Special Places
There is a large willow tree on a bend on the upper Fall River in California. Along the bend there is a small slough that is full of trout. I can almost see it now if I close my eyes… the trout rising with the wind rustling through that giant willow tree. This is one of my special trout places… I want to paint a picture of that place someday.
We had found that spot many years ago. My brothers and I had carefully mapped out a plan to access a portion of the upper Fall River that looked very remote and potentially could hold some big fish. After dropping off my brother Phil’s Toyota Corona at one of the few bridge crossings downstream we headed to the nearest access point and followed a fence line to where we thought it would cross the upper river. That fence line ran into a dried up river channel that we were able to follow until we heard moving water. The river was more of a creek when we saw it but looked very fishy. We put our float tubes in quietly and began an epic float that would yield many nice rainbows and even a few wily browns. It was on this float that I first saw that special bend in the river. I would revisit that bend on several other trips over the following years. Each time I came to that bend I would lean back in my float tube and try to freeze the image in my mind.
Mirror Lake in Oregon is another one of these places. My wife Shannon and I packed float tubes and enjoyed wide open fishing for smallish brookies many years back. But it wasn’t the fishing that made this place special… it is what is over your shoulder while you fish. The lake is located in the shadow of the peak of Mount Hood and the view is mind blowing. The brook trout were small but we were fishing in the fall and the males were painted in vivid spawning attire. If you ever get a chance to visit that lake you should do it.
Another neat place that comes to mind was a lake that we stumbled on by accident one summer while we were exploring the hat creek area in California. We were asking directions at a small country store and got to talking fishing with one of the locals. He told us with a wink that there were “some nice trout” in a lake not far away. We decided to give it a shot and I am sure glad we did. I couldn’t believe the size of the rainbows we caught that day. How could this be? Why hadn’t I read more about this place? The spot is called Horr Pond. The rainbows were fat and feisty. It wasn’t only the size of the trout that made this lake special… it also featured crazy lava flows that helped form the lake. I felt like I was fishing on a different planet.
Manzanita Lake definitely goes on my list of special trout places. I have many incredible memories at this place. It is an amazing little lake that has naturally reproducing rainbows and browns that thrive on the slopes of Mount Lassen, protected by special regulations. I learned my first lesson about how much harder brown trout can be to catch over other trout species on this lake. One of our first of many trips to this little gem we had been fishing all day and had caught many rainbows but only a couple of browns. We figured there must only be a handful of browns in the lake since we couldn’t catch them. Imagine our surprise when we talked to the park ranger and he informed us that there were WAY more browns than rainbows in the lake. We couldn’t believe it. Since that trip many years ago I have figured out a drill that is deadly on the harder to catch browns and have landed many beautiful fish.
I found another gem just a few weeks back while on my 17th annual Oregon family reunion. It was a tiny pond that I had seen for years. I had always looked for rising fish on this tiny pond but had never seen any. I had walked it many years ago and it looked sterile. But, I always have wondered. This year on our reunion my brother Phil and I decided to take my fly rod and some of my favorite leech patterns and made a few casts. Imagine my surprise when I got smoked by a nice rainbow that tore into the backing and brought a grin to my face that lasted into that evening. After I landed that fish I gave my brother Phil a few casts and he stung another 20inch plus fish. We proceeded to switch back and forth and ended up with five amazing rainbows. The crazy thing is that this little pond is accessible to anyone living in the Bend, Oregon area. Amazing!
What is awesome to me is that these places still exist… even in 2014. I remember reading all the doom and gloom articles when I was a kid about how fishing was heading downhill and most likely there wouldn’t be any good fishing by the time I was a dad. Well I am happy to tell you that there are plenty of great trout opportunities out there. When you find them… treasure them!
