Rick Pay Swinging the Nehalem
I begin this month’s president’s message with a good news/bad news update on my 2020 fishing. The good news is that I went fishing for the first time this year. It was a day trip on the Nehalem River swinging flies through promising runs under mostly blue skies with Rick Pay and our guide, Alex Gonsiewski, who spends his winters chasing steelhead on the north coast of Oregon. The bad news is that I was (again) skunked for winter steelhead on the fly. Rick had one bump in the afternoon, but otherwise, no fish were harmed in the making of this trip. I’ve got another coastal steelheading adventure on the calendar for later this month and hope to have better news to report. In the meantime, I booked a couple of half day trips at the beginning and end of June to fish for shad on the fly near Willamette Falls. Looking forward some more fun (and catching) later this spring.
March Meeting
Our March dinner meeting features co-presenters John Wall of Portland Fly Shop and Chris Matthews of Semper Fli Guide Service. John and Chris will be talking about fly fishing opportunities on the Lower McKenzie and the Middle Fork of the Willamette outside Eugene. Sign up for dinner on the Club website and join us on March 10 to learn about access points, hatches, and flies for these two underutilized fisheries. I’ve only had the pleasure of fishing the McKenzie once and it was at least 10 years ago. I’m pretty sure that this month’s presentation will convince me that it’s time to renew my acquaintance.
Save the Date Reminders!
Club Fishing Trip. Outings coordinator Teri Beatty has scheduled our first club fishing trip on Saturday April 25 at Rocky Ridge Ranch in Wamic, Oregon. This is private water with three stocked lakes that can fish quite well for rainbow. A BBQ shore lunch will be provided, but BYO beverages and chairs. Ross Beatty sent an email invitation to all club members last week. Space is limited, so sign up early to guarantee your spot.
Auction. The 2020 annual auction and Keith Hansen Memorial Paddle Raise is just two months away. Please mark Tuesday May 12 on your calendars. As usual we will be at the Multnomah Athletic Club for what promises to be a great event. I hope you all plan to attend and bring your friends, neighbors, co-workers and other fishing friends to help support a good cause.
Tight lines,
Jim Hillas
