Well, it appears we hadn’t been to Chickahominy for a fishing visit since 2018. Thankfully this site serves as my collective memory on such things. We have stopped in for a night on our way to somewhere else, and enjoyed a close up visit by a great horned owl on one memorable night. This time around it just seemed like we needed to get out to do some spring fishing, and take the boat for one last ride before we parted ways. A sunny weekend and the waters of Chickahominy beckoned. We arrived right before sunset.
The next morning we were up and on the water at the crack of 10 or so. It appeared to be a bit lower than our last visit. We had mixed reports on the status of the lake prior to arrival. Harney County Sporting Goods told us it was frozen over, and ODFW said the fish made it through the winter. As near as we could tell neither was true. It turned out that the maximum depth of the lake was at 8 feet, and the water was so muddy you couldn’t see a lure an inch underwater. After nearly getting the boat stuck in the shallow water we drifted and casted to no avail. Skunked on the last trip out with the old boat. Sometimes it just goes that way. I’m sure by now it is already catching sturgeon o the Columbia. There is never a bad day if you are on the water.
After giving up on fishing we returned to camp to watch the birds, whip up a big Dutch oven of paella for national paella day, and spend some time around the fire. We may need to wait a couple years for some water to float the new boat, but we’ll be back.
