2018 Newsletter from Roaring Fork Guide Service – McKenzie River Fishing Trips Spring – Summer – Fall
John Gross – Roaring Fork Guide Service – 2018 Newsletter
Dear Friends & Fishing Enthusiasts,
As I sit here at my home office looking out to the yard on yet another cool, wet and gray day, my spirits are brightened by color-rich Rhododendrons, industrious Tree Swallows working their boxes, and fruit trees in full bloom. These are all good indicators that Spring has finally arrived and while I might welcome warmer temperatures and more sunshine, I do recognize that the seemingly constant soft rains are a good thing as they translate to better snow-pack in the mountains and consequent desirable river levels come summertime.
The latter part of last year and early 2018 came with a few personal hurdles. In late September, my girlfriend Suki suffered a brain aneurysm and was airlifted to the ICU at OHSU in Portland. She was ultimately released to my care up here on the McKenzie where we spent a month rehabbing. The medical team in Portland was excellent and we feel so blessed to report a full recovery for Suki who is back busily running her motel down south. Then in January my quadriceps tendon was surgically reattached to my knee for the second time in 4 years. With our roles reversed, Suki then became my primary care-giver and got me through surgery and the first month of rehab. I’m happy to say that the knee-job seems to be working out great as I am well ahead of the functionality schedule and anticipate a good recovery including full drift boat duty by May 1st….. fingers crossed.
Now, on to more important business. Biologists at ODFW, our fish & game agency, are forecasting a better run of salmon and steelhead this year on the Willamette System which of course, includes my home river, the McKenzie. Time will tell, but certainly by early to mid-May we should see better numbers of fish migrating over Willamette Falls versus last season. There has been a lot of recent fish management discussion regarding McKenzie River salmon, trout and steelhead, but way too much to enumerate upon now. We’ll leave that for another time.
If you are considering a fishing trip this season, keep in mind that the Spring Chinook Salmon run usually peaks in mid to late June and can persist well into July in summers with high flows and good water conditions. Catch & release fly fishing for wild trout has been generally good so far this season. Keepable planted Rainbows become a significant part of the catch by late April. Both the trout and summer steelhead fishing continues into early fall. Feel free to give a call anytime just to say hi or get an update on current fishing and how the runs materialize. You can always visit our web site at www.oregonfishingtrips.com for more information. I sure hope to see some of you and to re-connect this season.
All the Best to You! John
