Northwest Sportsman – August 2019

nwsportsmanmag.com | AUGUST 2019 Northwest Sportsman 57

A

s the thick
blanket of fog
begins to break
up, the silhouettes of
the boats in the distance
come into my view.
My peaceful paddle
in the gray misty calm towards Buoy 22
is abruptly interrupted by the berating
screeches of a distressed soul.
I turn to the left to see what’s going
on. It turns out that it is I who is in obvious

By Scott Brenneman

THE KAYAK GUYS

COLUMN

Parting The Fog For

Columbia Estuary Coho

danger, according to the elderly lady. I am

being admonished for my poor judgment.

From her viewpoint on a well-equipped

and much larger fiberglass fishing boat,

I am at risk and it is her obligation to

enlighten me on the subject of proper

decision-making skills.

I acknowledge her passion, take note of

her advice, and wish her well. The optics of

a guy in a kayak trolling in thick fog close

to shipping lanes and among other boat

traffic doesn’t look good. However, in this

case perceptions can be deceiving.

UP TO THIS point of the day visibility on the

big estuary of the Columbia was nil due to

heavy fog. Maybe this person had been

trolling around all morning in the soup

and was just projecting her anxieties of

colliding with an inbound ship towards me.

I like to check the visibility and winds

before hopping in the truck and driving

to the launch site, and this morning was

no different. When fog is present, I key in

A brace of Buoy 10 hatchery coho grace the kayak of

author Scott Brenneman, caught after the sun burned

off fog at the mouth of the Columbia. (SCOTT BRENNEMAN)