Steelhead Season 2009 - Week 9

Alrighty...lets see...the rivers are still low...but things are looking promising...

The beginning of the holiday week just lowered the rivers even more...

Wednesday I went out for an afternoon swing session...but was not successful. The river had over 3' of visibility and finding a run with enough depth and speed to host a swing was impossible.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday was a wash because of the holiday crowds and some rain on Thursday. Rain wasn't enough to make much of a difference in clarity...but it was enough to bring some flows up...

Sunday Justin and Dan from CRO asked if I’d like to join them in a morning session. Dan hooked up his fourth cast in, but the rest of the morning was stuck steelhead (2 in 5 hours of fishing with 3 people), and missed takes on nymphs/eggs.

Personally I was a bit bothered by the second Sunday Morning in a row with no fish. After we headed back to the cars at 12:30, I zipped north for some bigger water. I  was fed up with the slow bobber fishing. It was 60 degrees today, and I had to drive about 40 minutes from the house to find some swinging water. We need some precipitation…BAD…

Anyways, after a long walk, and a prayer to the fish gods, I was able to save the weekend with an incredibly gorgeous male drop back. He was by far the largest fish of the season, and put up a good fight to boot…

Finally, I was able to walk away with another fish on the swing…and weekend was another success…

Pictures from the entire weekend:

Leftovers...mmm...

Finn helps pull the tree...

And is a goofy model in front of it...

Finally...fishing...

Ice on the guides for the first time this morning...

Dan fishing a run up stream...

Colored up buck...

Nothing like the look of marabou in the water...

Overall, a fair weekend on the water. Things can only get better from here...or so we hope...and with rain on the way, and temps dropping, we should be in for some better conditions in the coming weeks...

Ready For The Weekly Update...

Happy Turkey Day...Late...

Interesting Article -

Would love to try it sometime with a fly rod...

"Apparently, it never occurred to the authorities that someone might be crazy enough to want to catch a bluefin while sitting in what amounts to a floating plastic chair and enjoying what Melville called a 'Nantucket sleigh ride.'"

"When Lamoureux first showed up in their fishing grounds, commercial tuna fishermen figured he was lost or in distress. Now he has befriended several of them, and he will turn over a fish too big for him to manage. In August he reluctantly did this with a bluefin that eventually escaped but that on the fishing boat’s sonar looked to be about 800 pounds.

'That just broke my spirit,' he said. 'They told me, ‘That fish is so big, it doesn’t even know you’re here.’"

FULL ARTICLE - nytimes

Somerset Review

Just out of the email...

Mike's trip was a success. Show proved to be a success with some decent showings of both guests and amazing fly tiers...

Here's some of the pictures...

Saturday was super busy, but Sunday brought some down time where tiers were able to get up and explore themselves...so there should be some new styles/pictures to peruse in the coming weeks...

Thanks Mike!

Steelhead Season 2009 - Week 8

The week brought some brief relief to the low, clear waters in our rivers. Mid week, we got some rain, but not enough to bring a new round of fish in. Some fish already in the systems were able to move about for a few days, but Friday found fish moving back into the deeper pools and runs. After some good reports from Friday, I was up early Saturday for some fishing before the family was up. After some tinkering between indie and streamers, I was able to go one for two swinging a sparsely tied white marabou pattern.


Sunday was going to be a complete day on the water. By noon we were out and on our way home. Justin managed to hook two fish, and land a skipper while indie fishing, but that was it. With the flows as low as they are, it’s been a struggle to find deep holes with feeding fish. We walked a good few miles today, but barely saw anything of interest. To our surprise, a few of the PA fish were bedding, but not in huge numbers. Overall it’s slow and becoming difficult for this weekend warrior to get out. There’s some precipitation on its way here this week, so there’s a good shot that the holiday weekend will bring us some fresh chrome…We can only hope that these staging fish find a reason soon to start the swim up stream…

Meanwhile, here are some of the shots from the weekend…

Some of the flies I ran out of Saturday morning...picture was Saturday afternoon...

