Category: fishing

This is likely the end of warm days and cool mornings.

Pretty soon we’ll have to seek shade before noon. For now, soaking in some solar energy is a pleasant respite. 

There were two trips to the Crooked this week.

This weather brings out Mayflies, as well as mosquitos. That was the excuse used, but there’s little reason needed to set out chairs and picnic along a stream.

The fishing was adequate, but the weather was superb.

The wildflowers have shifted from large yellow and white petals, to tiny blossoms in shades of purple and blue, with an occasional flashy daisy.

The Kestrals are still very protective, ganging up an any large raptors even just flying along the water. We saw them knock an osprey off a tree limb, easily sending it on his way.

The geese are raising goslings, and ducks are always trailing a brood amid the tall grasses at streams edge.

One of the trips to the river was an afternoon drive.

We were trying to hit an evening hatch and some dry fly fishing. There were lots of strikes, but not a lot of hookups. I got in my casting practice though. 

Campers are getting more common, which makes it hard to find secluded spots.

With campgrounds filling, we’ll move to different locations (primitive sites) and wait for fall to return to the river in less crowded conditions.

But then  .  .  .  that’s all part of settling into Summer.

For many years (due to my teaching schedule), summer didn’t begin until the second week in June. While that constraint came off when we retired, this week’s heatwave really felt like the start of summer.

There were a string of eighty degree days this week, matched with a dozen small wildfires. It feels like summer (our new norm).

A few things shift for us when the weather warms up.

Primarily our schedule  .  .  .   early starts to the day and early ends. This practice has two advantages; first it gets the active part of our day away from the heat, but it also tends to keep us away from the hordes.

About the time people start showing up on the river, we’ve had a choice of parking spots, a couple of hours of fishing, and lots of peace and quiet.

That is how we managed this week’s trip to the Crooked River.

Most of the spring wildflowers have been reduced to leafy stems, replaced with hardier summer varieties.

Lupine for example, is in full bloom on nearly every gravelly borrow pit. It lines our route with a carpet of purple and blue hues.

Fishing was better this week. The river has settled into its summer flow and fish are taking up their usual holds.

The kestrels were in full hunt mode, stopping only long enough to drop off some tasty bits for the fledglings, before swooping back up the canyon walls.

By the time the breeze was starting to loosen it’s cooling power, a small group of picnickers set up a few hundred feet from us. That was our cue to load up and head for home.

Daytime temp, even on the river, was just over eighty and climbing. We’ll be back again during the cool of another morning.