This is what kind of fish were in the upper South Fork of the Eel River 31 years ago, almost to the day. My uncle Ben loved to fish, and he caught his share. This is not the largest fish he ever caught, but this was a large fish. The Sacramento River Pike Minnow have decimated the salmon. That and the late winter rainfall that we had in the past.
With the heavy and early rains that we have been having the last few years, I expect the salmon runs to come back. The early rains get the salmon up the river and past the sea lions that eat them in the mouth of the river. Good wet years produce abundant salmon.
Now if we could get permission from the fish and game to channel gravel mine the river, and plant willow and other riparian shrubs we could have a healthy river again.
Getting back to my uncle Ben, he was the repository of a great amount of old Laytonville history stories, some were even true!
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30 comments:
Robin&Ernie,Just a great picture!!!
Hard to believe that 1979 is 31 years ago,seems like yesterday.
I would sure like to see more of these type Photos.
Steelhead was Uncle Ben's passion. He did catch lots of salmon though.
The Elegant One
To "one" I liked you better when you were just plain "Oregon"...
But, somehow "elegant" suits you. Probably better than "White Swan".
In the fall of 1971 when I was fresh in from LA and tending bar at Astrinky's, I bought an Eagle Claw rod and reel at Brown's. I also bought a big brass spinner that Brown's made for salmon fishing.
Some fishermen came into the bar and said they had a good day, so I grabbed my new rod and went up to the Ohman Creek hole.
Ten minutes later I snagged up and realized that my snag was moving. Forty five minutes after that, I landed a 26 pond female. By that time 5 or six cars had stopped on the Avenue and everyone cheered when i held up the fish. I felt like I had scored a touchdown in a football game. I was the one who was hooked.
After that, I fished every day for two weeks before I caught another fish.
That's history.
That's history Ben and a good story. I'm still smiling.
Oregon
An elegant smile, no doubt!
I keep going back and looking at the picture from the Laytonville Ledger and finally want to say something. The scrip describes Ben as chief saw filer. Robin would have never made that mistake when writing a caption for a photo in the paper. If I was to say such a thing, it would have been typed Chief Sawfiler. That's with capitals! Anyway, this is the first time I ever heard of someone referred to as a chief filer but what do I know.
Oregon
Oregon
I try to never correct anybody’s grammar as long as it is clear what they meant. But, seein’ how you brought it up, when I’m talking to a timberman, I would call them a “Head Filer”, to a newcomer or a novice I would call them a “Head Saw-Filer”. When they say, “what’s that?” I would say that that is the person that keeps the mill running to maximum production and lumber quality, for maximum bang-for-the-buck.
Anybody that thinks that ALL a Saw-Filer does is sharpen and pound on saws simply does not know what makes a mill run. Sometimes the Filer even has to slap-down the Sawyer. Or even worse yet, have to be nice to the guy that is wrecking his saws. Then there is the Edgerman that turns off the cooling water, because he thinks there is too much water, or too little. Then there is the guy running the gang saw who is trying to impress the boss with how much lumber that he can make, and pushes the logs through the gang mill a little too hard. Whoopsiee! The Filer is the one that has to convince the Millwright that it really does need to be a hell of a lot straighter than they think to cut good lumber.
Anyway, a Saw-Filer is a mean bastard when he has to be, a good guy when he wants to be, in the end he has to kiss more ass than file saws to get good lumber out the other end of the mill. The worse part is everybody knows that the Saw-Filer is who makes the mill run, or not.
You're right, Oregon. I did not write that caption. John Weed, a boy from Brooklyn who called himself "editor/publisher", did. I wondered how long it would be before you said something. Had it been me, I wouldn't have mentioned Ben's occupation at all even though I know a little something about sawfilers. That's just the way I am!
As usual Robin, you are right and wonderful. Don't tell anybody I said that though.
You hit the nail again, the photo was about fish, not sawfilin'.. LOL
Oregon
Ernie, I have never found a person that knows what a sawfiler is. From a doctor, nurse or a government worker (employment office) to anybody else. They ask, do you sharpen saws, I say yes.
