The Way of a Trout

To most people a woodland stream is a pleasant scene of sun and shadow and rippling water.
But to an angler it is a community of many forms of life all centering, in his mind at least, on the most beautiful and aggressive of freshwater fish....
the trout.
-Frederick O. Hutchinson

While browsing through an antique store, recently, I picked up a first edition copy of the old Trout Unlimited book "The Way of a Trout".
This book was first published in 1972 and while that might not necessarily qualify it for antique status it is in very nice condition.
The book doesn't necessarily tell me anything that I didn't already know it did bring me back to my early days of conservation awareness.
This book had an accompanying film as well and it can be located here
The Way of a Trout
So what is the way of a trout? Well I can only relate it to the trout here in Oregon and Washington.
These Pacific Northwest trout face pretty much the same challenges as they did back in 1972 when the book was published but on a much more intense scale.
Along with a myriad of predators that the wild trout faces we know that the biggest and most destructive predator is, of course, ourselves. Trout also face all the other barriers and obstacles that made conservation as important back in 1972 as it is today.
I am struck by how intuitive,insightful the author, R.P. Van Gytenbeck and Trout Unlimited itself were thirty six years ago. This was at the very beginning of the ecology movement and Trout Unlimited was at the forefront in coldwater fishery conservation. This is why I made a lifetime commitment to them recently.
In my own pursuit of trout and primarily coastal cutthroat trout these past several years I have often pondered just how much these fish have to go through to achieve their sole purpose in life. I think about that as I patrol the banks of my favorite streams and I think it is what spurs me on both in my angling life and my conservation life as well.
These fish are worth the effort! So are the salmon and steelhead trout which inhabit the same rivers! Whether or not you are a religious person one cannot help but be in wonder at these little miracles of nature. If there is a supreme being then certainly trout are his/her perfect creation.
Some see trout as a food source and use hook and line as a means to acquire that food....that's fair enough I guess.Yes, I suppose, a nice frying pan full of wild trout might make ones mouth water. If you are reading this and are that hungry then look me up and I'll buy you a Big Mac if that is what it take to sate your appetite and not kill a wild trout
Some, myself included, see trout as a simplistic means to feel good about being where we are at this moment in time. Does that makes sense? To me it does! I think killing a wild trout for sustenance is a weak excuse at best . I feel fortunate enough to have been able to experience trout in a wonderful way and that does not include bashing it over the head for a measly dinner.
The way of a trout is perhaps the way of ourselves when you get right down to it. Life is a perilous journey to be sure and is wrought with obstacles and indeed our own predators. Maybe if more saw it that way we would not continuously have to struggle to save them.

2008 National League West Champs

In the midst of economical doom and gloom there are a few bright spots to be found and this is one of them...at least for me!
Thanks Manny! Hope you are back in blue next year.

An Angler in Autumn

I used to love the fall. Fall is a time of movement change and preparation. The waterfowl heading for warmer climates and of course the return of the fall salmon.
I loved that crispness in the air and the fall colors that make the trees look like they are ablaze.
There was the hint of the winter ahead and also the winter steelhead that would soon be in my favorite rivers. I braved the cold and ice in my younger days when these great ocean going rainbow trout were plentiful and worth the chill of a winter morning.
So what changed you might ask? Why does autumn no longer hold the affection it once did?
I think it has a lot to do with getting older and getting slower. The cool mornings seem to chill me more than they once did and the spectre of winter is looming larger than it once did for me.
There is still the waning days of coastal cutthroat fly fishing but I fish with a sadness in knowing that it will never be the same after the decision the was made to allow the killing of these precious fish.
Oh I will still pursue them but the thought that somewhere along the coast someone will be fishing for the trout with killing on their minds.
I no longer hunt for waterfowl or deer and elk hunt. I do not pursue fall salmon any longer either but still enjoy observing their annual spawning ritual. Maybe that is part of my melancholy towards fall. The salmon runs are a mere ghost of their former selves and the constant bickering between greedy user groups has turned me off.
I still come back to the reality of knowing my best years are behind me and the springs and summers of my life are limited. The fall might be a time of change but as I get older I think that I wish it would remain spring and summer forever.

Requiem For Cutthroat Trout

Well it's done! Cutthroat trout are the latest victim of an agency that reminds one of this weeks Wall Street fiasco!
As unprepared as the ODFW staff was in 2004 they certainly made up for this time.
I want to thank fellow members of Native Fish Society and Trout Unlimited for doing all they could to make sure these trout are protected.I also appreciate all who participated in the process whether it was signing the petition or emailing your opposition to the commissioner at ODFW. We did the best we could but I think the deck was stacked against us with the agenda that ODFW staff was pushing.
The people who were in favor of this harvest outnumbered us who opposed it as did the correspondence sent ODFW.
I've always said that apathy and indifference will kill more wild fish than any hook or net and this year long process proved it.
So it's a sad day for me and more importantly for Oregon's wild population of coastal cutthroat trout.

Do the Right Thing

Did you ever get that advice from a parent? Make sure you do the right thing and you will be okay. It's good advice and I have given it to my own children. We as fly fishermen and quasi-conservationists need do the right thing when it comes to our precious resource maybe above all other sports anglers.
What do I mean by doing the right thing out on the river or lake or woods or wherever we find ourselves in our outdoor pursuits?
The following is my unofficial responsibilities list or "doing the right thing"

Fish barbless hooks! It's proven that a barbless hook is less harmful to released fish.
Avoid the use of non-biodegradable fluorocarbon lines. Pretty simple really. This type of fishing line, while desirable because of the stealth factor, does not break down like monofilament line does.
Do not ever wade through spawning redds. This is self explanatory but we hear tales of careless anglers stomping through active redds way too much.
Practice safe catch and release! We fly anglers get a lot of flak by conventional anglers about catch and release. We need to make sure we do it right in order to insure the survival of the fish.
Get involved in the conservation of wild salmonids! I've said it before and I will continue to say it! If we don't set aside our desire to catch a "Nice mess of fish" and get active in saving wild fish then what will our children and grandchildren think of us. Apathy has killed more fish than any commercial net ever did.
I know that I may be preaching to the choir and this is all elementary stuff to many of you but the hour is late folks!
This Friday, September 19Th is the day the the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife commission decides on the fate of the last remaining populations of wild coastal cutthroat trout. If our efforts fail to convince the commission of the need to protect these wonderful fish then we very well may see the doom of these trout and very soon. A two fish a day with an eight inch minimum will decimate these fish and they may not survive not to mention the effect this kill fishery will have on pre-migrant wild juvenile salmon and steelhead.
Sound like doom and gloom? Well I can just say that I am not optimistic as to the decision that will be made this Friday.
ODFW has an agenda and protection of wild salmonids is not a part of that agenda.
I will keep you posted of the outcome.

