Back Again

Gary Rice and I did what he referred to as our "Second Annual" fly fishing trip to Amber Lake. It was a long drive but a beautiful Saturday on the lake with hardly anyone else on the water with us.

The fish were found cruising the shorelines and we had a lot of exciting action but both suffered from hooking a lot more fish than we landed. An Example? Around 11am, I saw that the Damsels were starting to move and I switched over to a double-nymph rig. Within 20 minutes I'd quickly hooked and fought four nice fish but only landed one. That's how the day went. And the bigger fish really put it to me - rubbing me off on rocks, making long runs and turning back to spit the fly, etc. But, as I told Gary later, better to have hooked and lost...

We enjoyed the day and still have a place in our hearts for fiesty Amber Lake Rainbows.

Omak, Year Two

In my dreams, I imagined I would search this eight-mile long lake for the lunkers. After all, the state record Lahontan Cutthroat came from these waters at over 18 pounds back in the 90's. But it was not to be.

Still, being able to land a 24-inch Cutthroat was a lot of fun and I went away satisfied. This early in the year, I had to blindly and patiently search in 10-15 feet of water but it paid off and I caught several nice fish each day I was there.

The Colville Indian Reservation is a great place to get away and going solo on a week-long, cross-state road trip seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. I enjoyed the silence that April affords in the high desert and noted that I was the ONLY person on the entire lake. The call of wild birds and the occasional car or plane way off in the distance provided the only other sounds besides the light wind and the gentle splash of my pontoon boat oars dipping into the water.

Sometimes you just have to get away. I hadn't had any vacation time for over six months so this felt needed and right.

Below is the 24-inch bad boy on the beach...

That first Outing

Well, nothing kicks off a new year like an invite to a private lake.

Bert dropped me an e-mail and said he'd just be kicking around the house Saturday, if I wanted to swing by for a while. Terry and I didn't hesitate to take him up on the invite.

Spring has definitely sprung and we had sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60's. It was a quiet, relaxing few hours on the water and I enjoyed myself immensely. Could it get any better? Oh, you bet... Pictured below is the 20-incher I landed on a blood red Chironomid. And what makes it sweet is that I outfished Terry today. The last time he and I were out, he smoked me Steelhead fishing on the Kalama. So it felt good to be top dog on the water today.

Now finally started, the thoughts are no longer for the upcoming season and the wish for things to begin. Instead, they are of fish just caught and trips about to commence. Let's go!

Spring Anyone?

Well, I've sat in silence for too long and it's time to acknowledge that winter has passed and Spring is ready to slip in the door - unless by some strange twist a cold Spring arrives like last year, I'll be out fishing within the next couple weeks. I can't wait...

I was able to pass the winter quite nicely with several fishing events to tide me over. I hit the Sportsman's Show in January, the Fly Fishing Film Tour in February, and a stage adaption of "The River Why" in March at the Seattle Center. Of them all, it was the Sportsman's Show at the fair grounds that has had the biggest impact. While there, I caught two different seminars on Musky Fishing. Of course, both sessions were for gear-heads but when you're scouting new territory, it's always good to see what the competition is doing. And in this case, there isn't much chatter in the state of Washington about the seven lakes that were planted years back with Tiger Musky. I came away with my eyes as big as saucers and determined to give it a try. What gear guys call the fish of "ten thousand casts" must be triple that for a novice fly guy but I'm no stranger to the skunk so I think I can handle it. We'll see...

I've picked up a 10-weight rod, some flies that go anywhere from 3 inches to 12 inches and I've scoped out the nearby water - Lake Tapps is five minutes from my house and Mayfair Lake is a mere two hour drive south. Both have given up Musky in the 45+ inch range. I'm repeating my well-worn mantra: "just one fish is all we ask..."

February Musings

It's February now and I did the Sportsman's Show last month. I'm still seeing images in my mind from that day. I somehow found myself attending two different sessions on Tiger Muskie and can't stop thinking about them. I've been calling Fly Shops in the know and have even bought some flies already. There are only seven lakes in this state that have these fish and two of them are not far from where I live. So, now the itch to get out there is upon me. This is truly masochistic since, for guys using conventional gear, this is known as the fish of 10,000 casts. Us poor fly guys will have to have the planets align for success but I think I might be willing to put in my time. A thirty to forty pound toothy monster would be worth the effort...

But for now I may have to quench my thirst with a simple run to Rocky Ford. That might settle me down until early spring can arrive. We'll see.

Since I posted photo's last time of Tommy when he was little, I thought it would be fun to throw on something from Terry. So watch the video and see one of his favorite fishing memories from 2005 on the Rogue River in southern Oregon. Alex Gibson, my cousin, was our guide and he put us into some beautiful fish that weekend. Good memories...

Winter Passtimes & Reflections

So what does a fisherman do who doesn't fish during the winter. That's a fair question I've been asked on more than one occasion. Allow me to explain...

First, I've been pouring over the calendar and making plans for Spring. I'm trying to mix in more nearby destinations in 2010 - some that I usually drive by on my way elsewhere... Riffe Lake and Coldwater Lake to the south are two examples. Lost Lake to the east is another. There's also a certain spring creek in central Washington that no one likes to name out loud and I have actually never fished it. Maybe this will be the year. There are some rivers on the Peninsula I've never tried and a couple of large urban lakes very close by that I've only dabbled at.

That's what I love about my winters. Setting out a calendar and perusing the possibilities is a lot of fun.

Of course, in the mail I have recently received the Bass Pro Shops Marine catalogue and the Cabela's Fly Fishing catalogue. That helps pass the time.

At the end of January there will be the traditional Washington State Sportsman's Show at the Puyallup Fairgrounds but, alas, no Fly Fishing Show in Bellevue this year...

I also like to take time in the winter to pause and look back. Remembering fun trips, beautiful destinations, and great company is worth a pause in the normally busy routine. Below are a few snapshots from a trip that seems like a long time ago but was only ten years back in the summer of 2000. Okay, I guess that was a while ago... It was one of Tommy's first trips to Lake Chopoka with me and for a young man of nine years, it was a pretty successful outing. We fished from shore to keep it simple and he beached some real beauties on Scuds. Dad would spot and tell him when to strip and Tom would dig the butt of his rod into his belly and reel for all he was worth.

I will never forget it and I remember fondly that first night, sleeping in the back of the pickup and talking in the dark before we fell asleep. Tom is grown now and will leave in March to join the Army so there won't be any spring fishing together this year.

But I will remember that there once was lots of it... And we found in fly fishing a way to connect... And that connection endures.

Hoping Winter Won't Be Long

I suppose I first recognized that my winter was upon me when I tucked my boat into storage a couple weeks ago. Then came the rains of November and cooler temperatures in the 40's. And last weekend found me at the tying bench, replenishing supplies of Sealbuggers, Clouser Minnows, and Stimulators...

That pretty much confirms it.

And then tonight, just for fun, I threw together a few photo's and put them to music as a way of remembering this past year. It was a fun season even if it went too fast.

Here's to the passing of a couple months and an excuse to get back out there. Maybe my favorite lakes will thaw earlier this year...