FlyTymes

Elk Hunting

2011-10-31T09:24:00.001-07:00

I've just returned to the office after a week of Elk Hunting with good friends Eastern Oregon. We had a great time, although the Elk seemed more inclined to bug out & hide rather than hang around with targets painted on their vitals. Stingy buggars! Truth be told, we were right on top of them a couple of times - so close we could not only hear them, but could smell them. That's pretty close. But as close as we got, I never did see hide nor hair. Both my hunting partners did however, which provided verification that what I was smelling was indeed Cervus Canadensis, and not a stinking bipedal Sasquach who had been bathing in the most rancid bog in the land, which is what it smelled like. No, there are no horns on the wall. Nor is there a freezer full of elk meat. Some may count this as a terrible failure, but I do not. As a first time hunter, I was in a classroom. I learned a ton, and had I the time, I could write a list 100 items long of things to/not to do, to/not to bring, etc. etc. etc. I'd start with DO's, and that list would start with Conditioning. Elk are mountain critters. Sure, they come down on the flat, but not usually in a place or at a time that you can get to them (i.e. private feilds at dark-o-clock in the morning). To get into Elk, you have to give up the home-feild advantage and go to their house - and that means climbing. So, conditioning! Don't go trecking into Elk country cold turkey, turkey! I could add more, but I'm afraid I've neglected my duties at work too much already. TIme to make up for some lost time. In closing, however, I will say this: I'm not discouraged to come home empty handed. I'll continue to learn and apply what I have learned to the next hunt, and the next, and so on. Now I've hunted, but this process will make me a hunter. And maybne I'll even find success eventually. Happy hunting to all those who will be heading to the high country after game this year, and Tight Lines!

On The Fly

2011-02-17T23:35:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z8Zwt3Wd0I

A short video of a recent trip to my favorite spring creek in Central Oregon. Tight Lines!

Catch Magazine

2010-09-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

Check out http://www.catchmagazine.net/
"An online visual experience highlighting the best fly fishing on the planet." Todd and Brian have really done a fantastic job and I keep up with every issue of Catch Magazine. Subscriptions are free.

That time again...

2010-09-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

Well, the last time I went fishing....... wait a minute - that first part needs clarification. Fishing is fishing, but there is absolutely a difference between "fishing," (as in: taking the kiddo to the local kiddie pond to catch untold hordes of planter trout on worms, powerbait, marshmallows or velveta cheese drenched in WD-40) and "Fishing" (as in: Heading out with 1 or 2 fellow anglers on a trek that may require 3 hours of gear prep, a 4 hour drive, perhapse a 5 mile hike in only to find 6 other guys in your hole. Then your re-tying every 7 casts (if youre lucky), hoping that 8 lb mono is strong enough and wishing you had another 9 of that fly you only tied one of, but had 10 hits on just before you broke it off up in that pine tree on your back cast). You see - very different. So when I say, "The last time I went fishing..." I want to clarify that I am speaking in regard to the later "fishing," as apposed to the former. Got it? Okay, so........

The last time I went fishing was in April I believe. We fished Riggins, ID for Springers. Fun trip for sure, but hard fishing due to high flows, high pressure and most of all, high expectations, which always seem to make it tougher to get into'em for some reason. Prior to Springers, we had a couple of good steelie trips on the Salmon but that has been it for me. Okay, okay - some may argue that I recently traveled to Nor. Cal. to fish the salt for rockies with my brother. This is true. However, I would like to submit that trip as one of the former types of fishing trips, rather thant he later. Reason: My 5-year-old came alng for the trip. Poor kid was miserable after only 10 minutes at sea. I sat and held him for the first 90 minutes of what turned out to be a 3 hour trip (and we boated over 130 fish in that time!). Truth be told, I got a little sick myself. Note to self: No breakfast burritos before heading out to sea! Eventually I did get a line in the water and, wanting to make it a good experience for my boy, I handed the rod off to him just about every time we hooked up. And it worked, by the way. He loved it.

So case in point, it's time. It's time for a hard-core, dedicated, stand-in-the-rain all day if you have to, serious fishing trip. Oh, the roomis booked already. Time to lube the reels, pre-tie leaders, watch flow charts and water temps, cause it's on! Summers on the Salmon, here I come.

More on "fishing" and "Fishing."
I love both types. I love taking my boy - and soon both of them - out to the bass pond or to the local kiddie pond. I love it mostly because he loves it. His enthusiasm and excitement are priceless to me and I look forward to each and every opportunity to get him/them in the outdoors to experience what God has done for us. On the other hand, there's an theraputic element that comes from those intense, serious trips that may not even result in fish in the cooler. I find myself driving home from those outtings feeling... I don't know.... put back together? I guess that sounds strange. Oh well. Thats about as good as my fried brain can do right now. Tight Lines!

Salmon River.... again

2010-04-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

Back up the the Stanley, ID area we went for another redeye trip in pursuit of metalheads. We did alright. Was pretty slow where we were, but the guys with boats who could access the other side of the run we were fishing were doing real well - prety much a fish-slaying fest! We managed 9 fish between 3 of us. No room for the fly rod at this hole so it was all traditional gear. Probably won't make it back again until next steelie season, so farewell, Salmon River. See for Springers in a couple months!

Dry Spell

2010-04-06T20:37:00.001-07:00

Well then! It has certainly been a while since I've posted here. I've fished a handful of times since August. Once or twice on the crooked river, and a couple of times this winter on the Metolius since I've been back. The crooked is always good for a couple of fish, but so is the Metolius usually. I fished out there twice this winter (usually I hit that stream 10 - 12 time over wither and early spring), both times in what I considered pretty prime conditions, but the action was pretty weak. I caught bullies both times, but they were small - 18 inchers, which is nothing compared to the 23 - 25 inchers that are so common there. Either the fishing is just slow this year or I am not putting in my dues. I'd like to think its the later. No worries. I did get into some fish recently.

My brother came up from Cali and we fished for summer run steelhad on the John Day with my buddy Troy. Troy showed us all his favorite spots and although it was slow that day, I did manage one native steelhead:

Pretty gal here took a hunk of cured sand shrip with an orange corky. She couldn't resist taking it on the first cast! Catching this fish definately got me back into steelhead feever! I love these fish. She put up a bit of a tussle before comming to hand. Really cool spots on her. Back she went after a couple photos.

I had planned with Micah and my Father-in-law and my old roomie, Brad, to fish for Sturgeon in Idaho, but with the crazy number of steelhead in the Salmon River, we changed plans and made the long drive to Salmon, Idaho where we stayed over-night and fished all the next day for metalheads in some very cold conditions. Thankfully, we did not go home with the skunk. Brad was on fire. He muist have landed four fish while we were there. Later on he found several more. Micah, Van and Savannah all learned what steelheading is all about. That is, working really hard to go home having worked really hard.... and thats all. Such is steelie fishing. Luckily, I found a fish and Brad gave us a couple of his. We introduced them to my smoker when we got back to Boise. We got some roe out of the hens and van cured them up for our next trip. We are learning here, folks! Before too long we are going to be skilled and seasoned steelie fishers.

A couple weeks after that (last weekend) V and I took a friend and his brother back up to the Salmon for more steelie action. Even though V did not get one last time, he caught the bug and arrived on the river very well prepared with a new Shimano casting rod and reel combo - very nice! Along with a mess of corkies and some other gear, he was determined to get his fish. This time we headed for the Stanley, ID area, which is where we were hearing the fishing was strong. I caught one behemoth pretty early on, which I kept alive on a stringer until we left that hole. He measured out at just shy of 31 inches and 9 lbs (this was after he had been dead for over 24 hours). We worked pretty hard without so much as another sniff from a fish until about the last 3 hours of daylight. At that point we went back to a bridge where we had seen a lot of fish and a lot of fisherman. The nice felllows withing beneath the bridge invited us down and it was not too long before V was hooked up. His first steelie was a 25 inch hatchery hen - bonk! There were several fly fisherman doing well at this hole so I suited up and drug out the ol' Redington RS4 9 wt. If fished for 10 minutes and I was on. First fly rod steelie was a 25 inch hatchery buck - bonk! I was thrilled to have gotten one on the fly rod - something I have been wanting to do for some time! Awesome! I ended up getting 2 more oafter that, all on the fly rod, and V landed a beautiful native hen. Tom managed to find a fish also. We went home with 4 fish, who were also introduced to the smoker. How did they like it? They thought it was crowded, smokey and hot in there! yum!

More pics to come. Tight Lines!

Catch Magazine

2009-03-05T11:44:00.001-08:00

I was recently turned onto a new on-line magazine called Catch Magazine (www.catchmagazine.net). This is a great online magazine for the fly fishing fanatic. Brian O'Keefe has been around the world with the bug rod and camera turning out dozens and dozens of once-in-a-life-time stills and action shots. you guys will love it. Check it out right away! Tight Lines!