Justin nymphing a run...he managed one skipper for his troubles...

What makes us get up at 5 AM after being up at 6 all week...

Till next weekend...we will do a rain dance each night...

What To Do...

Asian Carp are coming...and I can say that this would blow REALLY BAD...

"A worst-case scenario envisions them spreading "like a cancer cell," he said, eventually dominating a fishery already damaged by zebra mussels, sea lamprey and other exotic pests."

LINK

Declining Salmon in Canada

From the Minnesota Post (Sandro Contenta):

"The crisis isn't restricted to the Fraser River. The fishing of wild salmon is a $185 million a year industry in British Columbia. But salmon catch along B.C.'s coast fell from 30,000 tons in 1998 to 5,000 tons last year. Commercial fishing is under threat. Worst off are native populations, who depend on salmon fishing for the little income they make."

"So what is happening? Some scientists suspect salmon farms are infesting smolts with sea lice. Salmon in these farms are packed in pens, creating a breeding environment for the parasites. The lice then cling to passing young salmon and burrow through their skin, consuming muscle and blood. In some coastal areas of B.C., sea lice are responsible for killing 80 percent of young salmon, the Sukuzi foundation estimates."

LINK HERE

Support a Soldier For The Holidays...

We all know how a session at the bench can help us unwind...

Lets help pass the gift along...

Found on Examiner (Direct Link) - Copied Below:

"NOV. 19, 2009 - J.Stockard Fly Fishing has just become my favorite fly fishing retailer. They are currently running a promotion that run until December 4th, 2009 where they will matched by them DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR to send U.S. Troops fly tying kits for Christmas.


Choose to donate $5, $10, $25, $50, $75, or $100 and they will even cover the shipping.

From their website: "Deployed soldiers have told us that tying flies in their off–hours relieves both boredom and stress. Please help us improve the quality of our soldiers’ lives. Write "donor list" in Special Ordering Instructions during checkout if you would like your name and email address sent to the soldiers who receive your gifts."

This is just awesome. Donate today before it's too late."

Direct Link To Donate

Following The Seattle Battle...

Fat Ass Pro Pebble Bitch Weighs In...

Found on Buster Wants To Fish...who found on food blog Cornichon...

"... the bottom line here is that we are encouraging Seattle chefs to support the Alaskan economy by serving Bristol Bay salmon. I find it dubious at best that you would show such strong opposition to such an effort. You should know better than anyone that the Pebble Mine project decision lies with the people of Alaska, not the people of Seattle. Are you worried that the people of Alaska might recognize that it makes more economic sense, environment and salmon survival aside, to protect the Bristol Bay salmon fishery that supports thousands of jobs than to allow a mine that will enrich a few and endanger a proven natural resource? Are you worried that the truth might cost you your job in the legislature if the word got out to far and wide, or that if you identified yourself fully that it might expose your conflict of interest?"

No link to Post, but click on link to blog, and scroll to 11/18 post. Thanks for bringing awareness.

Well Wishes...

Schmidt starts the International Fly Tying Symposium this weekend. Here's the LINK (He's listed under the "Celebrities and Tiers"). Check it out, and if you're near the Somerset, NJ area this weekend, be sure to drop in.

Pictures have been promised, so stay tuned...

Good Luck Mike!

Update on the Seattle Foodies Post from 11/15...

The Pro Pebble Douchebags are pissed...laaadeeedaaahh...

"One of the Pebble Mine's most prominent supporters over the weekend called for a boycott of the restaurants taking part in Trout Unlimited's Savor Bristol Bay campaign."

LINK

Hang Tough Foodies!!!

Found on Midcurrent - Article by Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Mary Pemberton)

Mayflies...who knew...

