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….

Sorry Mom we won't be making it this Christmas

After 6 months of planning and 9 hours stranded at the airport we were finally greeted with disappointment...

Lack of Fishing

I haven’t posted in a while but I have made a few fishing trips this fall. From chasing steelhead in late September on the Grande Ronde to trout on the Yakima. Most of my fishing consisted of local jaunts to the Snoqualmie when the opportunity presented itself. Although, fall is my favorite time of the year to fish I was unable to get out as much as I’d like because of long days at work and sleepless nights on call. Standing on the river with a Bluetooth in my ear waiting for a phone call is not my idea of fishing. Lately, I have been practicing with the spey rod and I’m hoping to pop the proverbial cherry this winter on a winter run steelhead.

Tis the season

With the arrival of fall my 3wt has taken a back seat to my spey rod. October caddis shucks strewn along the rocks and king salmon spawning in the Snoqualmie with the smell of rotting fish… Oh how I love the fall! With the days getting shorter this only gives me a 2 hour window of opportunity to fish after work. I have ventured a few times this late summer chasing the elusive steelhead only to be rewarded with a slowly improving spey cast and no chrome… In my experience fishing the Snoqualmie in years past, the arrival of the King Salmon is a marking point for improving steelhead fishing. Yesterday the Seattle area received a decent amount of rain I did get out and fish with no luck. I’ll keep at it.

Chi Chi Chia!

Eastside Hitchhiker. Found these growing in my boot after an eastern WA excursion. Chia wading boot coming to a fly shop near you.

Hopper Muncher

Green Butt Skunk

Happy Birthday Buddy!

It was my sons Birthday today which meant a fun filled weekend. Yesterday we held his party at the Lego store in Bellevue which turned out to be a blast! Screaming kids running everywhere hopped up on Cinnabon with the Lego store all to themselves. Even the adults got to partake in the Lego festivities. After assembling Lego sets and eating junk food for 2 days straight today we relaxed and after the laziness wore off we decided to go fishing. After fishing it was time for more cake. Good times!

Viva Espana!

Fly Fishing has always been a passion of mine but growing up soccer was number one. I was always traveling playing for various select soccer teams and fishing and hunting came in secondary. Today was an awesome day as Spain ended their 44 year wait as they defeated Germany to win the Euro Cup. Ole, Ole, Ole ,Ole

Perfect Cedar Bow

And the winner is... ME!

A couple-three weeks ago I stopped into my local fly shop Creekside Angling Company to celebrate their 14th Anniversary. Good times were shared by all including a BBQ and sweet sale. I entered a raffle and was surprised when my name was drawn for a new Scientific Anglers Sharkskin line. A $100.00 fly line for free…. Yeah!

Sunday Brookies

Rivers are still blown but at least there are some players unaffected by the run off. I snuck out this evening to catch a bunch of brookies willing to put a bend in my new Sage TXL 3wt.