A Hair Raising Tale

Remember that old Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song from back in the 70's?

Almost cut my hair
Happened just the other day
It's getting kind of long
I could have said it was in my way.

I didn't "almost" cut my hair unfortunately. Quite the opposite in fact!
I probably haven't actually paid for a hair cut for the last 10 years and considering my balding pate it just would be a waste of money to do so.
I have an old pair of electric clippers that I got from my dad. They are perhaps 50 or so years old and really need to be cleaned and sharpened. They have cut my hair maybe a thousand times over that 50 year span and I have a sentimental attachment to them.
I remember the marathon haircuts I had to submit to and these haircuts always ended with the same result! A "butch". Why it took my father so damn long to basically give me a Marine Corps style haircut is beyond me but to a kid my age it took, what seemed like, forever. He always left just enough in the front to grease up with this grease/wax gel appropriately called butch wax! I wonder if they still sell that stuff? I can still smell that pasty pink crap to this day.
Dad had a regular barber kit with trimmers, brushes and scissors that he seldom used and I always wondered why he didn't cut his own hair. He had a kind of crew cut looking thing that he wore for almost his entire adult life until my mother nagged (something she was an expert at) him into letting his hair grow out.
When I took my last butch haircut when preparing for freshman football I was more than happy to never have to sit in that damn yellow high chair in the garage again while the neighborhood kids could laugh at me.....oh the indignity of it all.
As I grew older I embraced the whole counter culture thing with very long hair. My dad would say he didn't care if my hair got so long that I had to part it to use the restroom.
So fast forward to the other night. I figured it was time for my quarterly shearing and proceeded to use my antique and unsharpened clippers for a trim of what little hair I have left. I couldn't seem to get them to cut my hair and thought they were clogged or maybe my old clippers were about to give up the ghost. I took a practice swipe across my head and after it was too late I realized that I had not replaced the plastic guard back on the head that would keep me from trimming too close.
Here is the end result!

Back to School

For those of you that come here to be inspired by my fly fishing anecdotes I apologize.
Gas prices, weather and abysmal returns have made it a real struggle this summer. I had some early season success with trout until someone pulled the plug on the flows in my favorite trout streams. That coupled with warm weather which heats up the water and thus makes catch and release a dangerous (for the fish) proposition.
I've been fighting a lot of "web wars" with those silly republicans and it's like they even make it too easy! Sarah Palin for Christ Sake? Well she does kind of have that naughty librarian look to her doesn't she?
Anyway it's Labor Day Weekend! The traditional end of summer. The last chance to BBQ those salmon that didn't show up or take that last summer trip with the kids to the beach before school starts back up.
As a kid I absolutely hated this weekend. You vainly tried to fit in a summers worth of fun into three short days of Labor Day weekend. I would find myself looking at the clock and sadly watching my summer freedom tick away.
Damn, I would think to myself, no more staying up and watching TV until all the stations signed off for the night. No more staying out late with the neighborhood kids playing "ditch", a kind of hide and seek variation. No more sleeping in and doing nothing or sleeping over at my pal Ted Rhea's house.
Yes that last weekend was horrible. New clothes and school supplies always seemed to be put off until that last weekend so off we would go to the local JC Penney's, Woolsworths or WT Grants to take care of it.
Oh how I hated those new packages of JC Penney's underwear that my parents bought me or those new blue jeans that were not washed before wearing and therefore they could almost stand up by themselves they were so stiff. Being a "Husky" kid I always had to roll the cuffs up because the length was too long for a fat kid like myself. They looked like I had both of my feet in buckets.
I also hated those Big Chief writing tablets and Pee-Chee folders or the new No. 2 pencils that my dad insisted on scribing my name into. I would think why in the hell do I need a protractor for anyway.
Remembering back on the first day of junior high I was shocked to see those formerly homely tomboy girls suddenly turned into babes over the three months of summer vacation. Of course I and my friends had absolutely no luck in charming those girls we had teased in 5th and 6th grade. We were still those clumsy oafs who had not magically turned into hunks over the summer.....Geez that seemed so unfair at the time and stills does.
So as I browsed the "Back To School" aisle of the local department store yesterday and saw all those sad looking kids with their moms buying school supplies. I felt like telling them that I felt for them and they should enjoy being young when the only thing you had to worry about are those new jockey shorts and biting the erasers off of your new pencils that your dad put your name on.
Hope you all had a great summer!