Bull Trout Trip III

2009-02-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

It's about time! I've fished the Metolius 3 times but until today I had not landed a bull trout. past posts on my blog show that by this time of year I have caught well over 10 or 12 big fish but this year has been slow. This fish certainly gave me a run for my money. At first I was sure I was hung up on a rock, as that seemed to be the general outcome of every indicator dunk on the day so far. Even though rock hook-ups are extremely common out there, I always hang on to it for just a second or two longer to make sure there really isn't anything swimming on the other end. Well this rock started rolling up-stream ever so slowly, almost to the point that I thought the moving river was playing tricks on my eyes. Then came the bump - a head shake. Game on!!!! This dandy of a bull trout just seemed to do whatever I wanted it to and withing a minute I had him all the way in. As I began to work him over toward the bank to get the net, he must have noticed the water getting more shallow and suddenly came to life. Line started peeling off the reel as he headed for the stump snag. ALL the big bull trout know the stump snag and9 times out of 10 they head straight for it the minute they realize they are hooked. He managed to get himself down in the old roots of the submersed stump but not so much that I wasn't able to horse him on out. As soon as he was clear, he bolted for the bank. He hunkered way up in a cut bank and sat there for a minute until I began to work him again. I couldn't see him in there but he started moving up stream under the cut bank. My line kept catching on branches from bushes and I started to worry about how this could play out. All of a sudden Mr. Fish started thrashing at the bank. It was then that I noticed that, despite my best efforts, my leader had wrapped up on a branch and was holding the line tight. I was just about to drop my rod in the shallow water and run for the net, thinking that hook was going to pull free (always barbless on the Metolius) or the 6 lb line was going to break. Thank goodness for fluorocarbon! Just as I was about to go for the net, the fish attempted to shoot back out into the river current, breaking the twig that we were hung up on. Shortly thereafter I was able to get the basket of my extended-handled rubber net under his belly. He measured out at a long 28.75 inches and weighed in at about 8 lbs (maybe a little less - but not much!). It was a beautiful morning out there. It was all foggy and quiet, and I never even saw another person until I was driving home. I've included a short video clip of the fish and another picture. Enjoy, and Tight Lines!

September Campout

2009-01-25T17:32:00.001-08:00

Here are Anson and I at a litte father-son camput we did up at Paulina Lake in September. It was pretty cold way up there in the caldera and Anson pulled his bag out of the tent to keep warm while Daddy made breakfast. We did not fish the lake due to the cold temperatures but we had a good time. Tight Lines!

Backing it on up a little

2009-01-25T15:25:00.000-08:00

I wanted to go back to this past summer and post some photos from our trip to Costa Rica. Enjoy.Tight Lines!

A note on this little guy. From what I can tell, this is Mr. Nassau Grouper - a feistey little guy that hammered a stripped streamer fly as I cast from a rock outcropping just down the beach from our hotel. Although he was only about 13 inchs long, he was the best fish I landed the entire trip. My luck was pretty poor, but I was happy to get this one along with a couple other smaller reef fish. Check out the cool markings on his face! I later learned that this particular grouper, also known as a Tiger Fish, would have been excelent table fare. The guided trip I took was a fiasco to say the least, and although I can attribute some portion of that bad experience to my lack of experience kayak fishing, the majority of it goes to the guide and his lack of experience/preparation. Still a good learning experience and we did in fact hook up, so it wasnt that bad. Tight Lines!

1906...

2009-01-01T22:16:00.000-08:00

...Was the year that the Springeild .30-06 cartridge was introduced and standaradized in the U.S. Army. It was the Army's go-to cartridge all the way up until the early 70's when the Winchester .308 replaced it. Although the Army no longer uses it, it remains the most popular big game hunting round in the U.S. today, and perhaps in the entire world.

Why does this matter? Well, to you it may not. But the Springfeild .30-06 cartridge is precisely the round my new Browning X-Bolt .30-06 huting rifle was made for. Sporting a new Leupold VX-II 3-9 x 40 scope, the rifle is perfect. Wow is all I can say about it. I love it and can't wait to use it more. I had it out for the first time today. Despite the vicious winds, firing it at the range was a blast. This is somewhat new to me so sighting it in to perfection will be a process, but one I look forward to. Yes! Happy hunting, and Tight Lines!

Bull Trout Trip III

2009-01-01T19:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I'll tell you right off that there were no bull trout to speak of this trip. Not to worry though. There were some willing players. We both caught whitefish and we both caught a rainbow. As you can see, Dave's was a wee bit bigger than mine. A truley great fish! And we worked hard for those fish! The entire day was an adventure with the deep snow and awful driving conditions. We actually had to jump a snow bank that was blocking the road down to the hole where we caught the bows. Climbing back up out of there required chains. We got about half way up the initial climb out of the B99 hole when we started sliding down into the ditch. We had to back down, chain up and get a running start at it. We saw some of the usual big dogs out at Canyon Creek but couldn't elicit a strike. We had one attack a hooked whitie, which is always fun to watch. A fun day really. I don't get to fish with Dave all that often and it's always fun when I do, so thanks Dave. Let's pray that 09' see's some nice fish come to the net. Happy New Year, everyone. Tight Lines!

Bull Trout Trip II

2008-12-21T16:15:00.000-08:00

Skunk0-rama for me - but Bret finally caught his first bull trout. It was sure a dandy. Too bad Bret couldn't kep a hold of it until we could snap a picture. Ol' butterfingers Freil! Tight Lines!

Something New

2008-12-01T23:26:00.000-08:00

We tried our hand at crawdad fishing in November. We bought traps, baited them with raw turkey and didn't get a single taker in the traps. Hand lines were the way to go. Here's a shot of some daddies we caught and boiled up. They are extremely tasty and woh every minute we spent trying to get them. Tight Lines!

Bull Trout Trip I

2008-11-14T20:01:00.000-08:00

Strike out.

Thank Goodness for Disclaimers

2008-10-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

Well, folks............ It's turning out to be a pretty bummer year as far as fishing goes. I have fished several times - wait, I'll upgrade that to many times, targeting steelhead mainly, and have pretty well been skunked. I have one fish to speak of for 2008 (not including the half-pounder on the Lower D). That was back in FEBRUARY - almost a year ago! And it wasn't even in Oregon. If could say one thing about steelheading, it would be "Don't bother!" Ah, of course I'm kidding. Fishing is fun whether you are catching or not. But TIMING is most certainly everything. I did hook some fish in Costa Rica, but the fishing trip turned fiasco is no longer worth the effort of explaining. Suffice it to say that I caught three fish, all on my own time casting from the beach/rocks. Two of them were under 3 inches, and the other was under 12. Still fun to see some results. So, it turned out to be a good idea to post the disclaimer I did before I went to Costa Rica.

Now - in light of this disturbing lack of results, I am quite pleased to announce that IT IS TIME!
It will certainly be refreshing to fish on the Metolius River this winter. Unfortunately it will probably be several weeks before I am able to get out there. But when I do, I'm not even worried about the skunk. Although I'm confident in my knowledge, experience and ability to catch very large fish in that river, I go there more for therapy. It's the smell of the air, the sound of the water, the feeling of just being alone, and the clarity of mind that all of this brings. There's a cliche that says catching fish is a bonus to the activity of fishing. That's true for me on the Metolius. On any other stream I am there to knock the crud out of the fish - I'm talking about crippling hook sets, scorching runs, bent rods, screaming drags, and smoking reels. But for some reason I have a respect and love for the Metolius, and not just the river. It's that whole area. Good stuff. So, thus begins the winter fishing in the Metolius. I've been waiting for this since last May! Stay tuned for Bull Trout Trip I. I'm hoping to be able to produce some good video this year. Tight Lines!

Steel in the Mouth

2008-08-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

Steelhead counts are looking great so far. I went down with Dave the first weekend in Aug. to try our luck at some chromers. I ended up with one small native.... a "half-pounder" and that was it. Saw some fish on but not too many. Dave had a real close call with a rattle snake, which made-up for some of the excitement we were not having while fishing. Steelhead season is well underway at the mouth and probably up to Maupin by now. There are, however, other fish to fry!
We are leaving this week for our much-anticipated trip to Costa Rica! I can't even tell you how excited we are. I'll be fishing there.... oh yes! Mornings from the surf and one day with a guide (thanks to Annika!!! I love you, honey! Happy birth-day to me!). I am considering two different trips. One is from a 27 ft panga-like boat, outfitted for anything from in-shore species to off-shore big game. Sounds like fun, but I'm not interested in trolling. The fly line is comming out and the new Redington RS4 9 wt is hungry. The other is a fantastic sounding kayak fishing trip - and it's cheap! My goal is to hook (and land) at least one dolphin (Dorado, Mahi mahi). A rooster would an awesome find as well. Also on the menue are jacks, amberjacks, wahoo, snapper, snook, and needlefish. There are hords of other species out there - like pargo, grouper, and all the other structure-hugging rock-type fish. I'm sure I'll see some of that from the surf casting at the reef near where we are staying. But for the record, my main target is a dolphon on fly. I'll post when I get back and we'll see how I did. Wish me luck. Oh - and I should mention (warning - disclaimer inbound) that this is in no way a fishing trip. This is family vacation time, so if I come back completely skunked, it will be because I had more important things to do. :)
Tight Lines!

