A Bend man turned in a record-breaking fishing performance.
And his catch may be a world-beater.
Alex Dietz almost released what proved to be an Oregon state-record mountain whitefish after landing the 5-pound, 12-ounce bruiser on Dec. 19 while fishing with an egg-pattern fly on the Deschutes River near Warm Springs.
An avid fly angler, Dietz almost exclusively fishes catch-and-release, according to the news release about the record fish from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The angler and his fishing buddy, Jason Schreiber, suspected they might have a record, and took it to have it weighed on a certified scale at the Newport Avenue Market in Bend.
Dietz’s whitefish has been certified as the state record, snapping the previous best of 4 pounds, 14 ounces by almost a pound.
That fish was caught in 1994 by Roger Massey on Crane Prairie Reservoir, according to the release.
If it’s certified by the International Game Fish Association, Dietz’s mountain whitefish also may break the all-time world record of 5 pounds, 8 ounces set on Aug. 1, 1995, by Albert Woo while fishing on the Elbow River near Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
When I read about the potential world record, my thoughts immediately turned to a guy named Ron Chatham.
I first met Ron, a retired Geography professor at Western Oregon University — the Oregon College of Education when he first joined the faculty in 1958 — aboard a half-day boat out of Tradewinds Depoe Bay, as well as several other oceanic outings.
The most lasting image of Ron was that he always wore a Greek fisherman’s cap. I also had one, a gift from my late mother, until Shep, an Australian shepherd, used it as a chew toy.
I digress.
Anyway, Ron for a time was a sanctioned record-certifier for the Game Fish Association in Oregon.
So I wasn’t unduly surprised when he called and said that he had caught a world-record, bottom-dwelling ocean fish off of the Oregon coast.
“Can you get it into your vehicle,” I asked, thinking salmon, steelhead, tuna … some gargantuan catch. I envisioned a leviathan the snout of which would touch the back of the cab, while the tail lolled over the tailgate.
He replied with words to the effect of “No problem.”
Ron showed up, and I asked where the world record was.
He pulled out a cooler that would hold a 12-can short case, with room for ice.
His record — for, in fact, it was a world all-tackle record — was a China rockfish, scientific name Sebastes nebulosos.
Let’s put it this way: there was more ice than fish. As I recall, it was less than 4 pounds, and since has been eclipsed, in 2011, by a 4 pound, 1 ounce behemoth.
Chatham, in fact, held five world records over the years, the majority of caught out of Depoe Bay.
The secret to fame, but little fortune, he told me, was to carry the IGFA record book with you, and check your basket for fish that anyone else would fillet and barbecue. His record for another rockfish, the red Irish lord, as an example, is a whopping 2 pounds, 7 ounces.
Hard to decide whether to have it mounted, or put it on a slider bun.
Ron was an affable guy with a great sense of humor. And I really miss our occasional pre-retirement phone calls when he would announce some Oregon angler’s potential record, including one that eclipsed his own previous mark.
And I especially miss the more infrequent outings out sea when we ran into each other by chance and mutual affinity.
I planned to call Ron to catch up and get his thoughts about the potential record mountain whitefish when I ran across his obituary in an online posting from the Polk County Itemizer-Observer. He died on July 6.
Safe voyage, Ron, and thanks for the memories.
And congratulations to you, Alex. Hope it’s one for the books.
ELSEWHERE
DOUBLE-FISTED FISHING: Beginning March 1, those having a two-rod validation will be allowed to use it in the Willamette River downstream from Willamette Falls, including the Multnomah Channel and the Clackamas River upstream to the Highway 99 Bridge just up from the boat launch ramp at Clackamette Park in Oregon City.
Sturgeon fishing continues to be restricted to a single rod, as is all fishing on the Willamette upriver from Willamette Falls.
The two-rod add-on to the regular fishing license is $28.
Kids 11 and younger do not need a validation to use a second rod in areas where two rods are allowed.
TROUT PLANTS: Scheduled for stocking the week of Jan. 31, weather, water, weather and staffing-permitting: Sheridan Pond (232 keeper-size), E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area Pond (1,500 keepers).
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Winter angler’s lament: I’m not ready to go home, yet. I can still feel a couple of my toes and fingers.
Contact Henry via email at HenryMillerSJ@gmail.com.
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