Gillnets

Before I go any further with this entry I just want to make a few things clear. I believe that gill nets are an antiquated, non-selective fish killing tool. They kill indiscriminately any fish, wild or hathcery, salmon, steelhead or sturgeon, that encounters them. Their time as an efficient means of harvest has come and gone.
To put commercial gillnetting on the Columbia River in a historic perspective let me say that it is just a shadow of it's former self.
In years past they were indeed the scourge of the salmon and steelhead runs in the Columbia.
The Barbee Seafood Company, parent company of Bumble Bee Tuna, of Astoria was the main employer of the region processing millions of pounds of gill netted and troll caught salmon and steelhead.
The gill netters have also had their fair share of salmon poachers and thieves among their group so this is not exactly a pristine, squeaky clean group.
In 1974 the people of the state of Oregon voted that the steelhead trout should be a game fish and could no longer be commercially caught.
This spelled the beginning of the end of gill netting as a commercially viable means of harvest and supplying fresh salmon for the dinner table. With the over all down turn of the over fished salmon runs in the Columbia the Barbee processing plants closed it's doors in Astoria for good.
The commercial gillnetting continues today but with a fraction of it's former fleet. Compared to their checkered past the commercial gill netters these days are but a small piece of the salmon down turn.
So with all that being said one would think that the gill nets have a minor effect on the overall well being of wild and hatchery salmon entering the big western river. That is the truth and in the whole scheme of salmon demise in the Columbia gill nets are a very minor player.
Face it! Columbia river salmon face a plethora of obstacles ranging from obsolete hydro dams to spawning habitat degradation. There is predation from birds and pinnipeds and ssshhhh we don't want to mention this but over fishing by sports anglers. Yes that is the dirty little secret that these spoiled rotten children AKA sports fishers conveniently overlook.
Enter 2007 and the Coastal Conservation Association.These saviors from the east claim they are going to kick the gill netters asses off of the river. Gary Loomis of Loomis Rods is their Northwest spokesman and what a charmer he is. He could sell ice trays to an Eskimo and the poor pitiful sports fishers have bought into his spiel hook, line and $25 membership fee.
Pretty clever tactic actually. They target the most visible "culprit" but ignore the most culpable reasons. Why is that? Could it be that CCA counts among it's life members GHW Bush and his monkey son George W? I bet Dick Cheney is a member too.
Could it be possible that the CCA is just a front for a bunch of rich Texas oilmen?
The CCA is full of members, in good standing, of that environmentally sympathetic group called the Republican Party!
So you might wonder why I am skeptical of this group and their agenda?
Bear in mind that the CCA is just another no show at the meetings and hearing that do not involve harvest. Their motto should be "If we can't kill it then we don't care"
So I am left to wonder when, if ever, the real culprits in the demise of Columbia river salmon will be exposed and incur the wrath of the mighty CCA. The real bad guy that has done more than any other group to bring about the fall of our once mighty salmon runs.
Who am I talking about? Well friends go take a look in the mirror.

Missing in Action

It has been a tumultuous time for those involved in wild fish conservation here in Oregon.
We have faced the onslaught against wild fish by the very agency whose supposed mission it is to protect these fish! Yes I am, once again, talking about the ODFW.
Turn out at public meeting to try to reason with an increasingly hostile Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife have been generally well attended by those who share a concern for our dwindling native fish population. Have we scored points with the commission? I certainly hope so but it all culminates on September 19th in Forest Grove, Oregon when the seven commissioner will decide the fate of not only my beloved coastal cutthroat trout but the wild winter steelhead on the North Umpqua River and the wild spring chinook on the Mollala River and other conservation issues.
I hope the message has gotten to them that the killing of wild trout is not the key in getting Oregon's youth to embrace angling.
Despite the good turnouts from varied groups conservationists and anglers there were some notable people who were no shows at not only the most recent meeting but by in large all meetings where the fate of wild fish was the main topic.
I feel that you should know who is and who is not fighting the good fight for wild salmonids in the state of Oregon. These people make their living on the wild fish and fisheries of this state and they have an obligation, in my opinion and others, to give something back. I never even read anything submitted in writing by these folks. I mean how damn hard is it to send an email? Evidently pretty damn difficult judging from the lack of messages to ODFW from some of these "stars"

So who are these no shows,couldn't be bothered icons of northwest fishing?
Well let's start with Jennie Logsdon Martin, owner of Ifish, the largest Internet website in the Pacific Northwest.
Ifish boasts of tens of thousands of hits daily on that site. Ms.Logsdon-Martin has been awarded various honors from pseudo-conservation groups like the Association of Northwest Steelheaders and Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association (NSIA) It should also be noted that those two groups were also no shows at important meetings this year with the exception of meeting that dealt with who gets to kill the most fish.
Also missing was Scott Richmond of Westfly. Westfly is a fly fishing oriented website and also is a non-profit corporation registered in Oregon. It is an approved 501(c)(3) corporation under the IRS tax code. Westfly gives only a passing nod to conservation and one would think that since this is a fly fishing forum that there would be some kind of conservation interest. From personal experience that has not been the case. When the owner does not make wild fish issues a priority then neither do the members.
Representatives from some of the more prestigious fly fishing clubs in the area did not feel saving cutthroat trout was worth their time and effort. Maybe the members were too busy planning their next bonefish trip to Belize or something or perhaps their BMW was in the shop.
Then there is the much heralded Coastal Conservation Association or CCA.This group has taken the northwest by storm and supposedly they want to end Columbia River commercial gillnetting in order to save ESA protected salmon. Well guess what! Yes that is correct! When the fight for wild salmon, trout and steelhead needed all the help we could get they were no where to be found.
I could also mention the myriad of professional fishing guides that couldn't bother to submit input in writing even if they could not attend meetings.
It's disappointing how little those who could make a difference seem to care little about the future of our cold water fisheries other than to bitch about how few fish they are allowed to kill.
These folks will gladly take your money for membership, hats, stickers and other merchandise but ask them to help out and save a few wild fish? No way!
So it's the common foot soldiers who, just like in a real shooting war,must bear the brunt of the fighting.
However, if there is a buck to be made then you can bet these Northwest fishing celebrities and do nothing groups will be there ready to take your cash in order, as some of them like to put it, save the fish.
Shame on them!

Trout Unlimited - A Lifetime Commitment

I decided to do something that I've only done once before. I took out a lifetime membership to Trout Unlimited.
There is a lot that can be said about TU and it's their unwavering commitment to our cold water fisheries that made me go from a year to year member to a lifetime member.
Trout Unlimited's mission is simple
To conserve, protect and restore North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.

Their vision is bold
By the next generation, Trout Unlimited will ensure that robust populations of native and wild coldwater fish once again thrive within their North American range, so that our children can enjoy healthy fisheries in their home waters.

