Granny and I got sidetracked on our drive for Oregon yesterday.  We were invited by a good friend to camp and fish his private property.  He’d offered this last year too but with my overfilled speaking schedule I had no time to stop.  This trip, I promised Granny that I would slow it down and smell the roses after the final Fly Fishing Show.  We have a week before my next gig in OR.  We made the wise move to stop off.

The property is absolute paradise.  We arrived around 5 PM last night.  It was steep decent for the Ruby Van into a canyon on a rutted gravel road.  Granny was nervous about the offroad drive, I just went for it.  The road was longer than expected so when we found the first beautiful overlook of river and canyon, we took it.  I’m telling you; this private location is remarkable.

Granny made one of her amazing camp dinners and we sipped a top shelf bottle of red wine our friends Jason and Jo Randall gave us a few weeks ago at the Denver Show.  This morning was brisk but the sky was a rich turquoise blue and I knew the sun would warm us fast.  I French pressed the coffee and when its rich aroma lingered Granny climbed from her cold bed.

I didn’t rush to break out my fishing stuff.  I knew it was in shambles because today would be my first fishing day of they year.  We relaxed.  I caught up on emails.  We went for a hike down to the river.  That glimpse of the river was all it took.  Despite the fact that it was roaring and off color, I had to give it a try.

I wasn’t sure what rods I hurriedly packed during our five-day early February visit home in WI.  I was hoping for a 5-weight but it appears I brought two 6-weights instead.  No problem.  I rigged my Alpha + with two nymphs and went to work.  At least I had some good flies!

Nymphing is like riding a bike.  You don’t forget much.  After one fly losing mishap, I got my groove on and hooked and landed a hot jumping rainbow.  The first was a real chromer.  After releasing this one I continued on and caught three more.

I didn’t fish more than an hour.  Honestly, the river was very high and murky.  And I was lazy.  No doubt the 2023 schedule has worn me out.  Granny and I enjoyed the rest of our 57° day with more small hikes, a big lunch, sunbathing, reading, napping and even a workout.  My first fishing day of the year was without doubt, my best day of 2023 so far.

The weather is forecasted to deteriorate fast overnight.  Bad weather has been the theme since we left WI.  We were lucky today was so nice.  After yet another delicious Granny dinner, we’ll hit the sack early so we can get on the road early.  We absolutely need to get up this big hill and canyon before the rains start.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing