Blue Mountain Eagle
Journey Through Grant County
Fishing, with
elbow room
By Tim Trainor
For The Blue Mountain Eagle
Earlier this summer, I
had the pleasure of spending
a few weeks in Grant
County, helping transition
the Blue Mountain Eagle
newspaper in John Day
from the steady editing
hand of Scotta Callister to
another full-time employee
who will be the eyes and
ears of the community for a
long time to come.
It was grand to be
transplanted to that wild
part of the world for a few
days.
Based in Pendleton, I
left a few days early and
camped along the North
Fork of the John Day River
with friends. The fishing
was slow during the warm
afternoons, but at dusk
and dawn nice rainbows
consistently rose out of
deep, cool water to sip dry
flies.
One morning after
coffee, we were enlightened
as to one reason why the
fishing was slow during
midday: a merganser
dove into unremarkable
water right in front of us,
emerging with a fish bigger
than anything we had
hooked all weekend. After
a short tussle, the bird won
and flew away with lunch.
That’s not something you
see in Portland, nor many
places in this world.
On arrival in John Day, I
drove and walked up Little
Canyon Mountain to get a
view of the city and valley.
I walked past a little mining
claim, still being worked,
its details and ownership
scratched into a post.
This is real working
country, and country that
has been worked over.
To look into a pit that
has been dug with human
hands, and imagine the
shiny things that make that
work worthwhile, is to view
another rare thing on Earth.
Communities with gold
in the hills – both literally
and figuratively – have an
incredible value. And it’s
the hills and valleys of John
Day Country that really
shine.
For anglers, it starts
with big runs of steelhead
and salmon on the John
Day River near Kimberly.
That section offers the
rare opportunity to bank
fish for trophy animals in
productive areas without
an angler feeling as packed
in as a sardine. The size of
the river means it can be
fished just as easily from a
driftboat or the bank, giving
anglers plenty of options.
You can fish the John
Day all the way down to
where it connects to the
Columbia. Sometimes fish
stack up there for days to
wait out more suitable water
levels, which means the
catching can be dynamite at
times.
But fishing in John Day
isn’t always about trophies.
The high country ponds
can be excellent for trout,
and sometimes even for bass
and other warmwater fish
you associate more with the
bayous of Louisiana. The
hundred-degree days of a
John Day summer can also
resemble the Deep South,
with many fishing holes
turning into swimming
holes by late afternoon.
The small creeks
provide excellent stream
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the occasional large one.
The North Fork John Day
features excellent wilderness
access too, so if you are
willing to hump it you can
be all but assured that you
will be the only angler to
ply that piece of water all
day — maybe all season,
depending on how far you
go. The North Fork Malheur
is prime bull trout habitat —
catch and release, of course,
with that federally-listed
endangered species.
Magone Lake, not far
out of John Day city limits,
is an ODFW-stocked lake
where brook trout can be
reeled in on a regular basis.
Even at the city park
in downtown John Day, a
man was fly casting out
into a warm pond as dusk
finally descended on a hot
night. He didn’t have much
luck attracting trout, but he
brought in plenty of fellow
park-goers. Everyone in
John Day Country likes to
talk about fishing.
As for the strange and
aesthetically pleasing fly
cast, the angler described
Courtesy photo
Joe Hittle and his son enjoy a day out on the water
fishing in Grant County.
it as “just like perfecting a
golf swing.”
In all my years of fly
fishing, I’d never heard it
explained that way. But it
was right on.
And that circles back to
the best superlative I can
give to John Day Country:
Norco can provide you or your
loved one with the equipment
needed to remain safe and
comfortable at home, whether
it be oxygen, bathroom safety
supplies, walkers, hospital
beds or something else. We
provide in-home delivery and
pick-up for qualifying
equipment.
it’s not like other places.
You’ll see and hear and
experience things there that
you won’t anywhere else.
—Tim Trainor is the
opinion page editor of The
East Oregonian. He can
be reached at ttrainor@
eastoregonian.com.
Life Without
Boundaries
437 W. Main • John Day
541-575-0372
HOSPITAL &
HOMECARE
MEDICAL
SUPPLIES
• Medical Oxygen
• Blood Pressure
Monitors
• Diabetic Supplies
• Hospital Beds
• Incontinence
Products
• Infant Monitoring
& Phototherapy
• Lift Chairs
• Orthopedic
Supplies & Braces
• Personal Care
Products
• Therapeutic
Support Surfaces
• Walking Aids
• Wheelchairs &
Scooters
Jeanette Hueckman, Agent
Jennifer Reimers, Office Representative
101 W. Main Street, John Day • 541-575-2073 • www.jeanettehueckman.com
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
C5