Fly fishing

Here, There and Malheur, 2019

Veterans Day gave us a long weekend, where would we go? There were lots of parades to choose from but in the end we decided to get away from it all. Surprised? If you are you haven’t been following along very well. Go back and read the other 99 posts (yes this is post 100!, can you believe it?) that came before this one. We headed out Friday after work and by 5:30 it was basically dark. We pulled into Chickahominy before it got too late and enjoyed a small fire as the cold wind came across the high desert. It didn’t take to long for the owl to start up, then it got closer. We were able to pick him out standing on top of a pole next to camp. He must have been 5 feet tall. We’ve been lucky with owls and coyotes near camp this year. It would be easier to list the camps with no owls or coyotes, there have been that many. Speaking of coyotes, they started up before bed and went on late into the night as well. Not a bad spot for a roadside stop.

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Continue ReadingHere, There and Malheur, 2019

Malheur, 2019

Labor day had come and gone. Summer fishing adventures in the high Cascades are winding down and we are moving on to our list of fall destinations. Counting the possible destinations and the number of weekends available until Thanksgiving rolls around, it seems the numbers don’t quite match up. But, we’ll get out to see what we can see and maybe have a list left over for next year. The first stop turned out to be a trip to the high country of the Malheur National Forest, and the headwaters of the Malheur river.

This is familiar country to me but I haven’t visited in a long time. I used to hunt deer and elk here regularly but with how difficult it is to draw a tag now in Oregon and how lousy the hunting is I’ve concentrated more on fishing the last several years. It was good to be back and see the country again. With the days getting shorter we arrived in the dark on Friday night. First up on Saturday was a hike in the Strawberries to High Lake.

High Lake, down in the bowl, almost hidden by the ridge
High Lake
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Continue ReadingMalheur, 2019

Metolius River, 2019

A few weeks back we escaped to the Metolius for a quick overnight trip. It’s a short drive to a beautiful spot here in central Oregon, but not one we frequent.

The weather was great, the crowds were there, but nothing like a summer weekend. The fishing on the other hand, well, let’s just say I didn’t expect to catch anything, and the Metolius met my expectations.

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Continue ReadingMetolius River, 2019