It was beautiful drive from Mike’s house in White Salmon, Washington to the Columbia River boat ramp near the mouth of the Deschutes River. Like yesterday there was hardly a cloud and at least this morning, we had calm conditions. The beautiful Mt. Hood was a sight to witness.
It was Mike’s and my last day together. I fly home tomorrow. Maybe that’s why the fish gods treated me well. Today my flies caught all the fish including a quick start with a few smallmouth bass with some absolutely cool colors!
After releasing a few smallies we got into a slow current spot on the river and I could feel my Rich Strolis jig fly bouncing bottom. It was certainly a good way to get snagged up and lose my fly but in order to catch a walleye I had to work my fly through the danger zone. It paid off and although it’s a small one, I got my one and only walleye in two and a half days on the Columbia.
As we fished out the morning the famous winds of the Columbia River Gorge picked up. By noon Mike and I had enough and pulled the boat. It was just as well being we had the two hour drive back to Portland tonight.
Along the way to Portland, we had to pass the carp lake we’ve been dabbling on this week. Its small enough that the wind wasn’t honking too bad. Where we parked there was what looked like a mud formed by some carp. We fished it hard for carp and had no luck with them. However, I caught two chunky little largemouth bass. Carp muds often attract other predatory fish looking for a free meal.
It was a great ending for the fly rod. I worked hard all week for only a few fish, but today was rewarding. Mike and I got back to his house in Portland around 8 PM. We just finished off some Indian Food Take Out and I’ll be flying over the Cascades in the morning heading back to Idaho.
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