Isn't that what we all want after all? The promise of clean rivers and wild fish for our grandchildren. I know that is what I want!
There are many enemies of wild fish and some do not even know they are enemies. Our coldwater fisheries have been assaulted for the past eight years by an agenda that cares only about profit.
I get angry at the carelessness and ignorance by those that have the "What's in it for me" attitude.
Thus my lifetime pledge to wild fish and clean rivers in my own corner of the world.
Check them out along with other conservation organizations that I have linked her on this blog.....make a commitment and you grandchildren will thank you long after you've made your last cast.

ODFW Wants to Kill Wild Trout

Does the title of this entry shock you? Do you think I'm sensationalizing? Do you think I'm making this up?
Believe me friends I wish I were. It's true and here is proof from none other than Rhine Messmer of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Messmer says:

We want to make sure members of the angling community know that these proposals are being reconsidered and that there’s still an opportunity for public comment,” he said.
Our biologists have said the cutthroat trout populations in coastal streams and rivers are healthy and can sustain limited harvest,” Messmer said. “Narrowing opportunity on these rivers is counter to ODFW goals to increase fishing opportunities, especially for young or novice anglers.”
Messmer said coastal rivers and streams are great “entry-level” fisheries, and that being able to keep a fish is important to many new anglers, especially youth.
The Commission decided to reconsider the proposal, in part, because of vocal support at the August Commission meeting. Several people testifying supported the proposal as a way to minimize the negative impacts of angling on wild fish.

Wonder who the talkative biologist is? I'm pretty sure it's either Rick Klumph, Chris Knudsen or Robert Bradley of the Tillamook office of ODFW.
Funny thing is when I queried about cutthroat trout populations on the northern coast of Oregon these guys could not give me a straight answer. In fact the information that they refer to shows those populations on a downward downward trend.
ODFW is supposedly rallying the Tillamook kill crowd to come to the final meeting on September 19 to show support for the harvest proposal.
I have written a lot about my love for coastal cutthroat trout on this blog and their welfare is very important to me. I knew ODFW would use the "kid" excuse as a means to boost lagging license sales.
It's a sad state of affairs when a state agency will actually promote the killing of a wild trout and actively campaign for this harvest.
I can guarantee you that my big mouth is going to be heard on the 19th. This reckless, ignore actual science approach to wild fish management is wrong and will not stand. To use the excuse that kids need to kill trout in order to feel fulfilled and flock to the rivers in huge numbers is bogus and weak and shows an agency that is out of touch or just does not care.It does show biologists ODFW employees who lack character and only want to save their own sorry asses from the budget cuts that are sure to come.
On a positive note I know of at least three ODFW commissioners who believe these fish are worth protecting. The seven commission members are the final word on fishing regulations and here is hoping they do the correct thing on the 19th.
Here is a list of the seven ODFW commsioners and their email addresses. If you can please write them and tell them you oppose proposal 150P and support 132P
This is just too important.
Thanks!

Marla Rae (Chairperson) - marlarae@qwest.net The Rae Group
333 High Street NE, Suite 202
Salem, OR 97301

Skip Klarquist - skip@erisalaw.com
Zalutsky & Klarquist, PC
215 SW Washington Street, 3rd Floor
Portland, OR 97204

Zane Smith Jr. - zanegreysmith@msn.com
1243 Delrose Drive
Springfield, OR 97477-1594

Dan Edge - daniel.edge@oregonstate.edu
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
OSU, 104 Nash Hall
Corvallis, OR 97331-2910

Carter Kerns NO Email Contact
503 N Main St.
Pendleton, OR 97801-2243

Jon Englund - jenglund@eglundmarine.com
Englund Marine Supply Co, Inc.
PO Box 296
Astoria , OR 97103

Bobby Levy - bobby.levy@my180.netPO Box 69
Echo , OR 97826

You can also send comments to Rhine Messmer at ODFW
Rhine.T.Messmer@state.or.us

It's Hotter Than Hell in Oregon

Do you think I could take this one hundred degree plus weather and save it for say January? Yes, yes I know I promised not to bitch about the warm weather last winter.
Yep it's the dog days of summer all right and so that puts a screeching halt to my fly fishing during the warmest of these days.
With water temperatures above sixty five in most areas it is prudent to either fish the first hours of daylight and the last hours before night fall or don't fish at all. Warm water is toxic to cold water species like trout and so I err on the side of caution during these times.
I worked, for many years, in an aluminum foundry. If there is a place called hell then it certainly must be like that foundry was. We poured molten metal into iron molds to make parts for the large semis that blow you off the road as they pass by.
Many times the temperature was over 120 degrees on the molding line and we had to wear heavy cotton clothing because of safety. Polyester melts when molten aluminum comes in contact with it and of course that makes for some very nasty burns.
One other thing that was also by products of such a hot work place is PRICKLY HEAT!!!
Guys know what I'm talking a about and I think I kept the company that makes Desitin ointment in business all those years.
I have a few war wounds (burns) besides a bad back to show from my years of labor though and I am not ashamed that I lived the life of a blue collar union working stiff.
I thought I would never be able to enjoy the summer time because of my aversion to extreme heat and it did take awhile to adjust after retirement. I now just love a summer evening as the sun goes down and the heat relaxes it's stranglehold on the day.
The sounds of a summer evening in a even a modest sized city like the one where I reside are for some reason soothing to me. There is a hum in the air as if the earth is sighing in relief from being baked all day long.
Of course the insect hatches along the Deschutes are absolutely mind boggling in their intensity at this time of day. The caddis are like a thick black cloak as I ply my trade to the trout that slurp bugs like a thirsty dog in the river. I usually inhale a few caddis as I watch the sun dip below the impressive canyon wall of the river...wonder if they are fattening?
My friend, Bamboo Mike, calls this the magic hour and I think that is a nice way to describe it. The trout converge on the piscatorial smorgasbord that the emerging and dying insects offer up.
These are the times that trout seem to cast aside all caution and feed on the surface. This is a dry fly fisherman's joy for sure!
So when the chill of winter invades my well being I will think of days like this and hopefully it will warm me and sustain me through those cold days.

