Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Wily carp turn tables on young fisherman

You just can’t trust those Umatilla County carp.

A young fisherman plying the waters of McKay Reservoir outside of Pendleton was robbed, not once but twice, when he left his gear on the bank during a fishing trip in July 1938.

Craig Orange of Pilot Rock was fishing during an Izaak Walton excursion just before the 4th of July and left his pole on the bank with a baited hook in the water. A large carp grabbed the hook and dragged the boy’s entire setup into the water. Swimming furiously, the carp dragged the pole in a huge circuit around the reservoir, and when the fish dived the pole momentarily stood on end “in amusing periscope fashion.”

When the fish finished its circuit around the lake and swam past where the boy and his father, M.D. Orange, were standing Craig stripped off his clothes, dived in and dragged pole and fish out of the water.

But that wasn’t the end of the fishy tale. Another fish grabbed Craig’s pole when he again left it untended on the bank and dragged it even more vigorously out into the middle of the reservoir. This time, however, the pole disappeared for good.

Craig’s parting comment: “Heck, he was so big I probably couldn’t have held him anyway.”

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