Camp-Stories

Rainbows and "Jelly Arm"
by Mark Reilly - Team Camp Stories

       John Dombek, Steve Turner, Gary Carlson, Kirk Nichols
and myself designated the afternoon of June 27th and all day
the 28th as "Stay Away from Work Day 2007". It is a new
floating holiday only recognized by a few dedicated
employees around the country. We got word of rising fish and
the days were set, floating holiday officially booked!.
       As we pulled up to the cabin at Rocky Ridge around 5pm
we were greeted by numerous fish sipping spinners on the
surface. Needless to say our plans for an early dinner were
quickly put on hold as we scrambled for our gear and rigged
our fly rods. The T-bones would have to wait til after dark!
Scattering along the banks of this Central Oregon lake we put
an all out assault on the trout. The sound of "fish on" became
a familiar echo, matched only by the croaking of the bull
frogs. Fishing that evening was simply great. The Rocky
Ridge rainbows were willing participants in our game of catch
and release and we were all to happy to extend the game into extra innings. Finally with little
to no daylight left we returned to the front porch for some of Gary's famous Old Fashions.
With drinks in hand we all sat back, shared fish stories and were treated to another camp ritual,
Dombek at the grill.
       You see, John isn't your average camp cook, his skills go far beyond your typical meal. In
elk camp John has been known to pack in scallops, shrimp, fresh pasta and a variety of
spices creating the most amazing high carb meal you can imagine. Unfortunately for John we
have all come to expect magic out of those cast iron pans. Yes, cast iron. With thousands of
meals prepared on their surface there is little doubt that they contribute a unique flavor to each
and every meal.   Our T-bones would not be the exception. The best part about this set of
cookware, aside from the flavor it adds to each meal, is the fact that John lets no one near then
after the meal for fear that a drop of soap may come in contact with their surface. The obvious
benefit, John both cooks and cleans!

       The following morning we awoke to the most incredible sunrise reflecting off the lakes
surface. And yes there were fish rising. Kirk, the iron man of the group, pushed off shore in
his kick-boat for what would end up being a catch-and-release marathon.
Kirk has a reputation of beating everyone to the water in the morning and
needing a search party in the evening to locate and remove him from the
lake or stream. Myself, Gary, John and Steve all set out on foot looking
for cruising rainbows in the lakes shallows. Day two would not be a
letdown, until it was time to leave of course, as we all hooked and landed
our share of large, hard fighting fish. Gary ,however, found the "zone"
in the upper lake just prior to noon and could do no wrong. Like a
conductor with fly rod in hand he orchestrated the most amazing string
of hook-ups you could imagine.   Multiple 16, 17, 18, and 21 inches fish fell to his new favorite
fly, the marabou damsel. It was quite a show as Gary reeled them in and Kirk rowed the length
of the lake to capture them on film.   While both Gary and Kirk seemed to separate themselves
from the pack the rest of us went about our business wearing out the fish they missed. With
plenty of fish in the 18 inch range our resumes at the end of the day didn't look all that bad.
       As we all packed up that evening to head back to town there were a few things we could
all agree on. One, we are all coming back again this fall and two we all had a major case of
"jelly arm" thanks to those incredible Rocky Ridge rainbows.