method we should mention

one other problem with proportions. Most beginning tyers
tend to use far too much material. They end up with tails
that are heavier than the body, or perhaps with bodies
that are far heavier than any natural insect. Often hackles
are so heavy they look like shaving brushes. Sometimes
the problem is simply that the tie is far too large for the
size of the hook: a size 10 fly tied on a size 12 hook.
That can be true especially when trying to tie very small
flies for the first time. It can be really hard to convince
yourself that a size 22 really is that small.

Now to the better way. You can forget all about
memorizing proportion formulas by simply going to your
local fly shop and buying one example of every pattern
you intend to tie. Commercial tyers get it right. So use
their efforts as the measuring stick for your own.
When you sit down to tie a given pattern, get the
commercial example out and mount it where you can see
it easily as you tie. After each fly you tie, do a CLOSE
comparison. Look closely at the wings on your fly. Set
them beside those of the commercial pattern. Are yours
too long? Too short? Too heavy or light? Do the same
with the body, the tail, the legs, the hackle, and every
other feature of the fly. Try, item by item, to identify
where your fly differs from the commercial example.
Make the comparison a rigorous one. Then stay with that
particular pattern until you get it right.
When teaching tying I not only encourage students to use
this method of learning proportion, I strongly suggest that
they invest in commercial examples of every SIZE of a
given pattern they intend to tie. By tying the different
sizes and doing a close comparison with each, it is not
Seth with a chum
Remember to Sign up New Members to
Trout Unlimited. It s a great bargain for what they
get. Especially at the half-off introductory membership at
$17.50 Lots of people aren t members who would enjoy it.
We still get something for new member signups. New
members can sign up at www.tu.org/intro and entering
code 633 for Tualatin Valley chapter. If they prefer a
paper membership application, contact Erle to send it to
them.
UPCOMING Newsletter Material
We need material for upcoming issues Or just send some
nice pictures you have. We need your input, please.
Dillig1@aol.com 296 9050
TV TU website is TVtroutunlimited.com

To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds
 4
disappears, you have a Troll in the campground
Lake Creek Mystery Solved and that is a very serious problem. Dealing with
By A. Nonymous Trolls is a whole different program than dealing
with Gnomes.
In the July / August edition of the news letter, Eric
2) Option #2 is far more workable as you simply
Thompson wrote an article on the Lake Creek
consume the beverage, always being sure to leave
conservation project. In his written text, Eric referred to
just a tad for the Gnomes to polish off. When I
an unknown creature that stole into camp and polished
say a tad , Gnomes are light weight drinkers and a
off a bottle of fine bourbon, and left only an empty
thimble full of human made alcohol will put two
container behind. I have to confess that for some time I
Gnomes under the table. Leaving a tad will keep
have known the identity of the culprit who did this most
you from being rolled down the hill in your tent in
unforgivable and dastardly deed.
the middle of the night by an mob of angry
Gnomes (Boy, did I learn this lesson the hard
But before revealing the identity of this person, I first will
way!).
give you a little history lesson to back up my accusation.
Long, long ago, royal families were accustomed to
interbreeding to the point that genetic abnormalities in off And how do I definitely know Gnomes exist? Because I
spring were common. These genetic abnormalities are usually see the little people darting around in the
what we know today as Gnomes, Trolls, Elves and Fairies. darkness just beyond the campfires glow as I near the
These children would have been abandoned if it were not bottom of the bottle. I know they are keeping their eye on
for a wizard who was always standing in the wings ready me hoping I ll have the courtesy of leaving at least one
to adopt the children and teach them a touch magic to taste for those of royal descent. AN
help them through their lives.
Alex and Eric on annual Rogue October trip.
The Gnomes developed their own mystic, alcoholic brew
until an attack by some Trolls carried off their base stock.
As the original recipe had long since been lost, the
Gnomes were forced to retaliate by raiding the Trolls and
recapture their brew. Unfortunately for the Gnomes, they
stole the wrong container and ended up with the Trolls
recipe for drink. The Trolls based their concoction on the
waste water left over after washing their dirty socks, and
other articles of clothing, items which I ll leave to your
imagination. The Gnomes thought they had enough magic
to right the wrong, and did their best to zap the potion to
make it drinkable. They failed in their attempt and
created a mouthwash tasting substance that seems to
spontaneously combust as it goes down the throat. The
Gnomes call this brew Dragons Breath . The few humans
who have tried the drink call it, SPIN for a taste that
brings to mind a Sewage Plant Inferno (Nectar) .

