My good buddy, Dan, was in town for the holiday last week. We went back up to the Metolius for a couple hours. I hooked one big fish that came unbuttoned after I had technical difficulties involving the build up of ice in the rod guides. I use a versa-tip line on my 6/7 wt, which means I can change out the first 12 ft or so of fly line with sinking tips, etc. Well the connection is a slim knot, but not smooth, so when the ice built up, the line would not come in any closer than that 12 feet, plus another 12 ft. of leader and tippet, so my fish, which had been on the line for about 5 minutes, was just not going to get any closer than about 24 feet away unless I could get the ice out of the guides. Usually we just dip the rod in the river, which is warmer than the freezing cold air and the ice melts. I tried this technique with big fish on and as soon as the rod tip was below about chest level, "plink" - fish off. Was a big'n for sure though. Probably bigger than the 25 incher caught last week. Anyway, a couple of hours later I hooked and landed a 21 inch bull trout that fought surprisingly well for its size. Got to love hooking nice sized fish on home tied flies! The best part about this trip was that we did not hook a single white fish or rainbow. We love the rainbows and the whitefish have saved many-a-day from the skunk, but the fact that there are no smaller fish in the holes likely means that the bigger fish have moved back in. Oh Betty!!!!! We have until about March to fish for the big bruisers, so if anyone wants to come out, the time is upon us. In April the bows begin their spawn and most of the big bullies drop back. By May all the big bull trout are back down in the deep water of the reservoir and won't be seen again in the river until next year. Come on out for some seriously Tight Lines!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Bull Trip II
My good buddy, Dan, was in town for the holiday last week. We went back up to the Metolius for a couple hours. I hooked one big fish that came unbuttoned after I had technical difficulties involving the build up of ice in the rod guides. I use a versa-tip line on my 6/7 wt, which means I can change out the first 12 ft or so of fly line with sinking tips, etc. Well the connection is a slim knot, but not smooth, so when the ice built up, the line would not come in any closer than that 12 feet, plus another 12 ft. of leader and tippet, so my fish, which had been on the line for about 5 minutes, was just not going to get any closer than about 24 feet away unless I could get the ice out of the guides. Usually we just dip the rod in the river, which is warmer than the freezing cold air and the ice melts. I tried this technique with big fish on and as soon as the rod tip was below about chest level, "plink" - fish off. Was a big'n for sure though. Probably bigger than the 25 incher caught last week. Anyway, a couple of hours later I hooked and landed a 21 inch bull trout that fought surprisingly well for its size. Got to love hooking nice sized fish on home tied flies! The best part about this trip was that we did not hook a single white fish or rainbow. We love the rainbows and the whitefish have saved many-a-day from the skunk, but the fact that there are no smaller fish in the holes likely means that the bigger fish have moved back in. Oh Betty!!!!! We have until about March to fish for the big bruisers, so if anyone wants to come out, the time is upon us. In April the bows begin their spawn and most of the big bullies drop back. By May all the big bull trout are back down in the deep water of the reservoir and won't be seen again in the river until next year. Come on out for some seriously Tight Lines!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Patience and Persistence - Bull Trout trip I
Folks, I do not know what is worse on my aging body; hiking all day and fishing some, or not hiking at all and casting an eight weight all day. Both fun, but both hurt. Turns out my luck to a turn for the better yesterday. Although my last couple of fishing trips have not yielded fruits, the patience and persistence of this angler finally paid off. We were in the water at around 8 am (2 hours later than I like to be). Within the first 30 minutes I had caught one whitefish, so at least the skunk was off. About twenty minutes later I hooked, for a brief 5 seconds, what i thought was another whitefish. I had been lazy on the hook set and it came off after only a few little shakes. I casted to the exact spot again because once you find one whitie, you have found them all, and the same fish grabbed on again. It gave those few 
initial shakes but then it hunkered down on the river bottom and didn't want to move. I was thinking that this must be a pretty nice whitefish. Then it moved..... and I couldn't stop it. Whitefish? Negative, ghostrider. My first bull trout of the season went 25 inches and 7 lbs, weighed and measured. A nice specimen, indeed. Funny story: As Micah was running for the camera, I unhooked the beast shown here and held him in the water to try and keep him happy. While down in the water, he mustered up what was left of his strength (was no match for the new Redington Wayfarer Six 8 wt) and managed to flop out of my hands and into he water. Well I had been walking around and the mud was stirred up - zero visibility. I thought he was gone for good. I did not see him swim away though, so I decided to reach into the water, which was about knee deep, and feel around. Sure enough, as I was up to my elbows in freezing water, I felt a fin, then a tail. I was able to pick the fish back up, get some video, a picture or two and then send him on his way back out into he river. I love these fish! What amazingly powerful fish they are. And smart too. This one had me hung up arou
nd a log twice, and into some bushes hanging over a cut bank two or three times. I was lucky to get him in the end. I went 3 whitefish, 2 red-band rainbows (natives) and the Bully. The rainbow trout here are just spectacular. I've never seen trout like these. The Metolius is slated to see the return of steelhead and a historic run of sockeye in the coming years. Although I support the rehabilitation and restoration effort, I cant help but think of what it is going to do to the pristine river I have grown to love. I can only hope the powers that be will realize what a treasure we have here and do everything to protect it, even if it means closing it to angling for a time. Hopefully it wont come to that, but the cause is worthy of it. Anyway, here's to many more bull trout to come. Maybe I'll get another 30+ incher this year. Tight Lines!
