Klickitat

Made it out to the Klick a week ago. The river was clear and pressure was light. Weather was a chilly 40 degrees in the morning, warming up to the upper 80's in the afternoon. Not a cloud in the sky.

Got to my chosen spot before sunrise. Walked in a bit and started swinging. No action. Not even a peck. Continued to walk down river for probably more than a mile (was on the trail side of the river). Fished lots of good looking runs using a floating line on my compact scandi. I used un weighted flies and a couple of skaters. A bit further along in the morning I caught a few small trout. No action from any big fish.

Around noon, I decided to get in the car and drive. The plan was to go15 or so miles upstream. Unfortunately, I didn't write directions down and never found my destination. Good way to waste a couple of hours.

After getting back to where I started, I stopped at a run that looked good last time I was here. It was now in the upper 80's and rather hot. Kept my comp scandi on, but rigged up a 10ft section of T10. With a 3 inch bright orange/red rabbit strip fly sporting a large set of dumbell eyes, I started casting into a riffly run.

An hour in, I had a fish pull a few feet of line out. Unfortunately, I was daydreaming, digging around in my pocket, or something else I shouldn't have been doing. I missed the fish. Tried the same cast again and got hit a second time. Argh! I missed it this time too. Sent that same fly out again with nothing. Uh oh. Missed my chance. I backed up a few feet and switched to a small fly of the same color. Fished through. Nothing! Backed up again with a new fly. This went on for 5 flies and about 45 minutes.  I didn't feel bad for wasting so much time here.  No one was around, and after all, there probably weren't that many fish willing to hit a fly  when the sun was directly overhead.  Never got another bump. Bummer.

I moved to a new spot. This one was receiving shade from the canyon walls. The water was a little deeper than I like. So, I kept the sink tip, but changed up the fly to something smaller.  Three of four trout later, I decided to move on.

It was getting late, I tried a few spots down river, and then I found this section I had never been to before. It was great. Everything about it looked perfect. No fish, but I will certainly be back to try that run again.

The Klickitat is a great river. It has really grown on me. Hopefully, I'll get in a few more trips before the year ends.

North Umpqua

My trip to the NU happened a few weeks ago.  I'm just now getting around to talking about it.  Seems my blogging has taken a back seat to everything else in life.

Left the house on a late evening to arrive at the NU early in the morning.  Early as in, enough time to sleep for a few hours.  The NU is a 4 hour drive from the house in Washington.  While the NU isn't really that far, it is enough where I wanted to snooze.

Got up before the sun did.  Put the waders on and wandered down to Camp Water.  My first stop was Lower Boat.  I figured that was a safer bet than trying to negotiate through the water to Station before the sun was up.  Saw some fish jumping, but couldn't catch anything but smaller fish.  The river was empty except for one other guy.  I took his spot on Upper Boat while he moved to Station.  I later went down to Kitchen, then went back up to Station.  No fish anywhere.  Bummer.

Access	North Umpqua
Air Temp	Low 50, High 85
Water Temp/Visibility	?F / 8-10 feet
Weather	Sunny and windy
River Stage	? feet
Time in/out	5am / 10pm
Leaders/Lines	Scandi
	floaters	All day
	8lb Maxima
Flies

unweighted summer
Notes
Windy with good water level and visibility. Typical magical Summer day on the NU

I made the walk downriver to several spots that I hit on previous trips to the NU.  No go.  Again, I saw some fish, but couldn't get them to my fly.  I was fishing floating lines and un weighted flies.  Often skaters.  

Sometime in later morning I did what I do every trip to the NU.  I slipped into the water.  After a trip back to the car and a change of clothes, I was back again.  This time up river of the bridge.  Decided to walk further than I have before.  Came to realize, once you get around the bend, there isn't a whole lot to fish unless you want to walk for a long time.  Oh well, lesson learned.

Back to the car.  This time I decided to drive down to mile marker 30 something and parked at every pullout available.  Found some great spots that I marked on my map for future reference.  Ended up catching some 18-22" fish.  Nothing to write home about.  

The day was windy.  Casting that compact scandi wasn't easy.  I concentrated on what was right in front of me and found some good water at my feet.  Had a blast while being blasted by that wind.

I ended up day somewhere between mile marker 30 and Camp Water.  Scurried home and had another fantastic magical Umpqua river trip in the books.

What happened?

Haven't made any posts in quite some time.  While I have fished a number of days, I just haven't had the energy to post here.  The days I've been able to get out, they've been on either the Washougal, Lewis, or Kalama.

My first trip to the Kalama was a good time.  While I didn't catch any steelhead, I did get to spend a warm and sunny day on some great water.  The fly-only section is simply outstanding as far as being alone in a secluded place.  You may not find as many fish as you would below the hatchery, but it is worth it just for the scenery.

