It Looks Like a Fish, Only Smaller!

Between injuries and regularly scheduled time off, we are extremely short handed at work. Usually, I can expect a certain amount of help but this week I was almost completely on my own. My normal helper is away and will be gone for at least three or four weeks and will probably be on light duty for another couple of weeks after that. All that to say that I really had to pick up the pace this week just to stay in the game.

Yesterday we were closed due to the holiday and boy! Did I need the extra time off or what! We lounged around the house for a few hours and then I loaded the pick up with essentials and then we headed for the river.

I have been suppressing my need to get out in the woods so that I can hold down a regular job, spend Saturdays with my wife combing through other people's junk for treasure, church on Sunday and probably some more junking and maybe a trip to Monticello to restock our space with some of the finer junk treasure.

Okay! Let me get back to yesterday. After that trip to the Deschutes last week, I've had a need for the river burning somewhere down deep and it lept to the surface and I found myself driving along the Clackamas river looking for a place we used to fish a number of years ago. When we arrived, both Jonathan and Debbie expressed chagrin regarding the steep decent down to the river's edge. I told them it was nothing and that I used to do it without thought and I was going to do it again on this day. They sucked it up and followed me down into the dark depths of the forest towards the sound of the river far below. Oh come on you guys; it's not that far! Anyway, we reached the edge of the river without injury and I prepared my gear for what I'd come for.

I can't tell you how many times I got a strike and lost the fish before actually getting a picture. I was a little disappointed also at the size of these fish as well. Apparently, the ODFW is no longer supplying hatchery trout to this water like they used to do.

Click the play button on this short video clip.

I never saw a single damaged dorsal fin or clipped adipose fin which is the most obvious indication of a hatchery fish. Finally after catching and releasing a number of eager but small natives, I got a strike that started to take line. Hmm, interesting. I played with this fish for a little while and then landed him, measured him, and released him, apparently unharmed. I always am happy when I don't see any post traumatic stress displayed in the fish I release. I let them go and dream of catching them again someday. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. He went 14 inches and probably 3 to 3.5 inches deep. It was probably the best trout I've ever seen on the Clackamas. He was beautiful but there is no picture since my camera crew was reading magazines and throwing rocks a few hundred yards downstream.

This was a really fun couple of hours for me and I think my companions had a good day as well.