New season...new goal...new fish.  For some reason being busy has limited my posts.  I'm focusing on fishing the fly more this year and hopefully can keep the blog busy.  Until the fly is in the water here is a bright coastal king to keep the juices flowing.

There's nothing like hooking one of these bad boys in water that's deep enough with enough current for them to really work.  I had no where to land it at until a nice boater let me board and assisted with the landing.  It will feed the family so the next fish can swim free to do their thing. 

I have a bamboo rod that saw some action this summer and I believe it needs to feel the bend of a fish again so over the mountains for one last trout hunt I may go.  However, the call of the coast is very strong with the good fishing and its hard to ignore.

First on the tag

Made it out with Ed Fast of Ed Fast River Adventures Saturday.  We floated the Sandy River.  Ahhhh, the Sandy, she be a mean wench sometimes.  But not Saturday, we were rewarded with the most beautiful of fish, the steelhead. 
This was the second fish to hand, a chrome wild.  Small but gorgeous.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c257/dwmerrio/DSCF0013_zpsbf3ec3fb.jpg

Before that I was able to ink the tag for 2012 and secure a fish for the family to enjoy.  One of the reasons I fish and hunt is to enjoy the fruits of this great land.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c257/dwmerrio/DSCF0007_zps315c02d0.jpg

Finally, I was able to connect last week with my first steelhead on a swung fly.  Fishing my okuma reel on a Cabela's 13'8" two hander brought a huge 38" clackamas wild fish to hand.  My very personal best steelhead to date and so very worth the many hours spent learning the spey.  The only pic is in my memory, to be replayed at will. 

Enjoy the winter.

Just a little longer

Since its almost September I can finally start getting excited about coho.  I'm going to focus on them with the swung fly and jigs this year.  Perhaps they will be as willing biters as the chinook have been as of late.

These guys are fun, they pull like a train, but the acrobatics of silvers and steelhead are the stuff dreams are made of.  That's what fall brings, dreams of rain, of rivers rising, and of fresh pushes of chrome bright fish.

Fishing with Rye

My oldest son and I hit up the river today and were able to get him his first ever salmon.  This makes a second first for him.  First steel this winter and now this guy. 

Here's the river.

The fish came out of the white water, just behind a rock thats buried mid river, near the far bank.  Total surprise, float hit the water and zip, down it went.  Missed the first hookset and got the follow up. 

Two good trips

I finally got into a little hot streak.  Fishing that is, the weather cooled down to the mid 70's and I happened on a strech of river with willing fish in it.  I just love this stretch.  Its a bit of a hike in and out, but there usually isn't more than a handful of people in there, and its really very easy to find solitude.  So you get big fish, multiple species and no crowds.  Everyone is boat to boat at Bouy 10 and I'm enjoying time away. 
The fish are coloring up, but I need smoker meat as I'm running out of my last smoked salmon.  That and some fresh eggs to replenish the bait supply keep me retaining a few of the better fish.  First one I got was 11' down in some very fast water.  The float slipped below the surface, barely, and I reeled down.  My reward were some fierce headshakes followed by the pull of a big fish.  After a wild fight, as she kept trying to cut off on the rocks I guided this one in.

This was the only one landed by me on this trip.  I missed some very hot steelhead, actually was surprised by them and once bit twice shy so to say. 
The next day I ventured out again and found this big boy holed up near a rock.  Got him in quick and back out so as to bother him as little as possible.

Then this cute girl showed up for the fight.  She really didn't want to come home but I pursuaded her to visit for dinner.  Fired up the smoker and as of now she is on her way to my brothers house as he doesn't get to fish for these brutes much.

Its hot out!

Yep, today was a scorcher.  After working yesterday in the sun, I was done.  I opted out on a trip to the Sandy river, and went up the gorge looking for cooler temps.  I had a small stream in mind and had seen some fish earlier in the week when I was passing by for work.  This is a perfect place in August.  Super shady, no people and not to far from home.  Left at 7:30 home by 11:30 missed most of the heat!  I was able to find two fish and got this king after a short hike.

It wasn't in the best shape, but it was missing a fin and my smoker is empty so home it came.  There are bodies of water with more and fresher fish, but not with less people.  I can handle less fish if it means solitude.  Especially after a long hot week.

I also took my youngest (6) out flyfishing for trout on the Clackamas this week.  He picked up fly casting amazingly fast.  We found almost too many beautiful small trout.  They are fiesty and keep him occupied so we go with it.

Soon, say september, I'll head over and try my hand on the Descutes for those fun summer steel.  Until then, fish hard.

Late winters

Lucky for me I got one last trip in before all the rivers went over the banks.  I went to bed dreaming of steel and pushed my son outa bed early so we could be on the road before any traffic. 