Busted at the Mouth

2008-05-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

A group of three of us drove to the mouth of the Deschutes 2 weeks ago for a Springer trip. It was a total bust that ended in us fishing the sloughs along the Big C. for bluegill and baby bucket mouths..... and we didn't even get any of those. Wow.

We are in boise this weekend. We were with the family at a local park the other night and I fished the fly rod for about an hour. Caught several bluegill..... on my 6 wt. Where's the 3 wt. when you need it?

Next week I am heading up a church activite with a bunch of the men to the South Santiam, which, last I checked, has seen just over 400 summer runs back at the fish traps at Foster. Low numbers. Last year by the end of May they were at about 700. We will likely be right about there by next week. That is not very many fish, but enough to assume that at least one person will hook up out of a 5 or 6. Maybe we'll get lucky. Stay tuned. Tight Lines!

Springer Srike-out

2008-05-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

What were we thinking anyway? I am sure there were at least a couple of fish moving through the mouth of the Deschutes while we were there, but with blow-out conditions we were stretching our luck a little thin.We plunked at the bridge for the morning and later in the afternoon we tried our luck (more like tempted fate) with a little wading. No happening! The water was high and fast so we didnt venture out too far. I have yet to nail a springer but my time is comming. It is shaping up to be a pretty sorry season. Tight Lines!

Can your wife do this? (Bull Trout Trip VIII)

2008-04-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

Don't be fooled. Just because my novice fly-fishing wife caught two really nice fish does not mean that it is easy to do - especially on this river. I have friends who have fished this river many times and not caught anything - ever (accept for maybe small whitefish and bows), or if they have its only been one or two large fish out of all the times they have fished it. I've had her on the Metolius once every winter since we have been in Bend. That's three times. She has never caught anything on a fly rod without me standing behind her, holding her hands, helping her cast, mend, set the hook, etc. This day was different. I coached her for 30 minutes on casting and mending. Then I put her in the sweet spot and tunrned around to do some fishing of my own. As soon as my back was turned, I heard her making a fuss over something. I turned to see her rod (my 6/7 wt. Redington) keestered over, jerking around like there was a fish on the line. The fact that I was in shock is evident in the first words out of my mouth: "Is that a fish?" Duh, it's a fish - unless rocks, sticks, logs, license plates and nasty old boots fight back when they are hooked! So, I sprang into action..... I walked back down river to her side... and just stood there. Usually I help her fight the fish or just hold onto the rod, but she seemed to be handling everything very well. There was nothing for me to do. I just sort of stood there, giving suggestions now and then, watching my wife catch the first fish of the day. And was it ever a beauty! 25 icnhes long, weighing 5 lbs, this bull tout was the result of my wife casting, mending hooking and landing like a pro! Not bad at all!

Needless to say, I was busting at the seams with pride. She was pretty thrilled herself. Let me emphasise once more that this is not something any old fly fisherman can do. It just doesnt happen. Skilled fly fisherman can fish this water and walk away skunked - and they do - all the time. I hooked two fish, one of which found its way to the net (Annie netted my fish for me - should have seen it. Just like a guide!). It was a 24 incher, but sort of skinny and scrawny. A nice fish, but not nearly the fish she had just caught.

We fished another hour and decided we should get back home to pick up the little guy from mom and dad's. I made a perfect cast, mended, and handed the rod to my new fishing buddy. But I hesitated. I said to her, as I took the rod back, if you are going to hook a fish, I want it to be on your own cast and mend. I pulled the line in and again handed her the rod. Since we were about to leave, I decided I wanted to get some pictures of her casting. As I began digging around for my digital camera, she makes her first cast. Before I can even get the darn thing out, she's got another fish on.. by looks of the bend in my 9wt rod, it's another dandy. She's so good at being patient and letting the fish run, then picking up line when the fish is not taking it. She performed like a seasoned fisherwoman. About 5 minutes later I netted another nice bull trout, just shy of the 25 inch mark, and just girthy! What a pig!

I keep quoting something she said while she was fighting that first fish. "Now I see why you like this so much," she said. Do we have a convert here? She had a blast yesterday. Now I just need to put her on a steelhead. Although these bull trout are big, strong fish, and difficult to catch, steelhead are often bigger, stronger, and fight harder. The only downfall being that you have to go further to find them, and although the fights are often spectacular, they are generally short-lived. Everything has its pro's and con's I guess.

Anyway, I think we have awoken the fishing senses in a certain young lady. Here's to many more days of fishing with my eternal fishing partner, and to many, many more Tight Lines!

Bull Trout Trip VII

2008-04-10T19:12:00.001-07:00

Sorry to report that this post will not contain a smörgåsbord of fish pictures. What you see is what you get. It's not that I only caught the one 20 (or so) incher pictured here. It's not that at all! In fact, that day out on the Metolius was every bit as good a day of fishing as the last time i was there, which I claimed to be the best day I have ever had fishing there. Might have been even better. I hooked 5 nice Bull Trout (got pictures of just one so that we could spend more time with wet lines rather than snapping pictures). For whatever reason, I was less on top of my game than I have been in the recent past and lost two nice ones after several minutes of fighting each. Those barb-less hooks just don't want to stick sometimes. The three I did land were nice fish as well, the largest going somewhere in the ball-park of about 23 inches. I'd say 25 inches but I am learning to be conservative when I do not have an instrument with which to document the actual length (i.e. camera, measuring tape, etc.). I can't remember how many whitefish and bows there were - maybe two whitefish and a bow. But all in all, not a bad day at all. I hope they are still hungry by next weekend when, after years of talking about it, my father-in-law, Van Elg, is going to be in town. Perhaps we'll fish. The question is, however, will the Metolius share the love with a complete stranger. My buddy, Bret, has fished with me 5 or 6 times out there - and no love whatsoever. He's hooked his fair share for sure, but alas, The river giveth, and she taketh away. Maybe if I leave my rod at the car for the first hour, and she (the river) knows I am there, but not fishing..... nnnnaw. She just loves me. Does it have anything to do with my faithfulness to the river? Maybe. Does it have anything to do with the many hours I've spent getting to know her? Maybe. Does it have anything to do with the ceremonial Drinking of the Headwaters at the beginning of each season? You bet your wading booties it does! At any rate, it has been a truly great season on the Metolius. I hope we can make it out one more time before all the fish start to move around and spread out before spawning, and then head back down to the big water of the reservoir. There are only a few positive points that come to mind when I think of the Metolius turning off for the summer: 1) It means that spring is here and the beautiful Central Oregon summer is about to begin, and 2) Central Oregon summer means Deschutes River Steelhead - a more than worthy pacifier to hold me over until I can fish for elusive bull trout on the river that taught me how to fly fish - The (Mrs.) Metolius River. Tight Lines!

Bull Trout Trip VI

2008-03-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

We were on the crystal clear waters of the Metolius Saturday morning at about 6:45. The days started out a little chilly and overcast but the clouds were slowly moving off and it was looking like it would turn out to be a beautiful day. As we suited up at the car, the usual playful trash-talking ensued. I had my waders on and rod rigged up before Bret did, so as I walked toward the water I made the comment, "I'll have fish-on before you even get your boots wet." All in good fun, of course. I began fishing while Bret tied on his dropper fly and what do you know; indicator down, hook set and.... "Fish On!" I landed and released (no photo) a small (14 inch) bull trout before my partner had even finished his knot. I'll go ahead and take bragging rights for calling it as well as I did, but in all truthfulness, that fish was going to hit the first fly that bumped him in the nose that day. I just got lucky. As for the rest of the day...

We saw a pretty consistent "on and off" pattern throughout the day, meaning the fish came on and then turned off 5 minutes later. Changing flies regularly kept the fish coming back for more and between the two of us we hooked maybe 13 or 14 fish - a good day on the Metolius. My second fish was a dandy! I was fishing the lower section of the B99 hole when, no further out in front of my than my rod tip, a large bull trout rose and gulped down an emerger of some kind or some aquatic insect. We had seen and heard fish taking flies, but we had not seen any evidence of a hatch. I stayed with my deep-6 egg and red serendipity dropper and started casting just up stream so that my flies drifted right where I had seen this fish. On the fourth cast my indicator stopped and I gave a sharp set in a down-stream direction. Fish On! The big boy played the "log-on-the-bottom" game for the first minute or so and then put his shoulders into and started to have his way with me. These fish are so powerful! Sometimes they will just put you into your backing in one long, drag-screaming run down below the bridge and around the corner, but more often they will hunker down until they see the fisherman. Then they start moving. This fish took about 10 minutes to land. There's a stump and some large tree branches near where I like to land fish and this fish tried like the devil to get ion there. I was lucky enough to keep him out long enough to get his head into the net. We figure he was about 28 inches, and somewhere between 8 and 9 lbs.

