Full-time RVer and life-long fisher, Jimmy Smith could not turn down the opportunity to be part of a day’s fishing charter in pursuit of Lingcod and Rock Fish off the coast of southern Oregon.
The group was due to gather before 7 a.m. in the Pacific Charter‘s office at the Charleston Marina near Coos Bay. Orginally we had reservations for Sunset Bay State Park, about four miles south. However, because we were traveling in our truck / camper, we would have had to completely break camp in the early morning, or off-load the camper, in order to drive to the Marina. I opted for convenience and booked into the Charleston Marina RV Park, operated by the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay.
The view (top image) from our RV was of a parking lot, instead of evergreen trees at the state park, however, Jimmy only had to walked about 100-feet to Pacific Charter and I could relax with my second cup of coffee watching the marina come alive.
Within 45-minutes, Jimmy and five other smiling guys were heading out to sea abroad a 30-foot Kingfisher/Costal Express that carries a crew of three, including owner Steve Dwight, and his son Tyler, of Rosburg, Ore. The boat features 10-feet of open deck space behind the cabin for fishing. And me? I bicycled around the working marina and small village of Charleston.
Pacific Charter Services
63480 Crossline Road
Charleston, OR 97420
541-378-3040
Charleston Marina RV Park
63402 Kingfisher Rd.
Charleston, OR 97420
541-888-9712
Photos: (Top) Early morning view from the back of our camper of the Charleston Marina. (Middle) Pacific Charter owner Steve Dwight, (left) and Jimmy Smith (orange vest) waving from the fishing deck. (Bottom) Pacific Charter office. (Julianne G. Crane)