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In February<\/strong>, I received an unexpected last-minute invitation to work as the host at the legendary Agua Boa Amazon Lodge in northern Brazil.\u00a0 After discussing the prospect with my family, and (of course) with Gumby, I decided I had to act on this possibly once-in-a lifetime opportunity: five weeks in the Amazon Rainforest<\/a> fishing for peacock bass, bathing daily in DEET, dodging cayman and jaguars, and drinking caipirinhas. Returning in late March, all aglow from the trip to Brazil, I had little time to decompress before hopping another cross-country red-eye for a long-planned trip to the Bahamas<\/a> for some bonefishing with my father.\u00a0 This was\u00a0 his first try for the elusive ghost of the flats, and a return after an absence of some 20 years for me. On returning from these exotic locales, I settled in for the heart of the guiding season here in Oregon.\u00a0 No matter where I have been fortunate enough to travel over the years, I am still constantly reminded of the reason we call this place home.\u00a0 Oregon is an anglers’ paradise on par with anywhere in the world.\u00a0 Some highlights from the Spring and Summer on the home waters:<\/p>\n After the fervor of the Deschutes, June<\/strong> on the home waters of the Eugene area is a welcome refuge, playing host to quieter times and glorious fly fishing for trout and summer steelhead.<\/p>\n In July<\/strong>, I wedged a few days out of a busy guiding schedule to take the family on a camping trip to central Oregon’s East Lake<\/a>.\u00a0 It was a wonderful relaxing time in one of Oregon’s prettiest places.\u00a0 Fishing was casual yet compelling.\u00a0 A simple assortment of dry flies and an heirloom 5 wt remained in the boat for whenever trout were rising within casting range.<\/p>\n The heat of August <\/strong>coincided with some of the best summer steelhead fly fishing<\/a> of the year here in the Valley.\u00a0 Spey casting and swinging flies in the cool of the morning, punctuated by a sharp tug, a powerful line-stripping run, and the arcing leap of a bright steelhead: is there any better way to start a day? Towards the end of August, I packed up the duffel bag for my 17th annual month-long expedition to Outer Mongolia<\/a>.\u00a0 It is hard to imagine a year without this trip anymore.\u00a0 Back in 1998, when I first stepped into the waters of the Selenge drainage, I never would have believed that I would still be returning to this place all these years into the future.\u00a0 The very real possibility of encountering the fish of a lifetime on every cast makes this a true apex for my guiding year.<\/p>\n This season renewed my faith in the resilience of this incredible yet vulnerable fishery.\u00a0 One day on the river was a case-in-point:\u00a0 A fellow Oregonian and I shared a day of incredible taimen action in which he rose 20 taimen to a mouse pattern and landed a dozen, all around three feet long.\u00a0 Returning from Mongolia for a busy October, <\/strong> I was again happy to be home and guiding for steelhead and trout<\/a>.\u00a0 The cooler weather and stable river conditions consistently make this some of the finest fishing of the year.\u00a0 2014 was no exception.\u00a0 A multi-day float on the Deschutes was epic.<\/p>\n As the weather changed in early November, and the leaves filled the rivers, attention shifted to the coast and fall salmon fishing<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 Part “busman’s holiday,” part guide opportunity, late fall salmon fishing is a great way to wind down the year.<\/p>\n Taken as a whole, the 2014 season truly embodied my dad’s promise of so many years ago.\u00a0 As it has for most of my lifetime now, my fly rod pointed the way to an incredible array of unforgettable experiences.\u00a0 As this year winds to a close and we unfurl the promise of 2015, remember to follow your fly rod toward all the memories yet to come.<\/p>\n Peace! — MR<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My father told me, as he handed me my first fly rod back in 1977, “Point this rod, and it will lead you to some of the most beautiful places on earth.”\u00a0 At the time, I was picturing hopping on … Continue reading ![\"IMG_8344\"](\"http:\/\/isabella.lqhome.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_8344.jpg\")
<\/a>January<\/strong> began with a persistent lack of rain in Western Oregon, leading to some of the best fly fishing for winter steelhead<\/a> in recent memory on some of our larger river systems.<\/p>\n<\/a>Fishing was amazing at times, so much so, that the old adage, “that’s why they call it ‘fishing,’ not ‘catching,'” was turned on its head.\u00a0 Some days were actually just “steelhead catching.”<\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>This trip was truly mind-blowing!\u00a0 I made some great new friends, caught several fish-of-a-lifetime,\u00a0 and added a new continent to my angling life-list. I even managed to avoid being eaten by a cayman, despite a couple of uncomfortably close encounters.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>Despite some sub-optimal weather, we had a wonderful 5-day stay at the exquisite Mangrove Cay Club on South Andros Island.\u00a0 And we each got to catch quite a few bonefish together in a new and certainly beautiful location.<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Late April<\/strong> and early May <\/strong>saw some great fishing for trout on the McKenzie followed by the annual extravaganza that is the Deschutes River Salmonfly Hatch<\/a>.\u00a0 Big, explosive, fast-water rainbows and bushy dry flies shake the winter doldrums from the hearts of anglers who mass on the riverbank (like the salmonflies themselves) to enjoy this incredible orgiastic phenomenon.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n
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\n<\/a><\/a>Thanks to early conservation efforts by Sweetwater Travel Company, and diligent guidance by Charlie Conn of The Taimen Fund<\/a>, taimen are still not only surviving in Mongolia, but in many cases, populations are thriving.<\/p>\n<\/a>It is days like this that remind me how lucky I am to be a fly fishing guide.\u00a0 Any day can be the most memorable of an angling lifetime.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/a>Meanwhile, the fishing close to home was just fantastic.\u00a0 How great is it to share awesome steelhead and trout fishing with old friends 15 minutes from the house?<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Days spent with friends, putting away some fresh filets for the winter, and nursing sore muscles from pulling as hard as you can<\/span><\/em><\/strong> on big bright fish, all make it easier to face the coming months of winter.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n
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