Fishing for rainbow trout on the McKenzie River
EUGENE, Ore. -- Jon Payne works the oars, guiding his boat through the fast-moving waters of the McKenzie River.
"The water's a little high right now," Payne says, guiding the boat through small rapids and past debris washed into the river by spring rain and snowmelt.
The boat is built for fishing the river where the design originated: McKenzie.
"Every time I get out here and play in this boat," Payne says, "I'm just so impressed with the McKenzie drift boat, how it goes through water like this, effortlessly."
Payne guides the boat into the seams in the river, where the swift water meets the slack.
"At this time of the year, they do tend to like slower water," he says of the quarry this sunny May day: Rainbow trout.
After striking out with flies, Payne tries a different approach.
"This is a diving plug," he says. "This plug is able to get down there and they tend to attack it."
The plug works, and the fish start biting. Not all are keepers. Payne looks for a clipped fin.
"When these fish are in the hatchery, before they release them, they clip a little fin off," he explains. "That's the adipose fin. That tells us that it did come from the hatchery and we can take this fish home."
With the fishing done, it's time for the reward: a riverside fish fry.
This story is part of the Take Me Fishing series. Take us fishing: Post your story to YouNews
