Kudos to ODFW...Sort Of

Bet you never thought I would give any "atta boys" to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife on this blog did you? Well to show I am not a complete asshole when it comes to ODFW I thought I would give credit where credit is due....here is why I am patting ODFW on the back.
I attended a public meeting in Tillamook, put on by ODFW, to discuss fall chinook on the north Oregon coast and specifically the Nestucca, Nehalem and Tillamook watersheds.
Chris Knutsen and Robert Bradley did a good job at presenting the facts and the facts do not bode well for the salmon in the Nestucca and Nehalem systems. I feel that the Tillamook ODFW regional office did the best job possible with a somewhat hostile crowds of sports anglers in getting the point across that if there isn't some serious cutbacks in season we may be looking disaster in the face for future runs of chinook salmon.
The public in attendance were about 95% against any curtailment. They feel the salmon are their fish to plunder. To say that there were some real selfish and ignorant people there would be an understatement but Knutsen and Bradley handled it well.
The two of us that were there to represent conservation both agreed that it was a tough situation but the best possible scenarios, short of complete closure, were offered and I really think that the best interest of the fish was the main concern by ODFW in those two watersheds. Unfortunately the majority present did not agree.
So if any of you are planning to visit the northern coast of Oregon for some prime fall chinook season any time soon take your wife to Hawaii instead.
Okay enough of the kumbaya thing with ODFW because I do have some sharp criticism for their plan for the Tillamook watershed. With terrible returns predicted for the Nestucca and Nehalem systems ODFW felt compelled to actually double the annual bag limit for the Tillamook streams.
Last year the seasonal limit was 5 wild fish with a daily limit of 1. This fall they doubled that to 10! They say the runs look better for the Wilson, Trask and Kilchis rivers for 2010. I certainly hope they are right but I suspect that since the Tillamook streams are the ones that get the heaviest angling pressure and generate the most revenue for Tillamook county they were pressured to increase the bag limit and dwindling populations be damned!
Of course ODFW is a state agency and is vulnerable to the whims of politicians who feel the need to make salmon a political pawn but crap guys! How can you double the bag limit with no discernible signs of an large enough upswing in populations to warrant this?
I feel we took two steps forward and one step back on Thursday which I could live with if ODFW would continue in that way but I am skeptical. ODFW's track record has been less than stellar the past decade now hasn't it?
Stay tuned

Any Day on the Deschutes is a Good Day

Last Friday I took my first trip east to fish the Deschutes for trout and I had a wonderful time. There were no large March Brown hatches coming off the river and the river was a little too high and off color. The presence of smolt could have been annoying and the weather was cooler than I had hoped for but you know what? I was, please excuse the school boy exuberance, fishing the "friggin" Deschutes! Hell I even fell in the river but who cares? This is the Deschutes we are talking about here folks.
That really says it all doesn't it? A less than great day on the Deschutes is still a great day compared to anywhere else. Yeah I got a few trout and had one monstrous take on a dry that I think may have been a down river steelhead.
That first glimpse the river as I rounded the corner just outside of Maupin for the first time in about six months. The smell of the sage, especially in the spring after it had been raining....I truly love it.
Of course I brought along my favorite bamboo rod and Hardy reel as it was only fitting to start this years pursuit of trout with them.
The wind was minimal and my casts were true. The Deschutes never disappoints even when I get skunked or the wind is blowing at a gale force.
So trout lovers here is to another great season pursuing our favorite fish on our favorite rivers wherever they may be.
My hope is that your casts are straight and your lines tight.

Amazing Insight from 1968

This video, courtesy of Oregon State University and Mark Stangeland of North Umpqua Fly Guide, is from 1968. What amazes me is that 42 years ago there were concerned and enlightened conservationist/fly fishermen who were cared about their river.
See if you can spot a much younger Frank Moore in this video

Why Catch and Release?

In a time of diminishing resources it just makes sense to not kill everything we put our hooks into doesn't it?
Why do people have such a difficult time with that notion? It's not like there are not a lot of hatchery fish to take home. It's also not like a sixteen inch trout is going to provide a hearty meal for someone! So why not let some one else enjoy that nice wild trout?
Lee Wulff said it best "Game fish are too important to only catch once" I fully agree! The trout you hook and release might have been someones gift to you so by releasing that trout you are letting someone else enjoy it.
Please release all wild trout and steelhead

There Are Places I Remember

Despite all the turmoil and strife there is still a lot of beauty in this world. In my travels I have been very blessed to witness some beautiful places, many only a two hour journey from my home. I hope all of you are as fortunate...enjoy!

Along the road to Hana

The Deschutes

The Metolius at Camp Sherman

The North Umpqua

Near the source of the Metolius

Sunset on Maui

Trask River

                                                                   Oregon Coast

Yellowstone

Crater Lake

Why Is Conservation So Hard To Grasp?

