Is ODFW Using A Magic 8 Ball To Manage Our Wild Fisheries?

What a fun bunch the people at ODFW (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) are. These crazy guys seem to just make up native fish management as they go along. Did you hear the latest? ODFW regional biologists claimed that there is an abundance of coastal cutthroat trout. The rivers were full of these wild trout and having a harvest on them wouldn't make a dent it their populations they claimed. Doesn't the thought of eating a few of these coastal beauties make your mouth water?
On opening day the ODFW conducted a coast wide creel survey and guess what!?!?!? Fishing was abysmal! So where were all these fish? I was skunked for the first time ever on every one of my favorite early season runs....hmmmm! Those of us that intimately know the status of the cutthroat trout population were screaming about the dangers of a harvest years ago. WE told them in 2000, we told them in 2004 and we told them in 2008!
Oh it gets better folks.
ODFW is predicting a huge return of wild coho salmon on the coast and is going to allow a harvest of these salmon for the first time since the mid-nineties. Meanwhile the wild coastal fall chinook returns are in the proverbial toilet and so ODFW is going to tighten regulations in order to protect these fish to the point of closing some major fall chinook rivers this fall.
Okay let me see if I have this right. We're closing rivers to protect dwindling chinook populations but allowing a slay-fest on wild coho salmon in these same rivers and at the same time! Sheer brilliance!I could fill pages with the foibles of this state agency charged with protecting and enhancing our cold water resource.
How about this one. ODFW has planted hatchery rainbow trout in the Yamhill river for the first time in many years. This river has a very fragile wild coho, steelhead and cutthroat trout population and in fact you could probably count the returning adults on one hand the numbers are so minuscule.So hell yes let's dump a bunch of hungry pellet head trout in the midst of these wild fish.The biologist claimed that the wild smolt would have left the system by the time of these plants! Where did he get his degree? From ebay? I am beginning to think that the powers that be at ODFW are using one of those magic 8 balls to plot their strategy for fishery management.

All kidding aside friends. This agency is run by a bunch of people who are trying to justify their existence and conjure up ways to invigorate lagging license sales and by allowing the exploitation of wild salmonids to accomplish that goal. So I believe it's time to ratchet up the heat on ODFW. I want to see those creel surveys from Memorial Day weekend and I want to know where the countless thousands of these phantom cutthroat trout are. I want to know how ODFW intends to manage both a restrictive Chinook fishery and a kill fishery for wild coho at the same time in the same rivers?
Come on ODFW shake that magic 8 ball and let's see what kind of answer you come up with.
More on these topics as time goes on but I am seeing people motivated to hold ODFW accountable like never before. Will it do any good? Hell yes it will!

Some Thoughts on Angler Etiquette

Courtesy of The Red Shed Fly Shop

"TREAT OTHER ANGLERS AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED"

"RESPECT OTHER ANGLER'S FISHING SPACE,DO NOT LOW HOLE"

"ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION TO SHARE A RUN,START BEHIND OTHER ANGLERS ALREADY FISHING"

"WHEN FISHING A RUN WITH OTHER ANGLERS MOVE DOWN A COUPLE STEPS AFTER EACH CAST IS FINISHED"

"AFTER YOU LAND A FISH GET OUT AND GO BACK TO THE TOP OF THE RUN"

"HELP A NEW ANGLER IF IT'S OBVIOUS THEY ARE HAVING TROUBLE, OFFER USEFUL TIPS, SHARE A FLY OR TWO"

"WHEN FISHING CATCH & RELEASE USE TACKLE HEAVY ENOUGH TO LAND THE FISH WITHOUT A PROLONGED FIGHT"

"RESPECT PRIVATE PROPERTY, ASK FIRST,LEAVE GATES AS YOU FOUND THEM"

"PROTECT THE RESOURCE, DON'T LITTER"

"REPORT GAME LAW VIOLATERS"

"RELEASE ALL WILD TROUT and STEELHEAD"

"LIMIT YOUR KILL, DON'T KILL YOUR LIMIT"

That's the Ticket

Today is opening day of the 2009 coastal and high lakes trout season here in Oregon.
Despite the obvious defeat we suffered last fall at the hands of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife commission concerning coastal cutthroat trout I intend to double my efforts to save wild fish.
What do I have in mind? I will legally "harvest" legal size and adipose clipped "trout". So those over sized hatchery broodstock steel...I mean "trout" smolt that I encounter while pursuing cutthroat trout for catch and release? They will die!!! If legal size (eight inch minimum)I will harvest up to two a day. Those same "trout" that are smaller and adipose clipped I will gently release...ah yeah that's the ticket.
I would encourage all of my Oregon fly fishing brethren to do likewise.

