I hated checking into a motel last night, especially when a 2-star hotel cost $200 on a Thursday night in Bend. I equate staying there as “car trouble”, even though I was the broken down vehicle. A shower was great, as was the chance to blog, so all is well. I was overheated, knocked a tick off me at the campground, and have a heat rash where my shirt was open. The idea of cramming myself into an overheated, over crowded van was too much for me, at this time. I’ll toughen up eventually, as adventures “don’t make adaptive people, they reveal them”. Or, maybe I’m a poo poo head. We shall see.
I spent today finishing up my “city work”. Went to Costco to purchase bear spray, back to the hotel to retrieve the computer charging cord I forgot, to the Bend Fly Shop for information and some fly tying materials, to REI for a 30 ounce mug, and finally to Harbor Freight to pick up 20 magnets, for the “no entry but keep the damn bugs out” version of a bug net. I had brunch at the Cracker Barrel….really good but unfortunately Penny wasn’t on duty today.
And then, I made it to The Big Bend Camprgound on the Crooked River, just below the dam. It has 4000 fish to the mile, and a perfect place for beginners, as I feel I am on a river. The afternoon was 75 to 80 with a constant breeze. So much nicer than 95 on the Upper Sacramento River. It only took an hour to pull everything unorganized in the van out, then find places for everything to go back in. I now can enter the van easily (old bug net removed) and scoot onto the cleared bed without having to move boxes and clothes.
One guide was in the parking lot waiting for 4 guests to arrive. I asked about the water color and he stated that most of the areas around here had opaque water due to the silt coming down from the dam. A while later I asked a guy if they turned over any fish, and he stated that they did quite well on PMD’s, with some fish in the 16+ range. He stated that the fish would start moving up to the dam once the hot weather arrives, as the water coming out of the dam is colder than down the river.
My plan is to stay a couple of days here at this gorgeous 75/80 F weather, and fish once again. I saw some risers this evening and threw a few casts from the bank. On my first cast, a 6 inch fish rose to my size 14 parachute adams. Nothing after that except for losing my fly in a tree on my back cast.
I am on water that has active trout. The weather is not overly hot and stifling. I’m 20 miles from Bend in case I need to get something from the city. My van is cleared for a much more traveling / sleeping situations. It looks like the trip is finally starting off in the positive direction intended.
Tight Lines!!