Very satisfied right now. The rough fisher, coming down off a high of a 15 lb Columbia river bruiser is plying his trade at the vice while I watch the lakers and thunder. Today, considering the conditions with which we are faced was fantastic. I landed 12-15 carp including a gift of a 16 lber that jp was kind enough to give me the first shot at. The rough fisher landed 4 and had some stellar takes. The fish were plentiful and in the shallows. Only the high winds kept us from sticking even more fish than we did.

More tomorrow. For now I am settling into the game and the rough fisher is halfway home on a monster can of high gravity.

Tough day. The wind blew us off the river all day long. Nothing but whitecaps as far as the eye could see. Even when we did manage to duck out of the wind we were stymied by the lack of sunlight of any sort. Literally zero rays of sun touched any water free from massive whitecaps. Sunless, and hiding from the wind we found a spot where the water was shallow enough that the fish gave themselves away by tailing violently along the shoreline. The rough fisher put flies on tailing carp but it was the legendary Mr. P that hooked the first fish. He poached it from me but all is good in the carp game and us windblown warriors were thrilled to see that 15 lb beauty. A few minutes later the roughfisher stalked a massive tail waving amongst the gravel. The cast was true and he tightened up on a true Columbia river beast and it promptly broke him off. Bummer. I got into the game next by creeping like a ninja to get behind the only tree within three hundred yards. I peeked through the branches and made a 35 ft sidearm cast that put twenty feet of my flyline laying on the gravel bank. The rest of the line unfurled and dropped the sjw a few inches from the business end of a tailer. A few minutes later and Mr. P slid the 21 lb carp into net. We continued on and got more shots at tailing fish. It turned into a solid afternoon. Roughfisher hooked a second fish but it broke off as well. Tomorrow looks a little more promising and we hope to find the fish. And some sun.

Fairly tough day today but we did get a few. My dad landed his first 20 lb fish! Pictures to come and the shit eating grin on his face will be worth the wait, I promise. I caught a 25 lber to close the day and trip too. Just a fantastic time fishing with Julio and dad. Truly a pleasure.

A few fish were caught today.

Julio = 4
Dad = 3
John = 1, and a broken rod.

But mine was the biggest (unless you count the one my dad snagged in the ass.)

Many fish were caught today.

Spring is officially here, not ushered in by the radio reports and equinox, but by firm sand flats, cobble strewn shallows and gold tails, waving near the suface.

Most of that came true today. WIth the temps in the mid 60s and a forecast of mostly sunny I tore myself away from the kids and the NCAA tournament and searched out a flat. Armed with a 7 wt Gary Borger Targus rod and the usual assortment of flies I donned my waders and stalked through the frigid shallow water. Yep, it was cold. So cold that 5 steps in I was nearly positive that the only fish I'd see this weekend were the goldfish that Elia planned to catch in our neighborhood pond tomorrow. I kept moving and scanning, moving and scanning and after about an hour of walking the bottom became less firm and I moved into the area where I thought I'd have my best chance of seeing some carp. Minutes later, I was frantically trying to take my fly off the guides as a decent fish moved slowly past me. Rusty...couldn't get organized in time for that one, but I was forwarned now!

The second fish I saw turned out to be the first fish of 2010, and the first and only tailer I saw today. The fish barely moved from his feeding spot, but the slight head turn was enough to make me set the hook. A few minutes later and I was cradling a 19 lb carp in my hands. What a start to the season! I kept moving, and found targets on the edge of the flat, mostly in deeper water, and mostly immobile. The water stayed cold, and the fish lethargic. I hooked another one, and it scaled an idential 19 lbs on the digital. Fish #3 came in a 16 lbs, and I figured I was bound to get a really big one if i kept going.

As is usually the case though, the action slowed dramatically. I kept moving and seeing fish here and there, but I couldn't get them to move more than mere inches for the fly, and they were spooky too! Bad combination...I was forced to put the fly right on them, but the slightest splash sent them moving slowly out to deep water. I managed 3 more; an 11 lb mirror, and a 12 and 13 lb common. They took both the carp carrot and the worm fly (3 each actually). For a while I kept beating my head against the water trying to force a carp to eat one of my new rabbit strip creations, but the bottom line was these fish were not going to chase a fly. The water was just to cold.

All in all, a solid start to the 2010 season. I feel satisfied, and can't really explain how good it felt to stalk the flats and hunt such noble fish. If you are taking the time to read this blog, I probably don't need to try to explain it. Any fisherman knows why we do what we do. The real season should begin in a month or so...this was a nice precursor, but the water is still a bit cold, and we need a warming trend to really get things going.

I've probably said something to the effect of how hard carp are to catch about a thousand times...I should preface that by saying they are hard to catch with an artificial. They eat corn like candy.
I actually hooked this one for her, spotted it cruising right off shore and I just set the piece of corn about 2 feet in front of the carp. He zipped forward and tailed on the corn immediately. Elia fought him for quite a while, I'd say the fish was close to 10 lbs, one of the fattest carp I've caught in this pond.
Not to be outdone, JJ got in on the action quickly!
Elia did a great job netting that one!
We need to work on his release technique though!

