Oregon Trip - Fall of 1999

The semiannual visits to my old home town that used to be such joyous celebrations of life involving lots of fishing, decent golf games, good and not so good bridge hands, wonderful food, and plenty of local wine have settled quietly back to earth.  With dad in the nursing home suffering the physical and mental indignities brought about by a late spring stroke, life's grimmer realities are setting in.  I'd pass on these trips if I could, but both mom & dad need the companionship and the support of us kids.   So we'll continue the visitations until they're no longer needed.

But we're always able to get in a few casts between the more important things, and here's a bit of quick feedback on the trout situation this year.

Coming down from the Portland airport, I turned off at Salem and drove upstream past Detroit Lake and fished the North Santiam a bit.  It's a very pretty, small and cold wading stream, that in other climates would hold lots of fish.  They may be there too, but I only landed one 8" rainbow (probably a stocker) on an x-caddis in a half hour of casting.  Then it was on to the McKenzie.  Pulling off at the regular spot I waded the same familiar water and go a bit healthier, releasing 5 or so better rainbows in another hour of throwing the flies.  Caddis worked again, but it was a lot of work for modest success.

On to Roseburg and the next day on the North Umpqua the old faithful #14 dark stone fished close to the bottom was successful, although nothing brought to hand was large.   The pond above this run yielded a sunfish on virtually every cast.  That got old shortly.

The next day I spent with the folks up at Whistler's Bend, and it was nice fishing for small rainbows & smolts on caddis surface flies.  This would be described as a TAG fishing day since it was easier to do that than continuously be unhooking immature trout & salmon.  The last event was a few minutes of casting for smallmouths on the South Umpqua by Stewart Park.  Couldn't get any of the big boys interested in the middle of that hot day, but did "TAG" lots of little ones.  So much for 1999.