Next week I'll be heading down to the North Umpqua.  Now that I live in the PNW, it isn't such a long drive. I can make a day trip out of it.  I consider the fly-only section to be one of, if not the best places to go fishing.  It is an almost magical place where it just makes me feel good to be there.  Never mind catching fish, there is something about it that I just cannot put my finger on.  I cannot wait.  I've been tying a bunch of skaters to get myself in the mood.

Washougal

I've been fishing a few mornings here and there at the Washougal.  Yesterday, I fished the island and neighborhood for a few hours with only a pull.  River stage of 5.25 feet (just low enough to not be washed away at the island) and 51 degrees, the river was clear with 5 or more feet of visibility.  Arrived 1/2 hour before official sunrise to see fish rising in the run I stepped into.

Access	Washougal
Air Temp	Low 50's
Water Temp/Visibility	~51F / 5 feet
Weather	Overcast
River Stage	~5.25 feet
Time in/out	5am / 9:30am
Leaders/Lines	Compact Scandi
	Int Poly	All day
	8lb Maxima
Flies	Various size 4 and 6 summer	-
Notes	Water dropping after rain. Good conditions. One pull.

This trip marked the first day of the year I switched over to my compact scandi and slow sink poly leader.  Water temps are high enough to justify fishing just below the surface with unweighted flies.  It was a nice few hours of fishing with eerily quiet day for it being a Holiday weekend.  Only saw 1 other angler.

Spey Clave / Sandy

Went to the Spey Clave last Saturday.  After walking around, eating food, and talking with others, I spent the last 4 hours fishing in Oxbow below the Clave.  Good looking runs with no action.  Was using T10 and T14 with various weighted and unweighted flies.  Water visibility was at least 6 feet.  I didn't mark down river stage,  however, looking back it appears to be around 9.5.  Temp was in the upper 40s.

Access	Sandy / Oxbow
Air Temp	70's
Water Temp/Visibility	40'sF / 6 feet
Weather	Mostly Sunny
River Stage	9.5?
Time in/out	4pm / 8pm
Leaders/Lines	Comp Skagit
	10 and 12 feet of T10-T14	All day
	12lb Maxima
Flies	Various sizes in winter and summer	-
Notes	Post Spey Clave fishing. Runs looked good. Didn't mark down river levels.  Had a few bumps.  No real pulls.

I'd post more, but I didn't take notes the day of, so I've forgotten all the important info.

Local?

I might be in the minority.  But, I actually look forward to Mondays.  I enjoy my work and I know that sometime during the week, I may get a chance to get out on the river.  The weekends are blocked out for family time.  So, fishing rarely takes place.

Even though work has been pretty much non-stop, I've managed to get some swinging time.  This would never be possible back in California.  But here, in the PNW, when I have a steelhead river within 5 minutes of home, I can fish in the morning before work or after I get home.  An hour here or there isn't that hard to do.

Lately, I've been focusing on the Washougal and East Fork/Lewis.  I'm getting pretty familiar with both.  Especially the Washougal.  I now know the best flows to hit various runs and have found access points that I never knew about before.  Another bonus, meeting locals on the river that are willing to share their secrets.

Just the other morning, I arrived to the Washougal at a little past 5am.  It was raining and cool.  River was in good shape and looked really fishy.  The summer runs are just trickling in and I could see them rolling around just a few days earlier while we (the family) played nearby.  While I got nothing more than a tug this morning, it was a productive.  As I went back to my car around 7am to go home and take a shower before heading to work, a local came up to me and starting peppering me with questions.

He wasn't rude, just curious about who I was.  After a few minutes, it became obvious he was sizing me up.  He wanted to know if I was a local without directly asking me.  I let him know we just moved into town not too long ago.  He suddenly opened up and shared some of is favorite spots with me.  

The Washougal is one of those rivers that much of the river is surrounded by private lands.  Come to find out, many of the landowners are friendly to fisherman.  They'll let you walk on their land to access the river.  Guess being a local has its advantages.

Hood River

A little over a week ago, I had a chance to check out the Hood River. First impressions? Nice place. Easily accessible and you could walk up and down the river with ease. I'd say it is primarily a place to nymph, as it is a deep river in most spots. However, there are some nice runs to swing through.  However, on this day, the water was just a tad high and you were in the brush for some of the more fishier spots.

Access	Old Powerhouse
Air Temp	Low 40, High 60
Water Temp/Visibility	~40F / 12 feet
Weather	Sunny
River Stage	~5.6 feet and dropping
Time in/out	6am / 7pm
Leaders/Lines	Skagit
	11 feet of T11	All day
	15lb Maxima
Flies	Various large winter flies	-
Notes	Water on the drop. Clear water. Great day.