The Knee Jerk Zealot

Let me share with you some criticism I've earned during my time here on The Quiet Pool. They say that one can take pride in who their enemies are and although I have never intended to make enemies in my zeal for wild fish I'm a big boy and can take it.
I thought some of these were actually well thought out and very humorous.
So here goes

"One-trick ponies and knee-jerk zealots of all stripes, in all domains, are always crashing bores. The fact that the point they're unimaginatively hammering away on might sometimes be a correct one is immaterial to me"

Get that? Disliking me is more important than the issue at hand! Well here is more from the same critic.

"Simplistic, bombastic, haranguing, uncritical, categorical pronouncements, and holy-than-thou posturing--in the place of analysis and discrimination and thought--does "the cause" no real good at all. The choir already knows all the old words by heart"

A few other comments by others

"Shane, you always mean well, how much I appreciate the intensity you bring to the cause, but your methods for rallying the troops is about as effective at getting our attention as driving a nail through our collective temples"

Listen folks I'm not here to handle people with kid gloves. To quote an old cliche "If you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem"
So if you don't care enough to get involved in trying to preserve the last viable populations of wild salmonids then get the hell out of the way. There are plenty who are concerned and your lazy ass is in the way!
Also don't try to sound like you care JLM because we know it's all about the "Kodak Moment"
So if you are offended then great! That was my intention.

United We Stand

This was the day that we friends of wild fish long been waiting for. This was the day where we could let all seven ODFW commissioners know how we felt about how important wild fish are to Oregon's future.
I am proud of my wild fish friendly brethren. We showed up in large numbers to say no to the killing of wild coastal cutthroat trout and no to the killing killing of wild North Umpqua winter steelhead!

We showed up to say no to bait on portions of the legendary Rogue river. We spoke united with one common message.
Wild salmon, trout and steelhead are too valuable to kill. One gentleman from Roseburg so eloquently stated it like this. "We will never look back and say we should have killed more fish"
How true!
Of course there were those that blow their own horn and talk about how much they care about wild and "spiritual" fish. The owner of the largest sports angling website in the Pacific Northwest was, once again, a no show. She talks the talk but never walks the walk.
There were groups that at one time in Pacific Northwest history played a large part in protecting wild fish. Sadly this group is a shadow of it's former self and cowers from the conservation battles it once revelled in.
I am proud to be a member of Native Fish Society and a new lifetime member of Trout Unlimited.
I call NFS director Bill Bakke a friend and TU director Tom Wolf a friend. These two "warriors" have battled for many years in the arena of conservation and I give them all the plaudits that they so richly deserve.
I also thank the foot soldiers, who through their solitary efforts, have made a difference.
I would invite you to check out these two groups that are linked in the Friends of The Quiet Pool list on the left hand side of this blog.
So friends if you are not involved in the fight for wild fish then why not get involved? You don't have to be a big mouth, pain in the ass to ODFW, like me but your quiet support will go a long way towards the betterment of our precious wild resource.
The fight is far from over but today showed that a united group of wild fish advocates can get their message across.
Tight lines!

Gear, Gear and More Gear

I admit it....I'm am a gear junkie! I just cannot get enough and about the time I actually do come to my senses and realize I have enough then something new comes out.
I was the same way when I drift fished and perhaps worse! On the west coast we used a little round drift bobber called a "Lil' Corkie Drifter". They were really very inexpensive at about ten cents a piece and since drift fishing could eat up a lot of these then it was good to have several dozen of various colors on hand. Get that? Several dozen on hand huh? Fat chance! I would usually pack with me at least a hundred in different colors and would have a cache of at least a thousand at home. Of course I needed a few rods for every possible scenario and reels to go with them.
Graduating into fly fishing it's the same thing. I need fly rods and accompanying fly reels for every application. I have Spey gear for just the Deschutes and of course another set up for winter steelhead. For trout I have both a bamboo and graphite in all the popular trout weights. I'm constantly buying, selling and trading gear to get more gear.
I have tippet spools for just about every type of fish I fly fish for and typically I have to buy one at some expensive tackle shop at my destination because I've forgotten the one I need back at home.
As for flies? We don't even want to go there friends. Let's just say I have enough flies of every size to outfit my sons and grandsons needs for years to come.
When I am preparing for a trip I, of course, take too much stuff and like the tippet spools I forget the important gear and have to buy it on the road. You wouldn't believe how many spools of 6X I have.
I've tried every chest pack, fanny pack and vest out there and I think I have finally settled on a nice William Joseph bag that I can sling over my shoulder. So that leaves me with all the ones that I didn't like or didn't work as well as I thought they would when buying them.
Head lamps, scissors, forceps all number in the dozens and I keep my fishing buddies supplied with my discards,
You can probably hear me coming down the stream bank with all the jingling and rattling of all the gear I don't need packed in my bag or in the pockets of one of those Columbia Sportswear fishing shirts of which I have nearly ten of.
The thing about those shirts is I usually lose things in these multi pocketed shirts and usually have to just bout dress down to locate my pipe lighter.
It's an incurable disease I know but hey it's fun to try out new gadgets and the things you convince yourself that you just gotta have.
So any of you have the same affliction? Got anything you want to trade?

He's Back!!!!

After a nice but fish less visit to Central Oregon your favorite angry fly fisherman is back.I met my new granddaughter and spent time with my other two grand kids.
Central Oregon is such a wonderful place even if you are not a fly fisherman and we took in a lot of the clear air of this region.
There is just something magical about living in a town that has the Deschutes River running through it. I tell my son just how lucky he is to be able to live and work exactly where you want to be. Bend is where he has worked hard for FedEx to be and I hope to move to that region some day.
So what lays ahead in the never ending battle for the well being of wild fish? We will be testifying before the full ODFW commission on August 8th. Here is hoping that we get the big turn out of wild fish friendly people at the meeting to show that we are indeed willing to fight for this precious resource.
The proposals are out there to bring back a kill fishery for wild North Umpqua winter steelhead and wild coastal cutthroat trout. Seems like this is a never ending struggle no matter what the status of these wild populations are and ODFW does not seem to care much for the well being of these fish or they would have never allowed these wrong headed proposals to get beyond the review board.
The summer time warm water temperatures have halted my coastal trout fishing and I will not resume until the cooling weather of fall. There are also a huge amount of salmon, trout and steelhead smolt that seem to take pleasure in sinking my dry fly.
With the fall rains comes the returning cutthroat trout and of course the fall salmon.
This year the salmon well has almost gone dry and the bag limits will be severally cut back in most regions.
This is a good idea but I am afraid that it is at least two years too late.
The effect of those dark and inedible females slaughtered for their eggs has taken a toll much larger than the bait slinging, knuckle dragging so called sportsmen are willing to admit.
So after a short respite I am back with all kinds of new rants in mind...stay tuned friends.

