During the 1988 presidential campaign, incumbent Vice President George H.W. Bush stopped in Medford, Oregon, making time to fish the mighty Rogue River.

The vice president arrived May 14, held a public BLM meeting, then the next morning fished from a drift boat for about 3 hours, May 15, 1988, but caught no fish, according to multiple media reports.

An onlooker asked Bush if caught any salmon and he responded: “Gosh, I was afraid you’d ask that,” reported the Medford Mail Tribune. “We had a good time though, being out on this beautiful river.”

During the vice president’s short stay in southwest Oregon he repeatedly told the travelling press corps about his fondness for outdoor recreation, and wryly said he was a much better fisherman than his Democratic opponent, Michael Dukakis.