ODFW sez...Kill 'em and Grill 'em

The day that I have long dreaded will become a reality this Saturday. Anglers will be allowed to harvest two wild coastal cutthroat trout beginning that day.
A lot of us worked our asses off tying to get the commission to see the folly in this harvest but it was to no avail. "Angling opportunity" won the day and it will be a sad and shitty day this Saturday.
Will I ever see a day that I can just enjoy fly fishing? A day when one won't have to worry about a state agency, that was charged with protecting our wild fish, doing everything they can to destroy wild salmon trout and steelhead? I know there won't! There will always be those that cannot see beyond saving their own miserable ass among the bureaucrats and fish biologists wannabe at ODFW. There will always be those who only see a wild fish as something to kill and it will always be up to those who are willing to do more than lip service to protect these wild fish.
So to those of you that care, and I know there are many that read this blog who truly do care and I consider you my friends and comrades in fight for this wild resource.
To those of you that are salivating like Pavlov's dog at the thought of a few tasty trout all I can say and putting it as bluntly as I can you are the enemy. You are just as complicit as ODFW is in the destruction of this last wild coastal trout.
To those of you that just don't care and could not be bothered you are the worst of the lot because you stand for nothing and the thought of you actually have to make sacrifice for wild trout is too much for you to fahtom.
Yes folks those wild coastal cutthroat trout are so abundant that the ODFW commssion decided to ring the dinner bell! Man oh man the thought of a couple of tasty eight inch cutthroat trout makes my mouth water doesn't it make yours water too?
Hey while we're at it let's kill a few wild winter steelhead on the North Umpqua too! I need to pound my chest a little and make sure the world knows that the hunter/gatherer instinct is still there.
I know this all sounds silly and sarcastic but in truth that is what is being said amongst the various bureaucrats and suits at Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. These harvest regulations are now reality. With chinook salmon populations crashing and the Columbia and Willamette closed for angling for spring chinook and a general malaise statewide about the current condition of our fisheries ODFW has the audacity to forward a harvest on declining wild fish populations? The pro-kill crowd will tell you that the wild winter steelhead in the Umpqua system are in such great numbers that the system can indeed sustain a kill fishery! Wasn't it just last fall that they said otherwise and shut down the harvest of wild steelhead? Which is it?
So it boils down to who you have faith in? ODFW, who is in desperate financial straits and needs to sell licenses to make up for budget shortfalls, or do you believe the scientists and unbiased fish biologists who have nothing to gain by saying a wild population should not have any harvest?
I believe I'll make the right choice and choose to believe those who really care about the resource and I hope you will also.

Save The Metolius Postcard Campaign

I've written many times on this blog about the Metolius river and the area around it. I've written about what a truly magical place it is and how lucky we are in the state of Oregon to be blessed with such a place.
I've also written about those that look at the Metolius as a means to make money. Those folks certainly have no soul in my opinion.
Please print out these post cards and send them in if the Metolius means anything to you.


SAVE THE METOLIUS

Click on the link above and then click on "sheet of support statements". You print out the postcards, fill them out, put them in an envelope and mail to the address listed. It's very easy, and if each of us can get a few signed, it will be a HUGE statement to our legislators!! The postcards (or sheet of support statements) will be hand delivered to Salem and shown to the appropriate legislators in the House of Rep's and the Senate. It is also still VERY important to continue to write to these legislators too. The Friends of the Metolius have created a wonderful website to link you to all the appropriate email addresses etc.

A Few Stolen Moment

A few years ago I decided that for my birthday I would treat myself and a friend to a few days in Maupin, Oregon for some fly fishing on the Deschutes during the legendary salmon fly hatch.
We stay at the Imperial River Company which has the most comfortable beds of any hotel/motel I've ever stayed in.

The weather has not been very cooperative the last two years but it's just a nice time to get away to the river that I love so much.
This year my oldest son will join me. He and I have not been able to do something like this for many, many years and I am excited to be sharing this time with him.
I've found that trips like the upcoming one and others to various fishing or vacationing locales is like a stolen moment of paradise. Your main focus is fishing or relaxing and the time spent is so much different from the daily routine. I have always dreamt of being able to step out my door and walk down to a river for a morning or evening of fly fishing and those who are fortunate enough to be able to do that are truly blessed.
Oh to live at Camp Sherman or Maupin or along some coastal stream where the trout and steelhead are my neighbors.

I doubt that I would ever really want to live in Maupin or even Camp Sherman but to have those moments of time, whether they are for a few days or a few weeks, where you are a river "resident" are precious. To spend it with my son makes it even more special.
I turned 55 on Tuesday and while I am not ancient I do feel my age at times. I don't know if I will ever have the opportunity to spend time like this with my son again...I sure hope that I do. I would like to spend time like this with him and my grand kids in the future if my timeon earth allows it.
As I approached the age of 50 I did so with some trepidation because my own father died just a few months past his 51st birthday. I thought about it a lot actually and now I have out lived him. I obviously wish that I could have spent some times with my dad as I grew up but it was not to be. So I hope my son is looking forward to this time together also.
I don't know how many of you are able to still spend "a few stolen moments" with your aging parents but I encourage you to do so.

A Dam on the Siletz River? You've Got to Be Joking!

Gleaned this from CF Burkheimer's website. It amazes me that in light of all the evidence of the damage that dams do to a watershed that this would be considered!
The Siletz River drains the rainiest part of the Oregon Coast Range, traveling a tortuous path through steep forestlands to the Pacific Ocean. The Siletz isn’t a large or famous destination river, but it is a unique gem, and supports more species of anadromous fish than any other river in the entire state of Oregon. Spring and fall chinook, fall coho, summer and winter steelhead, chum salmon, and sea run cutthroat are all native to the Siletz basin. Lamprey too! Siletz summer steelhead are particularly unique, being the only native summer race of steelhead in the entire Oregon Coast Range, with a few hundred wild fish returning annually to spawning grounds in the upper basin. All of these fish species manage to survive despite intense past and present logging in the basin, continued introductions of hatchery fish, and documented cases of poaching each year. What could make matters worse?

A dam.

