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THE TROUT LINETualatin Valley Chapter News

April/May 2007 Editor: David Illig

Chapter Meetings are held at the LUCKYLABRADOR on the second Wednesday ofeach month at 6:30 PM with a social get-together and theformal meeting at 7:00 PM unless otherwise noted in thenewsletter or website. Lucky Labrador, Multnomah Village,7675 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland, (503) 244-2537. Foodand Beverages available.

Board of Directors Meetings held on the fourth Wednesdayof the month at a Directors home at 7pm.

Wednesday, April 11, Mike Beagle on

Public Lands Initiative and the CopperSalmon Wilderness Proposal. Co-founder ofthe Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Assn. and TroutUnlimited Field Coordinator for Washington and Oregon,Mike Beagle grew up in Eagle Point in southern Oregon,where he first learned to appreciate the wild and scenicbackcountry while hunting and fishing with his father. Hetaught history and coached high school football andbaseball for the next 15 years, all the while remaining veryactive in the outdoors and an advocate for wild lands. Hesoon found himself with an opportunity to take asubstantial pay cut to go to work full time with TU to helppreserve the best of what we have left. He divides his timebetween backcountry protection, giving sportsmen a voice

on responsible energy use with the power companies, andeducating sportsmen on off-road vehicle use. Hes going toshow us some of the wild lands hes currently involved withprotecting, including the spectacular Copper SalmonWilderness.

Wednesday May 9 Fishing forSmallmouth, Shad and Steelhead on theUmpqua River with Gary Lewis.Fly fishing at age seven, tying flies at 11, born with a love ofthe outdoors, he first began guiding for steelhead in 1970out of legendary Steamboat Lodge, Gary is the consummate

angler, employing all methods to chase smallmouth bass,shad and steelhead on the Umpqua River. This former golfcourse superintendent, Roseburg city parks director andcounty fairgrounds chief retired to full time guiding about15 years ago. Hes been in great demand. Hes evenappeared on ESPNs Fly Fishing America and The OutdoorSportsman, and been written up in many major sportingmagazines. Hes going to talk to us about the very uniquefishing opportunities found in the Umpqua and show usthe many successful methods from fly fishing to spinninggear that we can employ to wear ourselves out releasingfish.

Presidents Column

Hank Hosfield

With apologies to Izaak Walton,when did Trout Unlimited turn intoa fly fishing organization?Currently, if you become a lifetimemember of Trout Unlimited, youll receive the gift of a OrvT3 Fly Rod and an Orvis Battenkill Mid Arbor III Reel.Pretty sweet, huh? Who wouldnt want that? In the 18years that Ive been a member (hard to believe its been thlong) of Trout Unlimited, theyve offered all sorts of flyfishing related enticements to join and/or give money tothe cause. I dont recall ever seeing any sort of spinning

rod or exclusively non-fly fishing gear ever offered. Notthat it would particularly matter to me, as Ive beenproperly fingered as a fly fishing only sort of fellow. Itswhat I know and prefer. But I know there are many TUmembers who dont yet own a fly rodalthough probablynot nearly as many as there used to be. And Im not surewhether this is a good or bad thing, but I can assure youthat if you belong to TU and you dont currently fly fish,you may have some reason to wonder whether or not yourfishing interests are being served. Though the fundamenttruth is that TU is a coldwater fisheries conservationorganization, it is also morphing into a fly fishing group,and if youre anything like our gear-fishing brethren in theRogue River Chapter (formerly a Steelheaders chapter), yomight feel a bit disenfranchised. Likewise, if youre amember of our chapter, youre still waiting for the firstmonthly program speaker to talk about mooching rigs.

Why does this matter? Trout Unlimited was founded uponthe idea that anglers have a vested interest in protectingthe waters that they fish. The more anglers there are, themore friends and advocates there are for our rivers andstreams. The great majority of anglers are not fly fishers.So the more exclusively TU becomes a fly fishingorganization, the more limited its appeal may become tothe greater fishing public who could forward its mission.

Perhaps this is a calculated strategy by TU. Maybe theybelieve theyre better off aligning themselves with the

perceived pre-existing conservation ethic of fly fishing. Bythe way, within Trout Unlimiteds early ranks in Michiganthere was considerable disagreement over the virtues ofcatch-and-release, so theres been some movement over thyears in core values as well. But back on point, it isindisputable that there are many non-fly fishing people whare doing a lot of good work to protect our waters andfisheries. Some of them are also members of TU. It is inour best interests that we retain them and reach out toothers like themespecially if they are young, new blood.

