Time flies

I knew it had been a while since I last posted.  However, I didn't realize it was almost four months ago. 

This blog was initially created as a place to keep track of my fishing.  A journal of sorts, so that I could refer back to when needed.  It served its purpose pretty well, however, I've discovered that there are better ways to record this information.

I'm now using Google maps for my journal.  Hence the slowdown in posts here.  I have one map for each river, and I place markers at various runs to keep track of access and where I caught fish.  Each time I hook a fish, I record the water temp, clarity, fly type/size, tips used, etc, etc.  I now have a pretty good visual database to keep track of these things.

For instance, I went to the Sandy last week and decided to try a new access point that I had never been to.  I looked up notes from a couple of weeks ago in the surrounding areas and figured out what would be a reasonable setup.  On this day, I chose 12 feet of T14, an unweighted blue/black marabou trailer fly.  Fishing in about 8 feet of water on a soft shoulder, I hooked a fish that I estimated to be 11-14 lbs.  (It ended up breaking my leader about a rods length away from me.)

Previous notes don't always work as well.  I went to another (no names) river yesterday and took with me the same setup/fly I used on the Sandy.  The water was low and clear.  However, what worked on the Sandy was not working here.  Because the water temps were almost 50 degrees, I decided to scale down.  After putting on a size 4, I immediately got hits from smaller fish.  That led to a few bumps from bigger fish.  Then I got a really good pull that came out within a few seconds.  Several casts later, I either hooked that same fish, or another of equal size.

It took the fly softly, then after trying to reel him in, he went on a mad tear.  Jumping 2 or 3 feet out of the water two different times.  Did I say he was BRIGHT?  This fresh fish pulled some line out, then came towards me.  I couldn't reel in fast enough, so I stripped line.  Stripping, and more stripping, he now was upstream of me and pulled more line out.  That punk fish found the only boulder between me and him and went right underneath it.  Only being 5-8 feet away from me, I tried to move upstream to dislodge him.  No luck.  The knot broke (probably from rubbing on the rock) at the top of the leader!   This was a big, bright, and feisty fish.  I thought I had 'em.  Ended up being outsmarted in the end.

I'm going back today to the same river for a few hours. Because of the water temps and water clarity.  I'll probably switch over from my sinking skagit line to a Rage.  Summer fish are in and they are willing to move to a fly.  Let the fun begin!




 

Contrast of the Clackamas and Sandy

I arrived at Milo McIver park around 8am. Drove to the upper boat launch and pushed my way through the brush. The water was high. Much higher than I anticipated. I decided to go to this river based on the water level prediction of the river dropping to a good level. Needless to say, it was much higher than they predicted. (I actually believe the level rose. Must of released extra water through the dam.) Now, today, when I retrieve the data from yesterday, it seems to be non existent. I'm not sure what happened, but something went wonky. I'm guessing it was at 14.5 feet when I was there.

Access	Clackamas - Milo McIver
Air Temp	Low 40, High 60
Water Temp/Visibility	~40F / 2 feet
Weather	Sunny
River Stage	~14.5 feet
Time in/out	8am / 11am
Leaders/Lines	Skagit
	11 feet of T11	All day
	15lb Maxima
Flies	Various large winter flies	-
Notes	Water high with funny business going on with stage readings. Okay clarity. Access difficult. Not good fly fishing conditions.

It looked completely different from last time. Clarity wasn't bad, maybe 2 foot of visibility, but the water was so high up the bank, finding a place to cast from was difficult. Stepping down a run was nearly impossible in most spots.

A few hours were spent here. Did a lot of exploring for spots to revisit when the water is lower. However, I knew it was a lost cause doing any actual fishing, so I headed over to the Sandy river.

The Sandy was a much different story. Water level seemed perfect. Clarity was surprisingly clear. I could see 6-8 feet easily. The water looked fishy.

Access	Sandy - Near Oxbow
Air Temp	60's
Water Temp/Visibility	~40F / 6 feet
Weather	Sunny
River Stage	11.5ft
Time in/out	12pm / 5pm
Leaders/Lines	Skagit
	11 feet of T11	All day
	15lb Maxima
Flies	Various large winter flies	-
Notes	Water was at a great level. Dropping into shape after heavy rains. Clarity was very clear with slight tint. A great day for fishing.

Unfortunately, I didn't catch anything. Other than a strong wind, the weather was nice. Sunny and 60 something degrees. Not bad! Despite the nice weather and beautiful fishing conditions, I wasn't really into it for some reason and actually left before 5pm. Hopefully this isn't a trend and just a temporary loss of interest. My mind was elsewhere.

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.

Sandy River: Dodge Park

While this wasn't meant as a hard core day of fishing. It was more of a scouting mission and a chance to introduce my son to fly fishing. Since we moved up here, we've been floating down rivers and playing in the water. He is really into it on these HOT days. So, I thought it would be a good idea to put a rod in his hands.

After cutting off the hook point on one of my flies, I let him swing his tiny rod around and have some fun. He really enjoyed it. As he gets older, I hope to have a fishing partner!

The afternoon started at 1pm on the Sandy River at Dodge Park. This is about a 45-minute drive from home and easy access to the water from the parking spot. I couldn't really explore with my son/wife around. So, we stayed right under the bridge. There looked to be some good water up stream. I'll have to come back on my own to give it a shot.

I only fished for an hour or so, and most of that was spent holding my son's hand and walking him around the rocks/water. He is getting good at scrambling around the slippery boulders. Maybe more so than me! While I wasn't really focusing much on fishing, I did get a bump from a probable trout and saw another trout chasing my fly. I was tossing bright flies, some rather large on my single hand rod using a intermediate 10ft poly. There was a bit of glacial silt in the river, making it cloudy.

After a few hours of being there, we took off. A great day in the water with my family. I'll be heading off to the Deschutes on Wednesday. Stay tuned for another report.