Crooked

As you drive south along Highway 27 out of Prineville, OR, you pass through pastureland filled with cattle.  Soon however, the valley narrows and you find yourself in a canyon driving along the Crooked River.  The section below Bowman Dam is classified a “Wild and Scenic” river;  Barb and I will both vouch for that.  It is a spectacular drive which luckily, is dotted with campgrounds providing easy access for anglers.

We had the pleasure of fishing the Crooked River with Eddie Mack of Fly and Field Outfitters of Bend, OR.  Eddie met us at the Big Bend campground where we “wadered up” and began our trip.  For some reason, there were a lot of fisherman on the river this day, so finding some spots where we could have some space proved challenging.  However, one of the beauties of the Crooked, is that there is so much access;  if one campground is brimming with fishermen, you just head on to the next.

Our first stop was at Castle Rock campground.  Barb was a bit concerned with wading on the slippery rocks found in the Crooked,  but, with Eddie’s help, we embarked on crossing the river to get to a couple of great fishing spots where we hooked into both the beautiful Redband Trout as well as some rather large whitefish.  After fishing here a bit, we crossed back and went to another campground where again we crossed the river to get to the best fishing spots.  Eddie was great, helping us traverse the river, making sure our rigs were set the right way and putting us on fish.

We had a blast fishing with Eddie and would encourage anyone coming to fish the Crooked to call Fly and Field Outfitters and book him for a trip.  For now, please enjoy our interview with Eddie, stream side on the Crooked River.