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I was recently told the average age of TU membership is 52years old. Ive previously addressed the topic of the grayingranks of fishing club membership, and the fact that Ill be48 by the time this is published and a lot of the guys I rubshoulders with at the recent Fly Fishing Show and the NWFly Tyers Expo still regard me as a youngster furtherillustrates the growing concern among FFF clubs and TUabout recruiting younger members. Trout Unlimited isdiscussing new strategies for getting kids involved.Considering what one of the founders of the Federation ofFly Fishers recently expressed about the decreasingopportunities for youngsters to participate in fly fishing(limited as much by the changing nature of single-parentfamilies as expense and access), even they are beginning towonder if fly fishing is the best way to get more kidsinvolved.

Very few of us first learned to fish with a fly rod. While itstrue I caught my first trout on a fly, it was under a plasticbubble on a closed-face spinning outfit. I spent most of myearly years casting rooster tails. I didnt make the fullswitch to fly fishing until after I built my first fly rod in 5th

grade. I wouldnt become proficient at it for many moreyearsand I grew up steeped in fly fishing. Even so, there

was no snobbiness about fly fishing. Any time spent on thewater with a rod in hand was time well spent. I still feelthat way. (And I didnt land that sturgeon I got a coupleyears ago on an elk hair caddis.)

I moved on to fly fishing for aesthetic reasons of my own,ceding a lot of water and good fishing opportunity to othergear anglers, but I hate the elitist image that goes alongwith fly fishing, and Im somewhat concerned about ourchapters identity as a fly fishing only club. Our chapter wasfounded by fly fishers, and I think almost all of our activemembers are fly anglers. But our chapter is certainly notexclusionary, nor does TU want to be, and I think itsimportant to advertise this fact. Our club membershiprepresents a diverse range of interests, but our commonconcern is for the resource. My duty as president is to offera wide range of programs and activities to appeal to all ofour membership to rally a broad base of support toaccomplish our objectives and create an environmentwhere we can all come together in the good fellowshipfound among all anglers. To all I say: Petri heil! (Atraditional streamside salutation between fishermen.)Tight Lines, Hank.

Fly of the Month:. The DeadlyDurable Damsel Michael Gentry

Few fishing opportunities get me as excited as hitting a lakein the height of the damselfly season - hoards of bluebombers flitting about, and pods of fish eagerly awaiting ashot at them. The takes are sudden and slashing. Over theyears Ive tried a number of different commercial and self-tied patterns, of all kinds of materials, with mixed results.Some that look great dont stand up, some with greatmaterials dont get much attention from the finnycustomers. At some point, I started paying a bit moreattention and began to notice a few things.

Though adult damsels show in several colors, thepredominant specie is a dark electric blue shade to myeyes, a bit darker than the braided synthetic body materiaavailable in most fly shops. And when an adult damseldoes hit the water, it generally presents a flat (not anupright) target, most often with wings splayed. Thecommercial patterns tend to be overhackled like a typicaldry fly, sitting the fly too high on the surface for a realistipresentation. I also noticed that the braided synthetic bodoften looked thoroughly chewed after several takes. Toovercome those hurdles I use a simple pattern of dark blubucktail and trimmed, softer grizzly hackle.

Hook: Tiemco BL100 #10Thread: Doc. Blue 6/0 Uni-thread

Body: Dark blue bucktail (I use Large NorthernBucktail by Hairline Dubbing, Inc.)

Hackle: Grizzly saddle hackle

Sealer: Fleximent

1. Secure the thread about halfway between the hook

eye and bend.2. Cut a small bunch of bucktail fibers (about 16-20)

from the bucktail near the buckskin generallythey are three or more inches long.

3. Secure the bucktail to the hook (trying to keep thefibers on the top of the hook)by close, fairly tight wraps back to the beginningof the bend of the hook.

4. Holding the bunch of bucktail sticking out theback of the hook with your left hand, continuewrapping the thread toward your holding hand,in fairly tight spirals at about a 30 degree angle(so as not to hide too much of the bucktailmaterial by the thread) about one inch beyond thestart of the bend of the hook.

5. At that point, wrap two more turns perpendiculato the bucktail (to finish theend of the flys body) and spiral the thread back tthe hook bend, in the same manner. Trim off theexcess bucktail just past the finish wraps, andgently pull the tail straight.

6. Continue wrapping the thread to about a quarterof an inch from the eye (to leave room for thehackle and head).

7. By wrapping thread back and forth closelytogether, build up a noticeable thorax

about three-sixteenths of an inch long with thefront ending about a quarter inch from the eye.The thorax should be about twice as thick as thebody.

