Trout 2011 Show OFF

[radiation]

Decided to try my luck again. Got there early in the AM. Caught one that broke my line.(bad knot) After awhile I left to try some other spots and came back after a couple of hours. Caught this 6 pound hen that had marks on both sides of her. Talked to some friends and they told me that they were seal marks. About 1/2 hour later I hooked into one that must have been around 8 pounds that did not want to be caught. It made a couple of long runs. I'd gain some then it would gain some. After about 20 minutes, I got it next to the bank. It was a big brite hen without a fin. About to pull it onto the bank when she threw my hook and away she went. I'm just glad there were no small children around. I would have embarrassed myself. I need to get myself a net.

 

[fishfry]

Decided to go out early in the a.m. a few days ago to see if the trout were moving through yet. Around 06:30 in the a.m. I landed this nice 23 incher. Had walked down river from my net and he burried himself in some mud coming up. Was gonna keep him and eat him but decided to release him to fight another day, I can always get planters for dinner. Hit some of the high lakes this weekend and got some nice eaters on the fly rod to fillet up for dinner. Hopefully this means things are finally picking up As long as Oct is the same as last year the rest of the year can be as slow as it wants lol.

 

[skunk]

This is a short report on my trip to Central Oregon. I will have more on my blog if anyone is interested.

Got back last week from my trip to the Sisters/Bend area. I had one of my best trout trips this year. I started out the week on the Metolius River. One of my most favorite rivers to not catch fish on.



This year was different and I'll attribute it to a whole season of fishing for steelhead and salmon. We started at Wizard Falls FH and the kids fed the hatcheries while I looked around. Mind you, when I fish the Met. I have a looooow catch rate which results in lots of fishing and bored kids, so while Rye is my cameraman, he and the others loose interest and disappear. Not to mention I left my little camera at home and when on the Met. I release the fish very quickly. I'm sure they get caught a fair amount and I don't want to stress them more than necessary.

Sooooo, this trip I started at the hatchery and worked down to Dolly Hole. I spotted a few trout but they were hard to get to so at Dolly Hole I just stopped and watched others fish, and watched the fish. They started to rise in mid river so I began to work them over and cast everything I owned at them. An hour after nothing, I spotted a huge head and shoulders surfacing right at the bank. I found a log to stand on and found the fish hiding under the bank, at a nice current break. It would come out long enough to slup an insect and then disappear. Remember, this river has millions of bugs, and the fish hardly ever eat the ones I see when I'm here.



I tried for another hour and this fish ignored everything. FINALLY, I stopped and spied the bug. It was eating a flat, yellowish, tinnnny mayfly. Not knowing it was a PMD spinner and having nothing similar I 'killed' an emerger I had. Basically clipped the hackle, and mashed the bat snot out of it so it would ride low. Low and behold, third drift, the fish swallowed it. Set the hook fast, fish on!!!. Got my alltime best 17" exact, about 3 1/2-4 lb rainbow. Wow, that was awesome.

The cool part was the guy I met while landing the fish. Turns out he was my wife's grandpa's old banker! Of all the places to meet someone who knows family! He said he fished the river for 30 yrs, he started as a young guy that old fisherpeople taught, and now he is one of the old fisherpeople who helps the young folks. How cool! So, yeah I caught a nice fish, but I also met a really cool person.

(I also hooked and landed this fish 4 days later, and instead of 2 hrs, it was walk up, tie on fly and two drifts. Fairly easy if you know what they are eating).

I got another few takes, one nice 13", and many nice hrs on the metolius through the week.

Here are some pics from the trip, most by my son. Also hit a reliable spot on the middle D, and another creek I enjoy for small, but numerous trout.


Smith Rock State Park

Trout from the Middle D

Another Trout

Lizard

Crooked River at Smith Rock

Lizard

Preening Bird

SRSP

More to follow...

 

[skunk]

Thanks, I will tell him.

Here's a few more...


Trout from the little creek

This is one he took that I really like. These lizards were perfect, they always held really still.

I also found a spot on the Middle D were I was able to fish over about 30 browns anywhere from 10" to 20"+. I was drifting an nymph setup and they were ultra picky. Suddenly out of nowhere a huge brown slammed my upper nymph and I set the hook out of fear:lol:. He returned towards his lair at about mach 10 and was around a log/stump I hadn't seen before I could react. All I saw after that was him thrashing, break off and slip off to the depths. I actually had to go sit down and stop shaking before I could retie everything.