Winter Wonderland

On Saturday my son and I hiked down to Snoqualmie Falls. The rocks were covered with ice which made for a treacherous hike.

Wenatchee Steelhead

My cousin flew up from New Mexico Oct 15th - 17th to chase the elusive Pacific NW steelhead and had a blast! 3 hook ups not bad for his first time steelheading and on a fly to to boot! Another Wild Steelhead

Eastern WA Steel

Trip to Sage/Redington

Instead of paying the shipping for 2 broken rods my son and I hopped on a 30 minute ferry and made a trip to Bainbridge Island to do the exchange. We stopped by Sage and then drove down the street to Redington. Unfortunately since it was spur of the moment we weren't able to schedule a tour but the staff was really cool. Rods everywhere! I felt like a kid in a candy store...

Catch and Release Frogs

Catching bugs and frogs with my son. Fun times!

Cast, step, cast, shatter spey rod….

Back to Bainbridge Island it goes. Second spey Rod I've sent back this year.

Pink on the beach

Last week on the beach. This week... Damn I need to shave!

Report: Beaver Lake and Snoqualmie SF

On Friday after a long work week I received a call from my buddy Vern who had his drift boat in tow and was on his way to throw poppers for spiny creatures. I packed up my 3wt and 4wt and we were off to Beaver Lake. We found some bluegill sitting on their nests but only one was willing to leave its lazy boy to crush my popper. We caught a couple largemouth bass which were a blast on the 3wt! One that I caught had something black lodged in its throat and upon further investigation with the hemostats pulled out a big black wasp. Excellent way to end the work week followed up by a couple cold beers. On Saturday I fished the Snoqualmie South Fork. The flows were still high due to the runoff but I was able to find some pockets and seams and catch Bows, Cutties and a Brookie all on dries. As the flows decrease the fishing will only get better which means its time to dust off those 2wt’s and 3wt’s. My Fiancé took this picture from Pikes Place this weekend. Thought I’d share since I don’t have any fish pics. You can see Mount Rainier peaking over Quest Stadium and Safeco Field.

Midges

Last Minute Rally

Last minute changes in my family’s memorial weekend left me with limited options… Do I?

A. Stay at home and get sucked into the couch while eating cheetos and wishing I was outside.

B. Go to the mall with my wife and son and spend all day shopping.

C. Or make a solo trip over the Cascade Mountains and search for big hungry troot.

You guessed it… C! All my buddies had bounced which meant I was on a solo mission. I gathered all my fishing gear, some tunes for the road trip and I was out the door. No Browns this trip but the Bows were willing to play.

Nose Piercing Desert Flowers

In Search Of Gold

WDFW Layoffs

Another victim of the economy. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced it will layoff 76 employees. LINK

Get em buddy!

Not his fly rod but a chronie under a colorful red and white bobber. Atta boy!

Fun Weekend

At the end of a work week it’s always nice to take the edge off by fishing so it was off to Pine Lake with the Fat Cat. My buddy Allen and I were welcomed by recently stocked cookie cutters who were willing to put bends in the 4wts. This was just a precursor as he was off to fish the Missouri in Montana the next day. Indeed I was jealous… On Saturday I swung by Orvis and picked up a new stripping basket for fishing the beaches. After that I met my buddy Dave around 2PM and we were off to fish the upper Yakima between Easton and Cle Elum. The water was in great shape however we couldn’t find any players. This was more of an exploration than anything as we fished waters typically I wouldn’t fish. On Sunday my son had a football game and after his victory and well deserved gold medal it was off to the beach. We found seashells and searched for beach dwelling creatures. The metal detector went off a couple times but found nothing of value. All in all a great weekend.

Rough Fishing Week

Last Saturday I started my fishing week on the Sauk searching for the elusive wild steelhead of the PNW. This is my 3rd trip this winter with zero fish to hand. The weather was nice and the flows were perfect but the fish were unwilling to grab my articulated clump of marabou.

On Wednesday I decided to head east and fish the Yakima. The conditions were less than ideal as the river took a bump from the warmer temps and the visibility in the canyon sucked. I opted to fish different sections around Cle Elum. First I fished the Cle Elum river which was low and clear but didn’t produce. Next, I fished a few sections on the Yak above the Teanaway and witnessed lots of adult Skwalas, March Browns and BWOs. Surprisingly with that many bugs I didn’t see any risers. I ended the day with one cutthroat on a size 18 pheasant tail nymph.

Today I broke out the saltwater box and headed South to Tacoma. I slept in for the perfect window of opportunity and missed the tides. There were scattered rezzies jumping along the beach and bait fish swimming around but once again no tugs. Two other guys I spoke with were also skunked. At least the sun was out and it was beautiful day in Seattle.

St. Patty's day at my house

My son blowing the pipes on St. Patty's day

Washington Desert Bow

All bows some tigers no browns... Majority of the fish were taken on a black moal hair leech.

Check your hooks!

Three missed fished in a row while fishing the beach this afternoon. I wonder why… Fourth fish wasn't so lucky.

9 days til the eastside lake opener

Dust off your toons and tubes it's time to chase big hungry bows and browns. With the recent spell of nice weather the lake opener might just be a good one.

Ever wonder who caught your fish?

Did you ever buy fish from the market and wonder where it came from and who caught it? A test program in Oregon might soon answer those questions for you. Pacific Fish Trax is testing a program in Oregon using a bar code and scanner. Just grab your fish and swipe. Link

Dirty

Nice Yak Bow

Allen a.k.a. Charles Bronson strikes again on the final stretch of the Yak this past Saturday.

Trout 2009

Day On The River

Spey casting with Craig from Creekside Angling Company/River Run Anglers

Our Yakima Report Courtesy of Reds Fly Shop

• Date: Saturday January 17, 2009
• Where: Yakima River
• Flows: 3800 CFS
• Temps: Mid 20s to upper 20s

Results: A couple of whitefish, and a couple of nice bows hooked and lost.A few anglers braved the big water and the green color over the weekend and hooked a few fish just as the river came back into fishable shape. Conditions are still tough but they are improving and there are some hungry trout out there. Some fish were spotted rising to Midge Pupae and in the right situation this can be great fishing, but with the water so high most of these fish were in back eddies where drag free drifts with size 20 Griffith's Gnats are all but impossible. As the river drops, you will find more of these fish feeding in the open flats where you can "go old school on 'em" and get a good drift. Sink tips and streamers are a great idea, stay with it and fish it for an hour straight before you make judgment on whether it is going to produce or not. It is a game of quality right now so don't give up. Good luck and you should have the river to yourself this week!

The Aftermath

After yet another “One Hundred Year Storm” in the Seattle and surrounding areas many families were left without homes and power. I spent my Saturday in the town of Snoqualmie helping a colleague rip out soaking carpet and padding out of his house. Many other items such as plasma TVs and furniture was also destroyed. You don’t realize how heavy the padding can be until you have to move giant sections of giant sponges. This was his second flooding in the past 3 years and this time the water level was about 8 inches inside his home. He was in the process of refinancing on Friday which was 3 days before the flood… Unfortunately this didn’t happen and now he calls home Motel 6. Through the tragedy and loss it was amazing to see people whom you’ve never met before come together as a community and help out. People just started picking up trash and debris and load it into trucks. Another Crazy winter in the PNW….