8. Take a grizzly saddle hackle with splines aboutthree-quarters of an inch to one inch, attach tothe hook at the front end of the thorax and makeabout six turns; tie off and finish the head.

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This is key: To make the damselfly durable, I coat theentire body and thorax with Fleximent (I thin the Fleximenta bit with Fleximent Thinner to get a good thin coat andgood penetration of the thread/bucktail body). I trieddoing it after adding the hackle and finishing the fly but itstoo difficult to avoid the hackle and still get good coverage.So I tie these flies in two stages: after I finish the thorax(step 7), I lash off the thread with two half-hitches wherethe hackle later will be placed, cut the thread, stick thehooks into my ever-present wine corks (you know where toobtain these), coat the bodies and let them dry, and then re-vise and add hackle. And finally, to make the flies lie low inthe water, while the fly is in the vise I trim the bottom ofthe hackle squared off even with the tip of the hook.

Make no mistake, this is a tried and true pattern. TheFleximent body holds up extremely well, and the somewhatsofter saddle hackle and body take fly dressing well to keepit afloat yet low in the surface. In fact, one well-known fly

shop in Maupin has added the pattern to its arsenal after Idemonstrated its lethality to the owners in some privatelakes they manage.

The damselfly hatch usually develops on most lakes in midto late May, as the weather warms and sunlight increases.Typically during the first few days youll see increasingnumbers of sub-adults (tannish in color) flying around onshore near the shoreline and over shore edge reed-beds. Afew more days and youll begin to see squadrons of blueadults venturing out over the lake, primarily near the edges,and the fish begin to look up and drool. It's a dailyrecurring "hatch" that has a lengthy season. Once thetemperature and amount of sunlight daily reaches brooding

quantity (usually by mid-May on all but lakes above about6000 feet) it goes on all summer with fluctuations fromsudden storms, temperature drops, overcast, etc. I justfavor the first two or three weeks (typically early and mid-June).At that point, gear up! Last summer, I worked oneend of a lake for about two hours, hooking up about adozen and a half times, and getting dizzy while fish aftersizeable fish turned me round and round in my tube beforecoming to net. I doubt if I had several minutes at mostbetween hookups. My hats off to the lady! Michael

Predator and Prey Erle NormanWhen I am on the water and the fishing is slow, I usuallyhave plenty of time to observe wildlife. There are somedays when the activities of predators are far moreinteresting than the fishing. Many kinds of predatorspursue trout and seem to be more common than ten ortwenty years ago. Osprey, eagles, herons, and otters aremore frequent at any lake or river with a significant fishpopulation. Increased angling pressure has been often th

source of annoyance.

Some incidents in the past few years have caused me towonder how trout must change their behavior to betteravoid the greater numbers of predators. Fish seem to beinstinctively wary of overhead movement. Even if it is notin their genes, smaller fish must learn it quickly to surviveattacks by birds, such as blue herons and kingfishers. Asthese survivors reach10-15 inches, they become more oftethe targets of ospreys and otters. As a flyfisher, I am aftersome of these same fish, too.

At Hosmer Lake, I found the first mayfly spinner fall that had ever seen. I had read about this in some lake fishingguide books, and the bugs were easily recognized. Thereaction of the fish to this was much different from theguide book examples. Instead of cruising in a shallow,predictable pattern, the Atlantic Salmon at Hosmer werefeeding only in the shade along the shore. The rising fishseemed to be popping up unpredictably from deeper wateSome of them came completely out of the water, as theytook the spinners. These were fish up to 16-17 inches.Three ospreys were perched nearby and seemed to beintently watching the salmon, but never did dive on them.

At Lost Lake on Mt. Hood, our chapter's August outing saanother spinner fall with plenty of mayflies on the water.Only small fish were rising, with no sign of any larger fishWhen the wind died completely, I did see various ants and

beetles floating on the flat lake surface. The books hadsuggested that the fish would be taking them. The fish thafternoon refused to come up to them. Lost Lake has veryclear water and several osprey. I had also fished the daybefore. The temperature was much colder, with no surfacinsect activity. I fished several hours using the strategyadvised by a local fly shop. Trolling bugger and mayflynymph patterns along the drop-off to deeper water, Icaught three rainbows of about twelve inches each. Hardlyan exciting day, but it did seem to indicate the larger fish'preference to hold and feed in deeper water to avoid theosprey.

