Tag: Fly and Field Outfitters

Lagniappe

Oregon Outstanding!

By TB

We’d been to Oregon several times before starting our River Ramble.  It was always flying into Portland for meetings/R&R, hitting Salem for state capitol confabs and occasionally, an education conference on the Oregon coast.   In other words, we were always on the western side of the Cascades.  It turns out, the four Trout Unlimited Top 100 Trout Streams are on the eastern side of the Cascades in what is “high desert” country.

This area has incredible beauty from the basalt cliffs that line the Deschutes and Crooked rivers to the tall pines and redwoods found near the North Umpqua and Metolius rivers.   While we toured these four trout streams, we’d always look up and see the majesty that surrounded us.  It seemed we always were seeing the snow fields on Mount Jefferson, regardless of which river we were on.

From a fishing perspective, we caught acrobatic steelhead in the North Umpqua, native Redband trout in the Deschutes and Crooked and one measly fish from the mysterious Metolius.   I know, I know, “It’s Not About the Fish” and it truly isn’t.  But we have to talk about our “excuse” for our River Ramble sometimes.

Once again, we met some incredible people and had the best guides.  Tony Wratney steered me into holes on the North Umpqua, after I’d fallen in the river on my third step in, at 6:30 am, and caught and landed 4 steelhead, in one morning.   I thought this was just a typical steelhead fishing day, but, I learned that it was not typical at all, but an epic sort of day.   Tony said he’d not brought along his net because he was going to be surprised if we needed it.  Little did we both know!

All along our trip, we’ve been blessed with finding a fly shop that really goes above and beyond in helping us.  In this case, it was Fly and Field Outfitters in Bend, Oregon.  We met Jasper, Gabe, Dave and Griff the first day we were in the shop.   Griff is the lead guide and instructor for the shop and we were fortunate to have him as our guide.  Griff gave us a most memorable day on the Deschutes.  I cannot recommend him enough for his instructional techniques, his manner in working with us on the water, his knowledge of how to fish the water and most importantly, his humor and outgoing personality that kept us laughing and having a great time all day.

A few days later, Eddie Mack from Fly and Field, took us on a trip along the Crooked River.  The setting for the river is simply spectacular.  The fishing, both nymphing and dry fly fishing, was great.   Eddie was incredibly helpful in getting us into spots on the river where fish were holding, and helping us with the flies and best techniques to catch them.  Again, many thanks to the entire team at Fly and Field Outfitters for a great time.

We did our best to sample the food and drink of the area as well.  We loved our time around Sisters, OR,  and Camp Sherman.  The Camp Sherman Store is a must stop, given its setting along the Metolius.  Sisters is just 25 minutes away and also a must stop at the Sisters Bakery and Three Creeks Brewing.  While the secret of Bend has been out now for a while, it’s still a place you must visit;  breweries practically on every corner like Starbucks in Seattle.  Bend has this outdoor vibe that sucks you in and makes you want to bike, hike, kayak, float, fish, board, ski and even surf right in town.  As we were heading up to Washington, we even stopped in Maupin, a little town on the Lower Deschutes.  Great fishing…. great food… great flyshop in the Deschutes Angler with three great fly shop dogs: Lupin, Nelly and KD.  We’ll definitely be coming back to Oregon.

We hope you enjoy these “highlights” of our time in the great state of Oregon.  It truly was outstanding!

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Crooked, Guide Talk

High Sticking the Crooked

By TB

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.

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Deschutes, Guide Talk

Sweet As the Deschutes

By TB

The first time we strolled into the Fly and Field Outfitters fly shop in Bend, Oregon, a young man named Jasper welcomed us.   We needed some studs for our boots as we were about to fish a river with a very slippery bottom, as in, you’re going to fall in the river if you don’t have studs.  I still fell in that river but that’s a North Umpqua Steel story.

We also needed to book a couple of guide trips and get some flies.  You ALWAYS get some flies when you walk into a fly shop.  For us, its an unwritten rule, no, actually a requirement I think.

As we were booking our guide for the Deschutes River, Jasper looked up and asked “Griff, can you take them?”.   He hinted that he could get someone else, but, Griff told him he would take us.  It turned out the exchange between Jasper and Griff was actually between a son and his father.  Jasper was watching out for his dad.

We met Griff at the Warm Springs boat ramp at 7:30 and embarked on what was to be an incredible day.  The weather was perfect and as it turned out, the fishing was perfect as well.  We learned a great deal from Griff who struck a great balance between instruction and fishing.

We did our interview in the Deschutes River, literally in the river, after a stream side lunch of grilled chicken thighs, Asian salad, potato salad and cookies.  While Griff was cooking lunch, Barb hooked into a giant steelhead which took two huge jumps and a few runs before setting loose.

If you come to fish the Deschutes, make sure to book Griff Marshall of Fly and Field Outfitters if you can.  I promise you will enjoy the day and likely find a nice Redband trout or steelhead on the end of your line a few times.  For now, please enjoy our Sweet As the Deschutes with Griff Marshall interview.

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