Political forces in Polk County are currently evaluating the feasibility of damming the Siletz River. The proposed dam on the South Fork Siletz River would be 100’ tall and create a reservoir 5 miles long and 3 miles wide. A total of 20 usable river miles of mainstem and tributary habitats would be blocked. The best and preferred chinook spawning habitat in the South Fork Siletz would be directly inundated by the dam. The remaining stream reaches in headwater tributaries above the reservoir would become isolated from one another, confounding the seasonal migration of juvenile fish among various tributaries essential for their survival. The lake itself would become a gauntlet of invasive stillwater bass, bullfrogs, and other species that always seem to benefit at the expense of native salmonids. In an unprecedented era of dam removal, why on Earth would Polk County propose now to dam the most diverse anadromous river in Oregon?
Follow the money. The headwaters of the Siletz River lie within Polk County, which in recent years has seen increased development as a bedroom community for the Oregon State Capital. Growth requires water, and continued growth will strain existing Polk County water supplies, jeopardizing further development and cash influx. Polk County borders the mighty Willamette River, which provides an abundant and perfectly usable source of drinking water, with communities both immediately upstream (Corvallis) and downstream (Wilsonville) treating Willamette River water to excellent drinking quality. Polk County has an open option to purchase additional Willamette River water rights from the nearby city of Adair, but hasn’t done much to explore this option. With Willamette water so close and readily available, what makes damming a remote coastal river so appealing?
Follow the money, again. Historically, the creation of large reservoirs in remote areas in Oregon and elsewhere has promoted development and recreational tourism. Landowners along the Siletz River could stand to gain handsomely from a new dam and reservoir. Riverside lands formerly owned by Boise Cascade and now deemed unproductive timberlands were purchased in recent years by Forest Capital Partners, a land holding company with a long history of making lucrative land deals in forestlands. Their clients are wealthy investors, not family loggers in Oregon. Perhaps coincidentally, the Polk County commissioner who has been spearheading the dam evaluation effort has a background in real estate, heavy construction, and construction engineering. That’s one dam coincidence after another.

Fly Fishing Poetry and Quotes

Here are a few of my favorites....enjoy

The Song Of Wandering Aengus
By William Butler Yeats

I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,

And hooked a berry to a thread;
And when white moths were on the wing, And moth-like stars were flickering out, I dropped the berry in a stream and caught a little silver trout.
When I had laid it on the floor
I went to blow the fire aflame,
But something rustled on the floor,
And some one called me by my name:
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And faded through the brightening air.
Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lads and hilly lands.
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass, and pluck till time and times are done The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.


John Gay in Rural Sports

Around the steel no tortur'd worm shall twine, No blood of living insect stain my line; Le me, less cruel, cast feathered hook, With pliant rod athwart the pebbled brook, Silent along the mazy margin stray, And with fur-wrought fly delude the pray.


More From WB Yeats

Where the wandering water
gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Come away O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery hand in hand,
For the worlds more full of
weeping
than you can understand.
excerpt from " The Stolen Child"
W.B. Yeats


Only those become weary of angling
that bring nothing to it but the idea of
catching fish.


Rafael Sabatini


Angling is tightly woven in a fabric of
moral, social, and philosophical threads
which are not easily rent by the violent
climate of our times.
A.J. McClane




Angling is somewhat like Poetry, men are to be born so...
Izaak Walton



The true angler is generally a modest
man.
Thaddeus Norris

If, as I suspect trout fishing is somewhat
of a disease, then it is also somewhat of
a therapy in itself.
Tom Sutcliffe M.D.

Miscellaneous Rants and Thoughts

For something different that I would comment briefly on a few things that are going on in my angling life.
It is very early in the morning and so all of these "pearls of wisdom" might sound profound to my sleep deprived mind right now but after a restful sleep I may delete some of them but maybe not.

River access is a hot button topic here in the Pacific Northwest but very few really take the time to understand where landowners are coming from.
One of my steelhead runs is being closed because some knucklehead slipped and fell along the river bank and then tried to sue the landowner! Is it any wonder why river access is lost?

I had an embarrassing senior moment yesterday at Costco. Without boring you folks with the details I found myself apologizing to the checkout lady for my "brain fart"
What makes this troubling is it's just another sign of getting old and I do not enjoy getting old.However with age comes wisdom and experience and that is a plus. Too bad that I could not have been this smart when I was younger. Of course when I was younger I thought I knew it all....such a conundrum!


I wonder why the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife even bothers with the charade that they care about wild salmon,trout and steelhead. They continue to defy common sense with their mismanagement of Oregon's coldwater fisheries. The newest victim of ODFW is the fall chinook runs of the north coast. Once a trophy salmon fishery these north coast leviathans are disappearing at an alarming rate and there is talk of some fall closures.....more later on this.

With so much strife in the country these days I am leaning on fly fishing more and more as solace and escape from all of the troubles in the world.
It's like I get into a time lock where everything stands still except my fly and the river. The worries and anxiety melt away, at least temporarily. Over the years I have enjoyed many styles of fishing but fly fishing is the only one that is truly a sedative for the soul.

When faced with the possibility of some coastal salmon closures one would think that the logical thing to do is rally behind the concept of saving fish so they can spawn. Not so with north coast bait guides! They are thinking only of their own self preservation. Sure they will give lip service to protecting these fish but when push comes to shove it's always about them and their pocketbook. If these mercenaries and carpetbaggers really cared they would maybe support things like reduced bag limits and bait bans.

It's cool to write about the beauty of a river and marvel at the wild steelhead spawning in it. To me at least I feel compelled to do as much as I can to make sure that these wonders are here for future generations. What I find puzzling is how some can write flowery prose about the joy of the outdoors as they walk along their own private piece of paradise but when action to preserve this beauty is required they are absent and nonchalant....go figure.

So tomorrow I will once again journey to the Deschutes. Hopefully the wind will have mercy on me but I am not counting on it. It doesn't matter though and I will be grateful just to be there. I am finding that contentment in our life does not always have to have tangible results. Happiness and success can be found in the simplest of things and with the Deschutes the contentment is all around you. Fish? yeah they are a nice bonus but so is finding a nice piece of quartz along the river bank or seeing a bird that you have not seen before. I like red wing black birds that perch among the sage and juniper of the Deschutes and am happy to see one every trip. I would love to spot a rattler tomorrow but at a safe distance of course.
Contentment is where you find it. You set the bar too high and expect some kind of holy experience every time you walk the river then you are more often than not going to be disappointed.
Look to the small things to make your trip a success.

