Sunday with Herb

Endurance Lessons from Salmon Fishing!

Endurance Lessons from Salmon Fishing!

Last week, I got the opportunity to go on a guided salmon fishing trip on the Columbia River. It’s been over 15 years since I’ve held a salmon fishing pole.

I grew up in lower Puget Sound, and did a lot of salmon fishing when I was a kid. In college, I had one of my most amazing summers working a salmon troller along the Washington Coast. Over the years, I occasionally got out on the ocean for fishing, but too few and far between.

A few weeks ago, I got hooked up with Kelly Painter, an extremely experienced fishing guide for salmon and steelhead on the Oregon coast.

The original plan was to fish out in the ocean at the mouth of the Columbia river at an area called “Buoy 10”, the Superbowl for salmon fishing in Oregon.

Got a late call the night before from Kelly, change of plan, the ocean is too windy and rough so we’re fishing an hour up river starting at 5:30 am.

I was expecting an early start in the morning, but now I had to wake up an hour earlier and drive over an hour longer just to meet the boat!

Fishing on the river is a lot different then on the ocean. The salmon hang out in narrow stretches in specific spots between sand bars. That means there is a parade of fishing boats trolling shoulder to shoulder in the same spot, sometimes tangling their gear.

I was lucky, and caught the fist King salmon. Over several more hours, the three other clients each caught a nice King so we limited out and headed back before most of the other boats. (Great Guide!)

Reflecting back, I noticed that Kelly, our fishing guide, presented the same qualities and faced the same obstacles that us ultra runners experience.

Here’s what I discovered…