JULY 9, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A23
Something
FORGOTTEN
By JIM TAYLOR
For the Keizertimes
Always prepare for a camping or fi sh-
ing trip early. That’s my mantra, seldom
followed. A couple of weeks ago my
friend Tom and I took a road trip to fl y
fi sh upper Klamath Lake. I had gotten
new tires for my drift boat trailer, fully
charged the batteries for the electric
motor, purchased new camp canopies
for shade. Tom has a brand new tent to
sleep in. We were ready to go. Firewood,
food, clothes and fi shing gear.
I picked up Tom at 6 a.m. After
loading up his personal gear, we were
on our way for a four-day adventure. It
is a fi ve hour drive to our destination
and we commented on the light traffi c.
Going through Eugene on I-5, then east
over Willamette Pass was very pleasant.
Driving at a reasonable speed would
get us there in plenty of time to set up
camp. Float the boat and get in a half
day of fi shing.
Passing by Odell Lake I noticed how
unusually smooth the lake surface was,
just like a mirror. Just then it hit me! I for-
got to bring the electric motor. I thought
I was prepared. Not wanting to row the
boat for four days, I turned around and
drove the 130 miles back to Keizer.
After again fi lling up with gas, we re
off once more on our journey. The traf-
fi c was much heavier on the second run
but we arrived in time to unload and set
up camp. With the sun setting we did
manage to bring two nice rainbow to the
net—one was about seven pounds.
The next morning we had a good
breakfast of hashbrowns and bacon and
got out on the lake. We hooked a half
dozen and landed a few weighing up to
six pounds. Early afternoon was cheese,
sausage and crackers time. Relaxing
around camp was refreshing. The fi rst
roll of thunder caused us to put some
things under the canopy in case of a
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JIM TAYLOR
thunder shower. That was a good move
because soon it began to pour.
An hour later we left the safety of
the truck cab to discover the canopy
had leaked. The only damage was a roll
of paper towels that looked like it had
soaked up half the thunder cloud. The
canopy did provide shade but obviously
wasn’t waterproof. Time to go fi shing.
After pumping rainwater out of the
boat we were off again. The lake was
calm after the storm and the air smelled
fresh. The fi sh were active and we were
rewarded with a productive evening. A
great steak and potato dinner topped off
the day.
The third day was a repeat of day two
except it rained twice as hard and twice
as long. This time Tom even had water
on the fl oor of his new tent. We had only
about an hour to fi sh that evening, but
we hooked and landed four big rain-
bows. A great dinner topped off the day.
The following morning, the fi shing
was slow and we had to be done by 10
a.m. to break camp. In the last 30 min-
utes we hooked our only two fi sh of the
morning, but the last fi sh was nearly 10
pounds—the biggest of the entire trip.
A great time had been had with
big fi sh and a good friend. The motor
worked great and was worth returning
home for. I’d be willing to bet I don’t for-
get it again. It wil be something else I
forget, I’m sure.
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