After a lot of unpacking of boxes we took a week off from moving and headed to the Grande Ronde River. We thought we were timing it just right, the flow was set to drop below 1500 CFS and the fishing really picks up as the river drops. Little did we know the water would be a murky brown from intense rain. The fishing was the worst I’ve ever seen it, but getting on the river still can’t be beat.
2020. Rivers were closed, trips were canceled, but by the time the calendar rolled around to the dates planned for the Grande Ronde, things had opened up. I mean, if you can't find distance to float down a river, where can you find it? So, off we went to northeast Oregon in June. I've had some floats in June where flows were great for fishing but it seems like the last few years....not so much.…
As the snowmelt pours off the Oregon mountains each spring it becomes prime time to find yourself on a river or two. We found ourselves on the Wallowa and Grande Ronde in June. The Wallowa was still ice cold and made for an eye opening early morning launch. It was a grey day with a few sprinkles, which didn’t warm us up either. Isn’t the eastern half of Oregon supposed to be dry and warm in June? Ah well. We were off and covering miles, down the Wallowa to the Grande Ronde.