Thoughts on Tradition aka An Insomniacs Rant

Couldn't sleep so please excuse the ramble and over zealous punctuation.

Fly fishing is steeped in tradition. Some of the old names associated with our sport are, or should be, instantly recognizable. What fly angler, worth his salt, is not familiar with names like Lee Wulff, Hardy Bros. and Orvis. As a graduate of the gear fishing fraternity I must say there are very few "legends" in that type of fishing that are not just regional names. Sure most gear guys know who Buzz Ramsay, Jim Conway and Clancy Holt are but their fame do not go much beyond the Pacific Northwest.
I do love much of the folklore and tradition of fly fishing but am not so rigid that I have become dogmatic about it like some I've encountered. I do use a split bamboo fly rod for trout but if I were a strict traditionalist I would also use a silk fly line and a gut leader.
I also think that fly fishing, as far as the efficiency of it, is very impractical. Think about that last statement for a minute. If our goal were just to catch a lot of fish in the name of sport isn't there easier ways to accomplish that and still call ourselves sports anglers? I know for a fact there are. Getting past all that crap about "Isn't it cheaper and easier to Safeway and buy your fish" that is what the practical man would say and I say he is full of it. However there are easier ways to satisfy ones hunter/gatherer instincts!
I could have kept my old Lamiglas drift rod with my ABU Ambassadeur level wind reel and tied on a bit of salmon roe then let fly. Been there and done that! Caught a lot of salmon and steelhead that way and while it was fun it became very routine and not very challenging.
Hence my entry into the world of fly fishing. I give homage to the traditions that make this angling pursuit what it is and why the legend and lore of it are so appealing.
Taking that further I think we, who chose this method of sports angling,should at least give a passing nod to tradition.Tradition is all the things, at least to me, that make this sport such a pleasure. Many of we fly anglers do offer something to tradition and I hope that once us old guys have made our last casts that some of those traditions will not die with us.
I wonder though....Would Norman Maclean and his brother Paul have used a strike indicator?
- Tight Lines -

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

My newest grand daughter arrived yesterday at 6:18 PM in Bend, Oregon. She weighed in at 8.8 lbs and is 22 inches long for those of you that find importance in that stuff.

Allyson Rose is her name.
So here is hoping, from a proud grandpa, that she grows up to appreciate the world around her and all the wonderful things about it.Here's also hoping that when she is an adult that she can enjoy clean water, wild fish and a world without war. Yes I know, wishful thinking but it should be every one's goal to insure that our grandchildren will not have to just read about the beauty of the nature but actually get to experience themselves.

Don't Insult the Trout

If our father had had his say, nobody who did not know how to catch a fish would be allowed to disgrace a fish by catching him.
Norman Maclean
"A River Runs Through It"

As I stumble through this angling life I've found that there are few absolutes in fly fishing.
Yes, of course, there are certain commandments that one does not break...ever. Commandments like not cutting off a fellow angler by stepping below him, a commandment I see broken all too often unfortunately. What I'm talking about is the things in the pursuit of trout that are just done and not strayed from.
I think using an indicator for trout is an insult to the trout! There I said and I'm sticking to it. I mean come on guys is that really that much fun? Sure it's effective but so is putting shrimp scent on your fly but anyone who calls themselves a fly fisherman and does this is really beyond contempt don't you think?

An indicator immediately destroys any kind of graceful casting. It makes, what should be a challenge into little more than bobber and jig fishing. No thanks I say, because isn't fly fishing supposed to be kind of a graduate school for anglers?
I took a trip last summer with some of my friends from my fly club to a Willamette Valley river. It has a pretty good rainbow and cutthroat trout population and they can be taken rather easily on dry or wet flies. As we were rigging up for our day of fishing I noticed that every one of them, except myself, installed an indicator with tiny split shot on their leaders!!!! I just shrugged, to myself of course, and headed for the river. I allowed one of these fellows, all great guys by the way all though misguided, the best part of the run where I had success before while fishing soft hackles and dries.
Sure enough one them hooks up with a very nice rainbow measuring about seventeen inches. He got it fishing some kind of nymph or whatever, under and indicator.
Thoroughly disgusted at myself for allowing such an insult to the trout, I set off upstream to try my luck away from these unwashed cretins.
To not come off sounding too much like Henning Hale Orviston of "The River Why" fame I must admit that I once dabbled into the paganism and debauchery that is indicator fly fishing. I found it unwieldy and generally a pain in the ass to put it bluntly. I had served my angling apprenticeship with all the bait,scent, lead and bobbers so decided to travel that road less travelled that I have alluded to in the past. I fear I might have offended some you heathen indicator tossing brethren and to that I offer apologies to you....well not really but it seemed I should offer something at least.
So to my superior and more highly evolved fly fishing comrades I raise my tumbler of single malt and smoke a fine Monte Cristo to you fellows. Alas it's not easy to be an elitist so I will instead toast you with stale Pabst and a White Owl instead.
Cheers and good fishing to all who navigate the road less travelled including you indicator guys.

Gonna Miss Ya George

I just learned of the death of comedian George Carlin. I bought one of his early comedy albums " AM FM " and never laughed so hard in my life. His irreverant commentary on everyday life and his twisted reasonings were timeless...I will miss him

Here are a few of his best

Always do whatever's next.


At a formal dinner party, the person nearest death should always be seated closest to the bathroom.


Atheism is a non-prophet organization.


By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth.


Death is caused by swallowing small amounts of saliva over a long period of time.


Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.


Dusting is a good example of the futility of trying to put things right. As soon as you dust, the fact of your next dusting has already been established.


Electricity is really just organized lightning.


Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.


Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.


Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?


"I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence?


I have as much authority as the Pope, I just don't have as many people who believe it.


I recently went to a new doctor and noticed he was located in something called the Professional Building. I felt better right away.


I think it would be interesting if old people got anti-Alzheimer's disease where they slowly began to recover other people's lost memories.


I think people should be allowed to do anything they want. We haven't tried that for a while. Maybe this time it'll work.


I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older; then it dawned on me - they're cramming for their final exam.


I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.


I would never want to be a member of a group whose symbol was a guy nailed to two pieces of wood.


I'm always relieved when someone is delivering a eulogy and I realize I'm listening to it.


I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.


I'm not concerned about all hell breaking loose, but that a PART of hell will break loose... it'll be much harder to detect.


If God had intended us not to masturbate he would've made our arms shorter.


If it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then I'd have to say the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little.


If we could just find out who's in charge, we could kill him.


If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten.


In comic strips, the person on the right always speaks first.


Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist.


Just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn't mean the circus has left town.


May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.


Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.


Not only do I not know what's going on, I wouldn't know what to do about it if I did.


One can never know for sure what a deserted area looks like.


One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.


People who say they don't care what people think are usually desperate to have people think they don't care what people think.


Religion is just mind control.


Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that.

Dry Fly Perfection

I think one of the biggest thrills in fly fishing is a trout violently grabbing a dry fly on the surface. There is just something about the sudden flash and realization that you did everything right and fooled this trout into thinking, if trout are capable of thinking that is, that your little bit of fur and feathers is something edible.

Last week while plying my craftiness and immense angling skills on an Oregon coastal stream for cutthroat trout, I achieved "Dry Fly Perfection"
The trout were not interested in anything subsurface like my favorite soft hackle offerings but there was a couple trout slurping Mays and yellow stones off the surface. I proceeded to tie on a #14 Royal Humpy to see if it could fool a cutt into eating it.
Sure enough the fly was not on the water two seconds until a large resident cutthroat inhaled it.
The fish did all the normal things these great trout do and what gives me so much pleasure in pursuing them. Spectacular leaps and runs that really pushed my four weight to it's limit.
I brought him in and with a slight pull the barbless hook was out and he was gone to contemplate his sore lip.
I really believe that fishing for trout with a dry fly is fly fishing at it's purest and most basic form. No gadgets or weight forward lines or weighted fly just the line leader and fly...nothing else. It just cannot get any simpler than that can it?
Dry fly fishing must surely be a big reason that this sport so endearing to so many and I wish I were better at it. It's not, however, just tossing your fake bug out there and hoping for the best. You have to make this floating imposter look like a natural insect so manipulating the line in order to produce that elusive and much sought after drag free drift is the key.
Surely this must be what Gingrich was thinking about when he titled his book "The Joy of Trout". Is there anything more joyful than making the perfect connection? When all the stars in the cosmos line up correctly and you put it all together....ah perfection!

Can I Super Size That For You?

So here we sit looking into the abyss that is the current salmon runs on the west coast. We can point fingers at so many things like El Nino or pinniped predation or hydro electric dams or over harvest by commercial and sports fishing interests and all have played a part in the current down turn to be sure.
When things were fat and a lot of salmon and steelhead were returning everyone was happy and everybody got their share of the salmon pie.
Seems like there were new fishing "superstars" everywhere and the number of "expert" guides increased ten fold. The builders of fishing boats and fishing tackle manufacturers reaped the rewards of the years of plenty.
These boom years and the emergence of the world wide web spawned more than a few fishing forums that cashed in on the good fishing.
So let's fast forward to less than ten years later and see what we have. Of course there is even more bickering and infighting amongst the various users groups and with few exceptions the internet fishing forums have petered out.Many of those self proclaimed angling "experts" have vanished.
I will not be surprised if I see a few of the Tillamook bait guides flipping burgers at The Fern restaurant or maybe ushering at the downtown Tillamook movie house in the near future. Yes these carpetbaggers from the Willamette Valley have found that the well is running dry and all those dark hen chinook they kept and discarded the unfit for the table carcasses simply for the eggs has finally caught up with them.Is it any wonder that the owner of ifish.net, a business that has benefited greatly from those fat years of salmon returns, has hinted about selling the popular fishing forum?
It's kind of too bad for some businesses though. There are some that were friends of the resource, unlike those previously mentioned, who will lose out. I'm not totally heartless you see.
During those boom years we would seldom see most of those previously mentioned guides and businesses at important public meetings concerning fisheries. Oh yeah they would be at the ones that served their own selfish interests but when it came to the real conservation stuff they were all no shows!
With the bloated budget of ODFW surely to find the scissors of the governor of this state maybe just maybe we will see some of the worthless and wild fish killing programs die a painful death. Those programs like the steelhead broodstock programs will not go easily though and those who have made a bunch of cash on the backs of wild fish will not give up without a fight.
I will not mourn however, I knew these times were coming and not because I am especially enlightened or anything. I saw it from the perspective of conservation and anyone without any self serving agenda could see the same thing.
So friends don't feel too bad for those that hastened the downturn because after all they did their part to bring us where we are today.I can hear them saying it now "Would you like french fries with that order sir?" I call that poetic justice!

The Quiet Pool Turns Two!!!!