Next up - Mr. Redside: Not a great photo, but I just cant pass up a chance to get a shot of even a small Metolius River rainbow. Wild as can be, these fish take to the air instantly, and make runs comparable in intensity (but more short-lived) to those of their anadromous cousins, the Steelhead. As you can see, these fish are simply gorgeous. Also, you may be able to tell that by this point in our day of fishing, the sun had burned off all the clouds and it was warming up. This sparked a decent hatch of large, tan caddis flies, and later on we saw some may flies too.
The next (without mentioning the whitefish caught between bull trout) fish was just a bit smaller than the previous bulltrout, but had a little more spunk to him. He also tried to get into the snags but was unsuccessful. I had just changed flies and made the first cast when I hooked up with a large bull trout. Unfortunately those barbless hooks are hard to keep stuck. After that fish came unbuttoned I took another cast in the general area. Immediately I was on again with the same fish or a different fish and was more careful to keep that hook stuck. This bull trout measured 26" and probably weighed 6 or so lbs. The last 25 inch bully I caught and actually weighed was 7 lbs on the dot. Figured this was about the same.

My final fish of the day was another bull trout similar in size the one pictured above. Another bull trout in the 23 - 25 inch range. He put of a good fight but, alas, was no match for the Loomis 9wt. Time was running short on our day of fishing so I decided to let Bret fish and land this one on my own. So, no photograph, but once this fine specimen settled down and realized he was beaten, I was able to pull out the camera and capture some video of the fish on the end of my line while playing him with one hand. Kinda choppy, but here it is - for your viewing pleasure.

And here's a quick clip of the big fish. We thought we were taking photos but the camera was on video mode. Enjoy, and Tight Lines!

Photo Journal

2008-03-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd post a couple more pictures from the California trip. Quite a scenic drive up over Crater lake, then down through the Redwoods. I started in bend with dry roads and by the time I was on top of Crater Like it felt like i was driving in a tunnel of snow. The snow was piled up close to 8 feet in some places (sorry, no pictures of that). Then back down on the other side of the mountain things just started getting green - in mid February - until I was looking at giant evergreens and enjoying the smell of the ocean. Enjoy this little picture journal and Tight Lines!

Coastal Chrome!

2008-02-19T06:15:00.000-08:00

I took a personal day Friday and made the long drive down to Trinidad, California where my brother, Jason, lives and works as a crab fisherman. We were able to spend some time out on Redwood Creek, which is now seeing the last of it's winter steelhead run. I was lucky enough to connect with this little wild beauty for a couple of photos before releasing her back into the river. It was fun seeing the area and fishing, but hanging out with my little bro for a couple of days was needed. Looking forward to doing it again. Tight Lines!

New Arrival!!!

2008-02-08T17:11:00.000-08:00

At long last, its here! So, with no further adieu, it is my pleasure to introduce to you the Orvis Battenkill Large Arbor V (in titanium). This big game fly reel is made for flogging in the salt, machined from solid bar stock 6016 aerospace-grade aluminum, with an 52 point drag range that starts at free spool and cranks down to "dang tough," and features a humongous arbor for picking up line two or three times faster than standard arbor reels. Ain't she pertty? Tight Lines!

Bull Trout Trip V

2008-01-21T12:19:00.001-08:00

Minus four degrees is what the thermometer read in Sisters today at around 7:00 am. We were on the river by 7:30 and I'm guessing that since the river sits up in the hills a ways, it was colder still there. Despite all the tricks for cold weather fishing I have learned over the years, my fingers were numb and the cold chilled right through my layers and straight to the bone. Long story short: we were off the river by about 10:30 am. A spring creek, the Metolius River does not fluctuate more than a couple of degrees Summer to Winter. I assumed that cold water was cold water and the fish were used to it. Well this is not so. Apparently, when air temperatures drop dramatically, like last night and this morning, the water temperature drops too. And, as we all know, fluctuating water temperatures puts the fish off. So our error today was in assuming that the river would not fluctuate despite the cold weather. Oops. Naturally, the fishing was slower than slow. I foul hooked one 15 inch white fish that never even struggled, a result of the cool temps no doubt. So we ended up bringing home the skunk today, having hardly even tried to shake it. It was just too darn cold for us and for the fish. Tighter Lines another day perhaps. In the mean time check out Capt. Blair Wiggins, AKA The Mogan Man, with some serious Tight Lines!

the finer things...

2008-01-19T16:19:00.000-08:00

When it comes to fishing, I've never really been the kind to spend a lot of money on top end rods and reels. Big names like Orvis, Sage, St. Croix, or G. Loomis have never been included in my arsenal of fishing gear.... until now. For the longest time I have used Redington rods. The quality of Redington rods varies with each model, with the Cross Water and Red Fly series at the bottom and CPS and SS series at the top. My trusty old Redington Wayfarer, now discontinued, sat just underneath the CPS rod. I own two of the red-fly series rods and the difference in casting, feel, and overall quality when compared to the Wayfarer is noticeable. But they have always done fine, and I have been without complaint ever since I started using Redington. But I have always wondered what it feels like to cast a high-end rod. Are they really worth the seemingly outrageous prices that they list for?
Over the Holidays I visited the Sportsman's Warehouse in Boise, ID. To my certain delight, I found a G. Loomis GL3 9 wt. on sale for better than 50% off the normal price. I was told that the store had ordered too many of this model in anticipation for steelhead season. They ended up not selling several of the rods and were liquidating to make room for 2008 models. Now, this is an entry level rod. Loomis rods average around $500.00, and get much higher for some of the specialty rods. So to find even a basic Loomis rod at this price was quite unusual. I decided that I would need to look at one. I returned to the store 3 or 4 times, and finally paid for the rod on my last visit. I can tell you now that holding even my nice Wayfarer rod does not bring as much satisfaction as gripping that G. Loomis rod does. Why? Craftsmanship I guess, and quality components. There's an enormous difference though, and I am beginning to fear what I have done. It's like anything really - like playing the guitar. Once you play a very fine, hand crafted instrument, going back to the cheap-o knock off is almost depressing.
Well, I put in my time using decent products, and even a couple of years ago I may not have even noticed the difference between them and high quality. But I've come to appreciate even the slightest differences in feel and quality, even though I would still NEVER pay even $300.00 for a fly rod. Luck happened to shine that day I bought the Loomis though, but hopefully it wont spoil me. I'm excited to use this rod. Tight Lines!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away...

2007-12-16T22:17:00.000-08:00

(cue Starwars music)
Behold, the Wookie Fly, or as I lovingly call it, "Chewbacca." I bet you didn't know that the name Chewbaca came form the combination of two Russian words: chewdoshe, meaning monster, and sobaca, meaning dog. So Chewbacca means monster dog. The Wookie is a stonefly imitation and is just buggy in the water. I've had much success with my new invention and plan on seeing a lot more. As you can see, it's a fuzzy little thing. I start with the goose biots, then lay down some lead wire all the way up the shank (of course, the bead head goes on first). Next, tie in some crystal flash for ribbing, badger or brown hackle for palmering and lots of peacock herl for the body. Once your body is tight and bulky, palmer your hackle, followed by the crystal flash, and tie off behind the bead (cone) head. Next tie in one more badger hackle behind the head and give it several wraps to build up a good collar. you will want to use a hackle with lots of long, soft fibers so that it lays back in the water. And there you have it. Chewbacca, the Wookie.

Bull Trout Trip IV

2007-12-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

BUMMER! No camera on this last trip out to the Metolius. And yes, I have been going up there frequently as of late. That trend is about to come to an end though.
This time the fish seemed to be more active in my favorite spot. I hooked 5 in the first 3 hours, all of which I assume were bullies, three of whom never came to the net. I still claim three bulls on the day though. The first and largest fish of the day came to within leader length of me. I had been playing him for a good 6 or 7 minutes. Its easy to underestimate these amazingly powerful fish. I though he was done fighting so I got more aggressive and as soon as I grabbed the leader, "boink" there he goes. He threw a couple of big head shakes at me and that's all it took to dislodge that barbless hook. And hey - tournament regulations for bill fish state that when a crew member places a hand on the leader, the fish is considered caught even if it comes un-buttoned before the crew can remove the hook. Yeah yeah, weak argument, I just got impatient and blew it. Anyhow, I guess that bully would have gone between 25 and 28. The other two bull trout measured 22 and 14. I did get a really big (as well as a couple of dinkers) whitefish too! Didn't measure but I think he was well over 15 inches.... not big enough to keep a big bull trout from trying to eat him while on the line. Someday I'll get some video footage of these bull trout chasing around the hooked whities. Too much fun! Tight Lines!

New Video

2007-12-04T23:22:00.000-08:00

Here's some video shot on the Metolius around Thanksgiving when Micah was up from Cali. Whitie Saves the day once again. It is tough fishing out there a lot of the time and we often find ourselves thanking the river for send us a whitefish. They have a bad reputation in most parts of the West mainly because they reproduce like crazy, and share the same diet with the target species - trout, thus crowding out the more attractive and sought after rainbows, browns, etc. A prime example would be the Crooked River. Once a fantastic trout fishery where one could catch 16 inch native red-side bows all day long, the Crooked has become a breeding grouond for whitefish. Good numbers of rainbows still exist in that river, but they rarely get above 10 inches. There's just too much competition from the whitefish population for food. For this reason some folks place whitefish on the same level as a sucker and even go as far as to toss them up on the bank to dry out. Although I would still rather catch a trout, I am thankful for whitefish who are willing takers of a well presented fly, and who have saved me from going home with the skunk on a number of occasions. Bless whitie, and Tight Lines!

Bull Trout Trip III

2007-12-04T23:05:00.000-08:00

Ye-haw! The fish are hungry out there on the Metolius. Between three of us we hooked around 6 or 7 bull trout but landed only four. There were plenty of Whitefish to be had and even one rainbow that jumped about a foot oout of the water in order to give me my fly back. Monday was a good day. I landed two decent bullies and hooked 2 others. Bret beheld the wrath of this river for the first time. She's a tough river to fish - but only because she has this thing about new people as well as some issues with trust and loyalty. It just takes some time. Here are some pictures of my 3rd and 4th bullies of the season. Didn't get any official lenghts and weights, but I figure the bigger fish was about 22 or 23 and the other about 19 or 20. SOmetime I'll write about the fiasco it is trying to land a fish at that Canyon Creek hole. For now, enjoy the pictures and Tight Lines!

Bull Trip II

2007-11-26T12:57:00.001-08:00

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!

Patience and Persistence - Bull Trout trip I

2007-11-20T08:40:00.000-08:00

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 around 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!

A Nice Hike

2007-11-18T23:58:00.000-08:00

(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!

Steelheader.net

2007-10-31T17:13:00.000-07:00

Steelheader.net is one of the most valuable fishing resources I have ever come across. For anyone who is looking for expert advice on salmon, trout, and steelhead fishing, whether on the fly or tossing heavy metal, this is the place. You won't believe the amount of information you can find here, and the best part is that everyone there is pretty willing to help you find more fish. Just a bunch of nice guys and gals. So go sign up for free at www.steelheader.net Tight Lines!

Which Way Did They Go?

2007-10-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

Bret, Eric and I arrived in Maupin this morning at six o' clock kinda like a couple of guys showing up for a party that was already over. We had hoped to find some silvery steelies slashing at stoneflies, but instead we found one wimpy whitefish, which we weleased.... er, uh I mean relseased. Bret was the mighty champion of the day, hauling in the 10 inch whitie that didn't even get as much as a glance from the rest of us. We were there for vicious hook sets and screaming reels. We did see two fish (2!) rise, and I think they both said something like, "neaner neaner neaner!" Turns out the fish have pretty well passed over Shearers Falls and are making their way toward the spawning grounds below the dam in Warmsprings. That section of the river should start to put on a show very soon. Will we be there? You bet your booty we will. Stay tuned. Steelhead season isn't over yet. Tight Lines!

Guns n stuff

2007-10-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

This post is in honor of bird hunting season, which opened yesterday. Here is Annika shooting my gun for the first time. Enjoy.

Tight Lines! (and sore shoulders)

First Blood

2007-10-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

Bret (with one T) drew first blood on the Lower D last weekend. Bret, like me, spent a lot of hours on the water, as well as in transit to fishing locations in order to catch the ever elusive steelhead. It all finally paid off last weekend with a pretty little native hen and a dandy of a hatchery buck. The nate went about 5 lbs and the brat about 7.5 lbs. Not bad at all. Yours truly took home the skunk, but it was fun to see Bret get into a fish or two. And one on the fly!I fished my entire first season without so much as a nibble so I can relate to the frustration that comes from the many hours and attempts invested that seem fruitless. Congrats on some nice fishies, Bret. Tight Lines!

Deschutes River Rumble

2007-09-10T15:31:00.001-07:00

Saturday, Sept. 8. my buddy, Brett, and I headed North for the mouth of the Deschutes at 3:00 am. We pulled in at the mouth at around 5:30 and the place was already crawling with fisherman. We were sure there was going to be some combat fishing on the days' itinerary. We hiked in along the west side of the river, which seems to be less used, and found plenty of solitude. We never had to fish closer than 100 yds to the next group. I almost wanted to stick my tongue out at all the guys on the East side. Fishing was slow considering the time we put in. There was plenty of time spent hiking, but I'd bet we had wet lines for over5 hours. Poor Brett got blanked yet again, which is just how it goes for beginner steelhead fisherman. And I happened to catch one steelhead, clipped and legal, the measured in at 24 inches, and weighed just under 6 lbs. I know Bull trout that would have eaten this thing for breakfast, but I will certainly not complain about a nice fish that will smoke up nicely. BTW, I smoked half and BBQ ed the other half of the last steelie I caught. It was every bit as good as salmon. I couldn't tell the difference at all. Anyway, toward the end of the day Brett and I hit what I call "The Boy's" hole. I hooked two fish there last time and and thought we'd better try again. Well surprise, surprise! I didn't hook a steelie. No not a steelhead, but a chinook!. Chinook numbers over the dams are starting pick up and soon there will be enough in the river to actually target them, but this little guy is an incidental. Chinook under 24 inches are called jacks - basically a king that matures early and runs the rivers with the big boys. They do not spawn however, and the limit is 5 in addition to the 2 king limit (clipped of course). So this little guy found his way to the cooler and, once home, produced some beautiful little fillets. So a couple of "firsts" were the result of our day of fishing. 1: First king I've caught in an Oregon river, 2: I caught my first ever small mouth bass (it took a giant # 5 blue fox spinner), and 3: the Rattle Snake! I had never seen a live rattle snake before Saturday. As we walked along the tracks on the way home, we saw a little guys slither under the rails. We took some pictures as I tried to prod him out with a stick. He was not thrilled about this and we ended up leaving him alone after he began striking at the stick. Good times. Tight Lines!

Cold Steel

2007-08-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

Monday morning was rainy and wet. But that did not stop Dave and I from meeting in Redmond at 4:00 am to head up to the mouth of the Deschutes to fish for steelhead. The trip was a success. Dave and I both pulled off a first... Dave's first steelhead on the fly, and my first steelhead, period. I got two actually! Hooked two others but they both came un-buttoned. I wont clutter up this entry with too many words, cause the pictures do all the talking. Tight Lines (and violent head-shakes).

A Time to Fish for Bull Trout

2007-08-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

As they say, to everything there is a season, And what do yo know! Bull Trout season is rapidly approaching. We are already through the fist week of August. Couple more weeks and Sept. is here, which menas that Oct. is almost here! Ok, so two months is still out there a ways, but I'm getting excited already. I may have to try and think of something to keep me occupied while I wait. Hmmm.... how about sturgeon fishing, oh - and steelheading is heating up on the Lower D. And, with any luck, I might still get a shot at a king (Chinook) this year. It depends on multiple variables, but I am a man of faith. We'll see what labor day is looking like. Anyway, in honor of the up-and-comming fall and winter seasons on the Mrs. (Metolius), I'm posting this picture of a sweetheart of a bully. Come on out to Bend this winter and we'll hit'em up. I've got to get Annika into one of these bad boys this year! Tight Lines!

The $600 Fish

2007-08-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

This post is a little late, but I had to throw up (no pun intended) this photo of Annika from our charter out of Depoe last month. The Elg and Craner families came out from Idaho and we all took a salmon charter on that big, salty lake called the Pacific. It was a calm day for the first two hours, but the weather turned and it got nasty real quick. We had several first timers aboard so, needless to say, the water just below the gunnel was a bit more colorful than usual at times. We fished 12 rods for 5 hours with 5 real takedowns and all of two salmon boated, both keepers. Our group was comprised of 8 fishermen and women, and luckily one of the two fish boated was on Annika's rod. Thus we dubbed the 5.5 lb coho the $600.00 fish, which was smoked and turned out to be some of the best I have ever done. The only other action we saw that day was with some mackerels that took a couple baits. Dad hooked a couple, as seen in the photo here, and, considering the slow action of the salmon, was quite pleased with any action at all. When he landed this mack, his teeth started chattering, his eyes got wide and crazy, and he began rubbing his hands together rapidly, making a squirly little squeal with his mouth. He was really excited. It was very strange, yet I found myself fighting the impulse to act the same way when other macks hit lines. Must have been something in the water. All in all, it was a fun experience despite the episodes of temporary insanity and sea sickness. Recent first-hand reports from the coast say that the coho have moved back in along with the cooler water and anglers are putting the smack-down on them. On a side note, while that warmer water was in, anglers were catching Albies as close in as 8 miles in one report I read. And there have been reports of Dorado being caught, mixed in with the Albies out 25 miles or more. Dorado off the Oregon coast! I want in on some of that action. Tight Lines!

Oh Yeah! (chika chika)

2007-07-17T23:06:00.000-07:00

While fishing Reds on the Kenai, my 8 wt. Redington fly rod broke in half on a fish. Thank goodness for that Redington lifetime warranty. The first time I sent my rod in was when about 6 inches of the tip broke off while I was reaching down to land the fish. That was 3 years ago. They promptly replaced the tip blank and sent it back to me. This time the rod snapped right in the middle. A fish shot back out into the river unexpectedly and that was all it took. I explained that I was fishing for salmon (an 8 wt. is probably just a little light for salmon) but they still honored the warranty and I got my NEW rod in the mail today. They skipped over fixing the rod or replacing the blank. They just gave me a brand new rod. AND - they gave me an up-grade. Nice folks over there at Redington. I always dream about getting a nice Sage, GLoomis or St. Croix fly rod - and may someday - but Redington's outstanding customer service has sold me on their rods - which perform just fine. Maybe not as much fine tuning as the other mentioned brands, but plenty of sensitivity, nice feeling action, and sweet casts. Here's the new rod: Tight Lines!

Just for the Halibut...

2007-07-10T00:38:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I couldn't resist that header. Anyway, here is a shot of Ryan, me, and David on our halibut charter. Good times, good eats. We started out with the conventional halibut set-ups - big ugly-sticks, heavy weight, and bait (red hering I believe). After the first fish on, I asked if there was anything lighter, as in light-action gear for halibut. The big stuff was fine, but was mor elike pulling up a tire from the bottom. I wanted to feel more of the fight. So Rich, our Capt. dug out some 10 ft. eye-less rods that were pretty light action. We rigged with some large jiggs, accompanied by a rubber-skirt squid looking thing and the work began. I was instructed to jig the rod from the water, all the way up above my head, and back down again. It took a lot more effort (my arms burned, and then I had to fight a fish up from over 100 ft of water) but the pay-off was a blast! I hooked and landed three more fish within 15 minutes of hitting the water with the jig. And there was none of this "sit and watch the rod tip for nibbles." Those fish would slam the jigs right at about mid-way through my upward pull. I'd be sitting there jigging up, down, up, down, up, down, WHAM! It would stop me like I'd hooked onto a rock ledge at the bottom. The bend those fish put in the light rods was intense. I would be holding the butt on the rod straight up, but the rod tip would be pointing straight down. The best part about the jigging rods was that you could feel the fight... especially when a larger fish hit. I could feel it pulsing that wide tail fin as it worked its way back down to the bottom. Ah, what a blast! Just like fish'n Kokes on East Lake, only I'd have to take a break after each halibut brought to the boat. Quite a work-out! As you can see here, the largest fish we saw were in the 20 - 25 range. Nothing huge, but plenty of fun. I'd do it again in a heart-beat knowing I would only catch a coupld 20 lbers. Thanks to Rich West of Anchorage for a great day on Prince William Sound (beautiful area) and thanks to dad Elg for making it happen. Tight Lines! (on long, light, jigging rods... WHAM!)

Doin' That Ling Thing!

2007-07-08T22:46:00.001-07:00

What a hog! Talk about bragging rights! Josh bullied up this monster Ling out on Price William Sound while we were in Alaska. Hands down - this is THE fish of the trip!
What a beast! When it first came up, I only saw its face and for a second I thought it was a big Grouper. Grouper typically stick to the warmer water though and when I realized this was a Ling Cod, I about fell over-board. This is the largest Linger I've ever seen, and I've seen a few. Twenty or Thirty pounds is a big Ling, and this fat daddy was pushing 45 lbs - easy! Unfortunately it was not yet open season on Ling Cod so this one went back to get even bigger. Josh will forever have bragging rights over us all on this one. Congrats on a NICE fish, buddy. Wish I had not been into a fish of my own so I could have come over to take a closer look. Tight Lines!

Back to the Grind

2007-06-29T01:34:00.000-07:00

After a week of hardly any sleep and tight quarters you'd think I'd be happy to get back to normal life. I'd do it for another month if my family could come. Alaska was awesome. The guys up there really did a great job putting us on the fish. Big thanks to Ryan, David, and Blake for volunteering thier precious time to slave away on the rivers for a couple of days. I know they would have rather been working or watching TV. Well this blg entry would be about worthless if I didn't throw up some phots form the trip, so without further delay, here are some highlights from the much anticpated trip to Alaska, 07.

I love this picture. Here's Dad and Josh with a few fine looking fish from the Kenai river. Nice work guys! You wouldn't know it by looking at the sky, but it was taken at around 3:00 am. Look closer at their eyes and you can tell they are running on fumes. For those who may not know, the Russian river is a small tributary of the mighty Kenai, famous for its world record King salmon. The section we fished was at the confluence of the Russian into the kenai. Kenai lake is glacier fed and is therefor full of silt. The water is a merky greenish-grey color. The Russian, on the other hand, is crystal clear and just beautiful. About 80,000 Sockey Salmon (Reds) swim up the Kenai from the Ocean headed for the Russian River - thats 80,000 just heading for the Russian. There are thousands more that head up other tributaries to spawn. When the fish arrive here at the confluence, Combat Fishing ensues. Thousands line the banks of the Kenai and Russian Rivers to llimit out on what is supposedly the best eating off all pacific salmon species. The fishing is fast and furious, requiring the novice to put in hours of time before landing a fish under these conditions. Most people out here are friendly and understand that there are going to be tangles and all sorts of other mishaps. It is all a part of the experience. I fished this very setion of the river for an estimated total of about 12 hours, hooking well over 20 fish, and landing only 9, and keeping only 6 (a couple were foul hooked and released). It is tough fishing durring the day, but we found it less crowded in the wee hours of the morning and had better luck as well. What a blast! The flash from the camera in this next picture makes it look dark out. It was actually quite light out. The darkest time of night is from about 1 - 2 am. and even then you dont need a flashlight to tie on flies. This is Ryan Schaugaard, myself, and David Porter - good friends. Although we had to be at the docks in Whittier by 7am the next day, we spent the night out on the river fishing. Didn't do too shabby either. Took the three of us about an hour and thirty minutes to limit out once our lines hit the Kenai. The rest of time was spent traveling, filleting and hiking. That was a night I wont soon forget. I actually had a fish take my entire fly line along with about 10 yds of backing. Yeah, the darn thing broke 25 lb backing and took off with my line - about a $40.00 loss. Bummer. I'm sure it was a hog - a massive slab of a fish (or maybe just an average fish hooked in the tail).
This last picture is of Josh with a nice Red salmon straight out of the Kenai River. They really do look just like big Kokanee, don't they. Dad found a secluded little cove of of the Keani that held some fish. Josh was the man this day... come to think of it, he was the man most of the trip, limitting out on reds when nobody else did, and then hitting that GIANT ling cod out on Prince William Sound. Pics of that baby to come! You will notice that Josh's silvery friend here has what look slike a bite taken right out of its back behind the dorsal. Bear? Sealion? Seal? The Girzzly Man? Who knows. Interesting. Keep looking for new posts as I will be adding more pictures of Alaska in the next few days. Thanks for reading. Tight Lines!

Road Trip

2007-06-09T19:48:00.001-07:00

Dad and I hit the road to John Day this morning at 7:oo. He had a client to visit there and I just went a long for the ride. The road runs along the John Day River, so I decided to pack along a fly rod in hopes of enticing one of those "smallies," (smallmouth bass) to take have lunch on me. Well, I didn't see a single fish, not even a riser amidst the healthy hatch of PMD's and pale caddis flies. I've concluded that they just aren't in there right now. So that's two days in a row on the skunk train for me. I'd better shake this off before we hit Alaska next week! Tight Lines!

Body Count

2007-06-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

We had a body count of 4 wish between three guuys this weekend on Wickiup Res. Not great numbers really, but considering the fiasco dealt with that morning, I'd say we did alright. This a picture of "Fish if the Day," caught by none other than Micah West. This beauty measured over 20 inches, and was estimated to weigh somewhere in between 3 and 4 lbs. A real scrapper, the fish went airborne twice and took line off Micah's reel at will for the first several minutes, fisherman hooting all the while. Gotta love that green head and pink gill plate. A sweet fish. Jason Rau caught two good fish, both over 16 inches, one brown, and one rainbow, and Micah caught a tiny, little brook trout. That's right, ya'll. Yours truly went home with the skunk. Guess it was my turn. Regardless, it was a beautiful day on the water, and a good time fishing with my brother and best friend. Tight Lines!

2007-05-30T03:19:00.001-07:00

Having been on a break from school for the past two weeks, I've spent a lot of time tying at work. Here are some samples of what I have done. This is hardly all of them. When I get going I can really crank them out. Last night I tied 27, so tonight I decided NOT to bring the tying gear. I think I am done for a while. Tying has become as much a hobby as using the flies I tie. I enjoy it. And since my time for fishing is somewhat limited, I make up for it with tying. Problem is, once I get going I can't stop. Pesky little flies. Tight Lines!

Its Fly Tyme - get busy!

2007-05-24T00:28:00.001-07:00

As we are finally under the one month mark from our trip to Alaska, I have again been hitting the vice regularly, tying (as you can see) plenty of little furry friends that will help us hook the big ones. As this is (obviously) not my home turf, I have had to do lots of research to figure out just what the Kings and Reds will take. It comes down to a rather short line-up actually. There are a million pacific salmon flies out there, and thousand of them work great, I'm sure. But my quest was to narrow it down to the "elite best of the best... and make them better" (Top Gun, 1986). So, by way of formal introduction, we have, in the lower right compartment of the fly box, the classic row patterns. Ever seen a glob of fish eggs in the water? Well, they have an invisible "skein" on them that, when wet, turns milky white. Its basically what the eggs are held in until the female lays them in the red as singles. But a glob of eggs has that whit filmy look surrounding the colored part of the eggs. To imitate this most people, myself included, use a simple white marabou feather. That, combined with the egg yarn on the hook and in the water, does a pretty good job of imitating a cluster of eggs floating down stream. Next up, in the left, middle compartment, we have the ever famous Russian River Fly, or Coho fly. Always thought Coho fly was a weird name for this fly since it is fished primarily for Reds. A simple patter; two contrasting colors of buck tail tied one atop the other. Word on the street is that blue and white, tied sparse and no longer than to the bend of the hook, is the hot ticket (as this is new information, I have some re-tying to do). Russian River regulations state that all flies (this is fly-only water) have to have a hook gap (the distance from the point of the hook to the shank or bend) no wider than 3/8 inch. Next we'll look at the flies in the bottom two middle boxes and the bottom right box. These are the Go-To flies for Kings. We have our black egg sucking leeches, out purple egg sucking leeches, and our chartruese leeches (or wooly bugers). These are flies that need no introduction if you fly fish at all. The rmaining top row and middle right boxes hold a variety of flies; flash flies, popsicle flies, an aray of bunny leeches in various colors, some jigs, and even some of my very own creations - mostly stimulator flies, or flies designed to elicit a strike out of pure aggrivation... BAM! I have learned, however, that claiming a fly as my own invention is risky business. There are so many variations on so many themes that any "originally" idea has probably been done a dozen times before or more. But just for fun, I want to show you an egg pattern I came up with by accident. It was just like comming up with a new song.... I just chose a general feel (or material in this case) and began tying. I call it the Devils Egg.... sorta like deviled eggs, but not really... cause mine is called DEVIL's eggs. Get it? Ok, here we have it in the picture>>. It is the two first flies in the top row (may have to click on the photo to blow it up and get a good look). Does that just make your heart skip a beat or what?! Thats one bad fly. And, as always, we have it in several variations using different materials and colors. I'll let you know how it works. Some flies catch fish, and some flies catch fisherman.... meaning some flies just look cool, and others actually get-er-done. We'll see. Twenty three days before wheel's up. The blood really gets pumping when I think about it. Tight Lines!

The Yallerhamer

2007-05-18T06:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a new one. I found it in a recent issue of Fly Fisherman Magazine.... or was it STS? I forget. Anyway, this fly is called the Yllerhammer, named after a specific type of woodpecker found in the mid-eastern states. It was originally tied with the yellow feathers from the bird it gets it's name from, which is now protected. Pretty basic little fly... looks like steelhead candy to me. Maybe those AK Kings will take it...?!?!? Look for a video tutorial on this fly at the tutorials page. Tight Lines!

Video Tutorials

2007-05-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

NEW!!!

I don't know how popular they will be, but my online fly tying video tutorials are up. You can access them from the link to your right, titled "Tying Videos." Now, there's not really anything professional about these videos; just a simple presentations on the basics fly tying techniques and patterns I know and use. Hope you enjoy them. Tight Lines!

Wickiup Mud

2007-05-10T16:08:00.000-07:00

Since opening weekend I have had the Queen Mary out on Wickiup Res. thrice. Ah yes, she purs like a kitten... choking on a hairball every hour or so! Runs like a champ for such an old little outboard. The Queen herself is worthy. I had here out in 2+ ft white-caps. It was pretty hairy, and quite a ride, but she managed well. I just have to be careful on rough water. See, the motor and fat operator sit in the very rear of the boat, along with tackle and fuel tank. So, if you can picture this, when I hit a nice wave, the bow goes up and the stern goes doooown until the wave passes. I would not doubt if I had that bow 2 ft. higher than my head at some point. Felt like she was going to end-over backwards on me, but it would take a whole lot more than a 2 ft wave to actually get me up and over. Anyway, Wickiup is famous for large Kokanee. I fished it last year with Kit and had some really nice hits by big kokes.... I'm talk'n 18 - 20 inch range. Day one on Wickiup this year produced a nice 16 inch chromie, as well as a couple 13-14 inchers. Day two put 4 over 13 inches on the boat. So not bad at all, especially when I am used to catching East Lake kokes averaging 10 - 12 inches. I think I found my fishery for the year! I can go into details on method later. The purpose of this post is to fill you in on my new totally awesome smoke brine for Kokes. I was fiddling around with some ingredients (just improvising) and ended combining two of my favorite recipes into one.... which I have dubbed, "Wickiup Mud." I bet you want it, huh? OK, her it is: For 8 medium fillets, Combine the followingng ingredients and mix very well; 2 C soy sauce, 1 C orange juice, 1.5 C molasses, 2 C brown sugar, 1 C white sugar, 1/2 C non-iodized salt, 2 T diced ginger root, 4 huge T minced garlic, 2 tsp sesame oil, and (the secret ingredient) 3 T Rose City Pepperhead's Mango Madness BBQ dipping & cooking jelly. Good luck on that one! Check out their web site... maybe you can order it (rosecitypepperheads.com). Since koke fillets are thinner, smoke time is going to be shorter (depending on other variables, such as wind, outside temp, etc.). I smoke with Alder for around 2.5 - 3 hours. It's AWESOME. I'll post pictures the next time I brine. Here are a couple of 13-14" chromers right before they lost their fillets. Tight lines!

Fly Tying Tutorials to Come

2007-05-02T05:07:00.000-07:00

I've decided that when I get some free time I am going to begin a series of fly tying tutorials. I'd love to be able to disply these in video format, but until I can figure out just how to do that, I'll post step by step photos and instructions.... for all those who care. Tight Lines!

The Queen has Arrived

2007-04-27T01:02:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks have had me a little bit worried about a particular situation. A previous entry shows Anson and I out on the little boat dad bought last summer. I think dad used it all of twice, but I was able to get out on the "Queen Mary" several times, which made for a fun trout/kokanee season. Well this week dad told me he was going to sell the ol' girl. Bummer! My best hopes were that i would at least get out once or twice before she goes. The other night dad offered her to me. I mentioned that we could arrange some sort of payment plan and that I would talk it over with the most beautiful woman in the world, Annika. Lets just say that negotiations went on for several days and I wasn't gaining much ground. Long story short - we were having dinner over at mom and dad's when the boat was brought up. Annie was still a little hesitant so dad went and bumped the price down... way down. Well, money is still money - especially when you have a little one and a tuition bill. Annika, the reasonable one that she is, suggested that we spend our hard-earned money on something we need, like a matress (we've been using one mom and dad bought new last year). When dad heard that we were going to buy a matress instead, he came out with an offer that we couldn't refuse. For the discount price he had already established for the boat alone, he threw in the matress along with the boat. "Done," was my response (to no contest from Annika). So now, with title and registration card in hand, I am the proud new owner of the Queen Mary (soon to be re-named.... or re-painted.... or re-somethin'). Yes, the Queen has arrived... and just in time for trout season! I've added a before and after picture of Annika and Anson with the boat. I photo-shopped the boat to make it look nice (Annika and Anson don't need photo-shopping to look nice) and to give an idea of what it might look like if I ever get around to really cleaning her up. Enjoy. And Tight Lines!

April at Last!!!

2007-04-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

Ah, yes! April is a beloved month by almost all anglers, not matter what techniques or method you prefer. April, blessed April, signals the opening of fishing season all across the West. Here's a shot of Anson and I out on Wickiup last season. This year I bought the little guy an ice-fishing set up - basically a mini fishing rod/reel combo - Just his size!!! We do have to wait until near the end of the month to get on with it, but THIS is the month where we hit the lakes and rivers, hoping that this is the season we land that trophy. But even without the prospect of a trophy fish, the time that will be spent on the lakes (East, Paulina, Wickiup, Crane, S. Twin, etc.) and rivers (Upper, and Lower Deschutes, Fall, Crooked, etc) will be almost therapeutic. I saw the boat, "The Queen Mary," up-side-down at mom and dad's today. Every time I look at it all I can think is, "Just a couple more weeks!!!" You can bet I'll be over there tuning up the ol' 4 HP Johnson and turning that boat over and onto the trailer in the coming days. Yee-haw! Trout season is here. I think I'll start at Wickiup in the Deschutes arm, or over by Goose Island this year. But once the road up to East and Pauline opens up, I'll likely spend most of my fishing time up there - jigg'n for Yokes and troll'n for naughty little browns! Aw-yeah! Tight lines!

