Smoke finally lifted over a favorite haunt and we are back on the Crooked River. There were days of on and off rain, which likely had some influence over the reduction of wildfire haze.
Our chairs are tucked into a shady spot. The cooler is opened long enough to pull out the boxes with quarter cut sandwiches and cold drinks.
The winter migration is picking up and the trees are filled with a greater number and variety of birds.
Not sure what to call the season; late summer, early fall? We’re at a transition that is neither, but without a title of its own. We like this time of year.
Labor Day’s over and the crowds have started to thin. The cold of the morning can be warmed with a sweater that is easy to shed when the afternoon sun warms things up.
But it never gets that August hot that drives you off the river by noon. We’re back at the point where you can spend the whole day on the stream.
I rig up a couple of rods, one for wet flies in the morning, the other ready for the afternoon hatch.
The river level keeps going down just as the reservoir dramatically drops, but the fishing remains good.
A bunch of Wooly Bears (caterpillar form of the Isabella tiger moth) cling to riverside branches. If they are a harbinger of winter it would seem the El-Nino predictions are on target.
The weather reports are for mild clear days ahead . . . we take that as a sign to get on the road and enjoy all the fall weather we can.