Way to go man! Great blog and fantastic pics. Made me feel like I was right there with you all day. Now where did I live my fork........LOL
Glad you had a great birthday and your Mrs. had fun too. And welcome to OFF.
May I suggest that you get a copy of "Fishing in Oregon", by Casali & Diness? From the book, you will learn about TONS of great places to go fishing.
OH...and KUDOS to "Bear" for the loner rod n' reel. He da man!!!
P.S. If you weren't already using them...next time you head out, try Berkley's Power Eggs w/ an Oval shaped slip sinker "off" the bottom. Lemon/Lime, Orange, Pink, Chartruese, and White are all good colors to try.