This weekend I spent Saturday fishing with the kids. I had recently picked up some ultra light spinning gear for them (one pink, one green). I haven't owned a spinning rod in years, but the kids figured them out pretty quickly and in no time we were casting on the lawn. Saturday, we went down to a local pond with a can of corn. I have no idea how to bait fish so I just stuck a few kernels of corn on a hook, put on a bobber and had the kids cast their rods in an area that I know the carp frequent. In just an hour or two, both kids landed two carp on their own and were thrilled with the entire event!


It was just incredible watching the kids duke it out with some carp on their own terms. The ultra light gear was big enough to handle the fish, but small enough that the kids could handle the rods, and they had a blast. JJ hooked about 4-5 carp in total but he had so much fun fighting them that he only landed two! Every time he would get one close he'd pull back as hard as he could and rip the hook loose. We had just a fantastic afternoon. Elia reminds me a lot of myself. She was all business. I told her to watch her bobber, and I don't think she took her eyes off the bobber, or even blinked the entire time we were there. After a few fish, JJ was ready to leave but Elia refused to go. She kept wanting to catch one more fish!

Watching my daughter and her focussed intensity I realized just how much I have changed since having kids. Growing up and in college, I was about as intense as they come. I hated to lose, and would do just about anything to win, including causing myself quite a bit of physical pain. Over the last few years I feel like I've mellowed out quite a bit and thanks to a last minute trip to the Deschutes today, I got to see it firsthand!

I got to the river about 9 am, and rigged up fairly quickly for a guy that hasn't fished the D since Nov. of 2008. I remembered my standard nymph rig and got set up at the FJ then headed to the water. 20 minutes in, I realized I was pretty rusty. I couldn't get the drifts I wanted, and was having trouble reading the water. I slowed down, got out of the water and moved slightly upriver to start again. Shortly after getting back in the water, I started catching fish. The magic of nymphing came back and in short order I was flipping my rig up river with nary a thought, and setting the hook almost before seeing the indicator or line move (I fished both naked, and with an indicator depending on water type). I started landing fish, both trout and whitefish, but definitely more trout, when I set the hook on a heavy fish. The second I set it my mind screamed "Steelhead" and seconds later a big fish exploded from the water and leapt into the air. You all know my first love is Carp, and nothing can touch their power in fresh water. Trout are lovely for their acrobatics and speed. Steelhead are trout on steroids. The fish zipped upriver leaping like a porpoise and I looked down with a frown at my 4 wt, knowing only 4x tippet kept me connected to the big fish. Nearly as quickly as he ran upriver, the big fish turned and shot downstream, exactly what I did NOT want him to do. All the thoughts about kids mellowing me out and a lessening of my competitive drive were gone as that fish swam through the first chute, my reel zinging away. Ignoring the handy wading staff attached to my belt I plunged after the fish, splashing and clawing my way through downriver like a walrus in the shallows. I felt like a walrus too...what the hell happened? I used to be a fairly agile guy and here I was slipping and tripping and grabbing and sinking my way past one rapid chute of water, clinging to a puny 4 wt with a fish attached. Somehow I made it to the end of the run in one piece, and mostly dry. To my surprise...the fish was there waiting for me. I could see him flashing down deep in the pool. I collected myself, set my feet and then applied some serious side pressure to bring him toward the bank. That did it..the fish took a hard 90 degree turn into the middle of the river, then blasted down river through another chute of rapids.

At this point...I mellowed out. I listened to my reel singing and looked at the jagged and rocky path that lay downriver. Looking back on that moment now, I realize that a few years ago, I wouldn't have stopped to listen to the reel...I wouldn't have taken even one look at the terrain between me and that fish. I'd have quite simply started after it. Today though...I didn't move. I stood there and listened to my reel sing. After a while, I reached down, and palmed my reel tightly until the line went slack. This is what a steelhead does to 4 x tippet.

After a few minutes I got back to fishing. The day wasn't over and I hooked and landed more feisty trout and noble whitefish. The fly of the day was none other than the famed Pink Squirrel...It seems the Deschutes trout are not much different than their MN brethren. I reflected on the decision I made to pop that fish off, and overall, I was satisfied. Yes, I would have gone after him years earlier, but maybe now I'm just a little easier to please. Or maybe it just matters less. I kept thinking back to watching my kids land small carp on corn, and thinking forward to when JJ and Elia will choose whether or not to chase their own fish downriver. Those days are coming, and I can't wait.

Near the end of the day, not the last fish of course, symmetry being what it is, I actually hooked another steelhead. This one was not quite as big, and seemed content, like me, to simply plant his metaphorical feet and see how things played out. With that advantage, I used slow but steady side pressure, and eventually got that fish to the bank despite my wimpy little 4 wt and 4x tippet. It was a nice fish, and I was happy to see her.

looking forward to this year J!

Some more old vids/pics.