Why do some people reject the idea of healthy wild fish populations, clean water and clean air? I'm not asking a rhetorical question here, I would really like to know.
Why is the concept so foreign to so many? I know that for the wealthy corporations it's all about money and , although I vigorously oppose the greed at the expense of the environment,I understand why they think the way they do.
I'm talking about the every day person that bristles at being required to release a wild trout or salmon. Does it have something to do with not liking to be told no? Do they figure they are owed a fish for the frying pan?
It seems like we Americans are always doing things that are contradictory to our best interest! Just look at the way we vote in some elections.
Do they think it's unconstitutional to be told that they cannot ride their quad runners off road wherever they want?
Is it just ignorance and selfishness? How and why did so many of us become this way?
I've expended a ton of verbiage on this blog about wild salmonid issues and for the life of me I cannot understand why conservation is not important to everyone who stands to lose so much.
For being the most advanced society in the world we seem to have advanced very little from the idea that the earth is ours to plunder as we see fit.
The "Me First" attitude is passed on from parent to child and one has to wonder how this all of this bodes for the future. I think if we are waiting for some kind of enlightenment to happen with future generations we are fooling ourselves. I just don't see it happeneing.Those future generations are never going to know the joy of clean running rivers and the salmon that ascend them...truly sad if things do not change.

The "Sport of Gravel Raping" by Erik Helm

This post from the Classical Angler by Erik Helm  compliments my annual post about leaving spawning steelhead in the upper rivers alone which follows Erik's piece.
Well, here we are. Spring is in the air, the robins are singing, “Cheer up… cheer up…cheerily!” cardinals are calling their mating song, and ‘fly-fishers’ are on the gravel chasing spawning steelhead. In the past week, the water level has fallen and cleared enough to allow the use of those nifty polarized glasses to spot fish on the gravel. Guys with expensive cigars wade the shallows looking for bedding fish, hook them on nymphs and glo-bugs, and drag them away from their mates during the act of procreation. The poor fish flop around on the gravel until trapped in a net effectively damaging their protective slime layer, and then get to star in grip and grin ego photos.

Is this sporting? I guess the answer depends on what one considers fair chase. Would it be sporting to wait for a deer buck to mount a doe and then shoot it? That is effectively what is happening here.
To me, and this is my opinion, chasing steelhead, or any fish while they are attempting to build redds and spawn is the lowest form of ‘fishing’ shy of intentional snagging. Even the snagger is probably being honest in his or her game, however illegal it is. Gravel rapers on the other hand actually think they are fly-fishing. Sad.
After many years of swinging flies for steelhead, I can spot a gravel-raper just by looks.
Usually the most expensive vehicle in the parking area, Lexi, Range Rovers, and other obnoxiously large and irresponsible SUVs, will belong to them. Often they sport fly-fishing stickers, or even TU logos. The anglers rarely fish alone. They most often show up in twos and threes. It must have something to do with the glory photos, and the sense of camaraderie in pounding the gravel with your buddies ready to offer congratulations on your ‘catch.’ They wear all the latest gear, especially if it has a logo. They dress up to look like some image in their mind of how a fly-fisherman should look. They ask every person they come across, “Have you seen any fish?” They wander around the river in unpredictable directions, most often again, in groups.
Most of these guys are trout fishermen. That is sad in itself. Instead of learning the skill of reading water in a large river, they just do what everyone else is doing, and rely on sighted fish on gravel before they can make a single cast. I am a trout fisherman as well, but it just kills me to see people that I know from the small streams rely on these tactics for steelhead. Would they fish that way on a trout stream? Is that why the streams are closed for part of the year to protect spawning fish? If the streams and creeks were not closed, would these ‘anglers’ hook as many spawning trout off their gravel beds as they could?
It is getting to the point that an ingrained belief, culture, or even tradition surrounds the use of single-hand rods: nymphing, or glo-bugging over gravel. Swinging streamers seems to be relegated to spey rods now. This is sad too. The single-hand rod is an excellent tool for streamer fishing, if only this method would catch on here. If only these legions of anglers in the Midwest ( and Pacific Northwest) would depart for a day or two and not rely on sight-fishing, the sport that would be discovered by them would be enough to put them off the bedded fish forever.
Alas, this takes a leap of faith, and the ability to appreciate a single fish caught fairly after a full day of wading and casting, versus tallying numbers and measuring the skill of the angler by the sheer number of fish to hand, however crude the method. That leap of faith, and sense of fair chase seems to be beyond most anglers. Indeed, they often defend the practice, and I have been told by one fisherman that “He feels sorry for me, if I don’t get enjoyment out of sight fishing for steelhead.” Sight fishing and gravel raping are not necessarily bonded together. If a fisherman walking the banks and looking down into a pool spots a pod of fish holding in the water, and then swings flies or nymphs for them, that is different than fishing bedded fish. In our rivers, 99% of steelhead spotted are on the gravel.
The thing that really bothers me is that these gravel rapers think that, because they are using a fly rod, they are somehow elevated above the gear fishermen or center-pinners that are legitimately hooking their fish. This very deservedly gives fly-fishing a bad name. Being snobby about an abominable method of fishing is just sad. This is sad, and a disservice to all the other anglers, whatever the method or gear, who are actually fishing.

A Hot Summer Ahead for Fish

As those of you in the Pacific NW know, this is supposed to be a hot summer, and combined with little snow pack, it looks to be very tough going for native fish on most streams in Oregon and Washington. Native Fish Society is encouraging ODFW to stop chinook harvest based on temperature rather than a harvest quota, which is an also outstanding idea. Ideally fishing would stop at over 70 degrees, which is probably an unrealistic goal, but a good place to start when negotiating. You might consider contacting your ODFW district bio and other contacts you have with ODFW suggesting they consider fishing stoppages based on water temperature. Another option is to allow fishing only in the morning or until noon. Last year, ODFW did put out a press release with some information regarding hot temperatures and recommendations to reduce mortality, so at least they have made a step in the right direction already.
Here are those suggestions for warm weather fishing.

•Fish early in the mornings when water temperatures are lower.
•Fish in lakes and reservoirs with deep waters that provide a cooler refuge for fish.
•Use barbless hooks, land fish quickly and keep them in the water as much as possible in order to minimize stress.
•Shift your fishing efforts to higher elevation mountain lakes and streams where water temperatures often remain cool.

Remember that hooking and playing a trout or any salmonid in warm water temperatures is toxic even if you are going to release that fish.  Please Think about curtailing your fishing this summer for the sake of the fish.

Fly Fishing Myths - Pacific Northwest Edition

As I sit here impatiently awaiting the UPS driver to deliver my new trout reel I am thinking about some of the legends about fly fishing in this region that simply are not true so here goes.
Feel free to comment....

1.The Holy Water on the Rogue - With a massive dam looming over you and poison oak everywhere I just didn't feel like I was fishing in some sort of sacred water.

2.Using indicators is fly fishing  - Using these is not fly fishing in the truest sense of the word. They are a short cut to success and a gimmick...nothing more. So don't go feeling all smug and superior if you catch a lot  fish using this method.

3.Cutthroat trout are not selective feeders - The bigger ones in the fall are definitely selective.

4.Native north coast summer steelhead exist - No they don't. They say the Siletz has natives but further up the coast a summer steelhead with an intact adipose is a mis-clipped hatchery fish.

5.You can fish along any stream bank you wish to in Oregon - Nope! Not unless the river has been determined to be navigable by the Oregon Department of State Lands. You could be cited for trespassing!

6. Deschutes River Rattle Snakes - They do exist but are very shy and I've only seen a couple of them in 35 years of fishing that river.

7.You can use salmon roe as money in Tillamook County - It almost seems that way and since I do not use salmon eggs I cannot completely debunk this myth (that I kind of started)

8.PNW internet fishing forum owners care about more than just making money - Show me one!

9.Association of Northwest Steelheaders and the CCA are conservation organizations - Funny how these groups are never present when wild salmonids are the issue unless it's to advocate their harvest.

10. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife always does what is best for wild salmonids - Hey are you interested in buying the Fremont Bridge?

11.My profile picture flatters me - Truthfully I am much more handsome in person....really...no really I am...I'm not lying!!!!

Screw Everyone Else! I Gotta Get Mine

After reading what took place at a recent public meeting concerning the depressed runs of fall Chinook on the Nehalem river I felt the need to bring this blog entry back to the top.

For those of you unfamiliar with what has happened to the once huge runs of fall Chinook on this north coast river it's simply this. ODFW  has closed the river to angling for Chinook. Escapement of wild Chinook into the upper river was miserable last year and it's expected to be the same this year. It seems like a no brainer doesn't it? Close the damn river...zero harvest!
Oh hell no say many Tillamook county locals. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is trying to act like they are as pure as driven snow in all of this but they are far from it. Remember their mantra under director Roy Elicker? Identify angling opportunities! Sell tags and licenses because we need to keep some empty suits and bureaucratic assholes in this well paying jobs!
Anyway this was posted originally back in January 2009.
Screw Everyone Else! I Gotta Get Mine!!!! This should be the new motto of our country don't you think? Well at least here in the Pacific Northwest when it comes to our natural resources. We fight other user groups for what might one day end up being the last salmon or steelhead. We divert water from rivers like the Deschutes and so it becomes unbearable for summer steelhead to leave the Columbia for what used to be the colder water of this river!
Our land use laws are no longer in place to protect the wild places in our world but to make sure that "I gotta get mine!"
What happened to responsibility and respect for what should be the heritage we leave future generation?
Screw everyone else! I gotta get mine
As the powers that be divvy up the upcoming spring Chinook harvest for next year you can just imagine the coming outrage of those so called sports fishing advocacy groups and their members when other user groups vie for their share of the pie.
Little gets mentioned about wild fish by-catch and the like because why? Screw everyone else! I gotta get mine!This fall when that gentile sportsman on the north coast pulls a revolver out from under his rain coat because some other gents challenges his territorial claim to that dark salmon in the river how do you think he would defend his actions and behavior? "Screw everyone else! I gotta get mine"Go ahead and call me cynical and negative if you want and maybe I am but I've seen a general decline in activism among people about the things we should cherish. "Why does it always have to be about fishing ethics?" is a quote that angers me to the point of giving up!
Maybe it's the internet or maybe it's just a general malaise about anything that may inconvenience us is getting what we believe we are entitled to!
I'm sorry if I may have disturbed someones comfort zone but with the general indifference towards things that should matter it's hard to be very positive about the future of our waters and the wild fish that call them home. Hey there is too much money to be made and I'm gonna get what is owed me. Go visit some fishing websites that have ads plastered all over them! You can see where their motivation comes from.
Would I ever give up? Well why shouldn't I?  I could spend my golden years reminiscing
about the clean rivers and wild fish that I once knew.
I could take out my favorite old fly rod and lovingly wipe it down and remember the fish I caught and released with it. I could write about the heroes of those day who gave a damn about what was happening and didn't care about their reputations or the making of a good photo op! Those good men and women who believed that there were bigger issues at stake than a photo of them holding up just another dead fish or making a few bucks.
I can barely hold my contempt for those who selfishly make a profit on wild fish and care about little else. I said it many times on this blog and I will not quit saying it!
Greedy bait guides on the north Oregon coast sing the praises of using wild fish for little more than hatchery egg machines. What the hell is wrong with these people? What will these bastards do when there are no more wild fish to exploit? What will all the fishing stars of the last ten years do without wild fish to hoist out of the water for a hero photo. I care little about my own reputation as a big mouth and I won't shut up about the way these greedy people come up to you with a sweet smile on their face but their hearts and souls are green! Green with the love of money.
Goddamn these people! Sound strong huh? Makes you a bit uneasy does it? I hope you greedy bastards read this and get pissed! I'm talking to you jerks that yank a wild steelhead off of it's spawning redd where the fish and wildlife department has placed survey flags. Kind of like shooting fish in a barrel isn't it?
Sorry but it needs to be said over and over again and maybe one day these people will understand what knee jerk zealots like myself have been raging about all these years.

