THE TROUT LINE

July 2, 2018

Welcome to The Trout Line Newsletter! This is our Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited Chapter newsletter that will be coming out twice a month on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month.

  Timothy Lake  
Written by Andy Andrews

The outing to Timothy Lake was scheduled for a Thursday through Sunday at the North Arm Campground.  I found that most people arrived on Wednesday to secure a camp spot well in advance of the weekend crowd.  I did not show up until Thursday but found a non - reservable camp spot without any problem.  I was to find out that most other campers who had reservations were going to abandoned them because the weather forecast was very not reassuring for the upcoming weekend.
 
On Thursday I launched the boat and found that the lake was a little higher than we had seen in most years.  Those who had been fishing on Wednesday said that the North Arm was not fishing well.  Our campground host, Bruce Lee (real name), said that the arm had been fished very hard and he felt that the lack of fish was due to over fishing.  For many years the North Arm had not received much attention, was known to be primitive and often occupied by party goers.  The TU group was not part of the notorious party goers as we have aged, but aged well in a good way.  A few years ago, the campground had undergone a compete rebuild with a new dock, potties and now even fresh drinking water was available.  Unfortunately for some of us, the campground has been ‘civilized’ (a bad thing), has a full time host to keep a lid on things (a good thing), and it has drawn campers like flies to a road kill.  Of course the price of a camp spot at the North Arm has now doubled which is not a deterrent to most people.  What was a deterrent on this particular weekend was the weather forcast called for a cool, wet and windy weekend, with snow on Mt Hood.  At this announcement reservations were quickly  canceled, and camp spots were abandoned all over the lake, including the North Arm Campground.  Our group of TU people was around 15 with some coming and going as the daily weather dictated.
 
The arm was truly not fishing well with very little action taking place.  However a run down the channel to the main body of the lake seemed to be where the fish action was happening.  Fortunately, this  put you into the fish, but unfortunately exposed you to the elements of wind and rain.  And there, wind, rain and waves were definitely building on the lake!  At one point a line became fowled in the propeller of my engine and by the time I could clear the line, we were aground on the rocky beach.  I then had to back off the beach, a technique that required a ‘back and bail’ process due to the waves coming over the back of the  boat, until I could turn the boat into the wind.  At that point we could see another squall building over the damn and headed our way, with more wind and rain.  We made a hasty, but sophisticated, retreat back up the channel to the north arm to escape the oncoming storm.  While on the main body of the lake we had a steady and productive fishing experience with a number of 15 to 16 inch fish available to a varying selection of fly patterns.  But enough is enough.  With age comes the realistic belief that comfort has its benefits and we will leave the heroics to younger people.  The throttle was opened and we headed to the campground, a warm fire and an adult beverage.   And so went the weekend.  Most campers left on Sunday afternoon, with a few of us hanging on until Monday, and a less traveled drive home.
 
On Saturday evening, Terry from the Clackamas Chapter hosted our camp dinner with meat provided by TU, and a number of food contributions made by those attending.  At least temporarily the weather took a back seat to the good food, warm campfire and the friendship of others.  Thank you Terry for your hard work and investment of time for our benefit.          
 
The next weekend outing will be Gold Lake on the weekend of July 13 - 15th, and after that, Miller Lake on August 10th - 13th.  I hope to see you on one of our little adventures.


 




  

Meetings Location and Dates

Regular chapter meetings are held at the Lucky Labrador Public House 7675 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland, OR 97219 (503) 244-2537.  Food and beverage available.  Social get together starts at 6:30 pm and formal meeting starts at 7:00 pm unless otherwise noted in the newsletter or website.

July Meeting: July 11, 2018 6:00 - 9:00 pm at Cook Park, Tigard, Oregon.  Site is way in the back by Tualatin Riverside.  Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.  We will be having a silent auction.

More Information:

TVTU Website: https://tualatinvalley.tu.org/

Current Board Members and Contact:https://tualatinvalley.tu.org/tualatinvalley/about

TVTUBlog: http://tvtroutunlimited.blogspot.com/

TVTU Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/tualatinvalleyTU/

C4C Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/christmasforcoho/