Interesting article on protection for Mayflies vs. Polar Bears:

"Such moxie cracks me up. We poor slobs down here in “the South” send or leave more federal dollars per capita to our fellow Americans in Alaska than to the citizens of any other state. And yet when we say that we’d like to protect an increasingly rare and pressured apex species — an animal that has bearing as a species on all Americans’ lives — the Guv gets pissy about anything that might dent the state’s Alaska-for-Alaska energy policy."

LINK
-via True/Slant (Scott Bowen)

New Fly Fishing Records...

Cut and Paste from "Brian's Fly Fishing Blog" (Brian Milne)  Link:

The International Game Fish Association has granted 42 new world records this month, including nine in fly rod categories as noted in the latest edition of International Angler magazine:


•Peter Binaski caught a 2-pound, 12-ounce barracuda off Todos Santos Island, Ensenada, Mexico, on April 22 that is the new 6-pound tippet record.

•Bo Nelson also landed a record barracuda, a 5-pound, 6-ounce fish that's the new 8-pound tippet record. He caught the fish in Camalu, Baja California, Mexico on April 1. No joke!

•Larry Kurosaki landed a record largemouth bass, a 16-pound, 12-ounce fish on 8-pound tippet at Castaic Lagoon in Castaic, Calif., on Feb. 26.

•The new white bass record in the 6-pound class is a 3-pound, 1-ounce liner caught by Stephen Matt on April 20 in Table Rock Lake, Arkansas.

•Two bowfin records were set by Jim Spencer on the same day (May 2) at Okefenokee Swamp in Folkstom, Georgia. He caught an 8-pounder to set the 8-pound mark along with a 7-pound, 12-ouncer to set the 16 pound mark.

•The new dolphinfish record in the 4-pound class is a 32-pound, 7-ounce fish landed by Rick Gunion on Jan. 18 in Andros, Bahamas.

•The new black drum mark in the 8-pound class is a 59-pound, 8-ounce fish landed March 14 by Bud Rowland in South Bay, Port Isabel, Texas.

•Rounding out the world records announced in November was George Mann's 9-pound musky, caught on 6-pound test May 26 in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

Seattle Brings Salmon Awareness To Foodies

Found on Midcurrent -

"Chefs at more than a dozen restaurants are cooking up fish dishes that come with a special side: a warning that the creature's future could be threatened by a giant gold and copper mine proposed for Bristol Bay in southwest Alaska, home to the world's largest sockeye salmon runs."

Link To Entire Article (Seattle Times - MARY PEMBERTON)

Good Shit!

Good News For Steelhead...

"The Snake River’s record run of steelhead has been parading upstream and delivering pleasure and profit from the mouth of the Columbia upstream 800 miles to the Salmon, Idaho, area— and beyond."

Link from The Spokesman-Review (Rich Landers)

picture from www.mcbike.bc.ca

Steelhead Season 2009 - Week 7

Well things went from bad to worse. No rain this week has made the rivers super low and clear. Any fish in the sytems are freaking out, and rarely taking flies. With that, Justin and I decided to go do a little surf casting. Despite seeing a few fish caught, and an ass load of bait, there were no takers on the fly rods. All fish seen were dime bright and full of muscle. Based on the 10 day forecast, there's a good chance that we maybe doing it again next weekend...

It's safe to say that the fish are definitely staging, but with minimal flows coming out of the rivers, there's no draw for them. All we can hope for is some rain to draw these beasts in...

In the mean time...tight lines...

(Since we've got no pictures)

Just Found...

Just found...an article from Justin on the Vinyard...July 2009

LINK

- M.V. Gazette

Flies: Maraleech

Schmidt's ante in...

Maraleech...

Keep em' coming...

Take That...

We've been exploring the world of stinger flies...

And we like!!!

Send some of your arsenel if you care to...

New Blog Emerges...

I've been on a new trend every morning...checking out Aaron Otto's blog Sleeping In The Dirt. From amazing photography, to great stories, to sharing tales of his children and teaching them his love of fishing...this is a great read if you've not uncovered it already. Surely check it out, and as we do with great blogs...we're going to provide the update on the sade bar as well...

