Washington State Family Of Fishermen Talk The Essence Of Attitude & Passion Pursuing A Calling
When Butch 's voice mail answers, his recorded voice says, jokingly, "I'm either upside down fixing a toilet, or netting a fish. I hope it's the second one.”
This is the life he lives. comes from a long line of family fishermen who have run a fishing charter in Ilwaco, Washington, since the 1950s. Today, the family runs the Coho Charters with five boats – with private bathrooms -- and also maintains a motel. Hence: the occasional toilet issue.
"I started working on the docks at the age of five," reminisces. "That’s when I started hauling up fish for customers. When I was ten years old a deckhand was fired at four in the morning, and I was woken up. I have been working on the boats ever since."
From those boats he has pulled up Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Sturgeon, crab, and all manner of other sea creatures, from the pristine waters near Long Beach Peninsula, a north-south landmass that separates the Pacific from Willapa Bay on the west coast of Washington.
Salmon are prolific in the Columbia River, which starts south of this coastal town and acts as border between Washington and Oregon as it heads east, featuring famous sights like Multnomah Falls and many hatcheries.
Some of the salmon caught by ’s clients are born in this complex hatchery system along the Columbia River. Other sea fish were naturally spawned, and can be hooked Willapa Bay, which features Long Island and the pristine Willapa National Wildlife Refuge.
"It's beautiful,” said of his fishing grounds. “There’s high green hills, bald eagles, geese, the occasional otter, osprey, and deer along the waters’ edge. Who's got a better office window than me? I don't think anybody does.”
It’s that experience that and family have been selling for decades. In that time, he has been approached by many first-time and veteran anglers, some of them pretty famous.
The 1977 world champion Trail Blazers, with MVP Bill Walton and the rest of the team, hired for some celebratory angling. Curt Warner, former running back for the Seattle Seahawks, has gone after salmon on 's boats. Country legends Hank Thompson and Faron Young tried pulling up sea monsters on a charter trip. even said he's had pro wrestlers sign up for deck duty.
Of course, it’s always good to have that kind of muscle when the fish on the other end of the line is an adult Sturgeon.
"Sturgeon fishing is one of our specialties – and those things go all the way from two feet to 13 feet long," said. "They live to be well over a hundred years. It is a great fighting fish and it is actually a great eating fish."
How big is a big sturgeon? Adults can weigh in at nearly 1,800 pounds, but adults can regularly weigh in at more than half a ton, pitting the charter fishermen against a formidable opponent.
"They are in for a great battle if they get one of the bigger ones. They are in for a battle up to an hour," said, noting that some of the monster sturgeon that get snagged are never brought on the surface. “They just keep on going.”
Laws prevent bringing a big sturgeon up on deck, although it is questionable whether a large one could even be pulled up, with or without a pro-wrestler on board.
’s Coho Charter sells plenty of salmon fishing trips during the season, which begins in July, although said during busy season he works 7 days a week, from May to October. Fishing charters through Coho cost $125 per person and the trip lasts up to 8 hours. That includes the spot on the boat and all the necessary equipment.
Obviously, Coho is heavily invested in the local salmon population. As such, is deep into the salmon politics of the West Coast. He serves as Chairman of the Salmon Advisory Subpanel to the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Their work is complicated, but to put it plainly, they make sure salmon have a chance to continue propagating and thriving in the waters off the Pacific coastline, despite the man-made obstructions that have blocked their natural spawning routes.
"Because of just growth, loss of habitat, because of the hydro system; those dams caused a lot of habitat loss and so therefore because of that they built the Columbia River hatchery system to replace what habitat was destroyed by building dams and cities and all that good stuff," said.
"They egg them there, just like nature does and put them in incubators and then they release them into the river and they migrate just like a wild salmon,” said.
said despite the difficulty of being a professional fish charter master and hotelier, he doesn't regret his lifestyle in the least. He gets to spend time with his family and never misses a game (out of season). Like he said on his voice mail, would rather be upright netting a fish. But if his maintenance duties are a drag, you wouldn’t know it. exudes a good attitude and perhaps it is because he chose the life he wanted to live, right there on the Pacific coast, helping anglers find and catch some of the fish he has helped preserve throughout the years.
David Irvin
A graduate with a Masters Of Science from the University Of North Texas, David has written on many beats including crime and business for such outlets as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Montgomery Advertiser & USA. He enjoys RVing and surfing the Internet.
Make Sure To Stay At:
Pacific Holiday RV Resort, located right on the beautiful Long Beach Peninsula. One of the finest razor clam and surf fishing beaches in the world is at the front door. Pacific Holiday is also close to excellent deep-sea fishing at Ilwaco eight miles away.