Hyper Local News I Springfield, Cottage Grove, Creswell, & Pleasant Hill
Hyper Local News I Springfield, Cottage Grove, Creswell, & Pleasant Hill
FRANK ARMENDARIZ/PHOTO We spent a couple of hours fishing but with water temperatures still in the 50s the bass were somewhat disinterested. So the day was more about getting the boat ready for a long season and marking potential future…
FRANK ARMENDARIZ Another one in the net for Tami Armendariz, who also tied the flies we used for our day of fly fishing for wild trout on the McKenzie. All the fish were released unharmed. It has been a wonderful…
FRANK ARMENDARIZ/PHOTO It was my first trip up into the fire recovery zone on the McKenzie River and what I saw was heartbreaking. (Looking upriver toward Blue River.) Over the last year, while adhering to the prescribed health and social…
FRANK ARMENDARIZ/PHOTO Rods, reels and lines, the number of available options can be staggering. But if you follow the numbers printed on every rod and reel you can easily narrow it down and find a combination perfectly matched to what…
Fly fishing has benefitted from advancements in fly-rod manufacturing technology. Pictured is my 50-year-old Hardy reel milled from a single block of aluminum. The essentials – fir and feathers wrapped on a hook, cast by a rod and line –…
FRANK ARMENDARIZ/PHOTO “The tug is the drug to those eternally driven (or dammed) to catch the fish of a thousand casts.” Just to be sure, on this day I made 1,001 casts … without a single tug. On some days…
FRANK ARMENDARIZ/THE CHRONICLE Tami Armendariz and good friend Phil Strader with a wild Umpqua River steelhead that was caught near Elkton. A “hen,” her body thick with eggs, this beauty was released unharmed to continue her journey home. If you…
FRANK ARMENDARIZ/THE CHRONICLE Named after the river where they were invented, the McKenzie River drift boats connect people to a historic pastime and are as popular as ever. A local innovation, the McKenzie River drift boat has been around for…
PHOTO PROVIDED Heceta Beach State Park, lighthouse keepers home in the distance. Winters on the Oregon coast can get a little wild – a delight to storm watchers. When Pacific storms sweep in, they often bring strong winds, giant crashing…
FLORENCE – California gray whales can live to be 70 years old, can grow to nearly 50 feet and adults can weigh 60,000 pounds. Gray whales can dive 500 feet and are able to stay underwater for 30 minutes or…