The water was clear, in fact, I could see 10-15 feet down in the deep pools. The river was on the drop and I was told previously to going that people were catching fish. I got one pull in the morning and that was it. I talked to a dozen others and no one had caught anything. The fish weren't biting for whatever reason.

Still, the day was a success. I found some good spots that I'll hit next time. Hope to be back again soon.

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.

A few thoughts between fishing trips

I know, I know. It's been quiet around here. I've been swamped with work and haven't had a chance to go fishing. Tying a few simple rabbit strip flies has been my only outlet.

Speaking of flies, I've decided to abandon tube flies. It was a short lived fascination. I still like them in theory, but they are simply too hard to rig when I'm standing in waist deep water. I'd rather not be fumbling around with tubes and hooks. Having just one thing to tie on is much easier.

Being up here in the Pacific Northwest for a full year of winter fishing, I've gotten pretty good at flinging heavy tips and heavily weighted flies. What used to be a clunky adventure is actually working out pretty well. Those 5inch rabbit strip flies with huge lead eyes are no longer so scary.  My confidence is up in response.  I'm not so hesitant to try and hit that fishy piece of water way on the other side of the river.

I'm between projects right now. The next one is supposed to start late next week. Unfortunately, it has been raining quite hard for a couple of days. The rivers are all swollen. My 4 year old's daycare is near the Washougal. So, I often pop by to take a look. Right now, it is a muddy mess overflowing the banks. I've got my fingers crossed that I can get out on Monday or Tuesday and the rivers will be dropping. (The Washougal is closed right now, so I'll hit something in Oregon)

That's about it. I'm anxious to get out there. Especially since I just dropped nearly $200 for Oregon and Washington licenses. Man, that was expensive.

East Fork of the Lewis: A productive first trip.

Finding time to fish with a newborn and a four year old isn't easy.  Luckily, my wife is a good sport and let me go out for a day on the East Fork of the Lewis River.

I arrived a bit late as I took my older son to school first.  The drive was only a half hour or so from the house, so it wasn't a big deal.  I put on my waders at home, so I simply jumped out of my car at the river and started fishing.  This was nice as the rain was falling and I didn't get wet trying to get prepared.  Being the first decent rain in a while, the river was clear and at a good level.  Looked like good fishing conditions.

I had never been on this river, I made my choice of destinations by looking at Google satellite maps and reading a few things at the library (The local library is full of steelhead/fishing books.  Something I never experienced in California).  All of them said good things about this river.  It may not have the biggest runs of fish, but it does hold the Washington state record for a 30 something pound steelhead.

Access	Lower River
Air Temp	Low 40, High 45
Water Temp/Visibility	41 F / 8-12 feet
Weather	Rainy
Flow	low/clear
Time in/out	9:30am, 4:00pm
Leaders/Lines	Compact Skagit
	10ft of T11	All day
	5-6 ft of 12lb Maxima
Flies	dark, muted, 2-4 inch

My gear was setup with a compact skagit, 10 feet of T11, and about five or six feet of 12lb maxima.  I started the day with an intruder style fly, but the hackles were black marabou and nothing else.  It was basically a black leech with dumb bell eyes.  The thing was about 3 inches long and had a bit of flash around the shank between the marabou clumps.  I picked the fly because the water was super clear- easily 8 foot visibility and I wanted something that wasn't too obnoxious.

The run I picked in the morning looked good.  It was between two small rapids.  Large boulders under the surface looked like good holding spots.  I started at the top and lengthened my casts as I moved down.  As the water slowed, I had to make casts of about 80 foot.  Quite wide for this river, which is relatively small.

I was trying all sorts of casts to get the fly to sink.  Straight across to a bit upstream.  At the end of the swing, I was getting hung up quite a bit .  On one of those, I was flipping my line around trying to dislodge the fly from the rock.  Then, all of a sudden the rock moved!  The fish took the line for a few feet and then spit the hook!  Drat!

I kept at it.  Moved downstream until I was between two trees.  One off my left and one off my right shoulder.  I had a limited possibilities for casting direction.  So, I cast down and across.  About a 100 foot cast.  The fly went completely across the river and landed right under a tree on the other side.  The line straightened out in the air and landed flat.  Perfect!  As soon as the fly hit, I saw a faint commotion on the water surface.

Was that a fish?  I tightened up my grip and then all of a sudden, I  saw a splash and felt tension!  Oh yeah!  So much for Winter runs only taking flies on the bottom.  This girl came to the surface to attack.  There was no way that fly sunk that quickly.

She didn't fight all that hard.  In fact, I assumed it was a small fish.  However, when I got her close, I saw her and she was big!  Sweet.  My first official winter run fish in Washington.  I got her to hand.  It was a hatchery measuring about 34 inches.  Nice!!