Raising the Bar on Conservation

Last Steelhead of the Winter


Are those of you that are wild fish friendly doing all you can to help save them?
I know I'm not and there are some things I can do in my small way to do more for the wild salmon, trout and steelhead in my region of the world.
I am concerned about what effect the upcoming cutthroat harvest will have on pre-smolt wild salmon and steelhead. The 8" minimum that ODFW will allow this season will have an impact on these juveniles and ODFW has done virtually nothing to educate Joe Powerbait on how to tell the difference between trout and smolt. I am pretty sure a lot of smolt will be killed because they will be mistaken for trout.
I am going to spend some days in the Tillamook watershed helping the fishing public identify the difference between cutthroat trout and wild smolt.
Secondly I am also concerned what the ravenously hungry hatchery steelhead smolt, that are released in sizes up to 12",are eating. I and others more learned than myself are pretty sure that they are feasting on out of gravel wild salmon and steelhead fry.
I intend to sample what these large hatchery smolt have in their stomachs. I will report what I find.
There is one other small thing I intend to do this spring and summer with coastal cutthroat trout. I am removing the points on some of my flies! You might think this drastic or silly or whatever but think about it for a second.
I have caught and released thousands of cutthroat trout through the years. I've caught on dry flies, streamers and soft hackles and in all sizes! I enjoy the take more than anything and the actual landing of these trout is not that big of a deal. If I get a long line releases and never have to handle the fish then so much the better. I'm not saying that I will do this with all of my cutthroat trout fly fishing this year but I will certainly do it at times when perhaps the water is a bit too warm or, like my friend Moon, when trying out a new pattern.
I love the take by a trout on a dry fly so what better to enjoy it even more without having to handle the fish?
I've heard of of anglers doing this and I think I will give it a try.
I will also be doing some wild steelhead redd counts for Native Fish Society hopefully on the Mollala river and other rivers in hopes of finding out how many wild steelhead are spawning.
So what are some of your plans to help wild fish?

Moon the Elitist

I want to share with you a great fishing story written by my friend Moon.
Moon is one of those larger than life characters we meet along the way but he is an excellent fly fisherman and can spin a great fishing yarn. His lovely and long suffering wife Monica is actually the brains of the family and refers to herself as "Keeper of the Moon" Monica is also a first rate fly tyer and world class caster.
Enjoy!


There are so many stories involved into what happened today…. I don’t know where to start. So I’ll just start with the ending and work from there.
It was a good day, a big hatch and a lot of risers…. But, that’s not the ending I want to tell you about. The ending went like this….
I’m casting a dry on a long fine leader to rising trout when I hear Boomer the wonder dog start barking…. I look back towards the bank and see a guy coming down the path. He waves in a friendly manner so I wave back and start for the river bank to see what’s up.
He say’s – “are you Moon???” and I think, oh crap! – but I’m bigger than he is so I say, yeah – that’s me…. and he says – “I’m so and so. I lurk on Westfly and I have been watching you from the road, I just wanted to tell you I love your stories”… and I thought, well all right – here’s a guy who obviously comes from good breeding and has a fine intellect… unlike the guys I fish with most of the time. He says, “That’s a great hatch – but your sure missing a lot of takes”. And I say yeah, but I cut the hook off my fly and am just fishing for risers right now… and he said “WHAT????” so I showed him my fly and where I had cut the hook off and before I could say anything else he just sort of stared at me and blurted out – “DAMN, you are hard core” and walked away shaking his head as he went…
So as most of you know, the fishing has been hit or miss with the cold water this year… and for those of us who prefer to fish proper, the cold water has played hell with our averages. And when I do get it right, it’s just not quite right either… oh sure I’ll take a fish or three, but – I should be doing a bit better I think…. something has seemed amiss all year this year. So Monica and I have had some rip roaring discussions over her fly’s and my abilities… the neighbors think we hate one another, and the cops think were killing one another, but – it’s just shop talk. So after our last fight, er – I mean discussion over the proper fly and its size, color and shape. She tied me up a half dozen different prototypes to take and fish. (I guess our biggest problem is our two different opinions on just what a doo-hickey, or thingamajigger is and what color and or size it should be…) She says, oh you want more thoraxes and I say – yeah, fry me up a mess of that just as soon as you change the do-hickey on that fly….. Anyway – it turns out, we were both right. My design and her colors was the ticket today…
So I ran up the road to a popular turn out where the fish will rise, but have seen enough pressure by the un-holy heathens to be a bit on the discriminative side when it comes to flys and so it is a good proving ground for new patterns or colors. I also find a longer, finer leader helps too.
I ran into the first lurker while gearing up on the road…. DAMN DIRTY LURKERS…. Anyway I geared up and went on down the trail. I put the first fly on and waited. It wasn’t long and the bugs started to spit and sputter and the fish were soon rising. I made seven casts with that new fly, took five trout and missed another. WELLLLLLLLLlllllllllllllllllllll okie dokie then, that’s a winner as I cut it off and put it away for her to tie off of with out us having to get into another fight, er – I mean discussion about do-hickeys and whatchamacallits…. Then I tied on another almost identical fly, but with a darker thingamajib and a bigger do-hickey. Nada, not even a refusal…. So I cut that one off and proceeded through the other four prototypes. Out of the six, one was a smashing hit, one was okay and another took a couple more - but three where dismal failures…. I’m giving those three to Erock. He’s a heathen anyway, plus – I think he’s got French Canadian bloodlines…. I suspect those N.E. yankees all have a Mounty in the woodpile somewhere….
So the fish are going off…. Man I want to fish that first fly. So I convince myself I should try it just one more time and tie it back on. Yup, first cast and I’m into a good fish. After landing and releasing said fish, I’m thinking – damn it moon. You’re going to *%&# around and lose this fly…. and that’s when it hit me. So I said to myself – self, why don’t you just cut the hook off at the bend and fish for a rise only till momma can get more of these tied up with out another fight, er – I mean discussion… and so that’s what I did. I was having a hell of a time, but – in the end. It was just more mopeds and Keystone Lights than I prefer. Now I am a elitist, I do fish proper and all – but, my hypocrisy only goes so far and the other half of the equation is still redneck after all.
And that my friends is another true story of the kind of crap that happens to me.

