At the end of February I forecast that the first week of March would have the best winter steelheading of the season. The cause was obvious: Mrs. Fuzzy and I were visiting her sister in the California desert, far from any bodies of water except swimming pools.

Now I have another prediction: from March 7 through April 15 the fishing will be TERRIBLE in Oregon!

Again, the reason is obvious: I'm coming home.

I have put all my winter fishing eggs into one basket--the rest of March through mid-April. I've cleared the decks for that period. My two-year stint as chairman of the Stafford Hamlet Vision Committee (see my fall post) ends. I've finished projects around the house. I've scheduled multi-day fishing trips on the coast, the North Umpqua, and the upper Willamette. I am totally prepared for a big wind-up to winter steelheading, as well as for the March brown hatch in the Willamette Valley.

So you know what is going to happen next, don't you? All that rain that didn't happen in January and February is going to show up with a vengeance in March. Record flooding can be expected. Rivers will be blown out everywhere in the Northwest. The streams will run high and brown for five weeks.

In fact, if you count the days from March 7 (my return) through April 15 (the unofficial end of winter steelheading) you come up with 40 days and 40 nights.

Forty days and nights of rain. Hmmmm. Better convert your drift boats into arks now. Gather your favorite animals two-by-two. Get ready for a deluge of Biblical proportions.

And when it happens, remember that Uncle Fuzzy was the prophet--and bringer--of doom.

Thanks for killing it for the rest of us!

But there is a way out. If you take me along on your trips, there is a likelyhood that beginner's luck will offset your accumulated mojo. It's gonna be tough, but I'm willing to sacrifice for the good of group.

Tim

Tim,
Taking beginners steelheading is my favorite tactic. Everytime I demonstrate how to do it, I hook a fish. The beginner, however, is always skunked and usually falls in to boot.
Scott

Oh the great and insightful Fuzzy. How is the third week in March looking. I have a guided trip and need all the help I can get.

Brad

Hey, I'm on the coast that week! So it will be horrible! Bring a your rainsuit, very warm clothes, and a book to read.

Fishermen in general are some of the most hopeful people on the planet. Steelheaders seem to be the most hopeful end of the fishing spectrum.

I hope that while you're enjoying the surroundings in that downpour, some fish blasts you out of the misery and into the ecstasy.

Michael, myself, and many others on this board are prepared - we already love to fish lakes! If your prediction comes true, Scott, there will be plenty of them!

And true to form, my coast trip was blown-out!
(I'm getting weary of this . . . )

I offered...

Sorry to hear about the coast.

Yesterday could not have been anymore fishy on the Sandy. Overcast, warm, perfect level.

so there i wasn't. thought about going to the Sandy today actually, but thinking didn't put me on any rivers. nice fish.

Nice Fish!!