Today, the mischievous little Gnomes can be found in the

garden as Garden Gnomes, the home as House Gnomes
and in the shop as Shop Gnomes. Now, go ahead and
laugh but have you ever laid something down and then
returned to find the item missing, even though you know
right where you placed it? Guaranteed, that s the work of
a playful, little Gnome! And since the Gnomes don t have
anything decent to drink, they are especially on the
lookout for a shot of alcohol (ever picked up a beer or
wine glass and found it empty when you were sure you
didn t drink it all? Think about it).
So now we ve come to the real truth of who drank the
bourbon in that Metolius River campground during the
Lake Creek project. I propose that a Gnome stole into the
campground and finished off the bottle after everyone had
gone to bed! As further proof of this, I know for a fact
that there are only two ways to keep a Gnome from
stealing your alcohol.
1) Do not open the bottle. I know this defeat s
the purpose of bringing the bottle in the first
place, but it is one option. Gnomes will not open
a sealed bottle. If an entire sealed bottle
To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds
Oregon Council Trout Unlimited
Conservation issues
What is going on now?-
Tom Wolf , Council chair
1. Mt Hood Wilderness- Trout Unlimited is part of a
coalition trying to get roadless areas in Mt. Hood
area protected as Federal wilderness. There is
260,000 potential wilderness acres , many of them
contacting great habitat for wild salmon,
steelhead and trout. Of prime importance is the
Big Bottom and Roaring River roadless areas. The
coalition is working with local elected officials to
get support for wilderness protection. Obtaining
that support, we are working with Congressman
Blumenhuer and Walden to come up with a
wilderness proposal that hopefully will come out
in November. Rep. Walden seems willing to

2. protect some of the Mt. Hood roadless as
wilderness. The big problem we have had is the
mountain bike community, who are fighting us
because Wilderness Act does not allow bicycles,
which are considered a motorized vehicle. We are
having dialogs with mountain bikers and have
hopefully worked out our problems.
3. Goal 5- The Oregon Council Trout Unlimited ,
along with 2 other conservation groups, worked
for 4 years on the METRO Goal 5 program. Goal 5,
under state land use laws, provides protection for
fish and wildlife. After many meetings and
hearings (over 100) METRO passed their Nature
in the Neighbor program in September. Whereas,
because of Measure 37, the program wasn t as
strong as we want,depending too much on
voluntary actions, it still provides good protection
to fish and wildlife in Portland Metropolitan area.
4. State Forest- Trout Unlimited has been working
very hard the last 2 years on state forest issues,
in particular ones on Clatsop and Tillamook state
forests. As part of a coalition, Trout Unlimited is
working to get pro-environment candidates
appointed to Board of Forestry, evaluate new ODF
Habitat and Harvest models and work on current
management plans.
5. 2005 Salem session- Represented by Doug
Meyers, our legislative aide, and Tom Wolf,
Oregon Council chair, Trout Unlimited was very
involved in this 2005 session. We participated in
Oregon Conservation Network Common agenda,
an effort by conservation community to work
together on 7 common agenda items. We were
successful in helping OWEB get their full budget
requests. We helped stop several bad bills. There a
few defeats such as passage of a bill which will
increase water demands on Deschutes. But it was
the best session for the environment in 10 years.
6. Tualatin Basin- For several years Trout Unlimited
has been very involved in conservation issues in
Tulatin Basin. Currently we are working on Water
Feasibility Study, the work of water agencies to
plan for future water use in Tualatin Basin and
will probably involve raising Henry Hagg Lake.
Trout Unlimited worked with other groups to
have the Bureau of Reclamation give mitigation
money for Hagg Lake to Tualatin Watershed
Council for watershed projects. The money is
currently being used for stream projects on Gales
Creek. We are working with TRWC to remove
restrictive culverts on West Fork Dairy Creek at
the new Stubb Stewert park being built by State
Park service.
7. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife- The
Oregon Council TU is working to get a good wild
fish advocate appointed to open seat of ODFW
Commission. We are also working hard at
reviewing the current Wild stock Status Review
and monitoring the new Hatchery Research
Center. Tom
To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds
5
Rod with Chum from Miami River in November
Rowena Wildlife Clinic--A Story
and a Great Cause John Shewey
A few weeks ago, Forrest Maxwell and I were, as usual
for this time of year, hunting chukars near Condon,
Oregon (about 90 minutes southeast from The Dalles).
On one frigid early morning we were driving up one of
the canyon roads when we spotted a tiny owl
suspended between two strands of a barbed-wire
fence along the road. We backed up, hopped out, and
found the owl a western screech owl quite alive but
also quite injured, having obviously flown into the
barbed wire, no doubt while in nocturnal pursuit of
some small mammal. The owl¹s wing seemed rather
severely damaged, so we freed the bird from the fence
and placed him a large paper grocery bag. We poked a
few holes in the bag, placed the bagged owl on the
floor of the truck, and cranked up the heater in hopes
of staving off the effects of shock on the bird. After
warming the bird, we did a 2-hour hunt and then
returned to the truck to find the screech owl in
reasonable condition.
So from there we headed for The Dalles, making
phone calls along the way to see if we could get a lead
on a reputed wildlife rehab clinic we had heard rumor
of. We indeed found the place, and were urged to
bring the owl to the facility, where the greeting
committee consisted of two tame mule deer desperate
for scratches behind the ears and Dr. Jean Cypher,
DVM, who runs the clinic and caters to any and all
injured wildlife. She held out hope for the little owl
and two weeks later called me to report that the bird¹s
broken wing would heal and that he would likely be
returned to the wild in a few weeks. Six months
earlier, Dr. Cypher had mended a Great Horned
Owl another victim of a barbed-wire fence and one
that Forrest had stumbled upon in central Oregon last
summer. He had called in ODFW personnel to handle
that owl (MUCH larger talons!), which as it turned out,
had also made it to Rowena Wildlife Clinic. Dr. Cypher
informed us that the Great Horned Owl had come
through just fine and upon release had taken up

