Sunday/Monday

I moved to the Mount Hood area in 1993, and lived on the banks of the Sandy for two of the most significant recorded flood events- 1996 and 2011. This most recent flood event surpassed the 2011 event to become the third-highest on record. I love the natural world and the chaos Mother Nature creates. Going and floating one of these rivers after a high-water event is eye-opening. The river is cowered clean, trees are uprooted and moved around, swaths of small scrubby ales are flattened and knocked onto their sides, new river channels are created, and best of all, new runs form. Going to the river after one of these events is exploratory; you never know what you'll find. Some of your favorite runs could be gone.

I had guide trips scheduled for my typical Sunday and Monday, but hadn’t been down the river to see what it was like. It was just a few days after the extreme high water, and the river was quickly dropping. I cancelled my Sunday trip and asked the boys from the shop to accompany me downriver. Knowing that if there were a problem, I’d have a couple of strong backs to help me out.

We were at the boat launch before the sun was up. Getting the boat in the water and getting g excited to see this new river. We pushed away from the bank when there was plenty of light. I didn’t want any surprises. Immediately, it was obvious that the channel the boat launch is in was about 8’-10’ narrower than it had been. These little changes were notable throughout the day, culminating in a channel that was blocked by a tree, and did I mention the boat launch or Oxbow was washed away…

Eli found a fish that day, and I’ll let him tell that story...

Josh Linn

Josh, Alex, and I went on Sunday to float the Sandy to check out the river after it came down from the flood last week. We got out there early in the morning and were on the water at sunrise. It was a foggy, cold morning, almost freezing. When we got to the first run, I checked the water temperature, and it was warmer than the air temperature. Alex started fishing the top of the run, and I was fishing the middle. Once I started swinging this run, I quickly realized how well the run was fishing and had pretty good confidence that one of us would connect.

About midway through the run, my fly was almost done with the swing, then I felt a bite. Didn't even flinch, then the next thing I know, this fish is peeling line from my reel. The guys all yell down at me with excitement. Once it jumped, and all I saw was chrome, I knew it was going to be a wild ride. We fought it for a while, while Josh was coaching me the whole time, and taught me so many things while fighting these elusive anadromous fish. After a long, hard fight, I swung it over to Josh, and he tailed it for me. We removed the fly from her mouth and took a couple of photos. Then I took the whole experience in and let her swim off into the river.

We all walked back up to the boat, and Josh handed me a flask of whiskey for a celebratory shot. It was the best late Christmas present I could ever ask for. It was one of the best days I’ve had on the river. The rest of the day was such a blast; it was such a pleasure to fish with Alex and Josh. So many laughs and good stories were shared. We ended up having to push the boat over some logs that had blocked some of the corners. That made for an even more exciting float. First time floating this section of the river was one of the prettiest floats I've ever been on.

Eli Haak

The next day, Monday, I was supposed to be fishing with a family of three. We had never fished together, but I know them well. I was a little reluctant to float the upper river again, given the river levels and the new obstacles. In the end, I talked myself into it, and again we were at the boat launch well before the sun came up.

The family I was fishing with fish for steelhead together quite a bit, but they don’t typically fish in the winter. They were very excited.

We stopped at our first run, and I spread the three of them out. Robert is at the top, Gordon is in the middle, and Kristy is at the bottom. I was doing laps up and down the beach, checking in everyone, when Gordon shouted, "Fish on!" I looked downstream, and Kristy was into a fish. A few minutes later, I tailed a beautiful wild chrome fish. She was elated to say the least. Winter fish look very different from summer fish; their bodies are typically deeper, and they are often much brighter, as they are fresh from the ocean.

This day, and the season, is off to a good start, and this was a perfect way to end the year!

Josh Linn