For me it doesn't start until after Labor Day. "It" being the quiet moments of trout fishing on the upper Clackamas.
Referencing an earlier post I guess I'm an "out of towner", as I have been driving an hour-and-a-half to my favorite stretches of the Clackamas since I was relying on my parents to take me up there as a young boy. However, since I have been going up there for so long I guess I'm kind of a local too.
It saddened me to see the populations of people fishing and camping in my areas go up exponentially with each year that I went up there. My secret fishing holes were no more, and a lot of the lakes that could only be accessed by someone in a 4X4 suddenly had paved roads going into them. The 16" trout turned to 9", and the banks turned from vegetation to paper bags, drink cans, and empty fishing tackle containers. My paradise had been lost.
Instead of giving up MY river (
) to the masses I instead changed how I would fish it. Now I don't even start fishing the upper Clackamas for trout until the weekend after Labor Day. The kids are back in school, a lot of the people who once crowded the banks are out fishing for fall salmon on coastal streams or hunting elsewhere, and the vacationers are back at home. The bite doesn't usually pick up until the cool temperatures of Autumn lower the water temps, but just being up there as the leaves turn is enough to refresh and recharge after a week of the grind.
Oh, and I also bring with me a garbage sack pulled through a belt loop. Before I leave a spot I pick up as much of the the trash around the area as I can. Even if I don't catch any fish I still know that I have at least made the area a better place.
If you see a guy in a red Escort with two carseats in the back up on the Upper Clack one late weekend day, say hi to me. I'm a little shy at first but warm up to good companionship. Come fish with me, and bring an extra garbage bag with ya. There is plenty of fish and garbage to go around for all of us.
I love this time of year!
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