Going Solo

I have a favorite fishing partner these days. He is actually the perfect fishing partner and there is no one else I would rather fish with.
He is never late and always knows when it's time to go home. He does not insist in having his own way and always is agreeable to fishing the water I want to fish.
Yeah I am talking about fishing by myself.
I am pretty locked into my own style these days and do not have the patience to deal with other peoples foibles. I can come and go as I please and if I want to drive 140 miles just to fish one favorite hole on the Deschutes then that is what I do!
I have fished with a bunch of different people over the years and some, I have vowed, I will never fish with again and I have kept that vow.
It's not like I do not like to fish with other people but I am getting more and more set in my ways and I want to maximize my fly fishing enjoyment. There are just some people, through trial and error, who put a damper on that.
One benefit of fishing alone is I can talk to myself. I can say "Shane that cast really sucked!" or I talk to the trout I am fighting or about to release.
My long wife spouse always asks me, when I am fishing solo, where I will be or what river will I be fishing. That translates into "Where should they start searching for the body?"  I might meet my demise that way and to tell you the truth I cannot think of a better way to go. The old cliche of "He was doing what he loved when he died" would really be true in my case.
I also like the silence of being alone on the river. The silence sometimes is really deafening because without some one yakking at you one can hear the little subtle sounds of the river. Have you ever heard the sound that a jumping steelhead makes? I'm not talking about the splash either. A airborne steelhead will make a sound like the wings of a bird. You wouldn't hear that with your partner yelling "You the man" at you.
The Deschutes is full of sound to the solitary fly fisherman, even one that is hard of hearing like myself. Maybe it the beaver that is upstream slapping his tail because you are in his way or the sound of an October caddis as it buzzes your head.
Sometimes, though, the words that come out of my mouth when I miss a take on a dry or drop my bi-focal sunglasses into the drink are not particularly pleasant.
All in all though I think that I am a pretty good fishing companion for myself. I know what to expect from my over fed old carcass and when to not take unnecessary chances on the river that an over zealous fishing partner might convince me to take.
I think I have fun chasing trout with this old guy I see in the mirror each morning as I have grown pretty fond of him.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Cold shot (Live in Texas)

Second only to Hendrix and that's according to Clapton

Barring Harvest of Wild Steelhead in Washington and Oregon a No-Brainer

 By Roger Phillips of the Idaho Statesman

California is now closed to the harvest of wild steelhead trout.
The state closed the Smith River in Northern California to harvest. That was its last remaining river where anglers could keep wild steelhead. It's about time. Hopefully Oregon and Washington will take notice that wild steelhead are too valuable to harvest. Idaho long ago came to that conclusion, and quit harvesting wild steelhead statewide in 1987. Since then, Idaho's wild steelhead returns have stabilized and in some years flourished, but we still have a way to go before they can be removed from threatened status.

