One of the big challenges to hosting a fish a long is finding a place that will accommodate approximately 10 anglers. With the pandemic it’s at least twice as hard to find a good place as the great outdoors has become a lot more crowded and the Mt Hood Lakes were especially crowded this weekend!
Earlier this month we brainstormed and came up with a new format for having a Fish A Long; basically we pick an area with several fishable waters close by and agree to meet somewhere for lunch. If possible we keep in touch with a group text. While it’s not perfect, it was was reasonably successful as we were able to spread out and have a fun fish a long. We had 11 members attend and while we didn’t catch a ton of fish, it was a really nice day and we all fished some beautiful waters. Here’s how we did:
Tom was supposed to start at Timothy Lake but couldn’t make it. This was probably for the best because after lunch Paul & Lane tried to show new members Rhona & Laura places to fish at Timothy and also the Oak Grove Fork but it was too simply to crowded.
Dave & George hit Clear Lake first thing in the morning. The water was very low so they opted to fish from shore by the dam after talking to two anglers that used Tenkara rods to dapple flies over the weedbeds with fair success. Dave got a fat 23” rainbow on a Green Devil down by the dam.
Anglers were putting in float tubes at the Clear Lake boat ramp so we went
to see if it was anyone from the club and ran into Greg and Hugo, who were
camping with their families.
When the sun hit the water the fish activity died and we went to check out
Frog Lake. It was pretty crowded so we headed out to find Paul & Lane at
Barlow Creek.
Paul & Lane started at Barlow creek and got some small but colorfully marked trout on dries. Then Paul, Lane, Dave and George spread out along the upper White River by the bridge but didn’t have any success. After this it was time to meet everyone for lunch.
Jim Adams tried Clear Lake in the morning and said no matter where he took his tube, the water was very shallow. Clear Lake has been drawn way down due to irrigation demands.
New members Rhona & Laura fished the Salmon River at the rock climbing wall a few miles up the Salmon River Road. It’s a beautiful spot.
New member Jim Bennett tried Clear Lake and then Frog Lake.
Red hit some small creeks and got several small trout on dry flies.
The Frog Lake Sno Park area was incredibly crowded at lunchtime so we opted to head across the road where the chain up area offered reasonable parking, plus we could put our chairs in a shaded old growth forest rather than a baking hot parking lot. It was a good move!
Next month we are talking about having a get together at the Westmoreland
Casting Pond plus we are also looking at places for our August Fish A Long.
Suggestions are always welcome!