Hurricane Sandy got me thinking about the last time I experienced the might of Mother Nature. I was just back from Alaska and was determined to move to the Oregon Coast for the winter. I know that to some, that doesn’t sound like the best idea; after all, it’s wet and dark for the most part but for steelhead anglers, it makes good clean sense. Not only is the Oregon Coast littered with rivers through canyons and lush forests, it is also home to some of the last remaining stocks of native steelhead in our country. Furthermore, to witness the oceanic fury bestowed upon the coast in the winter is an experience to savor.
I arrived on the North Coast in November with my dog, Dell and we started to look for a job and a place to live. But it couldn’t be just any job… I had one strict rule. No, it wasn’t about building a career or something responsible like that. I was game for any job, as long as it happened at night, so that I could spend daylight hours in the river. Washing dishes, night manager, janitor, whatever- it didn’t matter. When I opened up the classifieds on day one, it started to rain.
