Fishing has been great on the upper McKenzie in the last few weeks. The big dry/ dropper nymph combo has accounted for obscene numbers of 8-14 inch rainbows. Midsummer safari season is in full swing.
Speaking of swinging: I joined Rob Arita and Tony Kaltenberg for a reunion on the North Umpqua last week and timed it to be there for some thunderstorm activity. The fish were in the fly-only waters in fair numbers, and we had some great action on skating muddlers. All of Tony's and mine got away, but Rob landed a couple beautiful wild steelhead. Here's a few shots from the holy waters:
Also making his annual pilgrimmage to the Pac NW was "the Iceman," Bill Wiley, from Tallahassee. Bill spent a productive and restorative five days on the magical "U," before joining me for a float on the Willamette on his last day on the scene. Although he fished to his usual high standard throughout a nice cool morning, we still had to hang in there until about the 7th hour of the day before he was finally rewarded with a hookup on a beautiful 10-pound hen. Even though it shook loose before we could bring it to net, Bill's trip was already made.
Steelhead for the soul.