initial shakes but then it hunkered down on the river bottom and didn't want to move. I was thinking that this must be a pretty nice whitefish. Then it moved..... and I couldn't stop it. Whitefish? Negative, ghostrider. My first bull trout of the season went 25 inches and 7 lbs, weighed and measured. A nice specimen, indeed. Funny story: As Micah was running for the camera, I unhooked the beast shown here and held him in the water to try and keep him happy. While down in the water, he mustered up what was left of his strength (was no match for the new Redington Wayfarer Six 8 wt) and managed to flop out of my hands and into he water. Well I had been walking around and the mud was stirred up - zero visibility. I thought he was gone for good. I did not see him swim away though, so I decided to reach into the water, which was about knee deep, and feel around. Sure enough, as I was up to my elbows in freezing water, I felt a fin, then a tail. I was able to pick the fish back up, get some video, a picture or two and then send him on his way back out into he river. I love these fish! What amazingly powerful fish they are. And smart too. This one had me hung up arou
nd a log twice, and into some bushes hanging over a cut bank two or three times. I was lucky to get him in the end. I went 3 whitefish, 2 red-band rainbows (natives) and the Bully. The rainbow trout here are just spectacular. I've never seen trout like these. The Metolius is slated to see the return of steelhead and a historic run of sockeye in the coming years. Although I support the rehabilitation and restoration effort, I cant help but think of what it is going to do to the pristine river I have grown to love. I can only hope the powers that be will realize what a treasure we have here and do everything to protect it, even if it means closing it to angling for a time. Hopefully it wont come to that, but the cause is worthy of it. Anyway, here's to many more bull trout to come. Maybe I'll get another 30+ incher this year. Tight Lines!Sunday, November 18, 2007
A Nice Hike
(insert audio clip of relaxing music) Well, Bret and I had a nice hike down along the upper reaches of the lower Deschutes River. It was nice to get out and be in touch with nature. We strolled along the river trails, admiring the scenery and wildlife as we went. Soon it was time to head back home and our excursion was over. What a great day. (insert audio clip of record player needles skipping across a 10-inch vinyl record). Actually, we hiked about 11 miles in and out, up and down, through stiff currents and slick (and I mean SLICK) mud in pursuit of a salmonid with a brain half the size of a walnut. It rained, the wind blew, we both almost took an unintentional swim, and I...... (sigh)...... I fell down. I fell down in the mud not once, not twice, but three stinking times! Bret was amused but allowed me to retain some dignity... that is, until he out-fished me. Bret caught a 24 inch hatchery fish that found its way to his freezer (http://www.thefangledfly.blogspot.com/). Me? Oh, I caught fish - yes sir! I caught: 1 sucker, which now suffers from a slight concussion - a result of it incidentally getting in between my size 10 Hodgman wading boot and the ground I was stomping on. I also caught 2 rainbows: One was a beautiful native (could have been a steelhead but it is hard to tell when they are only as long as MY LITTLE FINGER!). Both rainbows took a size 4 Blue Fox spinner.... which is amazing considering the size of the fish. The second rainbow was a tab bit bigger, but came off the line when I set the hook and sent it flying behind me.... hey I count that as a catch and release... even though I released it unintentionally about 20 yds behind me in the brush - can you say "SET!!!"). This is my 3rd steelhead trip without a fish. I think it is time to throw in the hat for the season and focus on bull trout and redbands until spring. Speaking of.........
Micah is in town and we are fishing the Mrs. Stay tuned for pictures/video of some nice fish. This will be my first serious attempt at bull trout this season. Recent reports say that there are a lot of fish in my secret hole. Should be a good mixed bag of whities, bows and hopefully a couple of fat bullies. Tight Lines!
Micah is in town and we are fishing the Mrs. Stay tuned for pictures/video of some nice fish. This will be my first serious attempt at bull trout this season. Recent reports say that there are a lot of fish in my secret hole. Should be a good mixed bag of whities, bows and hopefully a couple of fat bullies. Tight Lines!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)