I thought about trying a few of my old chum spots, but they got closed on the 5th. The choice was then easy...hit the river before the first big storm.
I floated an easy section that has a lot of swing water. The 5wt single skagit was the weapon most of the day.
The first fish was 30' below the launch, in the same run. This river never ceases to amaze me. Between the bankies, the guide boats, the poachers and dudes like me this beautiful fish is still kickin' despite the possible lower lip trauma at some point.
Next run, a fish about the same length, but even heavier. And a really cool orange mark on its pec.
The fog eventually lifted, but never really got full sun. Still gorgeous though.
I saw 3 different deer cross the river. This young, but stout buck didn't seem to care about me at all.
Of the 6 or 7 fish caught today, all were cuttbows except for one actual cutt. It was the smallest fish caught, but had great colors.
The Wigeon makes for an easy float. The river is pretty boney right now so it was nice having minimal draft. I did have my first incident. As some have mentioned, the oar nuts come loose much easier and often than my Commander ever did. I did meet a guy on the John Day one time that had the issue with his Stealth Pro, but I haven't heard Outcast users complain much about it. Anyway, mine happened right when I decided to try pitching a few casts while floating. I made a cast and realized my right oar is floating down the river. I pulled over right before a narrow chute. I had to run about 600 yards to finally intercept the oar. I will be adding thread tape or something to solve that issue. Not cool.
Other than that, it made for a good ride today.
And the new Maxxon rod got to join the party and managed to land 2 fish on a #20 BWO. God I forgot how small these damn things are!
All the other fish came on an olive #8 conehead Slumpbuster. And I was the only one on the river. It was a great day.
I floated an easy section that has a lot of swing water. The 5wt single skagit was the weapon most of the day.
The first fish was 30' below the launch, in the same run. This river never ceases to amaze me. Between the bankies, the guide boats, the poachers and dudes like me this beautiful fish is still kickin' despite the possible lower lip trauma at some point.
Next run, a fish about the same length, but even heavier. And a really cool orange mark on its pec.
The fog eventually lifted, but never really got full sun. Still gorgeous though.
I saw 3 different deer cross the river. This young, but stout buck didn't seem to care about me at all.
Of the 6 or 7 fish caught today, all were cuttbows except for one actual cutt. It was the smallest fish caught, but had great colors.
The Wigeon makes for an easy float. The river is pretty boney right now so it was nice having minimal draft. I did have my first incident. As some have mentioned, the oar nuts come loose much easier and often than my Commander ever did. I did meet a guy on the John Day one time that had the issue with his Stealth Pro, but I haven't heard Outcast users complain much about it. Anyway, mine happened right when I decided to try pitching a few casts while floating. I made a cast and realized my right oar is floating down the river. I pulled over right before a narrow chute. I had to run about 600 yards to finally intercept the oar. I will be adding thread tape or something to solve that issue. Not cool.
Other than that, it made for a good ride today.
And the new Maxxon rod got to join the party and managed to land 2 fish on a #20 BWO. God I forgot how small these damn things are!
All the other fish came on an olive #8 conehead Slumpbuster. And I was the only one on the river. It was a great day.
