Henry Miller: Winter steelhead are just too cold
According to medical authorities, turkey has no more L-tryptophan, an amino acid, than other poultry, and even has slightly less than chicken.
So you can't blame your current your post-Thanksgiving lethargy on a turkey coma, despite the old wives' tale about the soporific effects of shoving massive mounds of big bird in your face.
Thus the busted myth sinks a time-honored excuse to miss another annual turkey day observance.
Which is saying that you're too tired because of an acute amino acid overdose to freeze your keister off in waders in crotch-deep ice water while being pelted by stinging, wind-driven rain.
Because as most dedicated Oregon anglers know, Thanksgiving weekend also marks the traditional start of winter-run steelhead fishing on coastal rivers.
It's an avocation for the young, spry and strong, although nothing will age you faster, make your joints creak and ache more and wear you down quicker than a couple of Decembers and Januaries on rivers such as the Nestucca, Nehalem, Wilson or Siletz.
George Orwell famously said that "at 50, everyone has the face he deserves."
Being a hard-core winter-steelhead angler can shave about a decade off, turning an apple-cheeked naif into a grizzled impersonation of Captain Ahab with a face like a frost-puckered Granny Smith.
So no thanks to hitting the traditional coastal steelhead opener.
I'm going to start blaming it on the gravy.
Speaking about food...
CLAM DIP FOR CHRISTMAS?: December kicks off with a series of post-sundown, dark-of-the-moon (Dec. 3) minus tides this weekend that are among best of the year.
So bundle up, put fresh batteries in the lantern and/or head lamps, pack the shovels and buckets hit the bays.
Cutting to the chase: At Garibaldi on the north side of Tillamook Bay, lows are minus-2.17 feet at 6 p.m. (sunset is 4:32) Dec. 3; minus-2.60 feet at 6:48 p.m. Dec. 4; minus-2.65 feet at 7:35 p.m. Dec. 5; minus-2.35 feet at 8:23 p.m. on Dec. 6; and minus-1.78 feet at 9:13 p.m. on Dec. 7.
On Netarts Bay a smidge southwest of Tillamook Bay, lows are minus-1.35 feet at 6:34 p.m. on Dec. 3; minus-1.67 feet at 7:22 p.m. on Dec. 4; minus-1.73 feet at 8:11 p.m. Dec. 5; minus-1.56 feet at 9:01 p.m. on Dec. 6; and minus-1.20 feet at 9:53 p.m. on Dec. 7.
At Taft on Siletz Bay a tidge (a cross between a tidbit and a smidge) south of Lincoln City, lows are minus-1.19 feet at 6:09 p.m. on Dec. 3; minus-1.47 feet at 6:57 p.m. on Dec. 4; minus-1.53 feet at 7:46 on Dec. 5; minus-1.38 feet at 8:36 p.m. on Dec. 6; and minus-1.06 feet at 9:28 p.m. on Dec. 7.
At South Beach on Yaquina Bay (south side of the Highway 101 bridge at Newport), lows are minus-1.91 feet at 5:34 p.m. on Dec. 3; minus-2.36 feet at 6:21 p.m. Dec. 4; minus-2.45 feet at 7:09 p.m. Dec. 5; minus-2.18 feet at 7:59 p.m. on Dec. 6; and minus-1.63 feet at 8:49 p.m. on Dec. 7.
And lastly, Alsea Bay at Waldport 14.5 miles south of Newport, minus-1.56 feet at 5:56 p.m. on Dec. 3; minus-1.95 feet at 6:43 p.m. on Dec. 4; minus-2.02 feet at 7:31 p.m. on Dec. 5; minus-1.8 feet at 8:21 p.m. on Dec. 6; and minus-1.34 feet at 9:12 p.m. on Dec. 7.
Before hitting the road, be sure to look at the weather forecast and check for potential clamming closures by calling the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s toll-free shellfish biotoxin hotline at (800) 448-2474 or go online to State of Oregon: Shellfish - Recreational Shellfish Biotoxin Closures
IN MEMORIAM: For those of us who knew her, Diane Stevenson, a former photo editor at the Statesman Journal, will be sincerely missed.
Diane died Nov. 10 after what her obituary called a brief illness.
She was talented, bright and witty, and her New York accent was as memorable as her radiant smile.
Contact Henry via email at HenryMillerSJ@gmail.com
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Henry Miller: Winter steelhead are just too cold
