First off, thank you all for allowing us the opportunity to shut the shop down and take a few days off to do a little bit of fishing! Each year, we do our best to have two company trips, one in the Spring- "the shakedown" and one in the Fall, a celebration of the season we just endured. Typically, our shakedown always happens on the camp stretch, so we can shake down the camp and see if any critters got to any of our gear over the winter. Our fall trip changes each year, with previous trips to cabins on the Rogue and John Day or a nice float down the Deschutes.
With closures impacting the fishing around Oregon, we decided to head down the Deschutes and fish for some trout! We struck gold with the weather on day one, with temperatures hitting almost 70 degrees. The fish were biting, the weather was incredible, and we fished right until dark. Our gracious Camp Host, Shawn, whipped up a wonderful meal. Tri-tip cooked over an open fire accompanied by chanterelles and other chefs accompaniments. This meal topped off the day of fishing and camaraderie and fueled us for a night of fun and laughter around the fire.
Day two started a bit slower, as we all capitalized on a bit of sleep in time. Shawn crafted some fantastic breakfast burritos and hot coffee. A strange warm breeze started blowing in around 8 am, which turned out to be evidence of brutal winds that would blow down on us in the afternoon. On day two, we did not spend much time fishing, mostly dodging the wind. Around 1 pm, the wind became fierce. Blowing gusts up to 60 miles per hour!! This made the water blow about 40 feet off the water into the sky. As you can imagine, this made casting a little challenging. However, a few fish were caught! The night was capped with another fantastic meal from Shawn, including pork chops grilled on the open fire! If you haven't had this man's meals, you need to get down on the river with him!!
Day three is a quick one for us! After smashing some fantastic french toast prepared by Shawn, we loaded up, then made our way down downstream towards Maupin. We spent the day fishing with each other in areas where we could "party fish," meaning we stacked a few of us in a spot and hooked fish together!
Thanks again for granting us the opportunity to get out as a team! We love to do this and wish we could do it more. The three days were full of fish, food, amazing views, and wildlife in the canyon. We appreciate you!
1. Scott soaking in the sunshine on day one.
2. Shawn hooking fish in gale force winds!
3. Checkout the wind throwing the water into the sky!
4. Scott fighting a fish and the wind.
5. Friends on a nearby ridge.
6. A Great Blue Heron taking flight as we floated by.
7. A magnificent baldy.
8. Shawn showing off a trout.
9. A beautiful sunset on night two.
10. Josh and Joe fighting the wind and headed downstream.