While some people may quibble over how much progress has been made, things have improved. About 12,000 wild steelhead crossed Lower Granite Dam in 1993, the first year wild and hatchery fish were counted separately. Between 1993 and 1997, the year wild steelhead were listed as threatened, an average of 9,243 wild steelhead crossed Lower Granite, which is the last dam the fish cross before reaching Idaho.
From 1998 to 2009, wild steelhead returns over Lower Granite averaged 38,564 fish. The peak was 76,000 in 2009. That's not to say Idaho's steelhead management is a success story. There's more work to be done before wild fish can be removed from threatened status, but it shows releasing them can make a difference in the size of the returns. Idaho also has thriving steelhead fishing. There's occasional bellyaching by someone who can't take home a wild steelhead, but most people have accepted harvesting hatchery fish and releasing wild ones. It's really a no-brainer. Wild steelhead are among the most prized game fish in the world, and it's not because they make great table fare.They're much more valuable than a meal. Wild steelhead are genetic gold. Hatchery steelhead are raised under homogeneous conditions, so young fish adapt to survive in hatcheries. Wild fish evolve to inhabit specific rivers, and their genetics and life history can differ greatly between watersheds. Washington and Oregon have river systems with healthy wild steelhead runs and fish managers there have the backward notion that because runs are healthy, wild steelhead harvest should be allowed. Many of those rivers also have hatchery fish, and limiting harvest to those fish seems painfully obvious.Oregon and Washington have reduced their wild steelhead harvest in recent years, but more to cover their own tails than to protect healthy wild runs. I've traveled to Oregon and Washington to fish for steelhead, but have actually done better staying home and fishing Idaho rivers. I love both those states and would like to fish there more often, but I am not seeing the type of management that would make me want to spend my time and money there. The most expensive fishing trip I ever made was to northern British Columbia to catch wild steelhead. I gladly released every one I caught, which was the law. As far as I am concerned, the only place where harvesting wild steelhead can be justified is Alaska.
Alaskans take their salmon and steelhead management very seriously and have a long history of protecting fish.  The Situk is among the healthiest steelhead rivers remaining in the world, and it has all wild fish. The river is only 22 miles long, but in some years it accounts for nearly half the steelhead caught in Alaska.
Fisheries managers there allow anglers to keep only two steelhead per year on the Situk, and the ones kept must be at least 36 inches. To put that in perspective, many anglers go years or an entire lifetime without harvesting a 36-inch fish. Even with those tight restrictions - or maybe because of them - steelhead anglers travel from all over the world to fish the Situk.  Wild steelhead are prized by anglers who want to catch a native fish in its natural habitat. Wild steelhead populations are a fraction of their former abundance, but they're resilient fish. If we protect habitat, clear migration routes and stop harvest, they can rebound.
Granted, the first two are easier said than done, but all the third takes is a little political will and common sense. Some of the most famous steelhead waters in the Northwest are limited to catch and release, and those places have become destinations. Recent history has shown that where healthy runs of wild fish return, anglers will follow.

Winter 2009-2010 - The Great Malaise

I struggle during the northwest winters...no big secret there since I talk a lot about it here on the Quiet Pool. This winter is different though.
I'm pretty sure I have Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. I have the light to help out but this winter has been more of a struggle than usual.
I have been disinterested in most things that I usually enjoy and have been apathetic on the things I am passionate about.
I have several friends that deal with the same thing and they agree that this winter has been a tough one.
Maybe it's the uncertainty of all that is going on in the world, who knows?
Of course the winter steelhead returns continue to tank but it's not like we haven't witnessed this steady decline for the past several years.
I don't know though.
I was born in the Pacific northwest and no doubt I'll die here. There really is no other region I would rather live. I spent 17 years living in Southern California and could not wait to move away from there in 1973. I have visited So. Cal twice since moving away and have not been back since 1986. I'll go back there some day soon if only to visit the grave of my grandfather and go to a Dodger game or two but the attraction of spending a lot of time there is gone.
I long for spring and summer. I want to wear short pants and fish until nearly 9pm. I always love the drive home from the Deschutes near Maupin. How many of you guys who fish the Deschutes know where Pine Grove is? There is the long stretch between Maupin and Government Camp where you really are in the wilderness of the Deschutes National Forest. I really like that part of the drive in the summer.
I can't wait to string up my bamboo rod for the first time. I hope it will be soon.
I want to sit in my back yard and enjoy a beer and feel the cooling breeze of a summer evening.
I really miss going to drive-in movies. Remember hanging that speaker in your window and watching the kids play on the playground in their pajamas? Wonder why we ever got away from that?
I guess these are the things an old guy like me ponders on a cold March night.
Winter will be over soon enough but not soon enough for me.
The first chance I get I am heading east if only to roll down the window to smell the sage...I can't wait.

What Fly Shops Will Never Tell You

Courtesy of Bloodknot.net


Mr. WILLY BUGGER. (Male, 45 to 65) This customer usually gets dropped off by his wife before she goes grocery shopping. He keeps his elbows firmly planted on the counter, likes to be involved in all conversations—been there, done that—plays with the drag on all the fly reels and buys nothing. ANNUAL FISHING DAYS = 4.

KID HACKLE. (Male or female, 7 to 17) The future of fly fishing. This keen youngster can probably cast their whole fly line. Extremely dangerous: they’ll ride over 20 miles on bicycle to fishing grounds and know about the latest fly-tying materials before the shops do. Mother will buy waders and boots two sizes too big. ANNUAL FISHING DAYS = 90.

GARY. (Male, 56) A steady flow customer that keeps the fly shop up to date on Wal-Mart’s pricing. Will buy a new rod and reel every year as long as the shop does not tell Mrs. Gary. Similar to Mr. Willy Bugger but has a true passion for the sport. Does not tie flies, wants pricing by the dozen. ANNUAL FISHING DAYS = 40.

HUGE TRUCK McFUCK. (Male, 20 to 30) Has a super hot girlfriend with him every time and leaves truck running outside blasting hip-hop. Wants black waders and wading boots. Will spend huge dollars on Sage, G. Loomis, and any reels made in gold colors. Cannot tie flies. Brings in pictures of trout on an i-phone and has a buddy who also wants to get into this “shit”. Buddy also has super hot girlfriend. ANNUAL FISHING DAYS = 25.

Mr. and Mrs. CADDIS PEOPLE. (Male and female, 40) A strange couple that had a “magical” day fishing dry flies during a Caddis hatch. Will not buy bead-heads, nymphs or attractors. Wife cannot find the right fit in Simms waders—extremely picky. Husband always wants polarized glasses that fit over prescriptions. Not dangerous. ANNUAL FISHING DAYS = 6.

