Maury Mountain Trout

In October of 2006 we had the pleasure of meeting Rance and Nancy Kastor, owners of Maury Mt. Ranch that offer some of the best trout fishing around! Fly, spinner, or bait fishing, whatever your preference Maury Mtn. Trout offers it all! The Kastor’s ranch sits deep in the heart of the Maury Mtn. range offering beautiful scenery and wildlife where visitors might observe elk, deer, antelope, turkeys, and a variety of birds. The ranch is about 36 miles east of Prineville just after the Post store on your way to Paulina traveling up the Crooked River. The Kastor’s will cater the serious angler all the way up to hosting large groups and offer overnight lodging with meals at a cabin near Pine Creek.

The adventures for our family and friends all started the day Rance drove me around the ranch and showed me what a special place they owned. I remember when Rance drove to one of his favorite lakes and asked if I love to fish? I replied… “do bears go in the woods”??? Rance then grabbed some treats from a can and threw them over the water as I witnessed the surface turn to a feeding frenzy. Rance stated, “now that’s some fish I tell ya”! I asked if I could schedule to bring our family out on Thanksgiving day for a few hours of fly fishing – boy did I under estimate the opportunity as you can see from the photos.

After fighting fish like steelhead with attitude, the rest of the gang grabbed their gear and made some casts in hope of catching “Walter”.

After we hooked and landed a few fish, we decided to try another lake for some action and change of scenery! Now I know why Rance kept asking me how strong my line was and what weight of fly rod we were using.

The time had come to pack our gear and head home for Thanksgiving dinner. Because we had so much fun enjoying the ranch observing all the wildlife, We booked another trip with some great friends who love to talk it up and fly fish for “MONSTER” rainbows.

Gary Popp and the gang from Lake Billy Chinook Houseboats met at the ranch later in the spring for what proved to be good times and lots of laughs!

Now that Gary and the gang are hooked, we decide to invite some other folks out to the ranch for some rainbow action!

So…. here is a story I will never forget when a good friend of ours said he had never caught a salmon or trout on a fly rod. I’m thinking??? do I have the place for you… you guessed it – we headed for the ranch to try our luck.

Way to go Tory and thanks for the adventure! Now…. from time to time we get the opportunity to take kids to the ranch as they have a special place in our hearts and deserve mentoring. Check out some of these kid experiences!

My son Eli and I were walking through a sporting goods store when Eli says, “dad, I want to get a fishing pole and learn to fish like you” so… we walked over to the rods and let him pick out a kids pole with some lures. Of all the lures, Eli picks up this huge brass wobbler that he felt was a must before the world comes to an end. We take the rod and lure home to practice casting in the backyard before attempting the ranch. The next weekend were at the ranch with a friend and as we approach the first pond I ask, “can we let Eli give it a try first”? My friend steps aside and lets Eli go for it. Look what happened next….

The summer continued on and we thought of a great fund raiser for our American Cancer Society “Relay For Life” campaign. We decided to host a Maury Mtn. fishing day with BBQ where we supplied fresh halibut from the weeks prior ocean trip out of Newport. Our PROS network group showed up in force and helped raise over $750 towards the charity. The ranch owners also helped by reducing the fee to help donate for the cause! Some of the folks got lost and some of the guests had never fished before so we did our best and the results were impressive – check out these photos!

Now this next one is the best we have seen. Tanya asks for a stronger pole with stronger line as she feels her gear is too light. We handed her one of our spare poles with a secret lure to go with Adam and his son to an isolated lake on the west side of the ranch till lunch. Look what she landed after a few casts…

Congrats. Tanya, you are truly our hero and winner of the largest catch contest. What a fish and what a day with friends “pursuing the outdoors”!

Thanks to all who participated and made a donation to Relay For Life, we walked on your behalf and gave to a great charity!

The rest are pictures to enjoy. If interested in a great fishing adventure call Maury Mtn. Ranch at 541-477-3819 and ask for Rance or Nancy Kastor to make your reservations. Thank you Rance & Nancy for allowing us to enjoy your piece of paridise while taking such great care of us!