Tag: Fishing

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A Day on the D

This week we returned to a favorite fishing site, the Upper Deschutes River.

Proximity to our house makes for a perfect day or even half day jaunt.

Numerous pull-offs and side roads offer access to grassy banks, perfectly suited for a camp chair.

The Deschutes River is divided into three zones, Upper, Middle and Lower. There is a striking difference between these separate stretches of river. It’s entire length is bank fishable, with lots of access points for picnicking as well as camping.

This day we tried a new spot just downstream from the head waters and Little Lava Lake. From here the river flows south into the Crane Prairie Reservoir, eventually turning north out of Wickiup Reservoir and onto the Columbia River. This close to the head waters means the stream is more wadeable but holds smaller fish.

Nothing better than a dust bath after a swim in the river …

The stream is never more than knee deep so we can wade and fish either bank. It is also perfect for a game of fetch with Tip.

The biggest fault with this weeks jaunt was a lack of fish caught, but that was made up in time spent pulling a stick from the river.

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Scouting a cold blue ribbon

The Deschutes River north of Maupin was, for years, a go to fishing spot. There are BLM camp sites along the river from the bridge on Highway 197 to Mack’s Canyon.

When we moved to Central Oregon it was with a thought that we’d spend time on the lower Deschutes.

However, we’ve since discovered the Crooked, Fall and Upper Deschutes and haven’t been to Maupin in over a year.

This year, as we were planning camping excursions. I noticed there is an extension of the BLM land South of Maupin.

In all those years we never even looked that way!

This week we decided to take a day trip back to the old fishing spots and checkout this new area.

The scouting trip was interesting.

That stretch of the river flows through a much tighter canyon and while there are some nice stetches of water, for the most part steep banks and narrow roads make this a much less inviting area.

We headed North, downriver, to our favorite parking spot … Oak Springs. We enjoyed a picnic lunch before heading back to home.

Lower Deschutes is on the camping list, but we’ll be back to old haunts rather than any of these newly scouted sites.

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Staying away on the Crooked

The weather has been so nice we took advantage and put the new Euro rod through its paces.

We are back on the Crooked River … fishing … training Tip in the ways of the river …

and generally practicing our own form of social distancing.

This time I evaluated the new rod and in the process caught a couple. The biggest problem encountered is the cobble rock bottom that makes wading difficult and precarious.

At the Crooked we generally don’t cover a lot of river.  Instead we pick a spot and work up and down from there (maybe a quarter of a mile at most). While the river’s bottom is rock and moss, the bank is really easy to traverse.

As the weather keeps getting better, this will be a regular destination for us. It feels great to hear the river rush by and take the time to breathe in the good and exhale the bad.

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Kokanee Karnival

In late fall we joined a group of flyfishing-centric people that get together the third Thursday and talk about fishing. The Sunriver Anglers organization offers regular programs focusing on fishing Central Oregon. These topics range from slide shows to on stream activities. Tucked into this membership are some interesting opportunities to help nurture the rivers, riparian and aquatic life we’re enjoying.

Kokanee Karnival is one of the educational programs Sunriver Anglers supports. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife started this classroom and field study program in the late nineties.

It’s mission “to help sustain, improve and develop an appreciation of Central Oregon’s unique outdoor environment.” Kokanee Karnival brings that message to 4th and 5th graders.

Perhaps not so coincidentally on Earth Day this year, we participated by helping other Sunriver Anglers serve lunch to 100 hungry elementary students, teachers and volunteers. This was part of Kokanee Karnival’s Angling Clinic Experience.

For most participants this is their first time angling. ODFW has racks of fishing rods and boxes of worms to make it as simple as possible for a successful cast. The other advantage added to the event is that Shelvin Pond is stocked with about 700 trout. From our vantage point, the deck on Aspen Hall, the pond’s banks were filled with bursts of excitement as bobbers dropped below the pond’s surface.

Environment education, especially when it involves grade schoolers, can have substantial impact. ODFW’s unique prospective focuses attention on something the kids are surrounded by but may not fully comprehend…their potential impact. They are doing it in a really fun way … at least we enjoyed ourselves.