A Nice Hike

(insert audio clip of relaxing music) Well, Bret and I had a nice hike down along the upper reaches of the lower Deschutes River. It was nice to get out and be in touch with nature. We strolled along the river trails, admiring the scenery and wildlife as we went. Soon it was time to head back home and our excursion was over. What a great day. (insert audio clip of record player needles skipping across a 10-inch vinyl record). Actually, we hiked about 11 miles in and out, up and down, through stiff currents and slick (and I mean SLICK) mud in pursuit of a salmonid with a brain half the size of a walnut. It rained, the wind blew, we both almost took an unintentional swim, and I...... (sigh)...... I fell down. I fell down in the mud not once, not twice, but three stinking times! Bret was amused but allowed me to retain some dignity... that is, until he out-fished me. Bret caught a 24 inch hatchery fish that found its way to his freezer (http://www.thefangledfly.blogspot.com/). Me? Oh, I caught fish - yes sir! I caught: 1 sucker, which now suffers from a slight concussion - a result of it incidentally getting in between my size 10 Hodgman wading boot and the ground I was stomping on. I also caught 2 rainbows: One was a beautiful native (could have been a steelhead but it is hard to tell when they are only as long as MY LITTLE FINGER!). Both rainbows took a size 4 Blue Fox spinner.... which is amazing considering the size of the fish. The second rainbow was a tab bit bigger, but came off the line when I set the hook and sent it flying behind me.... hey I count that as a catch and release... even though I released it unintentionally about 20 yds behind me in the brush - can you say "SET!!!"). This is my 3rd steelhead trip without a fish. I think it is time to throw in the hat for the season and focus on bull trout and redbands until spring. Speaking of.........

Micah is in town and we are fishing the Mrs. Stay tuned for pictures/video of some nice fish. This will be my first serious attempt at bull trout this season. Recent reports say that there are a lot of fish in my secret hole. Should be a good mixed bag of whities, bows and hopefully a couple of fat bullies. Tight Lines!