Strike-out for Steelies

2007-04-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

The family ventured to the Northern Oregon coast for a week of spring breaking. It was a relaxing week of beach bumming and hot tubbing. The city of Seaside has lots to offer, including an array of excellent fresh seafood diners, endless beaches, and a rich history. The Necanicum River runs smack through the middle of town, it's mouth emptying into the Pacific just North of town. The Necanicum hosts seasonal runs of steelhead and salmon, as well as coastal cutthroat trout. I figured this would be an excellent opportunity to, yet again, try and entice that ever-elusive steelhead to bite. It rained all week and at high tide the river was swollen. This is a good thing for fish coming form the ocean into the river system, but a bad thing (depending on who you ask) for the fisherman up stream trying to catch fish. The nasty weather and high water does a couple of things; 1, the fluctuation in temperatures puts the fish off. When it gets too cold or too warm, the fish find the slow, deep spots and camp out, unwilling to bite anything unless it is presented perfectly into their pretty little portals (mouths), and 2, when there is more water to hide in, the fish do just that. They get spread out and a fisherman is required to cover much more water - chances of hooking up are reduced dramatically, and 3, lots of rain, in addition to raising the water level, clouds up the water. Rain hits the muddy banks and runs off into the river making it impossible to see through, let alone wade in. So I was going into this knowing that the fishing would be tough, but with a bit hope that luck might find its way onto my stringer. I parked at Kloochie Creek County Park and began walking in the rain down a road that I hoped would intersect the river, or at least give me access. Along the way I saw several Elk crossing my path. If the Elk were out and about, they why wouldn't the fish be? Strange logic, I know. But I was desperate. The rain came harder and the road kept getting longer so I decided to turn back and fish the river near the highway. I found a perfect little seam ruining along the edge of a deep hole. First up was a #5 Vibrax Blue Fox in green (I didn't dare break out the fly gear in windy, rainy conditions like these). The darker the better for dirty water! Nothing. Then I tried a spoon - the trust Little Cleo in silver/blue, treble hook replaced with a #1 Siwash hook. Still nothing. Then I broke out the drift gear: a float 3 feet above a pink-pearl corky and red yarn. Blanked. After about 4 hours of standing in the rain and losing expensive gear on rocks and debris, I packed up and went home early. Bummer, dude. Oh well. The hunt goes on. Steelhead season is coming to an area kinda-sorta near you (me). Should be good starting in June on the Lower D. But to satisfy my need to catch something at the coast, I bought a PVC clam gun and tried my hand at clamming. Turned up 4 of them critters and fried the dickens out of them. Fun to catch but I think I'll let the pro's cook them next time. It was like chewing on a bundle of rubber bands. Didn't taste half bad though. Tight lines.

Night at the Vice

2007-03-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

Check out these little beauties - the results of another night at the vice. They should produce some good results Monday morning when Annika and I fish up on the big M. Those monster bullies wont be around much longer so we'd better hit'm hard. Can't wait!!! Tight lines.

Bottom Dwellers - Crab and Rock bass off Oregon's Coast

2007-02-27T00:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo of the Rau boys out on the salt near Depoe Bay, OR. in 2006. Nate, Jason and I all grabbed seats on a charter for rock fish and ended up limiting out. It was eye-popping fun! The deepest we fished was about 150 feet. From that depth it is tough to feel the bottom, let a lone a take on your bait. When you do get one to the surface from that depth, the eyeballs pop out and bulge like that guy from the Andy Griffith Show. The lack of pressure on the surface lets those eyes come right out and stare at you as if to say, "See? See what you've done?". The best part is, that the swim bladder usually expands and sticks up through the throat and out of the mouth, like a big puffy tongue. So many of the fish we landed were giving us a dirty looks as we tossed'm in the keeper basket. The first time I fished off the Oregon Coast was when I was about 12. There was Dad, Jason and I, and two honeymooners who pretty much supplied the chum-slick for the entire trip. Back then the stock was so plentiful that each angler was allowed 9 rock fish and 4 Ling Cod per day. Today the limit is 5 rock fish (not including canary bass, which are now protected) and 1 Linger. I guess the fish population is going downhill (but still - 6 guys on a boat for 4 hours, limiting out with a total of 30 fish??? There are still LOTS of fish down there). We all paid a little extra to have some crab pots dropped before we started jigging. We ended up taking home 8 large crabs and shelled them on the dining room table at the condo. I don't know what it is about crabbing, but i love it - almost as much as I do fishing. Maybe it is because it can be pretty risky. I've seen serious flesh wounds as a result of poor crab handling. Those critters are constantly watching and waiting for the right moment to clamp down on something soft and fleshy. I bet a big toe looks mighty tempting to a crab. Anyway, its lots of fun and good to eat - a match made in Heaven. I've attempted to cast off the rocks at the condo at Depoe bay a couple of times, but never really gave it serious effort - just sort of killing time. But last summer I spent a couple of hours jigging a crippled herring off the rocks on a super calm day. A group of ladies gathered on one of the balconies of the condos and watched me for a while. My efforts paid off! I landed two small rock fish - one was a sea trout and the other was a baby linger (I think). The larger of the two was a 3 lb fish and is in the freezer.... still. The ladies on the balcony, who I think had been drinking, were ecstatic! They were on their feet cheering for me and actually wanted me to bring the fish up to them for their dinner. I respectfully declined and trotted in to show off my catch. We are heading to Seaside in March. Jason Richardson and i talked about a salmon charter. Hopeflly I'll have pictures of that to post. Tight lines.

Man's Search for Fishiness

2007-02-23T02:13:00.000-08:00

Note: The names of the lakes in this post have been changed to protect their identity (and to save my skin, as I have been sworn to secrecy and will be subject the torturous barbary of my brother-in-law if I squeel).

Marrying into the Elg family gave way to countless hours of fish stories and talk of great lakes and streams full of trophy trout. This picture was taken in early Sept. 06 on a trip Dad (Elg), Josh, Savannah, and I went on to fish in one of these secrete trophy-producing lakes. No-name Lakes are located up in the mountains of Eastern Idaho. We drove around and hiked all over them thar hills looking for the trail head that would take us on a relatively easy 7 mile hike in to the lakes. Well... it was great driving around, mountains jutting up above us, but we never found the trail head. I forgot to mention that we slept in the bed of the truck and woke up to about 4 inches of snow on the ground (melted off by mid-day). Anyway - we had pretty much given up and were heading out when we saw a sign on the side of the road. No-name Lakes - 2 miles. We couldn't' believe it. We decided that we had come to fish, so we'd better get hiking. Two miles was not far at all, especially compared to the 7 mile hike we were initially looking forward to. Two miles would be a piece of cake... or would it? We soon found out that what the road sign forgot to include was that the two miles was straight up. The high altitude combined with the steep grade did nothing but make me sound like a wheezing water buffalo with a cold. All the while Savannah and Josh skipped circles around me picking flowers and singing songs as they went. We eventually reached the lakes and built a small fire to keep warm. Now it was fishing time. I went for the sure-fire worm under a bobber just to get the skunk off. I hurled my rig out into the lake and watched as the ripples from the plash scatter in all directions. Then.... all was silent. I watched with the intensity of a hawk, scouting the surface for any sign of a possible taker. And then, without any warning at all, I GOT SKUNKED (and so did everyone else)! Some lake! Actually, I did get a visual on one fish while we were there - a biggie cruising the bank for a sweet little something to snack on no doubt. It was pushing at least 25 inches - easy, and made a wake as it went. So the fish are in there. Just wasn't our day. We'll kill'm next time (as the hike in will do me). Until then, the No-name Lakes trip is a great memory of time well spent with family. Oh - and for anyone interested, I have a classic video of dad lighting the fire with white gas the night before our hike in. Tight lines!

The Mrs.

2007-02-23T01:40:00.000-08:00

I have managed to entice a couple of those famous Metolius River bull trout into the net this season. This fish, a 25 incher, caught in mid March of 06, took a #12 Prince Nymph. Yeah - nymphing's the game out there. Bull trout will readily take streamers and even dries, but we are dialed in on the nymphing and consistently see fish that range over - sometimes well over - 20 inches. Unfortunately I have flown solo on most of my Metolius days this year, and without a camera. But there are a few more weeks left before the fish start heading back down to the reservoir for the summer, and hopefully I'll get back out for one last hurrah. Pound for pound, bull trout put up just as good a fight as any fish I've played, including sturgeon and bill fish. But the real gems of the Metolius River are the native Redside bows. These little beauties are always welcome, even when targeting the larger bull trout. It is spectacular to see these natives in their natural environment. I love this river. I love getting out of the car and smelling the air at 6:30 am. I love and crave the pristine peace I find among the towering Ponderosa and fir. I value the sound of the river, the sight of my own breath in the cold, the solitude, and the sound of my drag screaming like a banshee outta heck, while my backing peels off the reel at mach 7. Life is good.
My buddies and I refer to the river as "The Mrs." Reason being if you spend quality time with her and treat her right, she'll be ever so good to you. But the minute you neglect her, the skunk is on. Tight lines!

AK in 07

2007-02-23T01:29:00.000-08:00

Did I mention we are going to Alaska?!? This photo is of Yours Truly with a nice Deshka River hen taken in late June of 2002. The Deshka River is located in the Susitna Basin, North East of Anchorage - some of the most beautiful country I've seen. You can see Ryan in the back ground trying to figure out what in the world he is doing while I catch all the fish. Actually, looks like he is back there praying for a fish to take his poorly presented offering. Well, it must have worked because he ended up catching the largest fish of the trip (a 45 lb King). Mercy is a wonderful thing. We are slated to hit the tarmac on the afternoon of June 16th. This will be my third time landing in Anchorage. The AK boys (Davey, Ryan, Blake) are going out of their way to help us out with this adventure, so thanks, guys. We are looking forward to whoopin' you on your home turf! Tight lines.