2024 - That's a Wrap

Before moving to Bend, going back another fifteen years, New Year’s Day meant a day trip to a tailwater a couple hours from home. We even named a run on that river for the day. My fishing buddy, Enzo and I would drive out not long after the bars had closed, not long after the midnight kisses had become early morning romances. Not long before some would wake to a long, mimosa-soaked eggs benedict breakfast. We partook in none of that. Not anymore. The big night had become a quiet one for tying flies, a cocktail or two, being tucked in by ten o’clock. The following day, the first of a new year, would require full attention and fitness. Catching the first fish of the year was our goal. And this river was not one that gave up her jewels easily. The canyon was steep, with game trails the only way from one fishing hole to the next. I wrote a story about this river in my last book. It wasn’t the most impactful river on my angling journey, but it was there when I needed it. New Year’s Day was one of those times.

And so, 2024 began with a mountain bike ride. The winter was mild up till then. And while the skiers were moaning, some of the trails and forest service roads were still in great shape. So, I bundled up and went out. It was during this ride that a life-changing goal emerged. I decided to try something that had been on my radar for over a decade: I’d enter the High Cascade 100 Mile Mountain Bike Race third week of July. To put how crazy this notion was in some perspective, my longest ever ride till that point was just over thirty miles. After a quick consultation with Michelie and Lola, I committed to the race.

From the very beginning, 2024 took on a very different shape than any before it. I will not bore you here and now with all the details, but I trained hard, I suffered through frozen fingers and toes, I broke and built bikes, I leaned heavily on a remarkable group of friends for every brand of support. And I fell on my ass a lot. The first four months of the year were almost entirely dedicated to my quest.

The winter was also spent playing music in town with Lola, who has become a very talented singer/songwriter. To share the ‘stage’ with her is still one of the cooler things I’ve ever done.

In February I was invited to SoCal to present at seven fly-fishing clubs! It was a rock and roll tour without the sex and drugs. Or at least the sex… But sincerely I was honored to be asked. These clubs have an incredible history, including having had presented to by a who’s who of angling legend and lore. I was nervous as hell! In the end, all seven presentations went great. I got people engaged and asking questions. Even got ‘em to laugh at my tired old jokes. It was a mega road trip, complete with hanging out with many old friends, lots of golf, and bathing in warm sunshine in February!

I did sneak in my annual pilgrimage out to the Big “O”. Lucked into two days of off-the-charts BTO dry fly fun. The river was already higher than I’d ever seen it in March. But then it got really high! I was actually there for Day 1 of what became a month’s long blow-out of our fave little brown trout fishery.

Then we ran down to Cali for the wedding of my amazing niece, Hope. Lola was asked to be a bride’s maid. It really was one of the more beautiful events I’ve ever been to. And a great opportunity to spend some time with much-missed family and friends. Oh, and yea, I took my bike!

Then we ran down to Cali for the wedding of my amazing niece, Hope. Lola was asked to be a bride’s maid. It really was one of the more beautiful events I’ve ever been to. And a great opportunity to spend some time with much-missed family and friends. Oh, and yea, I took my bike!

Then our guiding season began. We were busy from the outset, as most are in these parts. With much of the same crew from previous seasons, we got after it for most of May and June. There are too many great memories to go through here. Too many bent rods and glimmering Redbands to count. But all the while I felt the same deep gratitude for all our amazing clients, the same admiration for my crew’s hard work, the same enduring love for the canyon I get to call my office. The fishing, as it goes, was better some days than others.

We stayed super busy through the end of June. Then I went into pre-race training mode, which went great right up until a week before the race. That’s when I had what was not my first wreck, but certainly my worst. My right hand and wrist were jacked up seriously. For a couple days I thought there was no chance of riding for a while. But with the help of local chiropractor extraordinaire, Andrew Torchio and Rebound PT hand and wrist master Tony Dao, I was put back together again and braced up in a way that I went ahead and started the race. What followed was a descent into the deepest, darkest suffer cave ever. Every time I squeezed the brake, switched gears, hit a bump, hole or root, searing pain shot up my right arm. And I had to endure over nine hours of it… But we finished! In the end, for me it was a triumph. It was also an adventure of self-discovery. For all those months of training and then the race I learned a lot about myself, and also gained a sense of what any of us can do if we accept a challenge and push ourselves to overcome it.

I’m not gonna lie, the first time I tried to row after the race (two days later!) it hurt like hell. Pushing was okay, but any attempt to pull back on the sticks was brutal! Like when entering Whitehorse… In the end we had a great camp trip with a husband, wife and 15-year-old fly fishing-obsessed son! They were some of my favorite people I’ve ever had the privilege of taking down the river. Seeing that kid light up every time he hooked a fish… and watching the pride in his parent’s eyes will stay with me till the end. Then we crammed in a bunch of day trips leading up to me and the girls jetting off to Europe!

This was the first proper summer vacation in well over a decade. Our itinerary was put together over many months. In the end we saw Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Italy, staying mostly off the beaten track, visiting both places I had and had not been. We met up with Jasper in Tuscany for four epic days. We swam in the Adriatic, discovered towns where I could happily go grow old and die, ate and drank to our heart’s content, laughed and loved and dug into every minute.

We came back and dove straight into a five day six-person trip down the river in late August. Our clients were guys I hadn’t guided in a few years, and it was amazing to reacquaint. We fished hard, took crazy hikes, ate massive amounts of killer grub, drank heartily, threw down mega Washers games and generally had the time of our lives. Such a huge thanks to my crew of guides and camp folk. It was a long trip. We all worked our asses off. Oh, and we bumped into the steelhead of the season!

And then into the fall we ventured. The river stayed in great shape and hosted one of the better steelhead runs we’ve had in a while. Good mixture of wild and hatchery fish. And some big ones too! All in all, it seemed like the Lower Deschutes was a healthier river this year. The long, wet late winter and early spring helped. We didn’t have any ‘heat dome’ trends to deal with. The trout seemed healthy all season. We saw a solid run of steelhead. A ton of salmon came back to spawn. Hatches were thick and on schedule. So let’s hope for more of all that!

One other highlight of autumn was Lola’s 8^th Grade Cross Country season. She trained hard, focused intensely and went out every day to go faster and harder than she’d gone before. We are so proud of her effort. Watching her run is one of my favorite things. And she ended up top 10 in the entire district!

Oh, and I turned 60 on October 3^rd!! I celebrated by riding 60 miles! My best present was spending a couple days living on the river with an old pal, Paz, and my son Jasper, my favorite human. And I caught a lovely little steelhead to kick off this next decade.

Last but not leaast I'd be remiss in not mentioning a little trip I took with Lola in November... Way back in August, Lola and her mom were supposed to go to the Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, Austria. The shows there were cancelled because of particularly nasty terrorist threats. A very persistent, dark cloud had hung over my daughter's head ever since. So I hatched a nutty plan to get her to a show in Indy. With the most remarkable help from true angels in my life, I was able to make it happen. The experience will go down as one of the more epic, beautiful, elevating experiences I've had in these sixty years. And to finally get that cloud lifted away will be one of my better contributions as a parent... And we got to grab a Bulls game too!

As always, thanks for your time and enthusiasm. It is because of you we get to do what we do. And we look forward to seeing you in 2025!

Cheers

Griff Marshall Outdoors

Never hesitate to reach out regarding flies, fishing reports, educational stuff and guided trips! 541-480-4280

griff@griffmarshalloutdoors.com