I was finally able to get a little fly fishing in. First since September and boy was a raring to go. I decided on the Crooked River below Bowman Dam just upstream from Prineville, Oregon. This part of the Crooked is easy to wade and has a great population of whitefish & redband trout (a redband is like a rainbow).

Anyhow we had some wonderful weather in Oregon, the river was in excellent shape and the fishing was excellent - but the catching was poor. I fished for about 8 hours over 2 day period and hooked 7 fish, landing 5, all whitefish. The lack of fish while disappointing was minor compared to the oppotunity to get on the river again. Watching bald eagles, otters and other wild life made the whole trip worth while. Talking with the local fishermen they were also not doing worth a hoot and they stated fishing is usually better. Last time I fished the Crooked, a couple of years back, I caught 70 fish in two days.

So - the Crooked is a great place to try a fly and forget the winter for a few hours. Water level is critical as releases from the dam vary. Release around 100 ft per second or lower is usually the best. Here is a link to the amount of water being released: http://www.usbr.gov/pn-bin/rtgraph.pl/?sta=PRVO&parm=Q

A good way to get out and have some fun.

Tim