At another nearby lake, the water is usually much moreturbid from wind and algae. These fish seem much moresurface oriented, compared to Lost Lake. No bait is allowehere and much of the fishing seems to be catch and releasOsprey are present, but seem likely to be picking off fishinjured by the numerous anglers. I had always thoughtotters were harmless, furry clowns that might surprise youby swimming underwater and popping up to look at youwhile they float downstream. That was before I discoverethat they don't just live on crawfish.

On a November trip to the Deschutes River, I was lookingfor trout rising to Bluewing Olive mayflies. After checking

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a few likely spots, I found rising fish at a back eddy. Theywere feeding on small, black midges. Some of the fish wereeven swimming slowly in a slack water area with theirdorsal fins out of the water. It was early afternoon, but thethick cloud cover made it seem like twilight. The fishseemed comfortable and confident in the low light. Iquickly got my waders and fly rod from the car andreturned to the river. The fish were all gone and the otterswimming in the back eddy seemed the obvious reason. Iscared the otter away, and then waited by the water. A fewBWO's were starting to appear after about ten minutes. Itwasn't much of a hatch, but two of the three fish that Icaught in the next 45 minutes had obvious signs of tooth orclaw scratches. Evidently, a few of the fish chased by theotter were willing to start feeding again. This was muchsooner than I would have guessed. In the future, I hope tofind similar experiences.

Certainly, when I am preying (praying?) in the future, I willbe aware of the competition from other predators. Erle

(Said one otter to another: I can remember when youhardly ever saw one of those humans bothering our fish ona Wednesday in February. But now theyre everywhere

messing with our dinner. Dang humans!

editors note)

Cooking on the RoadBy Andy Andrews

In my youth I purchased a 1953 Studebaker pickup thathad been nicknamed Galloping Gertie by its previousowner. The old green truck had a three speedtransmission with overdrive, and a flathead six - cylinderengine that never knew when to quit pulling. I consideredthe trucks top speed to be 55 MPH as after that the frontend started bouncing around and the truck couldunexpectedly change lanes. This caused a rush ofadrenaline for the driver of the truck and stark terror forthe driver of an oncoming vehicle (after my first lanechanging experience, the origin of the trucks nicknamebecame clear to me). Gertie, as I now called her, wouldnever be known as a fast vehicle, as most 1964Volkswagens could beat her away from the stop light.There were little things like the drivers door window wouldfall down inside the door, usually on a cold, rainy morning.The passengers door would refuse to open as if it werewelded shut. When you did get it open, the door wouldntstay shut. But then I didnt make a shrewd investment of100 - hard earned dollars to buy a vehicle to raceVolkswagens and have perfection in all things.

I could handle a few minor defects because all I wanted

(and could afford) was transportation that when it slid off amountain road and hit a tree, I wouldnt shed a tear. Infact, the truck looked pretty experienced at hitting treesbefore I bought it, because there wasnt a straight panel onit. And come to think of it, it might have been mostlygreen. I was sure the previous owner had a large collectionof spray paint cans in his garage that would be the envy ofany hardware store. Apparently he grabbed whatever paintcan still worked to cover up a ding when one appeared onthe truck. So what did the truck do well? Gertie startednearly every time, went where you pointed her if you wereless than 55 MPH, and her brakes were OK if you plannedwell ahead. I have a pretty good marker as to when I

bought Gertie as shortly after that, both my parents wentthrough some sort of change. My mother became fairlyreligious and started praying; mostly when I started GertieDad would just look at the truck, shake his head andmumbled a lot. I was always pretty sure he was takingabout my brother as there were a lot ofstupid this anddumb cluck thats in his quite mumblings.

Gertie always had a way with the girls; usually a bad way. was driving to a young ladies house to pick her up for adate when a few blocks short of her parents home, themuffler fell off. Well actually, the wire that had beenholding Gerties muffler in place broke, letting the mufflerfall off, if you want to split hairs. I already knew Gertiewasnt going to show her best side (she didnt have a bestside), because shed had this little engine fire the weekbefore that had discolored the paint on the hood; andmaybe the fire had caused the paint to bubbled a little onher fenders, which happened just seconds before Gertiesleft - front tire burst into flames. Anyway, I pulled into thegirls parents driveway (with the remains of the muffler inthe back of the truck) and her mother came out to informme theyd had a death in the family and she was sorry butthe girl couldnt go out that night. This was not a new

experience for me as the sight of Gertie seemed to inspireeither illness or death in the family of some girl I had askeout.

