This week has been a scorcher! Temps on the back deck have been hitting triple digits for the last few days. Some intrepid out-of-towners braved the heat wave for a crack at some of the fishing on the local rivers.
On Thursday, August 14th, I was joined for a family float by the Hrdinas (pronounced just like it reads): Gene, Donna, and Chase, from Columbia, Missouri. We chose a float on the lower McKenzie and were happy to find lots of willing trout, several great swimming holes, and the osprey (see previous entries), who did his thing to give the trip an explosive ending. The Hrdina family vowed to return soon for more adventures in Western Oregon. Check out some photos:
Next, on Friday and Saturday, the 15th and 16th. Local legened, Ethan Nickel, and I hosted a party of Kentuckians: Scott Ingram, Steve King, and Wes King. We started out with a float on the upper McKenzie where the trout fishing was as good as it gets for 8- to 12-inch rainbows and a few nice cutthroat. The high temperature drove us all to immersion in the chilly 52 degree water in the early afternoon. So refreshing!
The next morning we met at 5 a.m. to target summer steelhead on the Middle Fork Willamette. Everyone was ready to put in some time and effort in the hope of hooking a trophy.
Around 7 a.m. Wes got the first grab from a steelhead on a big purple leech fly, but it didn't get hooked. Scott and Ethan in the other boat anchored across the river, and, while Wes tried his cast again, Scott flipped his fly out and started to lengthen his line. Ethan noticed a slight tug and instructed, " Wait! Let it hang there." Bang! a nice 6-pound fish climbed on and gave a Scott spirited acrobatic battle. We were all stoked when Ethan put the net under it. Lots of whoops and high fives all around. But we hadn't forgotten about Wes's grab. We decided to try the secret weapon: "Steely Dan," the cleanup hitter, fished from the boat. It didn't take long before Wes's rod folded over hard and the fish was on! Wes fought it like a champ through three holes as the whole party of two boats gave chase downriver. The big buck finally began to tire and Wes worked him steadily closer until it was in the net. A beautiful 9 pounder!
For the rest of the morning we alternated fishing for native cutthroat and rainbows and swinging for steelhead. Steve had one grab from a steelhead that didn't get stuck, but did land quite a few nice trout. The crew from Kentucky was all smiles as they drove away. They had found the perfect way to beat the heat here in the southern Willamette Valley.
Here's the proof:
