I lived overseas until I went to high school, so I'd never fished before that. My parents bought a place on the Nehalem River in the tidewater section. Of course that meant salmon fishing throughout the late summer and fall. But for me, I spent most of my time on three nearby rivers. I fished more on the North Fork Nehalem, above the hatchery, than anywhere else, and I guess I can say that's where I learned the most. I also fished the South Fork extensively, and caught my biggest SRC's there. The third and my favorite river was the Salmonberry River. I'd park at the bridge and bike up it several miles. In all the times I was up there, I ran into people only twice. Good cutthroat fishing there. Hard to get to now - after the floods blew out the rail lines and rail bridges, it's tougher to cross the river.