Mr. OHYEAH. (Male, 35) Dude always says, “Oh yeah.” When asking about the new RIO fly line will say, “Oh yeah,” before the question is answered. Has been seen by other customers on the river yelling, “Oh yeah,” while landing most fish. Has three of everything. Good customer. ANNUAL FISHING DAYS = 110.

Mr. BUCK WINTERS. (Male, 40 to 45) Claims his private lake near his hunting grounds is loaded with 6-pounders. Only buys “egg sucking leeches” and trolls them behind split shots on his spinning rod. Has pictures to prove. ANNUAL FISHING DAYS = 12.

Mr. NOT WHAT I HEARD. (Male, 28 to 40) Very dangerous new breed of the E-fisherman: over informed and under practiced. Usually asks questions to challenge the answer. Has been “interested” in that Sage for a year but is weary of its price. Was introduced to fly fishing by Gary. ANNUAL FISHING DAYS = 15.

OLD MAN CAREY. (Old male, 70-something) Claims that the “Red Carey” was his original fly. Smells like most of the neck hackle. Always asks to use the bathroom and stays for exactly 20 minutes. Has a Hardy reel that the whole shop drools over, and he insists on “split cane and silk lines.” ANNUAL FISHING DAYS = None.

Mr. BEAMER not DREAMER. (Male, 50) Has succeeded in everything in life but fly fishing. Has purchased all top of the line gear and is looking for more. Fishes with two lawyer buddies but still cannot cast. Has signed up for lessons twice but has pulled two no-shows. Well groomed but frustrated. Not dangerous. ANNUAL FISHING DAYS = 15.

Mr. SHOP GUY. (Male, 20 to 40) Every shop’s dream. Has lots of current reports, has the shop sticker on vehicle and brings friends in to start fly fishing. Ties beautiful flies and brings in samples. Insists on fluorocarbon. Has a separate VISA card just for fly fishing that’s billed to a private P.O. Box. Has cute but “not so bright” wife. ANNUAL FISHING DAYS = 100.

THE FINS TWINS. (Males, 25-ish) Shop is still convinced that these brothers are stealing. One brother always stays by the flies while the other runs around asking questions about float-tube fins. THEY NEVER BUY FINS, THEY NEVER BUY FLIES.

Dreaming of Spring

Through these cold, dark days of winter hope "springs" eternal....enjoy!

101 Green Butt Skunks Collection is Complete

Joel La Follette of Royal Treatment Fly Fishing has completed his labor of love, the Dan Callaghan Memorial fly plate.

This item is now up for auction with the proceeds benefiting the North Umpqua Foundation

The Practicality of Bamboo Fly Rods

Fly rod crafted by Mike Hoffman of Tualatin, Oregon

In the utilitarian sense there really isn't anything practical about a bamboo fly rod. They are fragile, though not as fragile as one might think and they require some care and maintenance that graphite does not require. The action of a bamboo rod is too slow for many that are used to the faster graphite rods and that might make them impractical.
I do not not catch more fish with my bamboo rods nor do I cast better with them. They are two piece which makes transporting them from one hole to another a bit unwieldy.
I have a special affection for bamboo because I caught my very first steelhead on a fly using a 8 foot for an 8 weight Orvis Battenkill rod so many years ago...what a memory.
A good friend recently stated that they just does not get the whole bamboo thing citing the very reasons posted above.
I simply put it this way. Anything that is good for the soul is not impractical. I just feel good fishing a bamboo fly rod and isn't that what we desire in this impractical style of angling?
The great Mike Kennedy did not think bamboo was impractical either. He fished bamboo his entire angling life and even had his favorite rod cremated with him and his ashes sprinkled into the North Umpqua from Mott bridge. I think that is amazing and even thinking about it makes me shiver with a nostalgic emotion that I am sure other bamboo aficionados must surely feel.
Casting a dry fly with the "lovely reed" makes me think of the pristine beginnings of fly angling and how things were pretty simple back then. Fish were not used as political pawns like they are today and there were enough trout available to maybe even eat one once in awhile. Roderick Haig Brown
killed some of the trout he caught and so, no doubt, did Mike Kennedy.
I do not kill any wild trout but wouldn't it be nice to have trout populations so abundant that if an angler wanted to have one for his stream side dinner he could and not feel guilty about it.
So as I lovingly take my "cane" rods out and tweak them for straightness while I wax them for the upcoming trout season I think from now on when someone asks me why I fish bamboo fly rods for trout I will just say "Because I can"

How On Earth Did We Ever Catch Fish Before The Internet?

Today's post is probably going to sound like one of those old guy, "In my day we..." type of rants well maybe it is. You have to remember one thing though and that is the internet is relatively new I mean we are talking about, what?, the late 80's and early 90's?
I am wondering how did we manage to catch any fish prior to the internet?
Anglers are posting fishing reports, hero shots and begging to be given all the prime locations these days. Everyone want a short learning curve to angling success. No one wants to learn the ropes and put in their time anymore. I don't suppose I can blame them but, at least for me, those early years of steelhead and salmon pursuits were my favorite times on the river. We called up the Corp of Engineers hydrologists phone recording to get the latest river forecast because there was no NOAA website to click on for the latest river forecast info.
There were no mega fishing websites to try to glean information from. All we had was the week old bullshit information supplied by Hunting and Fishing News. Oh yeah those were the days before cell phones also so there were no on the spot live updates from your network of fishing friends either.

