Bull Trout Trip V

Minus four degrees is what the thermometer read in Sisters today at around 7:00 am. We were on the river by 7:30 and I'm guessing that since the river sits up in the hills a ways, it was colder still there. Despite all the tricks for cold weather fishing I have learned over the years, my fingers were numb and the cold chilled right through my layers and straight to the bone. Long story short: we were off the river by about 10:30 am. A spring creek, the Metolius River does not fluctuate more than a couple of degrees Summer to Winter. I assumed that cold water was cold water and the fish were used to it. Well this is not so. Apparently, when air temperatures drop dramatically, like last night and this morning, the water temperature drops too. And, as we all know, fluctuating water temperatures puts the fish off. So our error today was in assuming that the river would not fluctuate despite the cold weather. Oops. Naturally, the fishing was slower than slow. I foul hooked one 15 inch white fish that never even struggled, a result of the cool temps no doubt. So we ended up bringing home the skunk today, having hardly even tried to shake it. It was just too darn cold for us and for the fish. Tighter Lines another day perhaps. In the mean time check out Capt. Blair Wiggins, AKA The Mogan Man, with some serious Tight Lines!