Let Me Make This Perfectly Clear....I Don't Care!

Lately I've gotten a few comments from "Mr.Anonymous" about the old spring chinook allocation battle between the sports anglers and the gill netters. Since someone apparently wants my input I thought I would dredge this up from the archives and update it a bit.
Mr.Anonymous or whomever you are I just want you to know that I will not publish your comments on allocation and why is that? Read on friend.
I just don't care! Not getting what you think is your share of fish? Your favorite lake didn't get stocked full of pellet head trout? Your favorite flavor of PowerBait is out of stock? Hey, I just don't care!
I mean why should I? You don't care that wild fish populations are in the toilet. You don't care enough to show up to a regional ODFW public meeting that is less than 10 minutes from your home. You don't care if habitat and spawning redds are destroyed. You see it's that selfishness thing again isn't it?

It never ceases to amaze how apathetic and complacent we have become. Just you watch though, how amazingly motivated people become when they think something is going to be taken away from them...self righteous indignation runs rampant.
We see it in state and federal government too! Take a ride to some of the upper coastal rivers and see the garbage and illegal camping going on! The US Forest Service that owns that land pretty much ignores it. An employee that is off duty will not bother. In other words they don't care.
My efforts are towards conservation of our wild resources. I will not make an effort to see that sports anglers get more hatchery fish and why should I? With few exceptions I see this group as a lazy and apathetic group of whiners. Fighting amongst themselves while their perceived "enemies" kick their selfish asses time after time when it comes to allocation. I care about wild fish and their habitat and I care deeply but I could not care less about who get the largest share of the hatchery fish pie.
Folks we are in crisis mode as far as conservation is concerned! Think it's unimportant? Take the time to find out that there has been a sixty percent drop-off in wild winter steelhead redds. Still don't care huh? Then you are beyond help.
So if this latest rant offends you? Hey guess what? I don't care.

I Was Wrong!

Yep! Wrong as wrong can be as a matter of fact. What was I wrong about you are probably thinking? Is he admitting he was wrong about indicators some of you might be thinking? Nope! Okay then it might be his support of President Obama? Hell no!
What I am admitting is that I was wrong about was stupidly proclaiming that mastering spey casting was easier than mastering single hand casting. Boy was I ever wrong.

This 3-disc instructional DVD by Rio is perhaps the best one out there. It features the big three (McCune. O'Donnell, Ed Ward) of Skagit style casting and the big kahuna of the spey world Simon Gawesworth.

I am a pretty good single hand caster and that is because I've been doing it for over 25 years...lots of practice.
Two handed spey casting is a whole different animal. There are a lot of variables and anchor points and so on that don't come into play with the single hand casting. I mastered the double haul and roll cast fairly quickly. The double spey and circle spey are still driving me nuts to the point of frustration sometimes.
Yesterday I encountered my two handed guru and one of the fathers of Skagit style spey casting Mike McCune. Mike is a master of the two handed rod and is without question one of the top steelhead fly fishermen in the world.
He along with Scott O'Donnell and Ed Ward are without peers when it comes to this stuff.
As he he floated by me he said just four words "Slow the f**k down" and I knew exactly what he was talking about.
I was feeling kind of cocky awhile back but it seems like I've plateaued and have digressed in fact.
Of course frustration has set in and I'm glad winter steelheading is over. I am going to do what I should have done in the first place and that is pay for a couple of lessons. Developing bad habits is an easy thing to do when casting a two handed rod especially if you try to teach yourself. I have done that so it's time to get straightened out and get rid of those bad habits and not cause "river pollution" as McCune so aptly describes poor two handed casting.
As I look forward to trout season and the spey rods get put away for a few months I will continue to work at my casting. Any secrets some of you experts can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Why Fly Fishing?

What is it about fly fishing that attracts you? For me there is a mystery about fly fishing that I just can't explain. The solitude I find where I am able to "escape" for the moment and my only worries are whether I'll have any wind knots to deal with.The satisfaction of laying your line out perfectly and the anticipation of a fish rising to a dry fly. The screaming of your fly reel when a steelhead takes line off of it and the graceful beauty of a well executed roll cast.The famous fly fishermen from the past couldn't explain it either. Why is one drawn to this method when there are so many other more productive methods out there for taking fish? We fly fishers often maligned by others as being "elitists" that's is unfortunate because in my years of angling I've found just as many elitists among the various other styles of fishing. Maybe it's the satisfied look on our faces after a day on the river that some cannot understand.In a world of conspicuous consumption I am happy to be able to just hike up the Deschutes canyon for a few hours and maybe see three or four others along the way.The rewards are many for me in fly fishing but they do not revolve around catching a bunch of fish. Maybe that's the mystery Those of you that know what I am talking about can relate....you've been there.
I like to reach out to the traditions and lore of fly fishing. Read any book by Haig-Brown or Arnold Gingrich and see if it does not move you.
Someone once said the if fishing is a religion then fly fishing must be high church. The sermon is the sounds of the river and the choir is the line as it it leaves your reel at high speed when you've hooked a hot trout.I've often marvelled at the quiet of the river when I am pursuing cutthroat trout on some coastal reach. I almost always return from a day of fly fishing empty handed but that certainly is not the measure of a successful trip.A successful day of fishing to me is the absolute satisfaction of achieving what I set out to do on the river.
It's futile to explain this to those who do not fly fish and even to some that do.
Being a successful fly fisherman is a personal thing to me. I feel I am in that I get the reward that I seek.So many of us became fly fishermen after many years of conventional angling. Why did we quit fishing that way? For me, at least, it was a desire to go beyond catching a bunch of fish. I did that! All sizes and all shapes as a matter of fact so to me fly fishing was just a natural progression to expand my enjoyment of the outdoors.
Putting it all in retrospect I can answer why I fly fish as simply this! At my age there is not much that gives me as much pleasure than a trout rising to a dry fly and to my way of thinking that is just part of the whole joy of fly fishing.
We all have our reasons...what is yours?