I always wanted to be on the road early when going fishinwith Gertie, and breakfast just delayed my leaving time. Iwas explaining this to my dad and when I mentioned howmuch I later regretted missing breakfast, he gave me hisfavorite image building comment of, Well, you dumb clucYou have a stove under the hood of that accident-about-tohappen! Gerties old flat head engine did resemble the flsurface of a stove. On my next trip, I started cooking onthe road. The basic technique that follows will work formost food items. Start with a foot of tin foil and place amuffin or bagel in the center. Bring the edges of the foiltogether (over the muffin) and fold the edges together atleast three times. Carefully fold the ends of the foil as ifwrapping a present. Good, tight creases will prevent anyengine pollutants from entering the foil and contaminatinthe food. Now comes the hard part. You need to place thfood somewhere on the engine where it wont fall off, or ginto the way of electrical wiring. On most engines, the reais usually warmer than the front area. The exhaustmanifold is along the sides, or on the rear of the engine anresembles a long, rusty looking pipe that attaches to themuffler system. The reason I explain this is that themanifold directs 75 80 percent of the engines heat outthe tail pipe and the radiator handles the remaining heat.The manifold is very hot and the closer you get your food

to the manifold, the faster it will cook.

How long will it take to warm a muffin by this technique?Again, it depends on where you place the muffin, but Idsay an hour should do the trick. Ive pre cooked sausagesliced them, and cooked them with scrambled eggs byputting them in a can wrapped with tin foil. I have cut thislices of baby reds potatoes, added a tablespoon of Italiansalad dressing and by the time Id arrived at the Deschutethey were ready to eat. I used to cook bacon by wrappingit in tin foil and wrapping the

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foil around the exhaust manifold. One word of caution: Ilearned the hard way that old bacon grease on the manifoldcan cause an engine fire that can sometimes spread to atire. Cooking ham works better than bacon because it hasless grease and therefore theres less chance that flameswill belch out from under the hood of your vehicle.Cooking on your engine is far from perfect and it takessome experimentation, but it does work.

While I was still in the service, I returned to my parentshome on leave and saw no sign of Gertie. I asked my dadabout Gertie and it seems that he took her for a spin andwhen turning back into the driveway, the brakes failed.Lucky for dad the garage door was down which wasinstrumental in getting Gertie stopped. Unfortunately, theloss of some panels from the garage door seemed to upsetdad more than the damage to Gertie. Dad said the oldtruck wasnt worth repairing, so he sold it for $25. Laterwhen I asked who had bought the truck, he told me that ithad had gone to the big wrecking yard in the sky. I wasshattered! My Gertie was gone and I was still in themilitary; my life really sucked, big time! My dream hadalways been to separate Gerties fame from the body of thetruck and rebuild her from the ground up. All it would

have taken was to have a rich (unknown) relative die andleave me the funds to fix the truck. Currently, Gertie isprobably part of someones washing machine.

Now, many years later, I realize that Gertie ended up beingan investment in educational courses covering FinancialDisbursements of Funds and Bankruptcy, AutomotiveEngineering with Wire and Tape, Getting to Know Your FireDepartment through the Art of Cooking on an Engine, andan advanced course in The Use of Colorful and CreativeLanguage Phrases during Frustrating Times. Thanks Gertie!Not a bad education for 100 bucks. Andy

Shad fishing on Columbia River

Check out BREAKING NEWS at ourweb siteWWW.TVTROUTUNLIMITED.com

TU Fishing Outings 2007

March 24, 25 Deschutes River,Maupin, Oak Springs Campground

April 14 Lost Lake, Spruce Run ParkMay 4, 5, 6 South Twin Lake, Central Oregon,

South Twin Lake CampgroundJune 1, 2, 3 State Project , Rimrock Ranch,

Indian Ford Campground

June 29, 30, July 1 Timothy Lake, Pine PointCampground, Camp #25

July 20, 21, 22 Upper Klamath Lake Area,Campground TBA

August 5 Laurence Lake, Mt. Hood AreaAugust 24, 25, 26 East Lake, Central Oregon,

Cinder Hill CampgroundSeptember 20--26 Fall River, Central Oregon,

Fall River CampgroundOctober 5, 6, 7 State Project, Location TBAOctober 14 Round Lake,

Upper Clackamas WatershedOctober 26, 27, 28 Crooked River, Central Oregon

Campground TBA

Contact Andy Glen.Andrews@valero.com503 969 2246

Lost Lake--Spruce Run ParkOuting Saturday, April 14th.

