Swingin' Flies in the Pacific Northwest: January 2012

Jan 17, 2012

Not much posting, but lots of fishing.

You wouldn't know it by reading the blog, but I have been fishing. I'm trying to get it out of my system before the new baby arrives. Went to the Sandy a handful of times. Tried a few new-to-me spots around the hatchery, Dodge Park, and I also managed to hit Oxbow again. All of my trips were before the rain and snow arrives. The river was pretty low and clear. That will be my excuse for only walking away with one good tug.

Also been to the Washougal a bunch. This has turned into my home water. I slip away for an hour here and an hour there. Awesome to be so close. Unfortunately, like the Sandy, it has been low and clear. Fish have lock jaw and I haven't landed anything.

The good news is that the recent rains and now snow(!!) will change the water levels for the better. The bad news is that I won't be fishing again for a while. The baby is due to come this week and I'll be on diaper patrol.

By the way, I found my camera buried in a box. I promise to take it out next time on the water and have something for you to look at next time.

First real tube fly attempt

Occasionally I get an email asking why I no longer post pictures of flies I've tied. Well, the answer is simple. I haven't been tying much of anything. Sure, I've done some here and there. But, for the most part, I have so many flies in my Summer and Winter boxes that I haven't had a need to tie any.

I saw some pictures on Spey Pages of tube flies that some of the members had posted. I was inspired and decided that I'd like to tie one. To me, the biggest advantage of a tube is that you could use any length you want, tie material on and stop at any moment it looked good. Snip the tube, melt a lip on the end and you're done. Added bonus, when I'm brushing feathers back with my hand, I don't get poked.

This is my first serious try at a tube. Other than the humungo head, it came out pretty well. If I were a fish, I'd eat it. The copper colors look great in the water. This thing is about 3.5 inches long and swims great.

I'm still on the fence about the on-river functionality of tubes. They are a huge pain in the butt to rig while standing in the water.

About Me

My interest in fly fishing began as a teenager in my home state of Missouri. After years of fishing rivers in and around the Ozarks, I moved to California in the early 90's. Life continued on, I happily drove hours around to various streams hunting trout. Then it happened. One rainy fall morning, I landed my first steelhead.

Game over. Buh bye trout. Hello steelhead!

Fast forward to 2011. My obsession with steelhead was out of control. I convinced my wife and family, that we needed to leave California and head to the Pacific Northwest.

Now, I'm able to happily fish for steelhead almost year around in both Washington and Oregon. My now home-water is a quick 10 minutes away. Within two hours, I can reach the Deschutes, Klickitat, Wilson, Sandy, Clackamas, Hood, Lewis, Cowlitz, Kalama, and dozens of others. Many of those are within a half hour. Paradise.

Although I started out with single handed rods all those years ago, I switched almost exclusively to 2-handed rods around 2005. I find them to be more efficient and less tiring over those long days. Initially reluctant to give them a try, I've rarely looked back.

This blog is my little spot on the internet to keep record of my trips, fly tying, and thoughts on fishing. Originally conceived as a personal journal to help myself remember where I went and what flies were productive- for whatever reason, I decided to make it public. Hopefully you will get something from it.