The Oregon coast, more particularly the area in and around where the Tryon Creek meets the Columbia River, is home to more than teeming salmon; it is where Mark Ghiglieri played and fished as a boy. This is where he made cardboard boats and caught salmon with his bare hands, and where he first learned to love the water and fishing.
His first boat was a 12 foot Zodiac with a nine point Mercury outboard engine. He would use the boat to cruise around close to the shoreline and fish for salmon and trout, or just to enjoy the feeling of freedom and being able to be on the water.
Like most boys, Mark was no stranger to mischief. He had some daredevil tendencies and every now and then he would end up in trouble for them. On one such occasion, he and his friend Darren were fishing from the Zodiac when their boat capsized throwing them both into the Columbia River. A passing boat, not seeing them, ran them both over. Both boys sustained serious injuries; Darren to his leg, and Mark with a gash opening his chest.
Luckily they were both fished out of the river and taken to the hospital in time to prevent any threat to their lives. The experience left them both visibly scarred however, though not mentally as Mark was right back out on the water as soon as it was medically possible.
Eventually his love of fishing led him to a summer job as a fishing guide. Mark was hired by the Rustic Hotel, located on the Campbell River in British Columbia, to be their fishing guide for eight weeks of summer work. He was paid a mere $3,000 for the entire eight weeks, but he loved the job.
Mark used a 17 foot unsinkable Boston Whaler to travel near the waters of Seymour Narrows; most widely known as the 3 mile section of the Discovery Passage where there are very strong tidal currents.
He spent two summers, from 1982 to 1983, working for the Rustic, catching chinook salmon on knucklebusters, a kind of flyrod where the pegs spin and rap your knuckles in the process, and taking the sea-worthy on fishing excursions up and down the river; and he loved every minute of it.
A true sportfisherman, Mark has always believed in the catch/release method, and so throws back what he catches in every case but one; a very special certain trophy fish might stay caught. This practice made him less than popular among his fisherman peers; especially when he catches a keeper.
A few people have even argued with him when he insisted on throwing them back, and then refused to speak to him afterwards. He simply sees no need to keep them as the fun is in catching them over and over, so anything less than 40 pounds, he returns to the water.
At the beginning of July, through September, in the ocean waters of Pacific City, more specifically Cape Kiwanda, Mark Ghiglieri engages in his all time favorite kind of fishing called dory fishing. This very specialized kind of fishing is accomplished using a dory, which is a light, narrow, flat bottomed craft that at first does not appear very sea worthy.
The proof, however, is in the handling of the vessel, which must always be kept facing toward the oncoming waves. Dory fishing then, is accomplished by the boat being launched from the shore into the oncoming waves while an oarsman rows. The lightweight and buoyancy of the boat, make it bob up and down like a cork, at the mercy of the ocean's power. Should the rower lose a pin, or lose control of the boat, he will be flipped over into the sea. Today's dory fisherman use motors to propel their boats, but the design and idea are still the same.
Mark finds great comfort and peace in fishing. From his first experiences as a very young boy fishing in the Tryon River Creek for salmon with his bare hands, to his now elaborate and more distant treks to places like the Williamette and the Pacific Northwest and Alaska for sturgeon and his beloved salmon, Mark has never been more at home, than when he is on the water.
[http://www.mark-ghiglieri.com]
His first boat was a 12 foot Zodiac with a nine point Mercury outboard engine. He would use the boat to cruise around close to the shoreline and fish for salmon and trout, or just to enjoy the feeling of freedom and being able to be on the water.
Like most boys, Mark was no stranger to mischief. He had some daredevil tendencies and every now and then he would end up in trouble for them. On one such occasion, he and his friend Darren were fishing from the Zodiac when their boat capsized throwing them both into the Columbia River. A passing boat, not seeing them, ran them both over. Both boys sustained serious injuries; Darren to his leg, and Mark with a gash opening his chest.
Luckily they were both fished out of the river and taken to the hospital in time to prevent any threat to their lives. The experience left them both visibly scarred however, though not mentally as Mark was right back out on the water as soon as it was medically possible.
Eventually his love of fishing led him to a summer job as a fishing guide. Mark was hired by the Rustic Hotel, located on the Campbell River in British Columbia, to be their fishing guide for eight weeks of summer work. He was paid a mere $3,000 for the entire eight weeks, but he loved the job.
Mark used a 17 foot unsinkable Boston Whaler to travel near the waters of Seymour Narrows; most widely known as the 3 mile section of the Discovery Passage where there are very strong tidal currents.
He spent two summers, from 1982 to 1983, working for the Rustic, catching chinook salmon on knucklebusters, a kind of flyrod where the pegs spin and rap your knuckles in the process, and taking the sea-worthy on fishing excursions up and down the river; and he loved every minute of it.
A true sportfisherman, Mark has always believed in the catch/release method, and so throws back what he catches in every case but one; a very special certain trophy fish might stay caught. This practice made him less than popular among his fisherman peers; especially when he catches a keeper.
A few people have even argued with him when he insisted on throwing them back, and then refused to speak to him afterwards. He simply sees no need to keep them as the fun is in catching them over and over, so anything less than 40 pounds, he returns to the water.
At the beginning of July, through September, in the ocean waters of Pacific City, more specifically Cape Kiwanda, Mark Ghiglieri engages in his all time favorite kind of fishing called dory fishing. This very specialized kind of fishing is accomplished using a dory, which is a light, narrow, flat bottomed craft that at first does not appear very sea worthy.
The proof, however, is in the handling of the vessel, which must always be kept facing toward the oncoming waves. Dory fishing then, is accomplished by the boat being launched from the shore into the oncoming waves while an oarsman rows. The lightweight and buoyancy of the boat, make it bob up and down like a cork, at the mercy of the ocean's power. Should the rower lose a pin, or lose control of the boat, he will be flipped over into the sea. Today's dory fisherman use motors to propel their boats, but the design and idea are still the same.
Mark finds great comfort and peace in fishing. From his first experiences as a very young boy fishing in the Tryon River Creek for salmon with his bare hands, to his now elaborate and more distant treks to places like the Williamette and the Pacific Northwest and Alaska for sturgeon and his beloved salmon, Mark has never been more at home, than when he is on the water.
[http://www.mark-ghiglieri.com]