(The New) Deschutes River Camp – Pix
Friend and now shop-owner, Matt Paluch, has been busting it hard to get the old Deschutes River Camp back into shape for a new season. He picked up the Camp relatively recently, and invited me down to see what was going on and to do a day of casting clinics.
When I arrived on Thursday night, Matt hadn’t slept in 60 hours and was still trying to get inventory (delivered that afternoon) into his POS system. Despite the lack of sleep and with about 100 things yet to do, Matt fired up his grill and we had dinner within sight of the river.
The clinic day went great and was mostly filled with people I know from Bend (thanks to you all for coming up for the day). This morning (opening day on this section of river), I figured that I’d take a few shots of Matt’s place for those who might be familiar with the Camp, or who want to see what’s now available for cabins/camping on the uppermost section of the lower river. Matt is steadily plowing through further improvements, so hopefully when I’m back for the salmonfly hatch in May, these photos will already be out-of-date.
Thanks again for your hospitality, Matt.
Yay for Matt! It looks so pretty there. Wish I was there with you, either in a cabin or camping. I can almost smell the crisp, fragrant air. Sigh…
After our very dreary Portland-area winter, being under blue, blue skies with warm sun and the smell of a campfire was about as good as it gets. Wish you could have made the trip with me. We’ll get back over together soon, though!
Just got back from our weekend staying at the camp and have to say, if anyone else sees this post and is curious about using their services, do it. We were tent camping, and the spots were very spacious, and on very nice ground, plus you can’t beat the $12 a night price. Matt and the other guy working the shop (forgot his name unfortunately) were both very helpful and friendly, both with in-camp stuff as well as advice about fishing, which was very helpful since this was our first time fishing the Deschutes at all.
Even though we fished Mecca Flat the majority of our time there, I would make the 2 minute drive from Matt’s camp any time rather than stay on-site in Mecca Flat to support the camp. I’m already looking forward to the next time I’m able to get down there again.
Bryan—Thanks for the feedback on the DRC. Good to hear that Matt is moving it forward as hoped. He’s up to his eyeballs in getting it in shape, and I only wish him the best of success with it. He called and let me know that the Salmon Fly action is heating up, so I may have to get back over there very soon….
Yeah I’d give it a short bit. One thing we learned from all the locals was that the river normally isn’t this high, which makes wading tough, as well as the fact that the fish aren’t quite onto the salmon flies just yet. Everyone we ran into seemed to think it’s still a week or so from being a frenzy over them.