Let's go fishing!

I sure miss our weekend fishing trips in Oregon. Some weekend mornings I'll wake up and think how much fun it would be if we could load up the truck and head over the mountains for a day of trout fishing. Our absolute favorite place we used to always go was the Ochoco Resevoir in Prineville. As soon as I got out of school on Friday, Sid would come pick me up and we'd load up all our camping gear and head out. We wouldn't come home again until as late as possible on Sunday night.

As soon as we got over the mountain, you could roll down the window and breathe in that wonderful smell of juniper and pine. There was this nice campground right near the resevoir and we'd pitch our tent and build a fire. Sid would get all our fishing gear ready for the next morning and we'd set the alarm on a watch we carried with us and crawl inside our sleeping bags. The next morning we'd get up before the sun and off we went.

There was this little store/diner at the top of the resevoir where we'd buy our bait and have breakfast. This sweet elderly couple owned the place and they'd make us a nice breakfast and see us off. The resevoir had huge boulders all the way down to the water's edge and you had to climb all the way down to find a good spot. We'd stay there and fish from morning to night catching trout and kokanee salmon left and right. There's nothing like pulling in a feisty trout! I'd practically hyperventilate every time I hooked one and reeled it in. The squeals and grunts and animated noises I'd make cracked Sid up. My heart would beat 90 miles per hour and I'd smile so wide my jaws hurt at the end of a day. One time I got so excited I forgot to reel! I just yanked real hard on my pole and the poor fish came flying up onto the bank. Sid said, "Jeez Tone, you almost ripped it's lips off!" I loved it!

When it got too dark to see, We'd head back up the boulders and to the little cafe' for dinner. Then back to the campground again to fall back into our sleeping bags to rest up for another big day of fishing.

It was always so peaceful there. Hardly anyone else was ever there and you could listen to the birds and critters call to each other in the woods, watch the reflection of the clouds in the sky across the top of the water, breathe in the clean air and pull in fish after fish. When Sunday came, we hated to go back home.

I wish we could find a nice spot like that here in Tennessee. We've been fishing here, but not for trout. It's mostly bass and catfish and they just aren't as fun to catch or as plentiful. And it seems like we have so many different obstacles to be wary of here; chiggers and ticks, skeeters the size of hummingbirds, copperhead snakes and water moccasins. We had the occasional rattlesnake in Oregon, but not so bad that you were scared away and I don't remember ever having to carry bug spray with us there!

We have so many good memories of our weekend trips to Prineville. I wish it wasn't such a long drive today. We'd pack up the truck and be on our way! Wouldn't that be fun? I can almost smell the juniper now!