To get to Lost Lake, near Spruce Run Park, travel West onHighway 26 past the Jewell Junction. Several miles past thjunction, there will be a sign on the side of the highwayindicating the turn off (to your left) for Spruce Run Park,Lower Nehalem River. After traveling several miles, andjust near the entrance of the park, there will be a goodgravel road on your left. This road will be the road to Los

Lake. In the past, this has been a good, gravel road theentire 4 5 miles to Lost Lake. You may not see the lakefrom the road, but you will see some parked cars and a dirroad turning off to the right. This road takes you part waaround the lake. A short distance further, a second dirtroad leads to a primitive boat ramp. Most people parkalong the gravel road and walk a very short distancetowards the ramp to launch their tubes.

Lost Lake is in the shape of a dumbbell, about 15 acres isize, with the deepest point being about 20 feet.Personally, I will plan to use an intermediate sinking linemost of the time; and I also plan on losing some gear alonthe edge of the lake. There are numerous fallen treesaround the edge that provide cover for fish and are homefor bugs. A shallow, narrow channel separates the two round parts of the lake. Most fish in the lake are plantedrainbows in the 10 to 12 inch range, with some holdoversgoing much larger. Also the lake may hold a surprise ortwo for someone. On occasion, steelhead are released intothe lake by the state. These fish are very rare in the lake,but they do exist.

For those of you who would like to car pool, pack a lunchand meet us at the River City Fly Shop, on Saturdaymorning, and we will leave at 8AM. The River City Fly

http://www.tvtroutunlimited.com/mailto:Glen.Andrews@valero.commailto:Glen.Andrews@valero.comhttp://www.tvtroutunlimited.com/

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Shop is located at 11429 SW Scholls Ferry Road (near BigReds Restaurant).For more information, please call Andy at 503 969 2246(cell), or 503 646 2375 (Hm).

South Twin Lake May 4th, 5th, and 6thSouth Twin Lake is located very near Wickiup Reservoir inCentral Oregon. Though we fish South Twin Lake, this isalso a base camp for visiting many or our favorite fishing

holes in the area. Wickiup, Crane Prairie, Hosmer and manyother lakes and creeks are located near - by and can beeasily explored from the campground at South Twin. Thefishing at South Twin is early morning (first light) and lateafternoon (evening till dark), Stump Fishing. The oxygenlayer in South Twin is shallow, so fishing deep will notproduce fish. The lake is 120 acres in size and 55 feet atits deepest spot. Some very large fish cruse the underwaterstump farms in low light conditions and are very close tothe bank. A sinking line with a large wooly bugger, orstreamer, is the standard when fishing South Twin underthese low light conditions. South Twin has a resort areawhere row boats can be rented if you do not have a boat orfloat tube. No boats with motors are allowed on the lake.

If Andy is present Saturday night (and he plans to be there),he will bring the Road Kill Grill and the meat will beprovided for the Saturday night BBQ. It is alwaysappreciated if those in attendance could provide chips, aside dish or salad for the group.

When approaching the area on Highway 58 from Eugene,after passing Odell Lake turn left on Road #46. This can bea tricky turnoff to find and I generally wakeup and realizethat Im crossing over the Little Deschutes, and Ive missedthat damn turn, AGAIN. After youre on Rd. 46, drive pastDavis Lake (on your left) and continue past Wickiup (onyour right). After passing Wickiup (and before CranePrairie), turn right onto road #42 and travel a mile past the

Deschutes crossing then follow the signs past North Twinto South Twin Lake.

For more information, call Andy at 503 969 2246 (cell),or 503 646 2375 (Hm).

BULL TROUT RENDEZVOUS VIVolunteer Work and FISHING!!!!!Friday, Saturday, Sunday June 1,2,3, 2007

Join our Trout Unlimited State Project atRimrock Ranch on Wychus Creek. We arereturning to fight invasive weed species along WychusCreek. TU has received a grant to implement invasive weedcontrol strategies. Both research and weed removal willoccur.Friday and Saturday work days start at 9:30 am, meeting atthe Rim Rock Ranch gate; leaving from Indian FordCampground. Saturday night there is a barbecue provided.Sunday is devoted to fishing and relaxation. People havegreatly enjoyed this project in the past

There is additional camping or lodging at Allen Springs,Lower Bridge, Candle Creek, Pie Rest Hotels, Metolius RiverLodge, Metolius River Resort, Lake Creek Lodge and ColdSprings Resort. . The host of the outing is Clackamas River

Trout Unlimited. Contact Dick Hollenbeck, 503 6304074, dick@clackamasrivertu.org.www.clackamasrivertu.org

UPCOMING Newsletter MaterialI would like to welcome another new contributor to ournewsletter. Im not sure what the significance of old vehicstories is in this issue. Eben is also a columnist at theHillsboro Argus. Start working on your own article, poem,

book review, equipment review, fishing technique, fishingdestination, Pictures, etc. We need material for upcomingissues Dillig1@aol.com 296 9050 David

At the Time Eben PindyckAt the time, I drove a purple station wagon although, to befair, I didnt know it was purple. My brother was the onewho told me and he insisted that this surely meant I wasgay. Fifteen year olds say such things. Unfortunately, so my friends and Im twenty-five. I am colorblind but, no, Idont see the world in black and white like a dog. I do,however, confuse certain colors like green and brown, andblue and purple.