When we got to the river found it was just the right height.  Color was outstanding although a little on the clear side.

Found this one holding in some whitewater at the head of a fast pool.   He hit the reliable wilsonator on the first cast.  A quick tug tug and I set the hook hard, then remembered I had light leader on and went for the full ride with it.

Found a few more, and a whole pod with lock jaw before my son and I hit up the jerky store for 40' of the coasts finest.  Mmmmmm.  Didn't even have to clean it.  Now I'm tying up some leaders for plunking some of the Big C chrome, if I can make it out before the closure that is.

First cast

Yesterday the rain finally started.  The rain is a love hate relationship for me.  Love it for bringing the fish in, hate it for having to work in it.  Got off later than expected from work and on the way home was tossing the idea of stopping to get a new 4wt line for my new fly rod, or stopping to toss for some steelhead.  I stopped at the river, half hour after sunset.  20 min to fish is enough for me so I rigged up quickly.  I had gone coastal the day before and left my pliers at home, so I improvised a drift fishing rig.  Got down the slippery rocks to the river, put some ainse on the drift for good luck, and cast.  Plan was to start close and work across the run.  Not to be...drift started feeling funny and I picked up the rod tip to clear the rock.  Only it wasn't a rock and it pulled back.  Set the hook and it was fish on.  Landed this, what I think is a summer, in the dark, on slippery rocks, in the rain.  I love it and hate it.

Now the river is rising, and might get close to bank full, so I'll tie some gear up and wait for it to crest.  Then I'll go see if I can find another.

Mallards on turkey day

My oldest son got his first two mallards today on Poppy's pond.  There's been 30 or so birds coming in every morning so he took his gun up and spent the night at Poppy's for a crack at some.  More to come for sure.

Swinging for steel

Got these new babies tied up and ready for winter steelhead in the Willamette Valley.  Its November 1st and the first of those chrome beauties may show up at any time!!!

The first one I tried swam very well.  Excellent movement says...here fishy fishy!
Lets get it on!!!

Costal kings

Friday I had the opportunity to ditch work and family for a quick trip to the north Oregon coast.  Unfortunately the only option fell on a day rather far removed from rain so I was hoping that there were still a few fish left from the last river rise. 

Of course the rain started falling halfway thru my precious fishing day but I was able to hook up and land a few before the rain started.  The ones I landed were not as dark as I thought they would be and all fought well for me.  I started up at the deadline and soon ran into a few people hammering a hole loaded with fish.  I left them to find solitude which turned out to be a mere few holes downstream.  This king murdered the drifted eggs I was using.

And here's a small jack that took and fought like a steelhead...

I ended the afternoon hooking and loosing two more kings.  Just before packing it in for the drive home I tangled with a 14" cuttie who decided to flop and drop before I could click a pic.  Beautiful little cuttie.
I ended the day trying to look at the Wilson River, which was hard too see thru the heavy downpour.  A few small cutties attacked my offerings but nothing of size was found.  I'm real anxious to get back over here after the success of today.

November will mark the one yr anniversary of the start of my steelhead fishing journey.  One thing I have learned is the importance of visiting the home river as much as possible in order to get a feel for the changing conditions throughout the year.  This is my first fall on the chosen river and with the water so low, I am able to find boulders, runs, and slots that I want to hit this winter as the river rises.  Also it feels good to walk its banks again, and see fall as it begins to set in.

Chasing Fall

Fall brings about a season of sure changes.  Colors explode from the forests, as fish explode from the sea.  Or at least in theory.  I have not found good schools of coho moving thru on my trips out yet, but they are there. 

At least my fly line matches the season. 

It was also worth while to walk the river after not being on it for the last 3 months.  Its still low so I can really cement the spots in my mind that I want to fish for winter steelhead when they start moving in.  Can't wait to see them again.

Sandy river kings

Not too long ago a friend and I had the pleasure of drifting the Sandy River in pursuit of coho and big fall kings with river guide Ed Fast, of Ed Fast River Adventures.  I highly recommend Ed if you are seeking a true professional guide.  What follows is an exerpt from our trip...

Remember, both my friend and I are mainly fly guys, so the casting of spin rods, and baitcast reels took us some getting used to.  I'll tell you the first 8 hrs of the trip seemed like a comedy of errors on our part.  The first run we get to had rods casting lures every which way.  At one point I somehow managed to wrap the line all around my rod tip.  As Ed began assisting me I looked at him and said, 'watch fish on'.  Wouldn't you know it as luck would have it sure enough, a nice fresh coho grabed the bait and as Ed and I struggle with the gear, which won't let drag out as its wrapped, off comes the fish!

Unfortunately most of the trip was like that, bobber downs, fish on, fish off.  However, the last hole it all came together and we got to very solid hooksets. 

Here's my result...

And Chad's...

Chad fighting one that got away...

Overall I loved the Sandy, never fished or floated it before even though its less than an hour from me.  Of course, it lives up to its name, it is very, very sandy.  I can only imagine the wear that can occur to gear if this river is fished regularly. 

Dog Dayz

I suppose we, here in the PNW, have entered what could be the lazy dog dayz of summer.  I don't get to enjoy the lazy part of that as my work schedule usually intensifies with the onset of hot weather.  Nevertheless, I still chase the fishes, in the cooler hours of the day of course.  There is nothing like wet wading, the refreshing flow of cool water after a slugging hike to the runs or holes.  I partook yesterday of said wet wading and was only rewarded with the 'tug'.  Managed two chinook, one was an old nasty which I broke off as he wasn't worth chasing, while the other was just a pull in deep water.  The hook came out as it barreled upriver into the head of the pool.  I like those, as this late in the run I can imagine the fish any way I want. 

I'll hold my breath till the next week or so of hotter weather is past, then perhaps a few rain showers will push some fall silvers up where I can swing a fly for them.

My new camera man

As I mentioned before, I have a new buddy with me on some of my trips.  Riley, my oldest son, has taken up photography as part of our homeschooling.  Soon, you will see some of his posts on here also, but as a primer here are some photos of another hobby, hotrodding.  None of these are our cars, but we did enjoy the cruise-in.

Upper Clackamas

This last week I had the chance to go out on the upper Clackamas River to try out some new flies I have tied up.  The only one that I was really happy with was my interpretation of a Barr's Vis-A-Dun that I tied up.  If I had a fly that I would change out to make fishing a challenge it would have to be this one on the Clack.  It didn't matter where or when I put it on the water, a fish would hit it.  Many times in the past I have worked hard for the diminutive trout in this river and this fly just outperformed itself for sure.

This is a section of the area I chose that is harder to get to due to the brushy bank, on my side at least.  I have found here, that there are larger and more fish in areas that get less pressure.  That results in some interesting and long hikes.  However, I usually find really neat water.

The trip last night resulted in more fish, but they were smaller than what I was looking for.  I also had a new camera man in training, my son Riley, has taken up a new hobby.  I'm excited since photographing fish solo has proven much more difficult than I would like to admit.

I was able to find one 12-13" the day before, but as I said, the capture on fly was easier than on film so it will remain a pleasant memory that I search for another day.

Quill Gordon

I decided to do a tribute to Catskill style dries.  What I would like to do is to get contributed flies (Quill Gordon is the pattern) from anyone and everyone who cares to participate.  Then I'll frame them up, with the tiers name and make a very attractive tribute to this cool fly.  Send me your email for directions.  merriott68@msn.com.
David

Hunting Kings

Ventured out this last Saturday in search of small creek Kings.  After hooking one last weekend and nearly loosing life and limb its about all I can think of to fish for right now.  This last fish I hooked took off upriver and performed two aireal combat moves before heading like a rocket downstream.  At that point I was able to fight him for a bit before a disappointing long distance release due to a poor hookset I imagine.  Wow, that was too much fun.  However, today I did not spot one fish, and only saw one come to hand on the strech of water I was fishing.  The weather was outstanding, and the water was clear. 

After that long day of hiking I took the kids to the park and put the float tube in the Tualatin River that runs by it.  Remember, keep your mouth closed and throw the fish back.  I feel it may be a bit of a dirty river!!!  Here is the little bugger I was able to find. 

Couldn't pass a day like today up!

Today I woke up to the best day so far this year.  Sunny, no wind, no clouds, and warm.  Everyone disappeared and my wife said...go fishing!!!!!  Started on a section of a nearby river that I haven't tried before.  For me the water couldn't have been better.  Just a bit of color and the magic level. The first pool I came to rewarded me with 3 beaver doing beaver things.  Was not able to get any good pictures of them but was able to watch them in the water.  That was a real treat.  Then I noticed two steelhead rise, out of the water with very nice splashes.  Not sure what they were doing but it made me curious enough to sit and watch them.  Not fishing, just observing, and I was able to learn a lot from that exercise.  I was able to enjoy them in their habitat, not being bothered, much like watching Elk, or bear, or deer.  Such a treat given the crowds that usually enhabit the banks and surface of the water.

And here is what note my day ended on.  If the season ended now, I would leave completely happy, for I have found where my steelhead passion is leading.  Sight fishing for natives is much more satisfying to me, than just put and take fisheries.  Yes, they have their place, but to put the fish back in the river after a battle of wills and emotions somewhat completes the experience for me.