I flew to the northwest yesterday arriving in Bend, Oregon shortly after midnight this morning. After a five hour sleep I found myself in the front seat of a pickup with buddies Scott Robertson and Micha Kruger (Meeks). Scott is an old buddy and Team USA Fly Fishing Masters teammate. We’ve fished together many times over the years. Meeks is another longtime friend. Meeks worked for me at the fly shop in Jackson Hole years ago and now he resides in Bend.
We were headed to an Oregon favorite of mine, Lake Billy Chinook. Our target for the day, bull trout. In fact, the last time the three of us fished together was on Lake Billy Chinook for bull trout in 2023. Todays trip, along with five more fishing days coming, is a nice add on for a full day of delivering presentations on Saturday at the Fin & Fire Fly Shop.
It was a lovely blue sky spring morning. A little brisk to start but things warmed up to the 60°s fast. The birds were singing everywhere. Meadowlarks in the grass and plenty of chukars singing down on us from the cliffs. I may have been tired when I got out of bed but was rejuvenated by the sounds of all the life.
Though I fish here with Scott and Meeks several times on every visit, Scott and Meeks don’t get to Billy Chinook much when I’m not around. That’s because the large desert reservoir fishes best only when it opens in mid-March until early April. It’s a short season. It’s also a two hour drive from Bend and there’s a lot of other excellent fishing water closer for these two.
The word on the street is that fishing has been slow on the big lake. The report seemed accurate. We fought hard the first few hours for a few baby bull trout, a kokanee, a steelhead smolt and a couple little smallies.
The slow fishing didn’t bother us a bit however. I haven’t seen either of these two characters in a couple of years. We caught up over a few cold ones. Meeks broke out some Oregon caught albacore tuna with chips and salsa. It was warm out. The lake was calm. Often times it’s not about the fishing.
During lunch Scott started digging through his flies. He was determined to find something that would catch big bull trout. Then he suggested a boat ride to a bay where a tiny creek dumps in. Its where he and I have done well in the past. It was a ways but with the calmness it would be easy. Off we went.
Well, kudos to Scott. Our afternoon move was an outstanding idea. We eased into this small bay using Scotts trolling motor. We were all casting our 6-weights and sinking lines. I was using my Scientific Anglers Sonar Titan 1/3/5 Sink WF6F with about 10 feet of 20lb Fluoro for my leader. My flies were from Scotts box but ordinary. The point was a size 6 jig fly with olive colors and my dropper was 5-feet up and it was white and pink. Scott concoctions always work and today was no exception.
Let’s just say, we found the fish. On my second cast I hooked up and got smoked to the middle of the bay. The fish came unbuttoned but after I reeled back in some line and started the stripping process again, before I could feel the disappointment from my lost fish, I got another on. This time I landed the handsome bull trout.
Scott, Meeks and I landed an estimated 20 bull trout. Honestly there were likely more. The size of these fish was extraordinary. We’ve shared some memorable days on Billy Chinook, but most the fish were 20” or bigger. Bigger!
The best fish of the day was caught by Scott. This muscular, hard to hold brute was 29”. Only an inch short of the holy grail of bull trout fishing. An incredible catch and Scott’s new biggest. An accomplishment considering Scott is a hardcore angler that’s lived in Oregon a long time.
That’s all for today. As you can imagine I’m spent like a rusty spinner after a windy day. Scotts wife Sarah has prepared us a delicious dinner and after this its time for bed. Scott, Meeks and I are going back to the bay early tomorrow morning!
Be sure to keep tabs on my IG at @jeffcurrier65
Woah, some crazy big Bulls!! Awesome! Pretty smallie as well.