I started out drift fishing for steelhead and it was necessary to be able to discern what was a steelhead bite and a rock. Some guys took a few years to learn this and I did not catch my first steelhead until my second year. A couple of years was the norm to learn the ropes so to speak.
I had some great times though and didn't even have a digital camera to share my victory with all in the cyber world.
When I started my steelhead pursuits in 1973 the graphite fishing rod was still in it's infancy for cryin' out loud.
So to say it's easier to catch fish these days is almost completely accurate. One thing that we had back in the 70's that is not available today is large numbers of fish! The state was dumping millions upon millions of hatchery smolt into the rivers. December and January might see as many as 7000 hatchery steelhead punched on anglers punch cards on some of the bigger and more popular rivers like the Cowlitz. The wild fish were later in the winter and most guys had moved on to spring chinook by then.
Those were heady days all right. Lots of fish and lots of fishermen....it was a fun and over indulgent time.
So us old dinosaurs of the 20th century did have some advantages in the pre-world wide web years.
I kind of miss those days before cybermania but in my fishing life I really don't need the electronic advantages to plan a trip to the Deschutes in pursuit of trout or maybe a trip to a coastal stream for cutthroat trout.
Heck it's a wonder I catch anything at all isn't it?

Study Finds High Rate Of Juvenile Steelhead Mortality In Rivers' Estuaries

With declining fish runs making everyone either scratch their heads or point fingers the findings found in the link below might shed some light on what is happening.
It's kind of a long read but it is an important one.


Study Finds High Rate Of Juvenile Steelhead Mortality In Rivers' Estuaries

The Mother River

 

I was talking to a friend today and he was lamenting the early closure of the Skagit river in Washington. He called it the "Mother River" and I found that interesting.

What would the designation encompass and what other rivers would fit that description?

To me it would probably take on the obvious designation of a river of beginning. A clear cold and pure place to be sure. Maybe it would entail origins or legendary populations of wild fish. I think that is what my friend had in mind.

So to me the Deschutes would my mother river. I'm pretty sure others would feel the same about such streams as the North Umpqua for instance.

Folks with abundantly more creative writing skills than me have written volumes about the Deschutes. Nearly everything that can be said has been said about this legendary river and I have said plenty about the Deschutes. It's the home of the redside rainbow trout, massive hatches of salmon flies and an ecosystem that is home to both the rattlesnake and steelhead trout. The headwaters of Deschutes is high in the Cascade mountains and where it begins is vastly different to where it ends, draining into the Columbia river near The Dalles. I've never seen another river that can equal the rugged beauty and the wildness of this river.

It is the river where many an angler comes home to. I cannot tell you how many stories I've heard about fishing trips to this river with fathers or grandfathers that many a longtime resident of Oregon will tell.

"I remember when my dad and me used to camp out on the Deschutes" is how many of these stories begin.

I have no such tales and in fact did not fish this river for the first time until I was 20 years old and it scared the hell out of me the first time I fished there. I put my fears aside and decided to trek up the railroad tracks with expectations of yard long rattlers crawling out from every rock.

It was not until I was well into middle age when I actually saw a Deschutes rattlesnake up close and he was not a yard long but maybe a foot long.

Although I got a late start, the Deschutes has always been a river that I want to return to. I have had good days fishing it and I've been thoroughly skunked and humbled by it but I always want to come back and I will until I am no longer able to do so.

We old guys get sentimental about such things as our Mother River. We are fiercely loyal and protective of it in much the same way as one would be towards his own mother and do not take kindly to anyone one abusing her. A river like the Deschutes never falls out of favor even with the onslaught of uncaring river users like has been scene the last decade.

As I was wait winter, the first river where I cast a fly to rainbow trout will be the Deschutes. I mean where else would I go?

There are other rivers I like but they come and go depending one crowds and how favorable the "swinging" water is.

The Deschutes is always favorable in my mind and even though I might get blown off of it during one of it's fickle wind events I don't count that as a lost trip at all. Hell it was worth $60 of gas to get there and back.

I know I've gotten more sentimental over the years, The things that stir a fond emotion in me these days would have scoffed at just a few years ago. Well that is fine by me because in these days of what I call the "Costco" mentality where everybody is out to get all they can with the least expense and effort, an old boy like me always needs to go home to his mother.

