FRANK ARMENDARIZ/PHOTO Bass fishing on the dune lake near Florence picked up over the Memorial Day weekend. Although no trophy fish were caught (at least not in our boat) it was a fun and productive weekend of fishing. Author’s note: I had the opportunity to join an angling trip in[Read More…]
Author: FRANK ARMENDARIZ for The Chronicle
Well-outfitted watercraft provide everything a fishing boater needs
FRANK ARMENDARIZ/PHOTO Westlake Park at Siltcoos Lake, above, is one of the two Lane County Parks that dot the shoreline. The second is at Ada Park on the east side of Siltcoos, where camping and boat moorage are offered at Darling’s and Nightingale’s fish camps. In my last report I[Read More…]
Bigmouth, smallmouth bass provide fun challenge for Oregon anglers
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 fishing spots on the GPS. Before about 1890 there were[Read More…]
Dry weather, low-water levels a concern
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 spring, with mild sunny weather and little rain. In fact[Read More…]
A careful return to public lands, waters
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 distancing recommendations related to COVID-19, fishing, cycling, hiking and generally[Read More…]
Best all-around rod in Oregon? Hard to say, but keep it ‘balanced’
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 you want to fish for. A question I’m asked quite[Read More…]
The Buzz Around Fly Fishing
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 – remain. There is no consensus of historians about who invented[Read More…]
Hatchery officials expecting plenty of pent-up demand among anglers
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 at Smith River Falls, above, steelhead and salmon can be[Read More…]
Steelhead season has been disappointing, perplexing
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 haven’t caught a winter steelhead from one of Oregon’s coastal[Read More…]
Tied up in a local legend: Drift boats always perfect on river
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 almost 100 years and is as popular as ever. The[Read More…]