A Fly Fishing Trip Gone Awry

Rich holding his broken fly rod. 

We were looking forward to catching some nice trout on the Deschutes River using Salmonflies, but sometimes your hopes for success can turn into a “busted trip.” It was May 21 and my friends Rich and Larry and I were looking for some good surface action using adult salmonfly patterns, namely the orange and yellow fluttering stoneflies.

We hiked downriver and scratched our way through a trail that was overgrown with blackberry bushes. Then, we headed to some pocket water we called the Rocky Run and anticipated some good action; however, the results were not pleasant. I became the first casualty when I fell in the water and then almost lost my rod after I laid it down in the Tule bushes. Rich’s misfortune occurred when he broke his prized Orvis Spring Creek fly rod. Then the sole of one of Larry’s wading shoes fell apart. The fishing was also dismal since we caught nothing but a few trout under ten inches.

Thinking that the worst was over, we headed back to the house to lick our wounds only to discover that Rich and I had unknowingly bumped into a nest of ticks which caused immediate concern. Fortunately, after intense body searches we were able to eradicate more than a dozen ticks. 

To make matters even worse, the next day I realized I had laid my camera down but forgot where I left it. With an anxious concern, I hiked back to the river hoping no one had taken it. Luckily, after a short search I found it partially hidden behind the rock I had been sitting on.

Sometimes when problems occur on a trip, you have to make the best out of bad situations and chalk it up to experience.