From May 1st until October 15th, Gold Beach, Oregon is the starting point for a 64, 80 or 104-mile round trip on the lower Rogue River.
Jerry’s Rogue Jets Travel the Rogue River
From the departure dock in Gold Beach, Oregon, travelers step onto a unique watercraft and prepare to journey on the wild and scenic Rogue River. Along the way there are wildlife encounters, fishing parties, and historical evidence. Each boat captain engages the passengers with real and humorous anecdotes about river life. The day we rode the jet boat, our captain was Tim Bruechner, a local Lutheran pastor, who moonlights by taking these trips on the river. His love for the countryside and for sharing it with those of us on his tour was obvious.
Jerry’s Rogue Jets has been in business since 1958. Two brothers, Jerry and Alden, discovered a water jet propulsion system with jet pumps that made navigating the Rogue more feasible. Since the river is shallow and rocky in parts, these new boats allowed for regular trips and a more comfortable ride for passengers.
Three trips are offered: the 64-mile historic route, the 80-mile whitewater route, and the full-day 104-mile round trip to the wilderness section. Only the 64-mile trip operates during the earliest and latest dates of the season. We took that trip in mid-October and it was a great adventure.
The Rogue River
Flowing out of Crater Lake, the Rogue River travels about 215 miles on its journey from the Cascades to the Pacific. On the upper portions, the river is termed "wild" and most noted for sport fishing and rafting that takes place there. Much of the river is part of a national forest or state park so there are few settlements. The lower river passes through beautiful forests, past towering rocks, under historic bridges, with waterfalls and streams bringing added water to its flow.
At Gold Beach, where the Rogue empties into the Pacific Ocean, the river is wide and shallow. Gold Beach was so named in 1890 because of the gold mining that occurred along its banks. Nowadays, sport fishing abounds in the area.
The Trip to Agness, Oregon
Our 32-mile journey from Gold Beach to Agness started at 8:30 a.m. and we returned about 2 p.m. On the way, we were treated to wildlife viewing and saw a bear cub come to the river to drink or fish; a soaring bald eagle; a playful river otter performing his grooming activities. A significant number of guided fishing trips begin at Agness in the early morning and we passed several of the anglers either reeling in catches or ready to show us what they had caught.
The Oregon Fish and Game Commission was working in the area compiling a fish count and their enterprise included throwing out a drag net and slowly bringing it in. This method has been in use for centuries on the Rogue, as the Native Americans fished the pools in this way.
The little community of Agness was the lunch stop on our trip and we had a choice of two restaurants in which to eat. The town was named for the daughter of Amaziah Asbury, an early settler who finally accomplished having the mail boat service their area.
Mail Delivery on the Rogue River
Much to our surprise, the mail boat was exactly that. We did deliver a sack of mail to a dock in Agness before our lunch stop, and we picked up a return sack on our way down the river.
Mail service began in 1895 when the Asbury family convinced the government that a boat could bring the mail to the inland communities more efficiently than pack mules. The river is shallow and rocky and often the mail boats had to be pushed with poles, or dragged by hand over the pebbles. Special boats were built with propellers that could be raised so as not to sustain damage on the shallow spots.
The boats would take passengers if there were any desiring to go, but after World War II when the tourist trade began in earnest, the mail boats began accepting riders on a regular basis. Jerry’s Rogue Jets continues the tradition of delivering the mail by boat, one of only a few such contracts still in existence.
Ethel Brodie - Intrigued by the world, encouraged to write my observations, published in newspapers and magazines, and sharing special places.
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