Semi-success on the Willamette in Eugene

[JeannaJigs]

I decided that staying home doing housework in preparation to move (I have until August 1st, so it's really not imperative that I do it today) wasn't something I wanted to do, and that I was going through steelhead withdrawl and needed to rectify the situation. Being short on gas funds has kept me home, but I've been busy tying jigs, so it hasn't been a total waste. So I headed out to test my jigs, and didn't have any expectations, i just wanted to be on the water. No gas funds means I stole a bike from my neighbor and hit up the bike path (I left a note about the bike, and returned it). I won't be hitting up the west bank bike path through Eugene anytime soon as it was the shadiest fishing trip of my life. We're talking crazy guy strung out on god knows what, probably meth, accusing me of stealing his fishing rod, YEAH. Then I rode my little bike right into a bum camp, and most bums are generally okay, but these guys, not friendly...i got out of that situation quickly. HOWEVER...I hooked up three times. So it was worth all the shady happenings. Sorta. Except that i didn't get any to the bank. I was just stoked though that I hooked up three times, on three different jigs I made myself. So even though I had the cracked out guy try to convince me that my rod was actually his, and i didn't bring anything home for the grill, i made contact with my own creations...thereby making it a successfull day

Thank god I get paid friday and will be back on the Mac.

 

[metalmania]

Sorry to hear about the crazy locals, and the lost fish, but i'll take 3 hookups over a skunk anyday. Thats great they all came on jigs you tied yourself. I just got into making spinners and it's an absolute blast:dance:.

 

[Thuggin4Life]

They don't call you JeannaJigs for nothing.

 

[JeannaJigs]

Sorry to hear about the crazy locals, and the lost fish, but i'll take 3 hookups over a skunk anyday. Thats great they all came on jigs you tied yourself. I just got into making spinners and it's an absolute blast:dance:.

For sure, evading the skunk was a nice change. Hookups at least mean you're doing something at least partially right, and I'm stoked about my jigs

 

[JeannaJigs]

They don't call you JeannaJigs for nothing.

It is for sure my preferred method, I've been running steelhead jigs for years, and now that I'm tying my own, it's that much better.

 

[Troutweiser is lifeblood]

sounds like a typical RiverPath adventure
just read in an email, that there is a serial flasher
on the bike path around the alton baker and campus area,
i'm guessing your experience may have been preferrable
but still, keep your eyes Wide open when you 'run' the path
all my life in this town there has been countless colorful 'characters'
that frequent the stretch

 

[FishSlayer420]

Yeah seriously I have been fishing that path for years and have seen some crazy people on there. My buddy got jumped by soome dude that was trying to steal his bike. safe to say he did not get the bike. Watch out when you are out there fishin. Curious to has anyone else seen the Red Fox that runs around down by Alton Baker?

 

[JeannaJigs]

It's Eugene, flashers are not so uncommon lol. They are disturbing nonetheless. I don't think I'll be fishing down there again...it sucked. I don't like the concept of fishing in town anyways, I fish to get away from people and the noise...so to fish on such a heavily used path...it's just not my cup of tea. Then you add in the crazies..yeah...donezo. I used to fish it for trout and swing off a rope swing into a back eddy on the west bank path when I was a kid because we lived 1 mile from the beltline bridge, and so we'd just get on the bike path and spend all summer out there, but it's certainly changed a lot since since then.

 

[Troutweiser is lifeblood]

It's Eugene, flashers are not so uncommon... I fish to get away from people and the noise...Then you add in the crazies..yeah...donezo.

LMFAO
yes indeed and agreed, Done-Zo fo sho.

i believe this thread may grow because, many folks havta have tons of riverpath stories around here

Naw but i'm realizing that there is this one spot on the river path almost directly south of Autzen stadium (and the dirt bike track) where ever since high school (early 90s), lotsa friends and i used to go swim and partake in underage drinking. there is a little channel there that is created by a sorta peninsula/island thing... can see knickerbocker bridge from there,,, anyways, even though we always saw residuals and remnants of bum encampments, there never really was anybody there when we were there. and i'm realizing it may just be a nice spot to pull some big fish out of the dirty Willy

 

[JeannaJigs]

I know exactly where you're talking about, and while I've never fished there myself, I imagine there has to be some big feesh in there. Good luck on that one lol, I'm not gonna give it a shot, got my fill of crazies for the month.

 

[Bfishin]

I know exactly where you're talking about, and while I've never fished there myself, I imagine there has to be some big feesh in there. Good luck on that one lol, I'm not gonna give it a shot, got my fill of crazies for the month.

I'm pretty sure I know where you're talking about. I think its an island that splits the water there. My buddy caught 2 native little cutties out of there a month ago. Kinda are to see cutties in the city run around here.

