Blackberries & Salmon

It's that time of year again here in Orting when the blackberries are ripe for the picking and the Salmon are having a world class run in the Carbon River. Fishing season opened a week ago for the Salmon and I decided to take a walk down the Foothills Trail to see how things were going.

I tried to park in the new Fisherman's Parking Lot between the Public Safety building and the Skate Park, but found it full so located a spot on the street. (This is where I took the fantastic banner photo of the mountain with the flag in the foreground.)

There is a great historic mural painted on an old mill burning silo next to the parking lot that can be enjoyed by all compliments of the Orting Historical Society. If you decide to come for a visit, be sure and check it out on your way to the river.

From there you can walk over to the trail and head to the river. I would guess it's about a mile walk and on a clear day like we've been having, you have a great view of the mountain as you walk along Schoenbachler's corn field and pasture on the way to the river.

The blackberries are prolific along the trail and families were out filling their bowls, buckets and mouths. Lacie Filkins of Sumner was picking with her nieces Ellana and Ebony who bragged to me about how many they had picked, although their bowls showed little evidence, but their darling berry stained smiles were proof enough.

People were heading back to their cars, some with a salmon and some without, but all with the happy looks that come from spending a relaxing time at the river. I got a chuckle out of all the creative modes of transportation on the trail. The salmon are big and heavy to carry out and no motorized vehicles are allowed so people were utilizing all sorts of things to help out. Some were pulling red wagons loaded with ice chests and gear. A couple of grown men on skateboards with their fishing gear in hand were the best comic scene of all. Some were breezing along on kid's scooters, speeding along on skates, and many were on bikes pedaling with the salmon's mouths hooked conveniently over the handlebars. And of course there were lots of walkers and talkers, boasting about the ones that got away as they strolled along.

A few were happy to tell me all about their catches. Teenager Drew Casey of Buckley had his 12 pound king salmon on the handlebars of his bike. A trio of men from California and Nebraska, with a beautiful silver salmon, told me they come here every year to fish the salmon run.

A young man from Graham held up his big catch and bragged that it was 40 pounds to the cajoling and catcall corrections of bystander fisherman within hearing distance who made sure I knew this was an exaggeration and it was only 20 pounds. I laughed and dismissed the dispute by telling them that "I understand when fishermen lie about the weight of their catch. We women fib about our poundage all the time too."

I was tickled at the motley assortment of fishing gear people were using. Some had nice waders, poles and tackle packs, but many were carrying plastic grocery bags with simple rod setups that seemed too small to land these weighty fighting fish, but had managed to do so anyway.

The river was lined with at least 100 people fishing in my field of vision. It is a popular place near the mouth of Voights Creek where the spawning salmon are returning. A fish biologist doing a species count, told me this area is 'world class fishing' with great returns.

I am always amazed at what looks like a finely choreographed fisherman's dance. Everyone casts upstream, then lets their bait float down with the current, reels the line in and does it over again. Not only are they watching and feeling their own line for the nibble of the big one, but they are keeping an eye and ear out for their neighbors. When the tip of a line suddenly bows done to the water and the line starts whizzing out as the salmon makes an escape attempt the fishermen yell "fish on" and everyone else reels their lines in and watch with excitement as the fight to land the fish progresses.

Sometimes the salmon leaps from the water trying to release the hook from its body. The battle is lengthy, with the fish rushing upstream, then downstream, then as both the fish and the fisherman's arms tire from the battle, it finally nears shore either to be netted, break free, be landed or be released because it wasn't hooked in the mouth or it isn't a legal keeper. If it is a keeper, the neighbors all murmur admiring comments and cast their lines back in, with renewed hope that the next fish will be theirs.

As Richard Hausherr and his girlfriend Kimberly, of Burien, were heading out with a successful catch of two on the handlebars of his bike, he told me that he has returned to Orting for 10 years, every day of the salmon season to fish. "I love Orting and would move here in a heartbeat if it wouldn't make our work commute so long" he told me. He suggested some local improvements such as outhouses and more trash cans so that people had a place to dispose of their garbage. I mentioned to him that I had seen quite a few people hauling out large bags of garbage and he told me that many of them bring bags down and pick up debris, but that the island areas were getting pretty bad. I told him that city councilman Dick Ford coordinates a river cleanup day after the season and everyone meets at Big J's store parking lot in the morning and split up in teams to cover the most ground. He said he buys all his gear at Big J's, gave me his phone number, and asked to get a call so that he and friends could come to Orting and assist in the effort. "I appreciate all the local people do so that we can come have good fishing here. I want to help out" he said.

It was a great day meeting people on the trail and hearing their fish tales. Wish you were here with to join in the fun! Check out the side bar of what's happening in town and come for a visit soon.