residence in the woods behind her house. So that is
the story of how I learned of the Rowena Wildlife
Clinic and the wonderful work performed there.
And now here is the point of all this: Rowena Wildlife
Clinic s work with injured wildlife is supported by
donations (tax deductible) and I¹m suggesting to
anyone willing to donate that this is terrific cause, no
matter the amount. Checks should be made out to
Rowena Wildlife Clinic and if you include a note
asking for a receipt, Dr. Cypher will gladly send one to
you. . .mention the little Screech Owl rescued by the
two chukar hunters!
Address is: Rowena Wildlife Clinic 6900 Highway 30
The Dalles, OR 97058 John Shewey
The Rolling Lumber Yard
Andy Andrews
For those of you who have been on TU outings, you are
aware that I pull a small utility trailer full of camping
items that I share as needed with other TU members
(folding chairs, etc.). This trailer has recently undergone a
modification and the story behind the modification
follows for your entertainment.
My daughter was to return early to college for job training
after the summer break. With one weekend remaining
before we are to leave, my wife said When are you going
to build the security cover for the utility trailer? , and of
course I responded with, Huh? What cover? Then came
the words every husband hates to hear; You know, we
talked about this earlier, (We did? When?) and you d
better get going on it because you don t have much time.
We have to have a cover on the trailer that can be locked
to prevent someone from stealing your daughters things
while on the trip. I knew it was senseless to argue and
that I was doomed to try and build a cover. But for the
record, (1) my daughter doesn t own anything worth
stealing and (2), few things scare me more than when I
have to design and build something that s to have a
practical use.
If I had to make a living as a carpenter, I would surely
starve to death. But there I was, on my way to Home
Depot to buy wood and trying to figure out if there was a
construction law that said I had use screws or use nails?
Home Depot is always intimidating for those of us who
are less skilled then most do it yourselfers. In other
words, no matter how short the checkout line is, I stay
away from the checkout that specifies, Contractors Only
as someone is sure to start up a conversation and uncover
that my creative skills are, oh limited . I also try to stay
away from the line where someone is buying construction
materials or power tools because they will start a
conversation by asking me what I m going to build. That s
why you ll find me in the line behind the little old lady
who is buying bird seed and takes 15 minutes to count
out the exact change to the cashier. And of course, during
this time the elderly person has shown the sales clerk
pictures of her grand children and described her medical
problems in detail. It is then she starts digging in her
purse because she remembers that she has a coupon
somewhere that will save her 25 cents. But I m happy in
To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds
6
that line because the little old lady has become the
center of everyone s attention and no one will ask me a
technical question for which I ll have no answer and I ll
end up being drummed from the Association of Do It
Yourselfers.
In the basement of my home there s a tiny area which I
lovingly refer to as a workshop. It is also the home for the
lawnmower, some garden tools and anything else that my
wife has decided that should be stored in the shop . On
the walls of this area hang hand tools which give a
professional look to the place, but the tools receive little
use as I have no idea what purpose they serve. In fact, I
have no idea when or where I bought them. So as I left
Home Depot, I felt that I had again added to the wall
collection simply because the salesman had told me that I
needed some new tool to make the project flow and give
my project a professional look. The flow of a project
means nothing to me as I haven t any idea what flow
really is and therefore I d never buy a tool to create flow .
However when the salesman said professional look , he
pushed the right button. God himself only knows what I
would give to have one project that would turn out with
a professional look instead of it being received as, Your
first project, huh?
It was still early Saturday morning when I hung up the
new wall tools and notified my wife that I would soon
fire up the circular saw (often referred to as a Skill saw by
salesman who try to sucker you into buying one by the
