My Hunting & Fishing Reports

We finally made a trip (though a very short one) to Crane Prairie Reservoir in the Deschutes National Forest, Oregon. Here is the rundown.

*Weather - Sunny and warm! It was a beautiful day. We've (my brother and I) heard that the wind can really cause problems at Crane, but that didn't prove to be true for us yesterday! There was virtually no wind all day. We had no difficulty casting (at least due to the wind). The temperature was in the thirties in the early morning and warmed up to the high seventies by afternoon.

*Fish - Didn't catch a single fish at Crane Prairie. We talked to a couple of other fishermen and they had only caught one "stocker sized" fish. We did see several LARGE fish surface. They seemed to be pretty wary of the boat because no matter where we were they always seemed to be surfacing just out of fly casting range. I will have to admit - seeing the huge fish surfacing, obviously feasting on millions of damselflies, minnows and a myriad of other aquatic creatures, and not being able to catch a single fish, took a tole on my fisherman's ego. I think it was like getting upset when you take your favorite dish to a huge potluck, where there is so much food, and getting upset when nobody eats it. They could have at least taken a nibble. The bounty of the lake is what allows the fish to grow up to two inches per month. My bro and I read that Crane Prairie is not for the novice angler, because you could go all day without catching a fish. I guess the jury is still out as to whether I am a novice angler or not.

*Flies - Tried everything in my fly box! Just kidding, that would have been virtually impossible in the short five and a half hours we had to fish. I did try several different flies, including various versions of the famous Wooly Bugger and damselfly nymph. I even tried a bass fly when we went fishing around the old snags that cover 10% of the lake. There are supposed to be lots of big bass in the lake, but we sure didn't see any.

*Other Tackle - My bro briefly tried PowerBait off the bottom and worms, and a worm with one salmon egg on the point of the hook under a bobber. He did say he felt some nibbling on the worm...

*Water Temperature - 54-57 degrees. The waters on "The Prairie" are surprisingly warm."

It was a very enjoyable day. Thanks for taking me fishing bro.

Tight Lines!
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