Paid a visit to Oxbow Park for a day on the Sandy. After a 40 minute drive, I arrived before sunup only a day or two beyond a pretty decent sized storm (SND03 - 5540cfs). Leaves and branches everywhere. It should of been a sign.
This was the first time fishing this section for me. I did a lot of exploring since the water was extremely colored. I could not see my boots if I stood in knee deep water, so catching fish was not likely. On top of that, I was hooking leaves or other debris on every cast. So even casting practice was a pain.
I stuck it out for a few hours before giving it up. That was enough time to do some exploring so I know where or better yet, where not to go next time.
On the way home, I fished the Washougal. This river is only a few minutes from home, so it is a nice little place that takes little effort. More on this river, since I have fished it a few times since my visit to the Sandy.
Nov 26, 2011
Nov 1, 2011
Cold day on the Klickitat
Made my first trip to the Klickitat. Not far from the mouth of the Deschutes on the Washington side, this river is a beauty.
Got there at sunup on a cold morning. Air temp was around 30 degrees. After getting in the water, I thought to myself, "boy, this water feels cold". A thermometer told me it was 40 degrees. Wow. Wasn't expecting that at all!
For three hours I battled frozen fingers and frozen guides. My toes were numb as I was wearing my Fall socks, not my winter ones. I failed to follow the Boy Scout creedo, "Always be prepared" (I could be completely wrong about that, it has been a few years).
I'm going to make this a quick report as I have somewhere to go in about 10 minutes. The gist of it is, the river is beautiful, but more setup as nymphing/indicator water. Can you believe I actually put on a bobber? Blasphemy! I gave it the old College try for about 1/2 hour. Then went back to swinging.
Didn't matter what I did, I didn't catch a thing on this day. I tried everything from small flies on a floating line and a 10foot section of T14 with a weighted intruder, to of course nymphing. Found a sweet run or two, but for the most part, it wasn't an ideal river for what I like to do. Or at least I didn't find an ideal run to swing on. If I had done more walking on the other side of the river, I may of found something. But today, was for scooting from point to point in my car.
If I can put my bike in the car, I may take a trail that goes along the river for several miles. I can probably find some secluded spots that are far away from any roads. This is definitely on my list for next time. While the area I probed in my car was not ideal, it has potential.
Although this was a very cold, zero fish day, I had fun. I'll be back with a bicycle sometime in the future.
p.s. The White Salmon river dam was blown on the same day I was on the Klickitat. While I didn't hear it, a Washington Fish and Game guy was very excited and told me all the details. In a few years, that river should be a great run for salmon and steelhead.
Got there at sunup on a cold morning. Air temp was around 30 degrees. After getting in the water, I thought to myself, "boy, this water feels cold". A thermometer told me it was 40 degrees. Wow. Wasn't expecting that at all!
For three hours I battled frozen fingers and frozen guides. My toes were numb as I was wearing my Fall socks, not my winter ones. I failed to follow the Boy Scout creedo, "Always be prepared" (I could be completely wrong about that, it has been a few years).
I'm going to make this a quick report as I have somewhere to go in about 10 minutes. The gist of it is, the river is beautiful, but more setup as nymphing/indicator water. Can you believe I actually put on a bobber? Blasphemy! I gave it the old College try for about 1/2 hour. Then went back to swinging.
Didn't matter what I did, I didn't catch a thing on this day. I tried everything from small flies on a floating line and a 10foot section of T14 with a weighted intruder, to of course nymphing. Found a sweet run or two, but for the most part, it wasn't an ideal river for what I like to do. Or at least I didn't find an ideal run to swing on. If I had done more walking on the other side of the river, I may of found something. But today, was for scooting from point to point in my car.
If I can put my bike in the car, I may take a trail that goes along the river for several miles. I can probably find some secluded spots that are far away from any roads. This is definitely on my list for next time. While the area I probed in my car was not ideal, it has potential.
Although this was a very cold, zero fish day, I had fun. I'll be back with a bicycle sometime in the future.
p.s. The White Salmon river dam was blown on the same day I was on the Klickitat. While I didn't hear it, a Washington Fish and Game guy was very excited and told me all the details. In a few years, that river should be a great run for salmon and steelhead.
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