use the word skill . I own two). My wife wants to know
before I start cutting wood so she can put the Urgent Care
people on alert as the Urgent Care folks and I are sort of
on a first name bases. By Saturday evening I was covered
in sweat and sawdust; I was tangled in extension cords for
power saws and hand drills while slipping and tripping
over empty beer bottles. I consider beer as brain food as I
have had some of my best ideas after consuming a bottle
or two (or more) of beer. But so far all I had accomplished
was to turn big pieces of wood into smaller pieces of
wood while trying to achieve some degree of accuracy
(was it 23 inches, or 32 inches? Ah, hell, someplace in-
between should work). Well, I did have one
accomplishment on Saturday. I had doubled the number
of
saw horses I started with by accidentally cutting the old
ones in - two. It seems strange but I have the same
problem with extension cords. Anyway, by the end of
Saturday, I still only had a vague idea of what I was trying
to build as the design of the cover had to change with
 7
each piece of wood I cut.However by Sunday evening, a
cover was in place and the trailer was ready to go. It was
A TRUE Fish Story Kristy Aserlind
then that I invited my daughter and wife out to see my This was a pretty interesting story from The Sunday
accomplished. After checking out my handiwork, my wife Wichita Eagle Newspaper a couple of weeks ago. A
gave me a look I had not seen since our honeymoon and resident in the area saw a ball bouncing around kind of
my daughter was even impressed with the cover. I admit strangely in a nearby pond and went to investigate. It
that I was even a little proud that I had started to master turned out to be a flathead catfish who had obviously
woodworking. It was then that my daughter blew my tried to swallow a child's basketball which became stuck
mastery all to hell with one, small question: Dad, how in its mouth!!
do you get into it? It became evident that all I had
created was a Big Box with no way in and no way out! It The fish was totally exhausted from trying to dive, but
was a very nice box, but it was still just a box! I had a unable to because the ball would always bring him back
plan at one time for a removable lid but somewhere in the up to the surface. The resident tried numerous times to
tangle of power this and measuring that, the idea of get the ball out, but was unsuccessful. He finally had his
removable covers had become lost. The sun was starting wife cut the ball in order to deflate it and release the
to set by the time I had made yet another revision to the hungry catfish.
design of the cover and removable panels were in place.
You probably wouldn't have believed this, if you hadn't
I did have the last laugh on my wife. Pieces of the cover seen the following pictures...K
did not fly off on the round trip to Montana as my wife
had predicted. It just goes to show you what 10 pounds
of screws, lots of wire and a few big bottles of glue can do
for you. My greatest accomplishment on completion of
the cover was that all my body parts are just where they
should be and they work just the same as they did before
the start of the project. The local Urgent Care center that
my wife had put on alert at the start of the project sent
me a Congratulations / Thank You card upon hearing of
the completion of the cover. Much to their relief, my wife
told them that I had returned all cutting devices to their
respective place on the tool wall.

Post Script: The Rolling Lumber Yard has just returned

from the Fall River trip and I didn t have to drive back
down the highway looking for lost pieces. It has again
returned all in one piece. My wife can rest easy with the
knowledge that a lawyer is not coming to the house with a
chunk of the trailer in one hand and a law suite in the
other, as she had again predicted. Andy

A Seth Salmon from Alaska. Seth on the back, also.

To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds
 8

Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

December 05/Jan 06
President: Open Position Alex Barkume - 642-7024
Treasurer: Rod Lundberg alexbarkume@comcast.net
291-5308 rplundberg@hotmail.com
Andy Andrews
Raddicio@aol.com
969 2246

Erle Norman 293-6006

caddis2000@hotmail.com
Board of Directors: Membership Chair

Hank Hosfield Jerry Heppell

228-6553 hankh@imagina.com jheppell@teleport.com
639-9408
Eric Thompson 297-0718
anglingeric@msn.com Communications Director
Seth Isenberg 293-3290
Dick Rohrbaugh sbisenberg@comcast.net
rbaugh@lclark.edu 636-3877