Tying a Size 20 Dry Fly? Piece of Cake!

Yours truly on the Kilchis River

I thought that tying a size 20 dry fly was about as likely for this old fly fisherman as scoring with Angelina Jolie With the help of a lighted magnifying glass and ultra fine 8/0 uni-thread and, of course, a simple pattern I pulled it off.
I really love fishing a small dry more than any type of fly fishing. There is just something about witnessing a gentle slurp or a violent surface explosion by a trout that quickens the pulse like nothing else in this angling endeavour. It makes it even more enjoyable if the fly the fish are after is one that comes from your own vise.
I was fishing an evening caddis hatch on the Deschutes a few years ago when I tucked my rod under my arm to light my pipe. No sooner had I gotten my bowl going a big Deschutes redside decided my size 14 winged caddis imitation was to his liking and he jumped all over it while I stumbled around and collected my wits while this trout did a huge mid river cartwheel.
I did end up landing it and it was shortly thereafter that a late spring storm put the river out for the rest of my stay but it was one of those unforgettable trout that one encounters throughout his angling life.
To me it just does not get more basic than fishing a dry. You have the line leader and fly attached to your rod and reel...the rest is up to you!
Selective trout? Maybe but I doubt that the trout have the ability to actually decide what to feed on. Maybe it's that they are full of baetis spinners and want a trico or maybe it's a hexagenia is what they are after so who knows? All I know is the absolute angling pleasure that comes from a fly fishing plan that all comes together.
Whether it be a large Deschutes redside or a smallish coastal cutthroat I doubt that there are many anglers who say that they do not like the surface action.
So with another winter steelhead season almost behind me it's time to think trout. The first trip east to the Deschutes will come soon and while I would guess the early spring winds will make it a less than fruitful journey it's just being there that counts.
It's been a long cold winter and these old bones are ready for some sun and the hope that a trout will rise to my size 20 creation.
Here is wishing all of you "trout nuts" an enjoyable season. Whether you are from my neck of the woods or some place where the "troot grow as big as your arm" good luck to you all!

Dammit! Protect the Metolius For Crying Out Loud!

I've written more than a few time about the way I feel about the Metolius river on this blog before. It's a magical and wonderful place that goes beyond fly fishing and into an almost spiritual emotion concerning it.
Beautiful, mysterious and breathtaking are just some of the adjectives one could use when looking upon this river and it's surrounding area.
There are those soulless folks, who see everything in dollars and cents, that only see it as an area ripe for development. They see golf courses, day spas and destination resorts. They see potential tourism money to be made at the expense of all that is right and great about the Metolius.
In the state of Oregon I can only liken the North Umpqua as a place that would rival the Metolius in it's inspirational beauty. Why inspirational you say? Go there and find out.
Walk along the river amid it's Ponderosa pines and take in all that this area offers. Like I said before it goes beyond fishing and in fact I can think of no place I've trout fished in this state where it's harder to hook a fish with a fly. The endangered bull trout populations have found refuge in the Metolius and it's nothing to look into a pool and spot bull trout over 20 inches.
The Metolius is just one of those places you want to be.
There is legislation to protect this area and it comes under Oregon House Bill 3100.
Those of you that have been to the Metolius and have enjoyed the beauty of the Metolius and it's area please let your feelings be known. If you live in Oregon contact you representative and urge their support for HB3100...it's just that important.

Why This Picture Should Piss You Off

Yes I know another dead wild steelhead! This one from the Snoqualmie river in Washington. The blood coming from the gills and mouth spells certain death for this fish.
So here is the deal. I will not publish any comments to this blog that support killing wild salmonids anymore. Some can call it censorship but this is my blog and I support wild fish and so that is the way it is. You will have to show your ignorance and selfishness concerning wild salmonids elsewhere because it won't be published here.
I will continue to publish pictures like the one above and continue to rant about the demise of our native steelhead, trout and salmon populations.
You want to advocate the killing wild fish? Go elsewhere to do it because you are not welcome here.
There is not much else to say except this is just another example of the ignorance that is still out there concerning wild steelhead.
It may sound silly but I mourn the death of this steelhead and words cannot adequately describe the contempt I have for the jerk who killed it.

The State of Steelhead

The State of Steelhead
Article Courtesy of Wild Steelhead Coalition

The article attached to the link above will alarm you or at least it should alarm you. Obviously the state of wild steelhead is dire...please get involved if wild fish mean anything to you.

The Trout Bum

I recently attended a fly fishing film festival at movie theatre/beer hall in Portland. The festival featured short clips of various fly fishing destinations like Belize, British Columbia,Mongolia and Kamchatka and all in all it was enjoyable to watch.
While it was fun to see these fantastic locations and dreamed about places I have to wonder if this trout bum phenomena is a good thing for our sport and for wild fish in general.
There was one clip where the anglers had to be helicoptered into a remote river in order to fish for huge rainbows and I wondered if there any place in the world where wild fish are left alone anymore? Is there any place where man cannot reach them?
I also wonder if the anglers in these films who travel to these exotic locales reflect what is best about fly fishing? The image of these guys holding a trophy trout out of the water with their rod firmly gripped in their teeth is kind of repulsive to me.
Some of you might think I am just envious of these anglers and them getting a chance to fish where most other guys only dream of but I'm really not.
I love my fly fishing world and am satisfied to fish where I am. The pursuit of steelhead and trout here in the Pacific Northwest is a very satisfying experience for me. Trying to preserve the wild salmonids of this region provides enough of a challenge and chance at gratification as I want.
When I abandoned my bait and gear angling life in favor of fly fishing only, it was for a reason. That reason is a lot more than having my grinning face plastered all over the internet with my latest conquests. I got into fly fishing for the sheer joy of it and I dearly love every tradition from the past that goes along with it.
No doubt there are millions of fly fishermen out there that feel the same way.
Sorry but the whirlwind "Endless Summer" fly fishing movies are nothing more than eye candy and something I would not pursue. The young guys in these films are not someone I envy as they place their indicators on their line and have at it.
Call me cynical if you want but to my way of thing this type of fishing over kill flies in the face of tradition and the meaning of why I travel this road.
If someone offered to pay my way to New Zealand to fish for those big browns and rainbows I would go...who wouldn't? The point I am trying to make is I think this type of search and destroy barn storming throughout the world is, in some cases, obscene and over indulgent.
The Deschutes or the Metolius rivers are about as exotic as I care to get at this stage of my life and the joy of a nicely cast dry fly is reward enough. Big numbers and lots of ego photos are fine for some but not for this old gent.

