Well the heat wave broke and was replaced by a couple of weeks of decidedly cooler weather. It has felt like September ever since, with cool mornings, clouds, and occasional showers. On Thursday, August 21st, Jay Hyer came down from the Portland area to celebrate his 66th birthday with a solo trip on the upper McKenzie. He put his considerable flyfishing experience to work and caught fish from the put-in to the take-out. After 8 1/2 hours of steady action, Jay was ready to go for 8 1/2 more! Truly a fishing machine. Here are a couple of shots from Jay's birthday party. You shoulda been there!
The weather continued it's cooler theme throughout the end of the month, highlighted by a recent outing with Ian Hight and Erik Krieger, who came down from Portland for the opening game of the Ducks Football Season. They had the idea of getting into a few steelhead in the morning before enjoying a Duck victory over the rival Washington Huskies.
We chose to do the classic Town Float on the Willamette with it's views of Autzen Stadium from the river. With the weather cold, damp, and windy, I guessed we would find some biters. Sure enough, somewhere in the second hour of fishing, Erik hooked and landed a sweet 10-pound hen. He was stoked and procalimed it a positive omen for the Ducks that evening. Not to be outdone, on the next pass through the pool, Ian hooked a hot bright fish that jumped at least a half dozen times. Just as we thought it was coming under control, the fish ran to a rock reef and wrapped the line under a log. We had several chaotic minutes of trying to free the line with the spare oar, but ultimately, Ian continued his tradition of losing trophies in my boat (he hooks more than most!), and the fish hung him on the log and melted away back into the depths. After we regrouped, the third pass through the pool produced yet another hookup for Erik, but it came unbuttoned after a few powerful headshakes.
Later that day, as we passed under the Ferry St. Bridge, Erik was lamenting their decision to not bring any beer in the boat (they had to prepare for the game, after all). No problem! We just pulled in at McMennamin's Pub and sent Erik up the bank to buy a couple of cold ones. That set the boys up nicely, and took the edge off when, not too long after, Erik hooked another hot steelhead that threw the hook. All in all a great day for steelhead action followed by the hoped for victory at Autzen that night. BTW: If not for a missed extra point in the second half, Erik would've nailed the spread. Check out the pregame action:
