Stanley Gitari of Maua, Kenya, finally got his bag of fish.
And Doreen Rumgay enjoyed every moment cleaning and bagging trout for one of her last — and longest traveled — customers.
Rumgay, 76, has sold Indian Springs Trout Farm in rural Clackamas County and will soon move closer to her daughter in Hubbard.
Her legacy, dating to 1987 when she and her husband, the late Monte Rumgay, opened the u-catch trout farm, includes thousands of satisfied customers whose children caught their first fish there.
From a friend's 4-year-old son, their first visitor, to his children and the children of other kids-grown-up, Indian Springs has been a perennial favorite in a scenic rural setting.
Since her husband's passing in 2010, Doreen Rumgay has kept the u-catch gate open year-round, even allowing customers to make holes in the ice and keep fishing during winter cold snaps.
... So many birthday parties, celebrated beside the pond filled with tasty trout and another with bass, crappie and other panfish.
Rumgay said that will continue with the young woman and her fiance who have bought the farm and will not only keep it open, but are adding a spectacular wedding venue to the grounds.
Perhaps they'll even resurrect the novel vacuum-cleaner system her husband invented to clean trout with suction instead of gloved fingers. It was too much for one person to handle alone, but Doreen Rumgay said the system is still hooked up, ready to use.
And Stanley Gitari? Not her first foreign visitor, but among those from the most far away places.
Perhaps some may remember his story, appearing here in March 2013. Stanley and his wife, Mary, both approaching their 60s, itinerate across the United States every few years to help spread the word about their hospital’s ministry to the needy.
He's become a close friend through my brother, Jim Monroe, and his wife, Sue Owen, both retired Methodist ministers and missionaries at the hospital.
We took them steelhead fishing on the Clackamas River, but when Stanley asked how many he could catch, he misinterpreted “bag limit” to mean they could keep a bag or two filled with fish.
Ever since, we've kidded him about it.
This time, though, they visited between seasons, so Jim and I made a donation to Doreen Rumgay instead and told Stanley their “bags” could only include five fish each (according to our wallets).
The Gitaris zealously clutched their trout and the next night had a grand fish fry at another host's home in Sisters.
Rumgay was amused and pleased to hear their story.
“Such nice people,” she said. “There have been lots of memories,” she added, drawing out the word “lots.”
New regs: Oregon's 2020 hunting and fishing regulations are out, both in pamphlet form at license outlets and online.
The major change in fishing regs is a new requirement for sport crabbers in boats (not required for shore crabbing) to mark their buoys with a full name, and either a home or business address, a telephone number, angler ID number, or boat registration.
Portland-area anglers will be allowed to use two rods (with validation) on the Sandy River. The state Fish and Wildlife Commission balked at allowing the same on the Clackamas and Willamette rivers.
Hunters will find numerous changes in controlled hunts, an emphasis on allowing any legal weapon during general big-game seasons and, for western Oregon deer hunters, elimination of the forked horn rule for bucks. Only a “visible antler” will be required.
New licenses (2020) will go on sale Dec. 1, online or license dealers...Those who want to change to print or electronic (online) will be able to do that.
Hunter education field days: Two required field days for those who have passed the written portion of their Oregon hunter education are scheduled Dec. 15 at the Portland Gun Club in east Portland. Field days will be held in the morning and afternoon. Register online through the licensing system for a $10 fee.
Books: Two new books will interest outdoor enthusiasts in Oregon.
“A Generous Nature,” by Marcy Cottrell Houle, Oregon State University Press — mini-bios of nearly two dozen of the many movers and shakers who have shaped the outdoor world Oregonians will now inherit. There are some surprises (Sen. Betsy Johnson formed her mantra on the Metolius River, for example) and other lesser-known heroes. My favorite, of course, is the late Tom McAllister, my former writing partner and personal hero.
“Western Waters, Fly-fishing Memories and Lessons from Twelve Rivers,” by Tom Alkire, Stackpole Books — Half of this compilation of extraordinary tributaries of the West are devoted to the Columbia and its watershed, including the Deschutes, Sandy and others. Geography, explorers and impacts are the focus.
-- Bill Monroe for The Oregonian/OregonLive