08-04-2004, 04:38 AM
Stillaguamish River – North Fork - August 1st, 2004
supplied by: [url "http://www.fisheyesoup.com/redir.php?recKey=48,re"]Dickson Flyfishing Steelhead Guides[/url]
FISHING: Good
"Rain For Rent?"
After flyfishing for past some forty years, I have come to the conclusion we flyflingers are natural whiners. We complain if the water is too high, too low, too clear or too dirty.
Right now is a great time to hit those tributaries and alpine lakes you have waited all year to become fishable. I managed to get off of work early enough to fish the upper upper S. river the other day. The water was clear and cold. Air was fresh and cool. It felt good.
The sun was still out on the water, so I only made a feeble attempt at fish surface dries. Even though I was way the heck and gone, riverside foot prints preceded me everywhere. Several river crossing still brought little separation. I came upon a lovely little run that I remember a small wild steelhead that made short work of my trout rod a year ago, but today, I was trout fishing.
I set up with a two fly rig. Probably my favorite in the no hatch zone, is a beadhead Hares Ear as a dropper, and a PTN as the point. My strategy is simple. When the fish aren't looking up, I fish down. Surface fish are usually the most aggressive, and the first to get eliminated from the gene pool. Guys tend to fish the surface, only a few really nymph well. I was too tired from chasing steelhead all day, to tromp any farther in pursuit of virgin waters. Such is dealing with fishing pressure.
Too funny. Funny how we lock ourselves into modes. Here I am, working my way up a lovely run. Seems like every few casts I was into another fish. There was one large bright flash and a parted leader, but mostly it was tributary sized rainbow trout. Jeez......if Whitefish were suppose to be fun, I was having a ball.
Way too funny. I swear everytime I would hook another trout, I took off my deep rig, and try another surface dry. Stimulators, Wulfs, parachutes, and even cripples. Nothing was doing. I would put the "worm rig" back on and "Whack", I am into another fish. I ended up leaving it on. Sometimes you just want another fish.
I finally finished at the head of that run and I come across a pretty little run further upstream, I call the "Log Jam" pool. (As if every corner in every western stream didn't have large woody debris.) In Fisheries, we term it as LWD.
Anyway, it's a short little run which drops quickly into a deep swirly pool. Big fish water. I cast my little rig in there just kind of enjoying the drift I was getting, and the line stops. I lift. At first I thought it was fish, (that's why I set), then I thought it was sunken sweeper, and the next second, a Chinook hen above 15 pounds comes completely out of the water, tail dancing across the logs and pool. In the corner of her jaw (she was only about 20 feet away) was one of my two little nymphs.
All I could say was "Oh oh....."
Zzzzzz went the Tioga and the 4x parted. Hmmm, I decided, thats a good time to go home. Such is life on a mountain stream.
Jonathan has been chasing steelhead, Dollies, SRC and a few salmons out on the coast. He says we need more water. Oh really? Fishing was decent.
Mike and I have been staying pretty local. He has been fishing well on the Stilly, while I have spent time in the upper local watersheds. I did catch my first SRC of the summer. Time to start playing the tides in lower estuary waters. If you are new to saltwater beaches, you really ought to try it. At first you will think it is way different than your stream fishing, but if you will fish your tides as you would a river seam, it is closer than you think. Some day I will write about adventures of beach fishing, I really enjoy it.
On the Political Front: I don't have to expound my views on wild steelhead moratorium. If you have followed my writings anytime in the past 5 years, that is pretty obvious. Wether you consider the WDFW part of the problem or solution. I will let you be the judge of that.
[signature]
supplied by: [url "http://www.fisheyesoup.com/redir.php?recKey=48,re"]Dickson Flyfishing Steelhead Guides[/url]
FISHING: Good
"Rain For Rent?"
After flyfishing for past some forty years, I have come to the conclusion we flyflingers are natural whiners. We complain if the water is too high, too low, too clear or too dirty.
Right now is a great time to hit those tributaries and alpine lakes you have waited all year to become fishable. I managed to get off of work early enough to fish the upper upper S. river the other day. The water was clear and cold. Air was fresh and cool. It felt good.
The sun was still out on the water, so I only made a feeble attempt at fish surface dries. Even though I was way the heck and gone, riverside foot prints preceded me everywhere. Several river crossing still brought little separation. I came upon a lovely little run that I remember a small wild steelhead that made short work of my trout rod a year ago, but today, I was trout fishing.
I set up with a two fly rig. Probably my favorite in the no hatch zone, is a beadhead Hares Ear as a dropper, and a PTN as the point. My strategy is simple. When the fish aren't looking up, I fish down. Surface fish are usually the most aggressive, and the first to get eliminated from the gene pool. Guys tend to fish the surface, only a few really nymph well. I was too tired from chasing steelhead all day, to tromp any farther in pursuit of virgin waters. Such is dealing with fishing pressure.
Too funny. Funny how we lock ourselves into modes. Here I am, working my way up a lovely run. Seems like every few casts I was into another fish. There was one large bright flash and a parted leader, but mostly it was tributary sized rainbow trout. Jeez......if Whitefish were suppose to be fun, I was having a ball.
Way too funny. I swear everytime I would hook another trout, I took off my deep rig, and try another surface dry. Stimulators, Wulfs, parachutes, and even cripples. Nothing was doing. I would put the "worm rig" back on and "Whack", I am into another fish. I ended up leaving it on. Sometimes you just want another fish.
I finally finished at the head of that run and I come across a pretty little run further upstream, I call the "Log Jam" pool. (As if every corner in every western stream didn't have large woody debris.) In Fisheries, we term it as LWD.
Anyway, it's a short little run which drops quickly into a deep swirly pool. Big fish water. I cast my little rig in there just kind of enjoying the drift I was getting, and the line stops. I lift. At first I thought it was fish, (that's why I set), then I thought it was sunken sweeper, and the next second, a Chinook hen above 15 pounds comes completely out of the water, tail dancing across the logs and pool. In the corner of her jaw (she was only about 20 feet away) was one of my two little nymphs.
All I could say was "Oh oh....."
Zzzzzz went the Tioga and the 4x parted. Hmmm, I decided, thats a good time to go home. Such is life on a mountain stream.
Jonathan has been chasing steelhead, Dollies, SRC and a few salmons out on the coast. He says we need more water. Oh really? Fishing was decent.
Mike and I have been staying pretty local. He has been fishing well on the Stilly, while I have spent time in the upper local watersheds. I did catch my first SRC of the summer. Time to start playing the tides in lower estuary waters. If you are new to saltwater beaches, you really ought to try it. At first you will think it is way different than your stream fishing, but if you will fish your tides as you would a river seam, it is closer than you think. Some day I will write about adventures of beach fishing, I really enjoy it.
On the Political Front: I don't have to expound my views on wild steelhead moratorium. If you have followed my writings anytime in the past 5 years, that is pretty obvious. Wether you consider the WDFW part of the problem or solution. I will let you be the judge of that.
[signature]