“I’m the mayhem,” said fishing guide Branden Trager in reference to his fishing and hunting guide company Adventures with Mayhem Outfitters. The business is based in Brush Prairie, Wash., but the Trager family splits time between Brush Prairie and the Long Beach Peninsula. “We’re nomadic,” he said.
Trager was in Astoria on the docks of the West End Mooring Basin on Saturday, Aug. 15 to assist with the Lipstick Salmon Slayers tournament, a women-only salmon fishing tournament that brings hundreds to the Columbia River Buoy 10 fishery to compete for cash prizes and empower women fishers.
In line with the spirit of the event, Trager said he was there to support his wife Erica — the organizer of the tourney. She was busy at the event’s other location setting up for a celebratory dinner that would lure the women anglers from the docks to a dinner that evening.
Trager’s singular goal that day was to provide an inclusive atmosphere for the female salmon slayers lined up on the dock.
The intent was “to have a safe, welcoming environment and not have to worry about being the only girl on board, because that happens a lot as a fishing guide,” said Trager. “We have a lot of instances where there is just one girl on the boat. Of course, we make her feel welcomed but it’s super fun when it’s six gals on the boat. Just being with each other while they are just having the best day of their lives.”
For Trager, it extends to women and their families. He has fond memories of fishing with his own father. He “passed away 17 years ago when I was in Afghanistan,” Trager said. “It still makes me want to cry.”
Trager has his own family — two daughters and two sons — and fishing is central. “My kids grew up fishing with me,” he said. “These days, my daughter will bring out all her college friends and they will take over the boat — and we look forward to it every year. … “It’s a family thing.”
For that reason, Trager was inspired to offer mother-son or mother-daughter duos a discount on his boat.“My dad is gone and I don’t have anybody to call up in the afternoon and say ‘here’s what I did today,’ so when a kid doesn’t have a dad to communicate with for whatever reason, it tugs on my heartstrings.”
Nearby, Tiffanie Young, a volunteer from Warrenton, echoed sharing the love of fishing with family but added a community element. “I’m helping today to make sure it runs smoothly down here at the docks and that everyone has a good time,” she said. “I’m passionate about this event, especially because a portion of the proceeds of the tournament are going to the Warrenton High School Fish Hatchery.”
Like Trager, it’s personal for Young. “I’m one of three girls and I raised three girls. Fishing has always been a part of my family. My grandfather was a commercial fisherman and commercial clam digger. He ran the fish market up in Raymond until he was 80 years old.”
Young said one of the biggest barriers for women in recreational fishing is the stigma. “Getting women involved and having them feel safe and comfortable is a really big deal.”