 

[JeannaJigs]

I'm pretty sure I know where you're talking about. I think its an island that splits the water there. My buddy caught 2 native little cutties out of there a month ago. Kinda are to see cutties in the city run around here.

Yeah, there's a ton of good water in town, and especially up there by alton baker...It's just the crazies that reside in town that make it not so favorable anymore

I guess I could just go out with mace and my machete (For blackberries of course) and my worthless "guard" dog and perhaps not be messed with by the crazies, butttt I'd rather fish the Mac in silence.

 

[yellowjacket]

The pen is mightier than the machete!

The pen is mightier than the machete!

Yeah, there's a ton of good water in town, and especially up there by alton baker...It's just the crazies that reside in town that make it not so favorable anymore

I guess I could just go out with mace and my machete (For blackberries of course) and my worthless "guard" dog and perhaps not be messed with by the crazies, butttt I'd rather fish the Mac in silence.

I've only traveled the bike path one time from Delta down the west to the mall then back up the east. It was coincidently the day of the Delta Ponds Bass OFF. My sister had just completed a full battery of surgery, chemo & radiation for breast cancer. She was here for a short visit and part of her recovery is daily excercise. So to give me the chance to scout close in water & her to get her excercise & osprey siting opportunity the bike path was ideal as my mother lives close to it on delta. The west bank in the vicinity of Marist where the path moves out onto the city streets had a bunch of the bicycle bums. I let my sister take the lead & set the pace & I was bouncing on & off to the bank scouting. One derelict (alone) was wandering about near his bike with a tall boy, saw my sister -57 yrs old- put down the can & started on a course to intercept her. I was at a distance behind and had to pedal out hard and set on a crash course to take down the bum. He saw me coming straight at him about 25 mph & changed his course and hightailed it back to his bike. I saw quite a few good looking runs to fish but at the same time was thinking that fishing the Willy in town may require clubbing more than fish. I guess that would be hand to hand combat fishing.
So here's the best solution I can offer short of vigilianteeism. The following links are for the mayor and city council, and link to the person who you should report any illegal encampments on parklands active or abandoned. Be polite but do be very outfront that as a taxpayer you find it intolerable and unacceptable that your property and or personal safety should be endangered while using public parklands that your tax dollars are paying to maintain. Give first hand accounts of how you were put in harms way and demand increased patrols and enforcement of criminal statutes. Maybe if they get enough complaints they will fear they won't get re-elected and do something.

 

[Troutweiser is lifeblood]

Yellowjacket,
i think you have a really good point
over the years many many friends and acquaintances have
been hassled and even downright assaulted by transient population
on that stretch of the river. and to tell you the truth, very few times
have i ever seen policing down there. it is really a shame because it is a wonderful resource, and many people shy away from even appreciating it
because of the kinds of experiences that all of us posting here have had.
i agree that we should 'persuade' political folks to do something

and Jeanna, yes i do believe the old mace and machete combo is an excellent option, the dog is best just for notification. or you can just borrow my 100lb. pit for the day, that should do the trick

~jacK

 

[JeannaJigs]

lol I've got a 90 pound pit She's freaking useless though as a guard dog of any kind, she was in my house when someone broke into it...Though someone might think twice because of her size...until she started wagging her damn tail.

My dad works for the parks department in Eugene, and says that yesterday they had a bulletin out about a parks department employee being assaulted while doing maintenance near the owosso foot bridge. It's pretty bad. So I agree with contacting officials 100%

 

[Troutweiser is lifeblood]

if you keep the high quality mace,
should generally be purchased at the gunshop (shameless SM gun shop plug)
something like above 2 million btu's i believe.
that stuff works very well, or also, the buddy system
always seems to dissuade people from approaching
though after yellowjacket's story- not even sure riding in two's stops
the river madness.
my pit is a big a** wussy too, but he will flex on any stranger
that walks up with weird energy.

 

[JeannaJigs]

if you keep the high quality mace,
should generally be purchased at the gunshop (shameless SM gun shop plug)
something like above 2 million btu's i believe.
that stuff works very well, or also, the buddy system
always seems to dissuade people from approaching
though after yellowjacket's story- not even sure riding in two's stops
the river madness.
my pit is a big a** wussy too, but he will flex on any stranger
that walks up with weird energy.

Mace and a machete and a fake guard dog it is. If I can get someone to go with me...it means someone's probably got gas...which means I'm not gonna mess with the city run.

 

[yellowjacket]

Mayor Piercy Replies

Mayor Piercy Replies

lol I've got a 90 pound pit She's freaking useless though as a guard dog of any kind, she was in my house when someone broke into it...Though someone might think twice because of her size...until she started wagging her damn tail.

