TJ's Rant #3

I recently read an article in the Oregonian that reminded me why I don’t read the paper much.  I rarely watch the news, it is known in my household as the doom and gloom hour.  Because of this I have been accused of living with my head in the sand, thus making me clueless on world and local events.  I really don’t care about a cat adopting squirrels; I know some dirt bag is doing something terrible, if I need to know about the war, I’ll call my brother in the military, if I need fish counts or weather I’ll go to finsnbeasts.com.  Now let’s talk about the article.  It said that the Deschutes River is considerably warmer, which will affect the quality of steelhead fishing.  This is secondary to the fact that at the damning points of the river changes are happening to help salmon and steelhead populations up the river which like I said is what’s affecting the water temperature.   Do I read this article as a political plea, a scare tactic, an educational piece on how humans further damage native species, or a friendly reminder that fishing may suck if I head that way?   This is what I think.  I say things like what the hell, I love spending the day on the Deschutes with my guide buddy Jeremy Toman, while running through the rapids in a jet boat, looking for bighorn sheep in the hills and maybe getting lucky enough to encounter a rattler that I can turn into a hat band.  Oh, did I mention that I will be fishing.   The point is; conditions are almost never perfect with the time you are going to go.  Read the article and go anyway and don’t let someone else’s opinion bum you out enough to not go; besides you may prove them wrong.  I have to say I never come home empty handed because I always find other peoples garbage wherever I go.  This is how I do my part, oh and I do drag my kids along.  I think they’ll hate me some day.

By Scott Haugen

Of all the hunting I've been fortunate to take part in around the globe, consistently scoring on a trophy-class Columbia blacktail deer is among the toughest. The secretive ways and nocturnal lifestyle adopted by big bucks make them one of North America's ultimate big game challenges, and once you devote time to hunting them, you'll understand what makes them such an addictive trophy to pursue.

By: TJ Lehnertz

Almost everyone remembers that person, or event that drew them to be an outdoorsman.  For me it was one of those events that I can see vividly.  I was seven years old and I was finally allowed to actually accompany my dad deer hunting on opening morning.  This was not going to be just a ride in the truck through the woods during the season catching a late evening road hunt, but a real walking through the desert helping dad find a buck.  I’m pretty sure that I had to promise that I would refrain from talking in order to be allowed to hunt.  I actually remember the rest of the group going the opposite way as dad and I and muttering comments under their breath like which ever way I was heading would be vacant of animals since I was know to have the same effect on numerous fishing outings.  Whoever was a hundred feet down the bank from me did the best.