Saturday, Sept. 8. my buddy, Brett, and I headed North for the mouth of the
Deschutes at 3:00 am. We pulled in at the mouth at around 5:30 and the place was already crawling with fisherman. We were sure there was going to be
some combat fishing on the days'
itinerary. We
hiked in along the west side of the river, which seems to be less used, and found plenty of solitude. We never had to fish closer than 100
yds to the next group. I almost wanted to stick my tongue out at all the guys on the East side. Fishing was slow considering the time we put in. There was
plenty of time spent hiking, but I'd bet we had wet lines for over5 hours. Poor Brett got blanked yet again, which is just how it goes for beginner
steelhead fisherman. And I happened to catch one
steelhead, clipped and legal, the measured in at 24 inches, and weighed just under 6 lbs. I know Bull trout that would have eaten this thing for breakfast, but I will certainly not complain about a nice fish that will smoke up nicely. BTW, I smoked half and
BBQ ed the other half of the last
steelie I caught. It was every bit as good as salmon. I couldn't tell the difference at all. Anyway, toward the end of the day Brett and I hit what I call "The Boy's" hole. I hooked two fish there
last time and and thought w
e'd better try again. Well
surprise,
surprise! I didn't hook a
steelie. No not a
steelhead, but a
chinook!. Chinook numbers over the dams are starting pick up and soon there will be enough in the river to actually
target them, but this little guy is an incidental. Chinook under 24 inches are called jacks - basically a king that matures early and runs the rivers with the big boys. They do not spawn however, and the limit is 5 in addition to the 2 king limit (clipped of course). So this little guy found his way to the cooler and, once home, produced some beautiful little fillets. So a couple of "firsts" were the result of our day of fishing. 1: First king I've caught in an Oregon river, 2: I
caught my first ever small
mouth bass (it took a giant # 5 blue fox spinner), and 3: the Rattle Snake! I had never seen a live rattle snake before Saturday. As we walked along the tracks on the way home, we saw a little guys slither under the rails. We took some pictures as I tried to prod him out with a stick. He was not thrilled about this and we ended up leaving him alone after he
began striking at the stick.
Good times. Tight Lines!
Saturday, Sept. 8. my buddy, Brett, and I headed North for the mouth of the Deschutes at 3:00 am. We pulled in at the mouth at around 5:30 and the place was already crawling with fisherman. We were sure there was going to be some combat fishing on the days' itinerary. We hiked in along the west side of the river, which seems to be less used, and found plenty of solitude. We never had to fish closer than 100 yds to the next group. I almost wanted to stick my tongue out at all the guys on the East side. Fishing was slow considering the time we put in. There was plenty of time spent hiking, but I'd bet we had wet lines for over5 hours. Poor Brett got blanked yet again, which is just how it goes for beginner steelhead fisherman. And I happened to catch one steelhead, clipped and legal, the measured in at 24 inches, and weighed just under 6 lbs. I know Bull trout that would have eaten this thing for breakfast, but I will certainly not complain about a nice fish that will smoke up nicely. BTW, I smoked half and BBQ ed the other half of the last steelie I caught. It was every bit as good as salmon. I couldn't tell the difference at all. Anyway, toward the end of the day Brett and I hit what I call "The Boy's" hole. I hooked two fish there last time and and thought w
e'd better try again. Well surprise, surprise! I didn't hook a steelie. No not a steelhead, but a chinook!. Chinook numbers over the dams are starting pick up and soon there will be enough in the river to actually target them, but this little guy is an incidental. Chinook under 24 inches are called jacks - basically a king that matures early and runs the rivers with the big boys. They do not spawn however, and the limit is 5 in addition to the 2 king limit (clipped of course). So this little guy found his way to the cooler and, once home, produced some beautiful little fillets. So a couple of "firsts" were the result of our day of fishing. 1: First king I've caught in an Oregon river, 2: I caught my first ever small mouth bass (it took a giant # 5 blue fox spinner), and 3: the Rattle Snake! I had never seen a live rattle snake before Saturday. As we walked along the tracks on the way home, we saw a little guys slither under the rails. We took some pictures as I tried to prod him out with a stick. He was not thrilled about this and we ended up leaving him alone after he began striking at the stick. 
Good times. Tight Lines!
1 comment:
Okay so the rattlesnake story is way to familiar! Dad had a story like that, only the snake didn't like the sticks and pebbles being thrown his way, so he started chasing Dad! When Dad told that story to another, it was confirmed that rattlesnakes chase things when they are mad! Isn't there a conference talk that says something about "Don't pet the rattlesnake"! It must be a guy thing!
loves,
Mom
Post a Comment