My dad works for the parks department in Eugene, and says that yesterday they had a bulletin out about a parks department employee being assaulted while doing maintenance near the owosso foot bridge. It's pretty bad. So I agree with contacting officials 100%

Mayor Piercy gave a quick response to my e-mail. I'll post it following additional info. Mayor Kitty responded in a positive fashion and she also made note of the Lane County Commissioners needing to fund the reactivization of existing jail beds to help the judicial system deal with criminal offenders. What it comes down to is that some of the commissioners are crying lack of funds to be able to re-open the existing wing. So our representatives in Washington DC got congress to approve funds and have put it in the commissioner's hands. The commissioners voted to not utilize the money specifically obtained for law enforcement/jail for some nonsensical excuse that they might not get anymore of this money after 3 or 4 more years. ???? BUT they voted to hire personal assistants at a cost to us of 3/4 million dollars until much objection forced them to put that on hold. Notice they didn't totally eliminate that legislation just put it on the back burner till another session.Virtually every judge, city council, and committee related to law enforcement and rehabilitation has flat out told the council that, we the people need, the jail space and use the money.
So here are links to the petition for them to fund the jail and to e-mail the commissioners offices, budget must be passed by Jun 30 so please do it quick

PIERCY Kitty <Kitty.PIERCY@ci.eugene.or.us> to me
show details 9:39 am (11 hours ago)

Dear Yellowjacket
I will pass this on. We have added bike officers for our parks but it remains true that they are understaffed. With this financial crisis the criminal events go up as well. However our police maintain the best help to them would be sufficient jail beds so the jail is not a revolving door for repeat offenders. The jail is run by the county.



I will pass this on to the Chief.



Kitty

more interestng related report
FBI: 'Eugene saw increases in every crime category' | KVAL CBS 13 - News, Weather and Sports - Eugene, OR - Eugene, Oregon | Local & Regional News

Get the mace with pepper spray. Mace is tear gas so if the offender holds their breath they can still be a serious threat. The pepper will pretty much stop them in their tracks - thats the btu thing. Get the bear spray if you can afford it - it will stop a crackhead tweakin' on meth after smokin' PCP, oh and grizzly bears too :lol:

 

[Bfishin]

Thing is I grew up around the path. Seen a lot of losers and weirdos down there. Haven't really had a personal experience with them. I just won't take their sh*t. If they happen to confront me with hostility then they can talk to my 6" Buck knife. Plain and simple. Most are belligerant, malnurished bums that wouldn't stand a chance. Lol...

 

[yellowjacket]

Different Breed

Different Breed

Thing is I grew up around the path. Seen a lot of losers and weirdos down there. Haven't really had a personal experience with them. I just won't take their sh*t. If they happen to confront me with hostility then they can talk to my 6" Buck knife. Plain and simple. Most are belligerant, malnurished bums that wouldn't stand a chance. Lol...

What seems to be happening is a different pattern of behavior. The park bench wino's who'd come spare changing. They'd give attitude while walking off when you'd tell him to get lost. If they had their wine already they would generally be friendly and want to tell tales of their life & travels. Then there were the ones who were wandering around talking to themselves. See the experiences in the last month or so. Now it is hardcore addicts who will do some crazy stuff to get their next dose along with the "typical" alcohol ravaged vagrant. I'll tell you for sure all of them except the babbling idiots carry some kind of blade. They get messed with a lot on the streets and other vagrants are always trying to steal their stuff. Now especially since the murder in Skinner's Butte even the guys who weren't carrying before are now.
I got in the habit of carrying a 12" Bowie knife when in the woods due to all the wild hogs where I lived fished etc in Florida. I still do. But problem is with using deadly force/weapon is that all it takes is someone to only witness half of the situation. Guy tries to take your tackle bag, you push him back. He goes beserk picks up a big rock & tries to bash you in the head. You block the blow, he drops the rock & you defending yourself from a potentially lethal attack pull out the knife and stab the offender. Just about then some (example) lady walking her dogs sees you step at & stab the nut while he is taking a step back yelling NO. Police arrive lady says she saw you stab the man for no reason. He was backing away. There is no visible weapon other than yours. That means you have a high probability of doing penitentiary time for a violent crime. If you get lucky the guy survives and tells the cops that he tried to bash your brains out. More likely he is going to say you attacked him cause he doesn't want to go to jail. So over the years I've had a few occassions where I was in imminent danger did have a knife up my sleeve ready to do what I had to do- rest areas, parks- but was fortunate enough that the "bad guys" seeing my posture and body language decided that I was better left off alone with out me having to display and use my weapon. So thinking about it I may just get some spray now. I wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt/killed trying to take on more than one at a time. I wouldn't have to worry about weapons charges. But if you see me out of town I'll still have the pig sticker on & in plain view. I like to think of it as Idiot Repellent.
Also oregon statute 166.260 2b allows the carrying of concealed firearms : Licensed hunters or fishermen while engaged in hunting or fishing, or while going to or returning from a hunting or fishing expedition.
https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/166.260.html