It was with some trepidation I headed to one of my favorite bank fishing spots on the Mckenzie River to get in an hour or so of fishing before cocktail hour (beer thirty actually). I’ve fished the spot only three times this year and it hadn’t produced native rainbow trout for me on any of those occaisons. Last time through, I saw someone else fishing it. Fishing it with bait. In ten years I’ve never seen anyone else fishing there and I was horrified. At least he’s an old timer . . . .
“I wonder if he gut hooked my pet trout,” I thought to myself as I turned down a narrow dirt lane. My feeling of forboding heightened when I reached the end of the line. Someone had completely trashed the area with the assorted detrius and debris of a roughneck car camping trip. You know what I’m talking about. Crushed styrofoam coolers, scattered empty “king” cans of Busch, half-burned cans of pork and beans, broken bottles shattered in dioneysian drunken revelry. Ugh. Not a good sign.
A couple trout came up to my dries but missed as I fished up towards the native zone. Then a pretty good fish ate my nymph as it swung and as I leaned into it feeling the the strength of the trout, I thought, “This might be a real fish.” Then the trout came to the surface and I saw it’s wonderfully proud dorsal and his bronze hue and blazing deep pink sides.
It was a real fish. I didn’t see any evidence of his bigger brother but now I have hope he too suvived the scourge of worm drownings.
Arriving at the barbece I was asked, “did you catch any fish?”
“One.”
“Just one?”
A smile crept across my face. We know that one trout’s worth.–KM
How many times have you caught that old girl?
Good question. Once, twice?
The third time you should give her a name. Like “hopper-dropper slut.”
That’s a beautiful trout! I’ll have to search out more pictures of the McKenzie River and check it out if I’m down that way!
uhhh any chance you sharing the name of that dirt lane? nice fish! P.S. i would rather work my buns off for that one native than hook 5 planters anyday
umm, no. lol