Metolius.

The Metolius...... cold, clear, technical, beautiful. A stream that bubbles right out of the ground to form a legendary river. Legendary? While I must say the scenery was legendaty..... the fishing was NOT.

I had looked forward to this trip with my family for quite some time. I was not doing my usual routine..... sleeping in the dirt, eating whatever kept me warm at night and drinking enough to ensure a good nights sleep. Instead, thanks to my family, we got a cabin..... RIGHT on the river.

When we first showed up, bugs were everywhere.... pmd's, cadddis, and blue winged olives were all mixed in. I thought for sure the trout fishing would be cake. What I wanted most of all was a bull trout. And I thought I came prepared:



After getting skunked for our entire first morning (me, my fiance, and my dad) we though regrouping and having some beer would get us ready for the afternoon. I was confused..... where the hell were the fish? The bugs wewre out in force, the temperature felt perfect, and the flows seemed great. What I soon realized was that I had not seen a single person catch a fish all day. After asking around it quickly became clear that even the locals know that paying your dues on the metolius is part of the game. I can respect that.

That afternoon I was bouncing a stonefly off the bottom of a deep trough when IT took my fly and decided to peel off down stream.... my rod was pumping and after a few head shakes, in my most classic nature, I lost the bull trout I so badly wanted to catch. Even though I was pissed I did manage to bring a trout to hand before dark. My ONLY Metolius redside:



Not a large amount of fishing took place.... but that was fine with me.... the highlight of my trip was sitting around the campfire with my family drinking and being merry. I plan on returning to the Metolius with different expectations.... a gorgeous river that is technical is my cup of tea.... but I have to be mentally prepared for it next time. We were too early for the green drakes. I'll be back in a few weeks. Sir Jackson loved it as well: