FRANK ARMENDARIZ/PHOTO Blue River, a scene repeated all over the McKenzie River Valley, where over 800 homes and structures have been lost. Friends and neighbors, it is a calamity of an immensity our county has never seen. Yes, we have had powerful wind storms, heavy snow storms and major flooding[Read More…]
Author: FRANK ARMENDARIZ for The Chronicle
Uncertain future for canal, dam
Photo courtesy of EWEBLeaburg Canal runs full all winter with stormwater runoff complicating the future of the canal for both power generation and stormwater conveyance. The Leaburg Dam and the Leaburg Canal Project, built by the Eugene Water and Electric Board during the 1930s, have been a presence in Lane[Read More…]
Anglers are packing parking lots; crabbing improving soon
As we head into September the fishing conditions that you will encounter in our region are generally consistent with the calendar. Which is prime for multiple angling opportunities across Lane County. Pushed east by a cold front that brought a little rain to western Lane County, last week’s sweltering heat[Read More…]
Great time for albacore tuna; McKenzie trout are flourishing
Tami Armendariz, a professional fly-tier, shows off one of 12-plus rainbow trout she “mostly” released on the McKenzie River this past Friday. As many anglers begin to cast an eye to the west and to the fisheries that are becoming increasingly productive, I’ll start this week by addressing general conditions[Read More…]
‘Dog days of summer’ drive fish to the depths
Wade Hanel of Eugene. Wade can usually be found guiding a whitewater raft or rowing drift boat with fishermen for me in my whitewater and McKenzie River fish guide service. But, in light of the pandemic, I chose to suspend my operations for at least this season, leaving all of[Read More…]
Sunfish species take the spotlight
My good friends Holly Lathrop and Phil Strader with a very fine smallmouth that Holly caught on a popper. If you ask several Oregon anglers what’s their favorite fish to chase in Oregon’s lakes and rivers, most will refer to a salmonid species. Trout, steelhead and salmon are found in[Read More…]
Coronavirus still making us all stop and pause
Rainbow trout and the cool, clear McKenzie River go hand in hand. This hatchery trout fell to a drifted #10 black-headed wooly booger. Traveling to distant recreation sites to fish or camp is a problem we will have to deal with for the foreseeable future. At press time Gov. Kate[Read More…]
Successful fishing always begins with safety gear
This boat would have been fine on a pond or small lake but is terribly designed for even mild whitewater and river currents. All photos provided by Mark Swick It’s just one of those facts of nature and an unfortunate reality that some only come to realize when it’s a[Read More…]
‘I fell in love with it’
I’ll start this week by saying, that although life for Oregonians will be far from normal for the foreseeable future, the state of Oregon and most counties – including Lane County – saw a relaxing of the COVID-19 restrictions related to anglers, boaters and others beginning last week. The normalization[Read More…]
A lifelong connection
I often mention the agencies and some of the individuals who work essentially behind the scenes to manage and enhance the many fisheries Oregon has been blessed with. Given the demands we place on our forest lands, our rivers and other natural areas. It becomes a challenging balance between our[Read More…]