Folks don't understand about alignments or 1/1000th of a inch or grinding an 10 foot diameter cast wheel to + or - the same dementions.
I guess it all boils down to I never caught a steelhead but my uncle Ben stayed with me one night in Redway and we went fishin' the next morning. At the time I smoked Dutch Master cigars and Uncle ask me for one before heading over the bank. This was between Sunnybank and the Pancoast place and Ben hooked a fish and by the time I got over to him the cigar was almost burning his lips. Uncle Ben didn't smoke,,, usually.
I love the good times.
Oregon*
Oh yeah, as I recall, Uncle Ben and I ate breakfast at Ernie and Janice's in Redway too. I also think that Uncle Ben got his first cigar of the morning from me an lit up inside the house. That would be Erie and Janis's house. Back in the day, folks smoked in the barber shop and hospitals.
Now days, if you live inside California you can't smoked tobacco, just weed. Just had to throw that in.LOL
Oregon
It seems as smart as Ernie is that he could find a way to help the OLD FOLKS with a smaller, easier, more simple word verification. At least the regulars on here. The old and feeble ones.
Oregon
Thanks for the article and picture Robin.
My dad, Ben, was an awesome sportsman who won many derbys in his day. I caught myself looking at the color of the river last weekend, thinking about Dad. I made the comment to my husband that Dad was always on the river checking for the green water before or on Thanksgiving Day.
Spy. My dad loved to fish on the river below your family's property.
Cousin
Thanks for the compliment, Oregon. I won't tell anybody... but I will make you a lemon pie!
Actually, though, the photo is about a man & a fish. Some people don't understand that any more than they understand sawfiling.
And I understand that!
"John Weed",, Now thats a good name for a newcomer to the area....
Ed Downing said the largest salmon he'd heard tell of was a ninety pounder out of Jackson Valley who promptly traded it for a sack of flour.
"caught by an Indian"...who promptly traded it...
Most likely a small sack of flour for a 90 lb. downstreamer.
Oregon
ematAs I rember sacks of flour from way back when, I think the smallest you could buy would be A 50 lb. bag and it also came in 100lb. bags. The bags were cloth and sewn at the top with small size string (larger than thread but not heavy string.) It was sewn with two strings in a chain type stitch that when you seperated them one end you could pull on the ends and unravel it to open the sack. The string was saved to use for heavy sewing by hand with a darning needle for heavy materials. The sacks were saved and washed in hot soapy water with something to bleach out the advertising pictures and writing etc. that was printed on the sacks. Then they were hemmed on the cut edges and used for dish towels orwhat ever other use they might be needed for,Baby diapers or slings for injured arms or they were cut into strips to use for bandages. Nothing was throw away in thase days,the old saying was people even saved strings too short to use.---Elsie---
My comment is full of errors, but just read around them. --Elsie-
Aunt Elsie, the feed sacks still have the same stitching you talk about. I buy pinto beans in #25 sacks and they are the same too, just come in paper bags now days.
I used to cut deer up into pieces, such as shoulder, Hams, ribs etc..while still in the woods so I could fit the meat into my pack. I used homemade sacks to put the pieces in to keep it clean till I got home. I always called them flour sacks or salt sacks.
Oregon
thanks Elsie, I love it when you comment.
My grandmother made shirts for my little brother and sunsuits and other clothing for my sisters and me out of the flower and feed sacks. Priceless I would say.
It's colder than a well digger's knee tonight. Hot cinnamon stick tea and shot of brandy.....umm hummm!
Cousin
flour!!! too much cinnamon stick.
Cousin
Not bad here cousin. It says -9° tonight but that is nothing compared to Garberville and Laytonville when it even gets to 20°. That cold there cuts through me like a knife. Here, I go out in a t-shirt.
Oregon
A flour sack will make a very fine cover for a corset.
LOL, River!!
Cousin
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