Week 4: June 7th to 12th

 This week was our final week on the project so we decided that we wanted to do something bigger than we had done the past three weeks.  We couldn't think of what we should do, until my dad suggested we stay at my family's cabin on the Metolius River for a few days, which we thought was a great idea.  We had planned everything out during our fishing trip last Friday so all we had to do this week was shop for our food and go on our trip.  We spend one night out at the cabin, from Wednesday to Thursday, and we went fishing a lot, but sadly we had no luck.  While out there we also just got to chill for a while, bonding through playing games such as Uno, sitting around the campfire, and making a massive breakfast.  Overall it was a super fun trip, even if we failed our main objective of catching fish.


Our Breakfast consisting of scones, yogurt, hash browns, tater tots, eggs, bacon, and sausage.

    This week we also talked to Dr. Jeffry Gottfried, a biologist who has focused a lot on fishing and the conservation behind fishing in his life.  We discussed a large range of topics including a fishing techniques called tenkara, a technique originating in Japan which is very similar to fly fishing except there is no reel on the rod making it so you have to pull the rod in to reel a fish in; and why fish, especially salmon, are so important to an ecosystem and how a loss of fish will slowly destroy the forests in the mountains.  Overall I learned so much through our discussion and I am very grateful we had the chance to talk to Dr. Gottfried as he opened my eyes to a lot of aspects of the natural world I hadn't thought of.

Our Fishing Spot on the Metolius River

    I think that overall I completed my three goals that I set for myself at the start of the project, and I had a pretty good time doing it.  The first, and most obvious, goal that I completed was to go out and catch some fish.  While some of the fish we caught were a little bit small and not really that much of a challenge, they are still fish that we caught which is the important part.  Our second goal was to learn new aspects of fishing, which we did by learning about tenkara from Dr. Gottfried as well as learning how to tie flies and then fishing with those same flies.  Our final goal was only half completed.  We wanted to try to learn about, and help out with the conservation side of fishing, but we only managed to learn about conservation because there weren't any volunteer opportunities in the area that we could really do.  That being said I think that what we learned from Dr. Gottfried about conservation and how we can help out the fish populations on the Pacific Northwest is incredibly valuable and I want to volunteer at some of the orginizations he reccomended to us when those opportunities are availiable.

    I would reccomend this senior project to another student, with the caveat that they have to enjoy fishing because if they don't it will be a complete drag.  If people do enjoy fishing, though, I think that this project is a very good way to both have a lot of fun going fishing and learn some valuable skills that will make you apprecieate both the natural world around fish and the practice of fishing so much more.  

Comments

  1. VeronicaJune 13, 2021 at 6:30 PM

    Impressive breakfast spread, Braden! Forget fishing, you should open a brunch spot. I'm glad you found value in your experiences during this project, despite the lack of giant fish on your line. Super cool that you were able to arrange a conversation with Dr. Gottfried! It's really fantastic that you were able to have a conversation and get his perspective on conservation, especially when your other options for learning about this were so limited this year. Perhaps this whole endeavor has piqued your interest in continuing to pursue fishing as a hobby and a connection to the natural world after this project ends.

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