After graduating college, my rough plan was to load mypurple station wagon with various supplies (a tent, asleeping bag, rods, reels, water bottles, backpacks, clothinbooks etc.) and explore the more remote parts of thewestern United States. Eventually, I presumed, I wouldshack up in a small cabin on a lake and write some veryimportant things.

So on graduation day, I pointed my station wagonwestward. The first night I made it to Maryland, the nextnight Ohio where, on a whim, I called my ex-girlfriend andexpressed how much I missed her and what a dumbass Idbeen. She had similar feelings on both accounts. So, Istopped briefly in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to spend five day

with her before heading definitively west.

Eventually, I made it to brightest New Mexico as Ed Abbywrote and landed at my aunts guesthouse or casita as shecalled it. My aunt lives in a quiet place off a dirt road,which, to this day, she greatly fears is in jeopardy of beingpaved. Each morning Janie and my Uncle Sam took theirpack of dogs (three goldens and a German shepherd) on ahike. The trail actually began in their backyard and loopearound until it eventually reached the casita. If I was up, Iwent along. If, more likely, I wasnt up, I would hike thetrail alone during the more reasonable hours of the day.The trail itself was so short and everything so stunning thI would hike back to the beginning once I reached the end

One day, after having done my hike and re-hike, I asked maunts gardener about the fishing possibilities in the area.assumed that there must be a few reservoirs, at best, in thparched place. I assumed wrong because the gardener tolme about a trout stream nearby. The trout, he said, werenative and easy to catch. A worm and bobber would do thtrick or, if I had one, a fly and bobber. He also said thatthese native fish were delicious. When fried whole, thebones actually disappeared.

mailto:dick@clackamasrivertu.orghttp://www.clackamasrivertu.org/mailto:Dillig1@aol.commailto:Dillig1@aol.comhttp://www.clackamasrivertu.org/mailto:dick@clackamasrivertu.org

8/9/2019 Apr - May 2007 Trout Line Newsletter, Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

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To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North Americas Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds

This last part seemed most unbelievable of all, but Ilistened carefully to his directions and, that day, pointedmy purple station wagon toward said trout stream. I drovefor several hours, mostly on a road that was never intendedfor low-clearance vehicles such as my own. Eventually,after seeing no water whatsoever and doing considerabledamage to the undercarriage of my vehicle, I turned aroundin defeat.

The next day I asked for somewhat more exact directions.The trailhead, the polite gardener reiterated, was at the endof a dirt road. From there, the trail followed the stream. Itwas hard to miss, he said. The second time around I musthave made the correct turn because I did, in fact, arrive at atrailhead and this trailhead wasat the end of a dirt road.However, next to the trail itself was the most insignificant,measly creek Id ever seen. One look and it was obvious:there wasnt a single fish in this creek. This little hiccup ofwater could barely rinse the dust off my feet.A discouraging thought went through my head: could I bein the wrong spot again? I figured that there must be amore substantial stream somewhere up the trail. So, tryingto remain optimistic, I unloaded a small cooler and a little,spin-fishing outfit and started to hike in search of trout.

The first person I passed was a bare-chested young manwearing a nipple ring. He greeted me and I greeted him.After that somewhat disorienting experience, I had the trailmostly to myself. I quickly learned from my field guide thatthose cacti next to the trail were called buckhorn cholla andI knew that those were ponderosa pines. The cacti wereeven bedecked in flowers.Despite the scenery, the tiny hiccup of water had notgrown, nor had I come across a larger stream of any sort. Iwas starting to feel dejected, like Id wound up at the wrongspot in consecutive days and that Id again missed anopportunity to catch fish. But, I wasnt ready to give upjust yet and my only real responsibility was to gatherfodder for my hermetic, lakeside writing sessions.There was a small side trail up a ways. It was clearly usedby peoples pets to access the small creek, maybe to pee init, and probably to sip some fresh water in this hot place. Itook the trail and looked through a tunnel of vegetation atthe tiny flow of water. It was clear, the stream that is, andpaved by smooth pebbles of various colors. There was aminiscule waterfall just downstream of where I stood and, Ifigured, if there were any fish in this emaciated gargle, theywould surely be in that pool below the waterfall.What the hell, I thought. Id driven all the way here afternearly ruining my car yesterday and Id hiked through thedesert during the thick, tangible heat of summer. My onlyreservation was that if somebody actually did pass me, heor she would surely think I was crazytrying to fish this

lifeless dribble. Then again, being called crazy would benothing new.