Fisheries Experts Call On WDFW To Investigate Unsuccessful, Disease-Ridden Steelhead Programs

By Ted Williams
A number of organizations and concerned fishery scientists called for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and its supervising authority, the state Fish and Wildlife Commission, to close or investigate hatchery steelhead programs on the Olympic Peninsula that have experienced an outbreak of Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHNV). This virus, for which there is no cure, can be deadly to hatchery and wild salmon alike and is spread from fish to fish. The virus does not affect humans. Adult winter steelhead returning to the WDFW’s Bogachiel Hatchery were found to be infected with IHNV, necessitating the destruction of the fish and 250,000 eggs that the fish produced.
“We cannot have these coastal hatcheries continuing to serve as incubators for fish pathogens,” said Kurt Beardslee, Executive Director of Wild Fish Conservancy, one of the signing groups. In a February 12 letter addressed to WDFW Executive Director Phil Anderson and the Commission, the signatories call for establishment of a scientific panel that would include at least some of the signatory groups as members. “WDFW needs to investigate this outbreak in an open and transparent manner,” Beardslee added.
The letter also calls for the termination of the Snider Creek wild broodstock program run by the Olympic Peninsula Guide Association. “Enough evidence exists to show that the OPGA program has not helped the wild steelhead population it intended to augment,” said Richard Burge, vice-president for conservation of the Wild Steelhead Coalition, another signatory. “By almost any measure, it’s been a failure.” IHNV has also been detected in the wild fish collected for this program.
“There’s no need for any augmentation on the Sol Duc. Instead, WDFW should designate it as a ‘wild gene stock bank’ as described in their Steelhead Management Plan,” said Pete Soverel, executive director of Wild Salmon Rivers. “It’s been two years since the Commission approved the plan, yet no rivers have been designated to protect the genetic material of wild steelhead,” he added.
Other signers include Bill Abrahamse, President of the Washington Council of Trout Unlimited, Bill Bakke, Executive Director of the Native Fish Society, Nathan Mantua, Co-Director of the JISAO/CSES Climate Impacts Group and School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Dave Steinbaugh, Waters West, Port Angeles, Washington, and numerous fishery scientists.

I Feel Like Bitching About Winter

I can't remember if I made some sort of half-assed promise not to bitch about winter this year so if I did make some kind of pledge to not whine about winter then too damn bad!
You see here in the Pacific northwest winter plays little mind games with us anglers. Yeah we'll get a few days of balmy 60 degree days and really start to feel somewhat normal again. Hell,I will even break out one of my 15-18 fishing shirts and wear it. You know the type of shirts I'm talking about don't you? They have multiple pockets within pockets and a simpleton like me can actually lose stuff in them. You can feel the object you are looking for but have no clue how to get to it! If I had to put the antidote to some poison I need in one of those pockets and get to it quickly then I'm screwed!
Anyway I'll be feeling pretty good on those false spring days and even start thinking about the Deschutes when old man winter decides it's time to kick me in the groin and rain that crappy cold rain we have up here for the next two weeks.
It's like winter is saying "Back into your hole fat boy I'm not done with you yet!"
I guess I shouldn't complain too much though as it seems like this part of the country is about the only place not blanketed with 3 feet of snow. Yeah I should feel bad for those folks in New York but I don't! That's the price they pay for thinking the west is just the poor step-child in this country and barely worth acknowledging.
Then there are those smart asses who live in the desert southwest and are enjoying their swimming pools and golf course right now. Yeah laugh it up you bunch of martians because when it's 150 degrees in the shade in July and I'm enjoying a beer and the light wind of a summer evening I will not shed a tear for you and your sunburned asses.
All kidding aside though friends I cannot think of a better place to live than here in Oregon. I don't own a snow shovel or even tire chains for that matter.
I don't need to drive anywhere when we get that occasional 1" of snow that freaks all the transplanted Californians out and causes more gridlock than there is in Congress. So since I can't jet off to Maui at the first sign of winter I'll take Oregon any day and hey the first sign of spring is only a few weeks away! What am I talking about?
Pitchers and catchers report February 21st and we can at last be done with the plague that is called the NFL

101 Green Butt Skunks

To View the entire Green Butt Skunk Collection please visit
Joel La Follette's Royal Treatment Fly Fishing


This is just a great project my friend Joel La Follette has put together. Those that contributed to this project range from the legendary to the everyday fly fisher.Some of the contributions are from fly fishing greats like Mike Kennedy, who are no longer with us.
There are flies contributed by Bill McMillan, Frank Moore,Bill Bakke and Mike McCune to name a few.
These 101 Green Butt Skunks will be up for auction and
proceeds from this auction will go to the North Umpqua Foundation
I hope to see you at the unveiling.

The Dan Callaghan Memorial Fly Plate is a project I started just after Dan passed away almost four years ago now. It’s been a labor of love and has offered me a chance to meet some of the Northwest’s best fly tyers and steelhead anglers. In putting this collection together my intent was not to showcase the Green Butt Skunk as a revolutionary fly pattern, as it is not, but to show the influence a single, simple act had on tyers and anglers from all over the world.
By building this collection and offering it up for bid I hope to raise not only money for the North Umpqua Foundation in Dan’s memory, but awareness of things that are too important to lose. Each tyer that offered up a fly has some connection to Dan, the North Umpqua or simply a love for wild fish and the places they swim.
Looking at the collection you see the common thread that runs through each fly, but you also see the individuality of the tyer. Personalities come out into the open as the tyers weave their own magic into these little works of art. Age, background, experience and personal philosophy are included with the feather, fur and steel. It is truly a collection that comes from the heart and soul of each tyer.
As this collection makes it’s way around the state I hope that people get the chance to see all of these things and find their own inspiration. Perhaps it will awaken a desire to protect and preserve things that are important to all of us.
Cheers,
Joel La Follette

Rivers Of A Lost Coast

This movie will be shown for free  courstesy of the Sierra Club and Sportsmen's Alliance of Alaska this coming Tuesday in Portland Oregon....Hope to see you there!