Be sure to check it out...www.sleepinginthedirt.com

Happy Veterans Day...

It's a bit late, but thank a soldier!

To Swing...Or Not To Swing...

First seen here on Moldychum, we see that Steelie Mike has brought some light to the nymphing vs. swinging debate among steel hunters...

"What I have a difficult time with is the whole nymphing versus swinging flies debate. There is nothing more rewarding in steelhead fly fishing then skating up a fish in the summer or fall or swinging a big native in the winter. The beatdown you get from working, struggling and working for your fish makes the reward more fulfilling. If you could take the Prom Queen home would you? How about he girl next door, would you like to bang her? Well what if they both want it and you have to choose, would you take the prom queen home or the girl next door? Well personally I would take them both at the same time, but if I had to choose then the prom queen will she sitting on my face in no time."

Make sure you get take a look...full post HERE...

Steelhead Season 2009 - Week 6

FINALLY...

Despite the low water and clear conditions, we finally got into some fish...

Not that the fishing was spectacular...but we did manage to kick up a few fish in our travels over the last few days...

Mike hit the door again for the second weekend on Friday night, and we were up early on Saturday...and headed East...

As the sun rose up, we began to realize that the skinny waters were way to clear and low. A complete change from last weekend...

Anyways, we moved around a bit and Mike finally found a willing taker...

Unfortunately we were unable to fish through the afternoon, but we sent Mike home with a better feeling then last week at least...

Sunday Justin and I hit the river for the first time in a LONG time. We decided to let the morning circus move away from the spots, and the fish settle back down. Still dealing with low, clear water, we were forced to trek for the deeper runs and slots...

Finally, fish for TMT!

And Justin managed a November Smallmouth to boot...

Not that the picture does it justice, but I promise that the fish fought alot bigger then it was...

HOWEVER, despite the better fishing, we're facing a long road ahead. There's FEW fish in the rivers, and with minimal rain in the forecast, there's a fat chance that we'll see a fresh run soon. Looks like there maybe some surf casting in the future...

Till next time...

e-zine update...

For those not updated on other blogs, Catch Magazine and This Is Fly just came out with new issues...

Check them out!













http://www.catchmagazine.net/

http://www.thisisfly.com/

They do look awesome...

The Bugger Lives On...

"Combining the constant-motion softness of marabou feathers with a woolly worm fly, Russell C. Blessing's Woolly Bugger did what most great flies do: it improved on an already workable idea, and it helped those of us less apt to make a perfect presentation catch more fish. Blessing passed away at the age of 74 last Wednesday at his home in Pennsylvania."

via Midcurrent - Entire Article HERE...

Mike's Fly Tying Show Schedule...

Make sure you check out which shows maybe close by...

I promise you won't regret the opportunity to see his work...

http://www.anglerschoiceflies.com/

SCHEDULE ON BOTTOM OF HOME PAGE

Steelhead Season 2009 - Week 5

Since we were in ME for week #4...

Well we've finally gotten some rain...some much needed rain...

HOWEVER...when you have no rain in the rivers, and then get an inch in 4 days time...it can make fishing quite difficult. Schmidt made plans to come up mid day Saturday to hit some water Saturday PM, and Sunday AM. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate. We made some stabs at some various rivers and creeks...but to no avail...

Fish are in...but the cards just weren't in our favor...between crowded rivers and bad visibility. Here's to another fishless week...and yes, this officially blows...

Anyways, here's the pictures...

Mike's photo with the switch rod...

Mike throwing the switch rod...great stuff!

Mike Surf Fishing Sunday...

The only fish of the weekend...a random Northern Pike...

Shot of the weekend...Mike got a sunset along the shores on Saturday Night...

As we start the new daylight hours...we look forward to finally getting into some decent steelhead action. Some drier weather ahead should help level out the silt in rivers, and bring a fresh push of fish into us...

Till next week...