My wife jokingly told me to bring home dinner before I left.  Thinking about that, the first thing I did was check to see if the fin was clipped.  It was!  I normally release all fish.  Including hatchery.  However, I'm starting to re examine this thought process.  As much as I appreciate every fish, wild or not, these hatchery fish are not doing the wild population any favors.  A decision was made, I was going to take this fish home.

I was holding her about a foot from the steep bank.  I set my rod down and climbed up the hill and she started going nuts.  The fish flopped out of my hands and back into the water.  She just sat there for a few seconds.  I jumped in and grabbed her tail.  However, she knew this was her shot.  She started kicking and I couldn't hold on.  The fish got away!  Sorry, no fish for dinner tonight.

I spent the rest of the day exploring.  Walking up and down the river, I found some great swinging water.  I also drove for a while and saw that access was limited because of private land owners.  That sucked.

I'll be going back to the East Fork.  What an incredibly beautiful river.  This place also has a great Summer run in June/July.  I'll be going back.  After all, if you land a big steelhead the first time at a new river, you have to go back sooner than later.

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.

Washougal

While I haven't been posting, I have been fishing. Most of those trips were spent at the Washougal river. I can leave my house and be in the water in less than 15 minutes. So, it makes a great place to go for an hour or two here and there.

I've yet to catch a fish here. It is just now getting the winter steelhead run. Unfortunately, it has been a dry fall/winter and I don't think many fish have pushed in yet. As I type, it has been raining for the past two days. Things should change.

This is really a beautiful place to fish. With the moss covered trees, waterfalls pouring into the river, and lush growth, it is hard to believe it is so close to our house. There are plenty of riffles, pools, and runs to keep one occupied.  I've been doing a lot of exploring and finding what I believe will be good fish holding spots.

My wife and I are expecting our second child in only a few short weeks. Hopefully, I can get a few more days in before. Once the birth happens, I won't be fishing much.

I also made a trip to the Sandy river earlier this week. Stay tuned for a report.

Sandy River: Chocolate milk

Paid a visit to Oxbow Park for a day on the Sandy.  After a 40 minute drive, I arrived before sunup only a day or two beyond a pretty decent sized storm (SND03 - 5540cfs).  Leaves and branches everywhere.  It should of been a sign.

This was the first time fishing this section for me.  I did a lot of exploring since the water was extremely colored.  I could not see my boots if I stood in knee deep water, so catching fish was not likely.  On top of that, I was hooking leaves or other debris on every cast.  So even casting practice was a pain.

I stuck it out for a few hours before giving it up.  That was enough time to do some exploring so I know where or better yet, where not to go next time.

On the way home, I fished the Washougal.  This river is only a few minutes from home, so it is a nice little place that takes little effort.  More on this river, since I have fished it a few times since my visit to the Sandy.

Cold day on the Klickitat

Made my first trip to the Klickitat.  Not far from the mouth of the Deschutes on the Washington side, this river is a beauty.

Got there at sunup on a cold morning.  Air temp was around 30 degrees.  After getting in the water, I thought to myself, "boy, this water feels cold".  A thermometer told me it was 40 degrees.  Wow.  Wasn't expecting that at all!

For three hours I battled frozen fingers and frozen guides.  My toes were numb as I was wearing my Fall socks, not my winter ones.  I failed to follow the Boy Scout creedo, "Always be prepared" (I could be completely wrong about that, it has been a few years).

I'm going to make this a quick report as I have somewhere to go in about 10 minutes.  The gist of it is, the river is beautiful, but more setup as nymphing/indicator water.  Can you believe I actually put on a bobber?  Blasphemy!  I gave it the old College try for about 1/2 hour.  Then went back to swinging.

Didn't matter what I did, I didn't catch a thing on this day.  I tried everything from small flies on a floating line and a 10foot section of T14 with a weighted intruder, to of course nymphing.  Found a sweet run or two, but for the most part, it wasn't an ideal river for what I like to do.  Or at least I didn't find an ideal run to swing on.  If I had done more walking on the other side of the river, I may of found something.  But today, was for scooting from point to point in my car.

If I can put my bike in the car, I may take a trail that goes along the river for several miles.  I can probably find some secluded spots that are far away from any roads.  This is definitely on my list for next time.  While the area I probed in my car was not ideal, it has potential.

Although this was a very cold, zero fish day, I had fun.  I'll be back with a bicycle sometime in the future.


p.s. The White Salmon river dam was blown on the same day I was on the Klickitat.  While I didn't hear it, a Washington Fish and Game guy was very excited and told me all the details.  In a few years, that river should be a great run for salmon and steelhead.