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I talked with my buddy, John Hofferd, the other day and got a recent report on the fishing at East Lake. He has been staying up at his cabin at Paulina Lake off and on this summer and hitting East Lake when he has some time to fish. He said it has mostly been a morning drill and he has been hitting 3-5 fish on a slow day and maybe a 10-12 on the better days. The browns have not been the quality of years past but he has been banging some 4-5 LB. fish here and there. Pretty much a thermocline drill this time of year so he is working 30-40 feet down to get the browns.

On another note, he has listed his cabin, which is only one of a half dozen in Newberry Crater, for sale just recently. If any of you would be interested in owning a little piece of “Heaven” be sure and check out his listing here: http://bend.craigslist.org/reo/4606584278.html With some of the best brown and kokanee fishing in Central Oregon right out your door, this is something to consider if you are an avid fisherman or simply wanting solitude with one of the most beautiful settings in this part of the country.

On the fishing front for me, I finally got back up to Wickiup this last week. I was up there Thursday afternoon right after the last thunderstorm of the week and stayed until Sat. morning. I started trolling but decided to do a little wind drifting when conditions turned very favorable with a slight breeze. My first fish was the best of the evening and my biggest brown to date while casting for them. The big 9 LB. hen hit my plug about half way back to the boat and swirled right on top. She then took off with the drag screaming and I really thought it was a toad at first. After the long initial run, she managed to get my line down into a snag and I could feel that I was tight to it but also the fish was still on. I really got lucky when a 3 foot long branch snapped and came floating up and I was free to finish the fight unencumbered. When I got the brown up and could make out it was a nice hen, I was able to slide the net under her to complete the catch. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good!

Fri. morning produced a giant kokanee that hit my Lyman.....had to be over 3 LB. and 20 in.! This time of year the large spawning class of kokanee will hit plugs out of aggression. The next fish was a beautiful 5-6 LB. rainbow and since they are somewhat scarce compared to the browns and kokanee, I released it boat side and decided to forego the photo. One other small brown rounded out my morning drill. The evening was slow but I did mange to hit 3 smaller brown to 20 in.

Sat. morning was foggy as often happens at Wickiup this time of year. I did run into Chuck Jones, my old friend from Roseburg. He was up on his usual end of Aug. drill. It is always good to see him! We will fish together later this month. I will never forget the day we had together several years ago when we caught 24 browns and released 15 over 5 LB. in a day! You can read the account of that Sept. day in my write-up here: http://www.trophytroutguide.com/news/08_25_10.htm. Probably never top that feat!

It was better than the previous days for quantity as I stuck 6 browns while trolling with most being smaller the best went 4.5 LB. I had to get back to Bend so got off early and left around 10:00 a.m. I will be back up there this next week so be sure and check back for more Wickiup adventures.

Tight Lines,
Rick