Oregon duck hunters
January 9th, 2006 by Administrator
Oregon duck hunters are different here. Different in where they go to hunt and how they draw in ducks with decoys. Different in their hunting history compared to other waterfowlers in the state.
“Here” is Astoria where the mighty Columbia River makes its strong surge into the Pacific Ocean. Where a community, first settled in 1811, is centered around this copious body of water in both commercial endeavors and recreational pursuits. It’s this section of the Lower Columbia River that long ago entwined the rugged culture of deep-sea fishing with the sporting heritage of duck hunting.
Fishing and duck hunting still defines the robust way of life in Astoria. And for the first time it’s being honored in a new year-long exhibit at the Columbia River Maritime Museum.
“When we started looking into doing a display on duck hunting along the Lower Columbia, we found it overlapped with the fishing industry,” said David Pearson, curator of the museum. “In the time frame between World War I and II, Astoria had people who built boats or went out to fish and they knew the characteristics of the river. They also used those skills to become proficient decoy carvers and duck hunters.”
It’s only natural that the Lower Columbia River ties these two traditions together. The second largest river by volume in the United States, the Columbia is not only the historical home range of the Pacific salmon, but it’s a major staging and wintering area for thousands of migratory waterfowl. Within the 37,000 acres of river estuaries, islands and marshes provide an abundance of food and protection from fierce winter winds for both diving and dabbling ducks.
For these fin and feathered animals, the river is their link to life. For those living along this waterway, it’s their lifeline to food resources. Plus camaraderie that comes from weathering the Columbia River’s reputation for a harsh and hazardous marine environment — because both fishing and duck hunting require boats.
The museum exhibits two early 1900s double-ended duck skiffs made by fishing boat builders, one of whom was Ernie Gustin, considered Astoria’s best duck boat builder in his day. Beginning in 1910, Gustin produced about 200 boats in 60 years with prices ranging from $35 to $300. Oblong in shape, the cedar or spruce skiffs had either flat bottoms for ease in dragging the small boat over mud and silt during low tides in the estuaries or round bottoms that proved more sea-worthy though harder to pull over muddy ground.
In the days before outboard motors, duck hunters had to row seven miles upstream to the estuaries, a strenuous undertaking due to the Lower Columbia’s fast currents and strong winds.
“Historically, fishermen had to be more attuned to weather conditions, always watching for storms blowing in,” Pearson said. “But the duck hunting areas were quite a way out and if caught unexpectedly in severe weather the danger of capsizing was a real threat to hunters.”
Around 1920, powered gillnet boats were used to tow duck skiffs — camouflaged to blend in with marshy reeds. Today, the boats are made of fiberglass. And though two new boat launches offer more river access — one at Aldrich Point and the other at John Day — it’s still a challenge for duck hunters to select a spot for shooting. Unless you’re fortunate enough to have a family-owned duck shack.
Tucked within the estuary sloughs, small cabin-like shacks float on log rafts, providing a warm retreat after a day of duck hunting or an escape if the weather turns nasty. Towed out to hunting areas and anchored in place, duck shacks are unique to the Lower Columbia River. Passed down from one generation of duck hunters to the next, the old-fashioned shacks — updated with modern conveniences — are highly-prized since state law prevents any new shacks from being set up.
But when it comes to “floating fakes” used to lure ducks into shooting range, old wood has been replaced with new plastics. The signature artifact of the museum’s duck hunting display, the wooden decoy is special to the Lower Columbia in that a few Astoria boat builders became well-known duck decoy carvers. The most famous was Charles Bergman (1856-1946), who immigrated from Finland to Astoria and worked in the shipyards. Using wood scraps from old-growth red cedar, he eventually carved about 12 decoys a week to sell to hunters after retiring from boat building in 1929.
“Bergman decoys are called classic and have become quite the collector’s items,” Pearson said.
Of the 35 wooden decoys in the exhibit, 31 are Bergman’s and are on loan from the private collection of Bill and Kim Carter of California. Collecting only past century decoys from Astoria, the Carters’ first advertised for old wooden decoys in 1989 and have owned more than 100 Bergman decoys alone.
“The display contains the best of the best of Charles Bergman,” said Bill Carter, an avid hunter himself. “The decoys represent the disappearing history of an exciting way of life.”
Though most of the exhibit pays tribute to duck hunters of the past, the present is also preserved with the phenomenal photography of Michael Mathers. Pictured are contemporary hunters with dogs and ducks on the Lower Columbia River. Living on the river, Mathers is a sculler and has observed duck hunters over the years while rowing.
“In the past, I’ve done documentaries on various lifestyles like sheepherders and hobos,” Mathers said. “When I saw duck hunters, it presented another documentary opportunity.”
That documentary is a must-see showing of hand-carved decoys, duck skiffs and the fishermen who created a different duck hunting legacy still portrayed today. Says Pearson, “it has always been and still is a special way of life on the Lower Columbia River
By Sue Hansen
Corvallis Gazette-Times contributor