SCORE ONE FOR EASTERN OREGON TOURISM

All Aboard The Steelhead Train

By Bill Schneider, 3-04-07

	ABOVE: Mike Marcus with one of his beauties. Photo by Kevin Wright, Travel Oregon. BELOW: Author and steelheader Chris Santella boarding the Steelhead Train. Photo by Bill Schneider.

Among anglers, steelheaders are among the most avid. Twice each year, at the beginning of the summer and winter runs, their necks swell and the little-known pisces gland releases powerful hormones and they become uncontrollable. They go great lengths to hook into these sea-run rainbows on steroids, traveling hundreds of miles, buying the latest gear, rolling our before daybreak on a fishing day so they can fishing from first to last light, regardless of the weather.

And now, in Eastern Oregon, thanks to an unusual private-private partnership, steelhead aficionados have their own train, The Steelhead Train.

Starting this year, in February and March, The Steelhead Train leaves every Saturday and Sunday morning from the Minam Motel & Market (about halfway between La Grande and Enterprise, Oregon on Oregon Route 82) and makes three back and forth trips, up the Wild and Scenic Wallowa River Canyon, stopping at every fishing hole to drop off or pick up anglers. Non-steelheaders (i.e. normal people) ride along just for the “excursion,” as it’s called by local tourism folks, to enjoy the scenery and train ride. It costs $50 for the full day, $30 for a half day, including lunch.

Why February and March?  Steelheaders already know the answer, but for the majority of the population, that timeframe coincides with the local steelhead run. The silvery torpedoes also have a summer run in July and August.

The Steelhead Train is a partnership between the Wallowa Union Railroad and the Minam Motel & Market. Agencies are involved and supportive, but it’s primarily private operation that’s already, in its first year, starting to generate some tourism dollars for a poor cousin to western Oregon. Eastern Oregon is scenic, mountainous, full of friendly folks, great for fishing, hiking and many other outdoor activities, dry and sunny, but doesn’t have an ocean. The Steelhead Train isn’t going to change that, but it does fill up a few motels on weekends and helps out the local restaurants and gas stations.

I stopped in eastern Oregon to take the Steelhead Train on my way back to Montana from my winter escape to the OC. I stayed at the Stampede Inn in Elgin. That night I had a nice meal at Sig’s.

After a short predawn drive to Minam, I geared up and boarded The Steelhead Train at 7 am. When I arrived, the place seemed almost deserted except for Chuck Fleser, owner of the motel and market, who appeared out of nowhere and looked in my truck window, causing my heart to skip a beat. Then, suddenly, about five minutes before the trail left, fifty people showed up carrying fishing rods and daypacks, and the trail was full.

Okay, it isn’t a big train. Only two cars, but still a real train.

That was my first time fly fishing for steelhead, and I learned that I have a lot to learn. I caught to a massive 25-inch bull trout and a nice 17-inch native rainbow, plus a few whitefish, fish I’m used to catching, but no steelhead. That hurts because back on the train, all the other guys are passing around their digital cameras full of photos of the beautiful steelhead they hooked, but I’ll console myself by saying they had all done it before and I was a rookie.

It was a great day on a great river, though, and I vowed to return, next time a little more savvy and with the right gear. Listening to seasoned steelheaders talk about bucks vs. hens and why the fish weren’t so “hot” that day made it worse. I have to come back and catch a steelhead on a fly.

The lack of motorized access makes this a special trip. The train offers anglers a chance to fish away from crowds and roads, and a 25-rod limit keeps it a quality experience. Most other quality steelhead streams, most lined with roads, are getting crowded.

Fleser says he has had great support from government agencies. Travel Oregon has helped him promote the train. Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department has been supportive, as has Oregon State Parks who administers the state wild and scenic rivers. “We have bathrooms on the train, and we look after this beautiful canyon,” he says.

A few years back, the railbed up the Wallowa Canyon was almost abandoned and reverted to private ownership, which would have been a giant loss for public recreation. The Steelhead Train, along with excursion trains run in the summer by Eagle Cap Excursions, keeps the railbed active. That threat has now passed, assures Fleser. “Now, if it were abandoned, it would go to the Oregon State Parks and become a rail trail.”

Which would not be a bad thing for the local tourism efforts. Similar rail trails like the Hiawatha Trail on the Idaho-Montana border attract thousands of cyclists every year and benefit local businesses in many ways.

But there is no talk of abandonment nowadays, partly because of the Steelhead Train.

Currently, the Steelhead Train chugs along at about 10 mph eight miles up the canyon and returns. It could go two more miles, but an ATV trail has given motorized access to the last two miles. Falser doesn’t want to take the train to the end of the line to mix his customers with people coming in on ATVs, but says if efforts to close that trail to motorized use succeed, he’d extend the fishing train another two miles.

Fleser keeps careful track of his customers so leaves nobody behind, and he keeps a strict schedule. When the whistle blows three times, you better be on the train--unless you have a fish on, of course. “We brake for fish,” Fleser admits.

That’s reassuring because I’m coming back, and maybe even get a steelhead on my last cast and won’t be left behind.

After a day of fishing, I made a stop at another must-see tourism attraction in remote northeastern Oregon, the Terminal Gravity Brewery for some really good beer and tasty pub food. Check it out if you ever get to Enterprise, Oregon, but go directly to a gas station to ask directions because you’ll have trouble finding the brewpub by yourself.

You can find out more about The Steelhead Train here, or call the Minam Motel & Market at 887-888-8130. Check out the Terminal Gravity Brewery here.

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