This little blog is officially two years old! To those of you that have been faithful followers of my often incendiary rants and musings I say thank you. I know some if not most stumble upon this blog by accident but some have followed this faithfully since it's inception.
I started this blog as just a way to write down my thoughts and opinions. I have not always been politically correct and I must confess that at least some of that has been intentional.
I'm sure a few have been offended but like I've said before everything I write here has been based on facts and not just something I've pulled out of mid air. I don't believe that feelings should be spared when it comes to matters of conservation. We cannot afford to be nice that way.
I have no idea who the many readers from right here in the Pacific northwest are but if you care about conservation and the beauty of fly fishing then a thank you to you also.
I know there are detractors among the countless millions (yeah right)of you readers out there and hopefully I have not offended you to the point of murderous thoughts. Keep reading though as I am sure we have some common ground somewhere.
To all who care about pristine waters and healthy runs of wild trout and salmon please continue to do your part. We cannot let up for one second in the ongoing struggle to protect our precious natural resources.
So hopefully friends this little wayside among the madness of the worldwide web will continue.
It costs me nothing but a small amount of time. Thank you again for the words of encouragement I've received along the way. Thank you for putting up with bad punctuation,run on sentences and bad spelling. Hope to see at least some of you along the river sometime.
Cheers!
Shane

True in 1968 and True Today...The Words of Robert F. Kennedy

Today marks the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of Robert Kennedy.While we can only speculate about what a second Kennedy administration would have meant for this country. We can appreciate his words of hope in a tumultuous time. His words are as relevant today as they were back in 1968.



This is a speech given by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reflecting on his father. These words by RFK were ahead of their times and could easily be said by anyone sick and tired of George Bush's folly in Iraq.

In 1968, my father, running for President, addressed in a speech, the White House's proposal for a troop surge in Vietnam. Robert Kennedy had initially supported the U.S. intervention in Vietnam. Forty years later, as Congress and the White House debate the further escalation of yet another war that has already claimed the lives of an astounding 640,000 Iraqis, killed 3,256 U.S. soldiers and wounded another 50,000, his words should have special resonance to those of our political leaders who are still searching for the right course in Iraq:


"I do not want--as I believe most Americans do not want--to sell out American interests, to simply withdraw, to raise the white flag of surrender. That would be unacceptable to us as a country and as a people. But I am concerned--as I believe most Americans are concerned--that the course we are following at the present time is deeply wrong. I am concerned--as I believe most Americans are concerned--that we are acting as if no other nations existed, against the judgment and desires of neutrals and our historic allies alike. I am concerned--as I believe most Americans are concerned--that our present course will not bring victory; will not bring peace; will not stop the bloodshed; and will not advance the interests of the United States or the cause of peace in the world. I am concerned that, at the end of it all, there will only be more Americans killed; more of our treasure spilled out; and because of the bitterness and hatred on every side of this war, more hundreds of thousands of [civilians] slaughtered; so they may say, as Tacitus said of Rome: "They made a desert, and called it peace." . . .

"The reversals of the last several months have led our military to ask for more troops. This weekend, it was announced that some of them--a "moderate" increase, it was said--would soon be sent. But isn't this exactly what we have always done in the past? If we examine the history of this conflict, we find the dismal story repeated time after time. Every time--at every crisis--we have denied that anything was wrong; sent more troops; and issued more confident communiques. Every time, we have been assured that this one last step would bring victory. And every time, the predictions and promises have failed and been forgotten, and the demand has been made again for just one more step up the ladder. But all the escalations, all the last steps, have brought us no closer to success than we were before. . . . And once again the President tells us, as we have been told for twenty years, that "we are going to win"; "victory" is coming. . . . It becoming more evident with every passing day that the victories we achieve will only come at the cost of the destruction for the nation we once hoped to help. . . .

"Let us have no misunderstanding. [They] are a brutal enemy indeed. Time and time again, they have shown their willingness to sacrifice innocent civilians, to engage in torture and murder and despicable terror to achieve their ends. This is a war almost without rules or quarter. There can be no easy moral answer to this war, no one-sided condemnation of American actions. What we must ask ourselves is whether we have a right to bring so much destruction to another land, without clear and convincing evidence that this is what its people want. But that is precisely the evidence we do not have. . . .

"The war, far from being the last critical test for the United States, is in fact weakening our position in Asia and around the world, and eroding the structure of international cooperation which has directly supported our security for the past three decades. . . . All this bears directly and heavily on the question of whether more troops should now be sent--and, if more are sent, what their mission will be. We are entitled to ask--we are required to ask--how many more men, how many more lives, how much more destruction will be asked, to provide the military victory that is always just around the corner, to pour into this bottomless pit of our dreams? But this question the administration does not and cannot answer. It has no answer--none but the ever-expanding use of military force and the lives of our brave soldiers, in a conflict where military force has failed to solve anything yet. . . .

"But the costs of the war's present course far outweigh anything we can reasonably hope to gain by it, for ourselves or for the people of Vietnam. It must be ended, and it can be ended, in a peace of brave men who have fought each other with a terrible fury, each believing he and he alone was in the right. We have prayed to different gods, and the prayers of neither have been answered fully. Now, while there is still time for some of them to be partly answered, now is the time to stop. . . .

"You are the people, as President Kennedy said, who have "the least ties to the present and the greatest ties to the future." I urge you to learn the harsh facts that lurk behind the mask of official illusion with which we have concealed our true circumstances, even from ourselves. Our country is in danger: not just from foreign enemies; but above all, from our misguided policies--and what they can do to the nation that Thomas Jefferson once told us was the last, best hope of man. There is a contest on, not for the rule of America, but for the heart of America. . . . I ask you to go forth and work for new policies--work to change our direction--and thus restore our place at the point of moral leadership, in our country, in our hearts, and all around the world."

My Angel on Earth

May 28th marked the ninth anniversary of my beloved grandmother's death at the age of almost 101. She was my angel on earth. She was the rock of our family when my father and uncle, her sons, died within three months of each other and sustained us in our grief while she held the family together as only she could.
She was a simple and uneducated women but the wisdom she had could not be taught anywhere. In her simple southern ways she was the wisest person I knew and her faith in God was unflinching.
She was an excellent cook and one of her specialties was her applesauce cake that me and my brothers literally fought over when she would send one for Christmas. I still have the recipe and make it from time to time and each time I do I cannot help but get sentimental about her.
No matter how much we disappointed her and I know that I did, she never judged us and never quit loving us.I was fortunate enough to attend her 100th birthday celebration in Florida in 1999 but sadly I knew that this would be the last time I would see her. I miss her terribly but am joyful and truly blessed for the many years she gave us all.

I miss you Mama and I love you