A Tail of Three Brothers

Timothy Burke • 6/6/1711/4/23

The hunt begins with the first swing, hands nestling around the custom handle to release pent-up anticipation with every cast. Somewhere beneath the surface, the giant waits and lingers unexpectedly, minding its own business on the journey to its gravel spawning grounds.

Methodically and strategically, each step through the run is a precise calculation. The game is a matter of consistency, cast after cast, combing the bottom of the river looking for a willing participant. Different parts of the run demand new and innovative ways to present the fly and fool the fish.

A few bad casts rattle your nerves…stepping back up the run provides a second chance, but then a few more snags on a big underwater bolder force you to wade out into the heart of the run or break off the fly.

The line slips down through the glacial-fed 43-degree water. Blind from fish or fly, it’s simply a feel and an impulse. The moment, the reaction, the grab is not wishful thinking but preparation, muscle memory, and many failed attempts. The success rate is never 100% and the one that gets away demands a year of self-reflection.

Friendship with perseverance and a little bit of insanity is the cocktail for success. Every run holds a new opportunity lurking, waiting. Somewhere below the surface lies a chance to capitalize or be left wanting.

The catch is sweet and best shared with the ones you love! Like Brothers!

Why Fish Riffles at Last Light

Timothy Burke • 6/21/162/16/19

File May 29, 6 25 16 AM

Last light provides just the advantage that big redside Deschutes River trout thrive on. This minimal light environment creates a safe choppy top nutrient enrich feeding ground next to the grassy river banks. Large salmon flies who spend most of their day hanging out on trees, river grass, and sage take flight when the late evening temperatures soar. Their newly fertile eggs are released into the filmy rivers surface often causing the big bug to crash into the water turning into the perfect pray for a hungry trout.

File May 29, 6 27 34 AM

File May 29, 6 25 58 AM

The Natural

Timothy Burke • 6/7/162/16/19

The salmon fly hatch, during a warm evening on the Deschutes River, is a swarm of swallows and larger than life bugs clouding the sky while the sun rests its beams behind the towering canyon walls. In those late day hours beneath the cool trickle, large redside rainbow trout come out to feed on golden stones and salmon flies. These native fish have spent their spring on spawning beds raising their young. Towards the end of May, the hatch offers a delicious protein packed a meal to help rejuvenate their depleted bodies. As the fly line cuts through the air and places the natural clark stone into the soft foamy water, all eyes wait in anticipation for the rise.