Video – Page 6

April 30, 2022May 1, 2022

May Day

Black-necked Stilt at Summer Lake Refuge

It’s the first of May and aside from Maypoles or the Wobblies, we’re hoping it really does mark the start of spring.

Ancient Brits, the Celts actually, celebrated ‘Beltane’ as the return to life and fertility. These festivals didn’t imigrate to the new world, as they were discouraged by the Puritans. However, May Basket Day did, to some degree, and I’ve a faint childhood memory of handformed paper cones filled with flowers, candies and treats, as something my mother did.

April was a record breaking wet month. Good for the rivers, but not so much for our excursions. Weather aside, we have managed a couple of road trips.

A return visit to Summer Lake allowed us to catch up on migrating flocks.

Sandhill Crane

These regular visits have provided us with a wealth of bird pix’s and a much better understanding of what to expect in the lakes. reeds and marsh lands. This trip we made an effort to collect a larger library of sounds to lay under videos.

As always we spent some time on the Crooked River. Levels are coming up which bodes well for better fishing in the future.

However, at the moment, the birds and wildflowers hold most of our attention. At one of our favorite parking sites there was an osprey.

An osprey, perched on an isolated tree, patrols high above the water.

Looking forward to increases in temperatures and more sunny days coming up. The Middle and Lower Deschutes, above Maupin officially opened and the stoneflies are starting to hatch. We also have to make a swing by Spring Basin to check on wildflowers. In all, the summer calendar is filling up.

April 3, 2022April 3, 2022

Spring Bugs

Rolling hills in the Deschutes River Canyon are draped in spring green

This week found us on the Lower Deschutes River near Maupin. The river is still running crystal clear, but the fishing was slow. One of the reasons to ply the Deschutes as spring starts, is to see what stage the stonefly and caddis hatches are at.

Starting early spring, I’m picking at the river’s bottom looking for Skwala, Golden and Dark Stonefly Nymphs. As the river temperatures rise, these bugs (order Plecoptera) start their march to the river’s edge. Eventually these aquatic insects climb onto rocks and bushes to transform into large Stoneflies and present excellent dryfly fishing.

The canyon vegetation has started to shift from winter’s dull browns into spring greens. Wildflowers are also starting to emerge. patches of tiny little pink petals, clumps of yellow blossoms from Balsam Arrowroot, as well as buds on the trees and bushes. With new flowers are butterflies and a variety of insects.

Mixed in with all the fresh plant growth were Woolly Bear Caterpillars coming out of winter’s rest.

Folklore has it that a longer black band is a predictor of more severe winter. Not saying we hold to folklore but our caterpillars seem have mostly black. For now these guys are just eating a bit more in preparation for their transformation into Tiger Moths.

Central Oregon is putting on it’s Spring regalia … which we’ll enjoy before the dry summer weather sets in.

January 9, 2022January 9, 2022

A Snowy Holiday

It’s been snowing for weeks. Thirty eight inches of snow accumulated outside our door, starting just before Christmas. This made for a lot of shoveling, but also created a beautiful landscape.

We were planning a quick trip to the coast to visit family on Christmas day, but Mother Nature stepped in. A storm front moved onshore Christmas Eve and for the next three days just kept dumping moisture. Central Oregon and the eastside of the Cascades were under travel advisories. Not a great thing over the holidays.

The weather backed off a bit the last few days of 2021. This allowed time to dig out before the next front moved in, dropping an additional 18 inches of snow. All this snow is good news for the depleted reservoirs; however, it made travel a bit treacherous between snow plowings. The passes were shut down and supplies, especially fuel, were limited.

It’s the 8th of January, in a new year. The worst of the local roads have been plowed, rutted road ways cleared. A warm front moved in and created a different kind of mess. For the most part we are staying close to home, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t making plans for exploration and at the very least a fishing trip or two.

Welcome to 2022! We’re looking forward to a great year, hope you are too.

November 21, 2021November 19, 2021

Talking about Fishin’

This week found me standing in the Crooked River’s turbid water. As the afternoon sun slipped behind the canyon wall I was trying to get in one more cast. Fishing was slow and I didn’t seem to have the right combination of bugs.

However, the day was sun drenched, temperatures pushed into the 40’s and the wind wasn’t pushing down the canyon, so it was a great day to be fishing.

It is already Mid-November and the shift to winter season has started. We’ll see less sunny days for the next month or two. Daytime temperatures have dropped and rarely get above 50, with morning temps regularly in the teens. For us, that means layers … hats, gloves and scarves become part of the kit. We’re also a bit more weather report conscious.

Within an hour’s drive there are waters that remain open to fishing with drivable access year around. The Forest Service had controlled burns near the Metolius in late October, but we’ll head up there in the next few weeks. The Fall River gets fewer fishers in the winter, so that is also a spot we’ll check out. Like I said no shortage of destinations for our weekly fishing outing.

Much of the west coast has been drenched in fall rains, the Cascades are snow capped and promise an early start to the ski season. On the High Desert we’ve seen a light dusting of snow and brief stints of rain, but more often wake to sun on morning frost.

Cooler days will eventually give way to shoveling snow from the driveway. Right now we are making the most of late fall days with short trips out into the sage and basalt river canyons.

October 31, 2021October 30, 2021

A Quiet Day on the River

Parked at our favorite site on the Crooked River

Took advantage of a break in October’s stormy weather and headed up to the Crooked River. Fall weather seems to clear out the campers so we had the place to ourselves.

Set up the chairs in the sun and enjoyed the day. River levels are still very low but the fishing was great, actually. As the temperatures drop, along with water levels, the dry fly fishing wanes but that means we break out the long rods and Czech-style or Euro nymph.

Tight line swings on a rod rigged with two flys off a light weight 10 foot long rod. This combination allows you to feel the takes, or bumping along the river bottom. In the end, if done right, there are a lot more hook-ups than on a standard wet fly rig. This day that proved true as we saw a lot of fish action, even with the Crooked’s murky and shallow waters.

The day was perfect, temperatures in the low 60’s, lots of sun and only minimal wind.