At the time, I didnt know how to flyfish, which, inretrospect, I realize saved me a lot of money. My anglingethics had also yet to develop. So, I ripped a worm in twoand threaded the slimy creature onto a hook. I wiped theworm juice on my shorts and then crawled through thestreamside flora to the creek. Casting was certainly notpossible. There simply wasnt room. In fact, I saw only oneway to reach that fishy pool. My worm and bobber wouldhave to be carried by the currentover the edge. Thisseemed reasonable enough to me. So, I released the bail

and off my bait went, downstream and destined toplummet over the worms equivalent of Niagara Falls. Ovethe lip and into that frothy, foaming mess, it went. Thebobber reappeared safely in the calm pool below. Im pretsure that few fisherman in history have ever have been sosurprised at having life at the other end of their line. I sethe hook and hoisted a writhing trout over the waterfalland into my waiting hand. It was hugemaybe seveninches and portlyconsidering that it came from such atiny home. I cant say with certainty what exactly its colorwere, but the ones I did see were fantastic. I actuallycheered out loud. Inexcusably, I then plopped the troutonto a bed of ice and shut my cooler.

At the time, I was fascinated with my own idealized notionof self-sufficiency. I hoped one day to live off the landinAlaska presumably. Eating a seven-inch trout was, ofcourse, a first step. With my rod rigged up, I walked alongthe trail in search of tiny waterfalls. One group of hikersactually did pass me. At the back of the group was ayoungster, maybe 13. He looked over his shoulder notonce, but twice at this crazy guy with a fishing rod in thedesert.

That said, at the bottom of the next waterfall, I foundanother bejeweled trout and I started to experience a kindof euphoriashocked at finding fish in such an unlikelyplace, shocked at their absurd beauty, and completelybuzzed from the adrenaline rush of fighting a wild creatuin a wild place. By dusk, I had five fancy trout on ice andhad released several others. During the drive to my auntscasita, I already felt remorse at having to abandon, eventemporarily, this sense of adventure and solitude and purunfiltered joy. At my temporary home, I gutted thebeautiful trout and placed them in a frying pan surroundeby butter. There was only enough to make an appetizer,but the meat tasted clean and fresh and the skin tasted liksalt and butter. I can, however, say for certain that thebones did notdisappear.

Eben

TVTU Members Can Help MenFighting CancerFishing can heal the mind. Talking and sharing can easethe pain...Thank you for including me in ReelRecovery. It was one of the most rewarding and emotionalexperiences of my life.

The Big K Guest Ranch will again be the location for theOregon Reel Recovery Retreat in 2007. Dates are August22-24, 2007. I encourage everyone to learn more about Re

Recovery by going to www.reelrecovery.org, talking to me an upcoming meeting or phoning me at phone number or mail address shown below

We are accepting applications for cancer survivorparticipants and volunteer Fishing Buddies, as well asdonations of money and supplies. Such applications areavailable at www.reelrecovery.org or I am happy to getthose to you. Robert L. Bernard 503.239.8507bearbernard@yahoo.com

http://www.reelrecovery.org%2C/http://www.reelrecovery.org/mailto:bearbernard@yahoo.commailto:bearbernard@yahoo.comhttp://www.reelrecovery.org/http://www.reelrecovery.org%2C/

8/9/2019 Apr - May 2007 Trout Line Newsletter, Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

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Tualatin Valley Trout UnlimitedApril May / 2007 SEE THE 2007 OUTINGS CALENDAR

Officers and BoardPresident: Hank Hosfield228-6553 hankh@imagina.com

Vice President Communications Paige Wallace503-803-9466 flyfishgirl@hotmail.com

Treasurer Erle Norman 293-6006caddis2000@hotmail.comMembership Chair

Board of Directors:Eric Thompson 297-0718

anglingeric@msn.comDick Rohrbaugh

rbaugh@lclark.edu 636-3877David Illig Newsletter editor296 9050 dillig1@aol.comAlex Barkume - 642-7024

alexbarkume@comcast.netAndy Andrews Outings

Glen.Andrews@valero.com 969 2246Jerry Heppell

gheppell5@verizon.net 639-9408Robert L. Bernard 503-239-8507bearbernard@yahoo.com

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