This time of year often abounds with various fundraisers, and rightly so.  It is a time to reflect on family and friends and be thankful for all that we have.  This year, my employer has pledged to raise $100,000 for the St Jude's Children's Research Hospital. As a cause, it is tough to pick a better one for a parent to get behind.  Please take a moment to look at their website and hopefully donate to this wonderful place.  To do so, simply click on this link.

St Jude's donation page.

This goofy blog that I have so much fun writing has a little over 200 followers (a shocking number to me frankly). If everyone donated just a small amount, we could make a difference.  

Tight lines and happy holidays!

The Deschutes

If you haven't fished the Deschutes, you need to put it on your list.  It is hard to explain, but there is just something about winding down into the canyon to hunt for those hard fighting redsides.  It is a special river, and fishing it on the immediate heels of the Crooked added some flavor.  The two rivers couldn't be more different.  The Crooked is small, with grayish tinged waters and an intimate feel.  I spent the late afternoon on the crooked swinging soft hackles and could cover the entire river with ease.  The Deschutes is big...a brawler with huge heavy currents and deep ledges and pockets.  Near Mecca the river has a different character but around Maupin (where we fished today) the D is a brute.  

I beat Coleman, Chris, and Scott to the water this morning and was standing knee deep in a riffle fighting redside when Coleman showed up to say hello.  I hooked the fish in my third cast.  The rest of the day wasn't quite as easy, but for a December day things were beautiful.  I worked the pockets with a size 14 pink squirrel and size 18 pheasant tail, and the fish came at semi regular intervals.  I landed maybe a dozen trout and four whitefish, with the big key being to take the time to regulate my weight.  The D is awash in ledges and pockets and you need to be on your toes and keep adding or taking lead off your rig to keep the nymphs in the strike zone.  When I got things right, I was usually rewarded with some strikes.  

No one caught anything huge today, probably topping out at around 15 inches but even the little guys like the one above leap and fight like no other trout.  That is the only fish picture I took, my camera was out of battery all day and taking pictures of fish with an IPhone is a nightmare.

Two more items about today. First, I fished my Echo 2 six weight and that is quite simply one of the best rods I own.  Just a fantastic rod.  Second, hard to explain how great it was to be walking the tracks of the Deschutes with Scott, Chris and Coleman.  Time certainly flies by and we have all watched each other's families grow and prosper.  I enjoyed the conversations on the tracks as much as the fishing.  What better place to catch up with friends than on a river?

Same Fish?

With my wife out of town I am catching up on some blogs.  Fontinalis Rising just caught two fish on consecutive days that may have been the same fish...reminded me of these two:

I weighed this fish at the time (21 lbs according to my log), took the picture and kept fishing.  A few hours later, and about a mile away I caught this guy.

Again, weighed the fish and took a picture.  When I got home and was writing things down and looking at pictures I realized it was the same fish.

 

Who says carp are smart?

The Crooked

In general, I prefer fish that you have to see to catch, fish that are measured in lbs not inches, and fish that get your backing dirty.  But as I have said before, there is a certain magic in nymphing.  That split second when you know an unseen fish ate your fly but you don't know why you know...you just lift the rod and feel it bend to the cork.  

It was nice to be back in the saddle today.

The Crooked is a fun little river.  You don't go to the Crooked to catch big trout, but at over 3000 fish per mile, you pretty much know you are going to catch a lot of trout.  There really isn't much to it.  The trout are everywhere, so you just get you flies in the water and let nature take over.  I have fished the crooked three times, and today was the least amount of fish that I have caught there, but I still landed enough fish to have no clue how many I landed.  That is always a good sign.  I was rusty, but the magic of nymphing came back eventually.  Late in the day I cut the nymphs off and went to a double soft hackle rig.  There were some midges hatching but no rises, so I figured a swung soft hackle might be the ticket.  I waded to the middle of the river and cast first at one bank, then the other...letting the fly swing to the center of the river, then stepping down to repeat the process.  It was a simple, easy motion that let me stare at the canyons walls and feel the cold air on my hands.  The only interruption from the gentle pull of the river against my flyline was the rap, rap, rap of a trout smacking the wet fly.  Many trout succumbed to the venerable wilted spinach.

Tomorrow, the Deschutes.

Suggestions?

I have not one, but two wide open days this weekend. My wife and kids are going to MN and due to a business trip on Monday, I am staying behind. The silver lining is that I have Saturday and Sunday to fish.

I am coming to realize how out of touch I am with the local "regular" fishing world. I know I could hit the Deschutes, maybe the Metolius or poke around for winter steelhead, but overall...I am kind of at a loss. The crooked is a nice option since I could crash in a cheap hotel and get enough time in to make it worth the drive. Anyone have any suggestions for a guy that has gotten so lost in the carping world he owns no split shot and realizes he might actually have to buy some trout nymphs or steelhead flies?

Meat Eaters

The classic reads about fly fishing for carp (Carp On The Fly by Barry Reynolds and Carp Are Gamefish Too by George Von Schroeder) depict carp primarily as meat eating marauders. Von Schroeder actually fishes large jigs. Fishing the Columbia and Willamette rivers have given me a different take on carp altogether. Don't get me wrong...I do catch them on large crayfish patterns, but for the most part the forage out here seems to be primarily nymphs and clams...the fish quite simply do not have to work hard for food. They don't like to chase.

And that is the beauty of lake Michigan. The carp out there are meat eaters; they hunt in packs and aggressively pursue large gobie or crayfish patterns. On lake Michigan it is not a matter of "detecting the take" but instead a matter of hanging onto your rod. With another spring run to the Mecca of bass-like carp planned for this spring, it is time to tie up some meat.

I tend to stick to simple patterns for two reasons. One, a conscious effort to simplify my fly selection paid big dividends this spring (soft hackles in various colors and I am a good to go). And two, I am a crappy tier. This spring will see Wendy Berrell and I stalking the flats of lake Michigan armed with dozens of rabbit stripped monstrosities, eyes peeled for the dark shapes of predatory carp. I cannot wait.

How long until spring again?

Travel Fishing

If you are looking for some recommendations for New Zealand or Alaska fishing, check out Fly Fishing Consultants. Brad Kastner was one of my favorite guides on my Alaska trip, a real pleasure to fish with Brad. We spent a ton of time talking about New Zealand...one day I will fish with Brad out there! Check it out and drop him a line if you are looking for a fishing adventure...

College Basketball!

Finally! The season is here.

I DVRed both the Duke/Belmont game and the Gonzaga/EWU gams and watched them late last night. Duke beat a TOUGH Belmont team (NCAA team last year, ten players back) and GU beat EWU in a crappy game. Neither of my teams looked great...could be a long season!

WFF's First Carp

Thank god for good cameras and a relatively stable memory. I must go through my pictures several times a week in the offseason. What a day this was...

I really need to go fishing.

It is all about the average

And looking through my pictures from this year I realize how lucky I am to say this.



Just your average Columbia river carp.

Is it spring yet?