And All Is Right With the World

We will be turning our clocks ahead this weekend and that means an extra hour of daylight! Deschutes here I come with my March Browns in hand!
Spring is starting to tease us a bit here in the Pacific Northwest with some 60 degree days.
Ah spring!
You know what though? None of that stuff matters!
It can blizzard for another damn month as far as I'm concerned because
MANNY RE-SIGNED WITH THE DODGERS!!!!!!!!!
NL West watch the hell out because we will have Manny being Manny for at least another season and hopefully two.

PS- I was just joking about not caring about those other things.....

The Quest Continues

I am on an epic quest friends. I'm talking about a quest of monumental proportions and while I've flirted with achieving this quest a few times it is still elusive.
So what quest am I talking about?
The quest to consistently hook winter steelhead swinging a fly! I've hooked a couple of fish this winter but alas they were just fleeting flirtations of what is possible.
I could cop out and go the indicator route but I would rather be boiled in a molten concoction of Genke and Mucillin before doing that. I am not passing judgment on those that fish this way but my bobber days are long past me.
Like I said I have flirted with success this winter but it remains just out of my reach and here is an example.
Last Friday I had a golden opportunity with two of the best steelhead fly fishermen in the Pacific Northwest.Mike McCune, who is one of the pioneers of Skagit casting techniques, was one of them.
Well to make a long story short I got sick and had to beg off and my two pals both hooked winter steelhead. Would I have gotten one? Who knows but these two would have put me into areas where steelhead lurk.
My spey rod abilities are mostly self taught so that means I had a fool for a teacher. I had to basically learn from scratch about all the in's and out's of this pursuit.
I would liken it to a man wandering aimlessly through the desert with no direction and no clue on how to even begin to find his way. I've gone through a plethora of rods and lines and until I hooked up with Mike and John Bracke I had seriously considered not fly fishing for steelhead in the winter.
Yeah I can catch summer runs but the winter steelhead are a completely different game and after achieving all I could fishing for steelhead with conventional gear I had to pursue these greatest of all fresh water game fish and do it swinging a fly with a spey rod.
So any of you that have any secret advice that while put me over the top in this cold winter game it would be greatly appreciated.
I will keep you all posted as quest progresses and any success that I have as I know you will be on the edge of your seats in breathless anticipation.

Makes Me Want To Puke!!!!

Look at this picture and if you are not upset to the point of outrage then you don't care about wild steelhead and their well being!

This egomaniac asshole claimed that this wild steelhead had to be killed because it was bleeding profusely from the gills.....BULLSHIT!!!

He ends up contradicting himself in the story and is tripped up several times by people who were there or knew what really happened.

So why is this upsetting? This guy wanted to kill this fish of a lifetime to satisfy his need to feel fulfilled and to feel like someone important. You would think that a man his age would have gotten past the whole chest thumping thing but apparently not and this wild steelhead paid the price.

Why would I curse at the sight of such a thing as a large and dead wild winter steelhead? Well folks if you are new here then go back and read some of the things I have posted in the past! I've done this blog for nearly three years and I have made it abundantly clear as to where I stand on wild steelhead.

Sure it was legal to kill this fish from Washington's Olympic Peninsula. It truly was a fish of a lifetime and no doubt this guy was proud! He must of been in order to brag and lie about the circumstance surrounding him clubbing this magnificent steelhead to death!

I wish I was able to tell this clown to his face that I think him killing this steelhead shows he doesn't give a damn. I hope karma catches up to him and he breaks his Spey rod on a snag.

Our collective psyche as anglers and conservationists cannot sit idly by while this stuff still goes on. We need to mature as anglers and get beyond the harvest mentality that still abound in places like Tillamook county or Forks Washington.

Hey Brother, Can You Spare Some Water?

A winter in the Pacific Northwest is usually feast or famine! In late December of 2008 we had two feet of snow on the ground and lots of water...in fact too much water.
The rivers ran very high and muddy and fishing was an exercise in futility.
January was a mixed bag with rain at the beginning and then it's like someone pulled the plug! No significant rain since.

Late February and my favorite rivers sit at summer lows. The fish, what few there are, are static and it's miraculous when someone actually catches one. The water temperatures are very cold, as can be expected during winter, and of course very low. I can wade at all my usual summer places in the vain effort to find a willing steelhead but I must be mindful that a slip into winter water is nothing to be laughed at.
It's not like these "drought" conditions have not occurred before. Those of you that are from this area might be old enough to remember the winter of 1977. We basically went with out precipitation for almost the entire winter. People were in panic mode and calling for the governor of Oregon to order some cloud seeding. In the end, of course, it rained. The threat of not enough snow pack in the Cascades came and went and we caught our fish.
So even right now as I write this epic blog entry it's blowing outside and the forecast is for blustery winter weather. You know what I am pondering for tomorrow? You guessed it, fishing!!!!!

***** UPDATE *****

And just like that the rivers all rose about 1' and are off color. I guess I should have written about this low water before huh?

Is ODFW the Enemy of Wild Fish?...You Tell Me

Am I asking a rhetorical question here? Maybe! Let's take a look at Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's record concerning Oregon's wild salmonids. I'll summarize the evidence on a few key issues and you good folks decide.



Steelhead Broodstock Programs

I've written about this before so briefly it all boils down to the following. The taking of wild steelhead eggs and making them into a harvestable hatchery commodity. With depressed populations of wild winter steelhead does this sound like a good idea?

Coastal Cutthroat Trout Harvest

Again lots of info on this blog about what took place last fall. With an 8" minimum and an uneducated Portland Metro public descending on coastal streams what do you think the impact on juvenile wild salmon and steelhead will be?

North Umpqua Wild Steelhead

After doing the right thing and ending the harvest of wild winter steelhead on this legendary river ODFW regional biologists did not even wait a year before (7 months to be exact) before recommending the repeal of the no harvest rule.


North Coast Chum Salmon Fishery

There are two rivers in Oregon that have a population of more than just a few of these salmon. Their numbers have steadily declined to an alarming point but these endangered fish, which were once too numerous to count, are harassed and abused by idiotic "anglers" with a C&R season that also allows the use of bait.

Salmonberry River Steelhead

ODFW fish biologists have stated that this run of wild winter steelhead is perhaps the most genetically pure and important strain of wild winter steelhead in the state!
To prove just how important these fish are ODFW not only allows a fishery on them but also allows the use of bait!

I've over simplified this evidence but if one cares to dig deeper you'll see all the facts there. The wild salmonid populations of this state are hurting big time folks and we have a Fish and Wildlife agency that is out of control. It's all about angler opportunities according to the agency spokesman.
Sorry but I wouldn't call these actions opportunities, I would call them an all out assault on wild salmon, steelhead and trout....you decide!

Metolius River...More Precious Than Money

I thought this article by Sandy Lonsdale was a good fit here on The Quiet Pool. The Metolius is almost a holy place here in Oregon and it's pristine value cannot be put into dollars and cents. It's unfortunate that some think it can.


Money or Metolius? It’s an easy pick
By Sandy Lonsdale / Bulletin guest columnist

February 15. 2009 4:00AM PST

Is there anything in Central Oregon that is worth more than money? Anything at all that we should conserve and protect in its original form, unimproved? Like a sunny walk on a forest trail under tall pines? Hours of quiet, contemplative fly-fishing on a wild stream? What about sharing a silent sunrise or sunset with your partner while snuggled up in a warm sleeping bag? What’s it worth, or have you missed it?

When we moved to Bend for my dad to start a new business in 1972, Central Oregon was full of million-dollar experiences.

When guests would visit from other states or other countries, we would always make time in their schedules to take them to the head of the Metolius River, walk the West Metolius trail, maybe a picnic at the head of Jack Creek, fishing on the Middle Deschutes, up the road to Mount Bachelor and views of the mighty Cascade peaks, lunch at the Pine Tavern.

These experiences were special to us, and we did our best to show off this place to others and instill the same sense of wonder in them.

Obviously Mr. Lundgren and Jim Kean, the proponents of the roughly 1,500-person development two miles west of Camp Sherman, and others need one of our tours. The idea of an “environmentally sensitive” destination resort in the Metolius basin is about as oxymoronic as anything I’ve heard in awhile. What are these people thinking?

It was bad enough when this entire square mile of ancient forest was clear-cut by the timber industry back in the 1950s and ’60s.

If the new owners want to develop eco-tourism and want a challenge, I suggest they try to bring back the forest that once sheltered this land and nourished its inhabitants for thousands of years.

“Democratize access” to the Wild and Scenic Metolius basin? You mean there is democracy missing now because there are not thousands of people living right on top of it? Today anyone can go there for a visit, the waters flowing and trees growing are owned and managed by and for all of America; they are public resources.

If anything, the Metolian resort, with 450 home sites and 180 lodging units, would privatize and commercialize the area for those who could afford to move there.

When we were through soaking up that sunshine, we picked up the blanket, made sure we left no trace, and headed for home to savor the feeling for as long as we could. Then we worked to protect what we appreciated about this place we called home. We thought and acted beyond self interest for the common interest of all.

The Metolius River, its tributaries and the surrounding national forest and Cascades retain their special character and wonder not by chance. Hundreds and thousands of people have contributed their time, thoughts and energies to keeping this place wild, unsullied and wondrous.

There is an opportunity to act: The Oregon State Land Conservation and Development Commission will hold two more field hearings in Madras to consider a proposal before the legislature to make the Metolius River Basin an Area of Critical State Concern (ACSC).

(The exact time and locations have not been finalized. One will be on Feb. 26 and the second on March 11. Call 503-373-0050 for more information.)

Please attend these hearings and learn more about it. Then act to keep this very special place special for all to come and see, feel, enjoy.

Central Oregon already has the resorts, let’s keep the destination intact and protect the environmentally sensitive. It’s our choice. Call your legislator now; tomorrow may take it away.

Sandy Lonsdale lives in Bend.


Is there a more beautiful river and region in Oregon than the Metolius watershed? I'm asking that not as a fly fisherman but as someone who thinks that there are some places that you just don't mess with.
Ms. Lonsdale understands that and so do thousands of others who visit this special river.
After all do we really need another destination resort especially in this economy? What is there about making another 18 hole golf course in the Metolius watershed that is going to improve your golf game? I'm sure there are those who would love to development the area around Crater Lake...they just don't understand or even try to.
It makes me sick to see the lust for money cloud the vision of people who have no soul and cannot stand to see an area of such beauty just left the hell alone?
My gratitude goes out to those who see the Metolius as a rare gem that cannot be exploited.