Lazy Day on the Water

As much as I enjoy taking photos of fish and fishing there are days when I lack motivation or commitment to step up to the plate and get the job done.  Yesterday found me and two friends swinging the Salmon River.  The conditions started out ok and ended up being brutal.  40-50 mph winds, temps in the 20's, snow squalls, and a relentless driving cold wind.  Truth be told several times I thought I should get my camera out but that required unzipping my jacket and opening it and myself to the full onslaught of the elements so I passed on more than one occasion.  Maybe it wasn't being lazy but it was a lack of commitment.  Nonetheless my buddy Matt took several pics of me and the one fish I enticed to eat my fly.  He got his first steelhead to hand but he was out of sight when it happened so I wasn't able to get any pics.  Hopefully next time I will persevere and get some more shots. 

Beautiful steelheading conditions.














A handsome Brown Trout that graced us with it's presence.   

One in the hand is worth ............

Made my first steelheading trip of the season the other day. The weather was perfect, perfect for chasing chrome at least.  Mother nature threw clouds, wind, rain and cool and boy did it feel good to be out in the midst of it.    Since they had just dropped the water levels many folks came out of the woodwork to partake.  Finding good swinging water was a bit of an effort but since I was willing to walk it wasn't too bad.  Early in the day I had something happen that blew me away.  One of my flies was waking across the current like 90 degrees and giving off a little wake and a fish came up and sucked on it two or three times.  At first I felt it and when I looked I could see the tail behind my fly and see it getting sucked under.  I never felt any weight so I never set the hook.  It would have been the most amazing thing I'd ever seen on that river, but alas it wasn't to be.  Later after a long walk I found one of my favorite pools open on one side, the side I was on, and on my second pass my fly was pounded.  After three strong runs the hook pulled.  Oh well it happens.  On my next pass another take and I landed one of those stunning bucks that you get to cross paths with too infrequently.  Fishing solo limits the angles and options for photos but I did manage to get a couple of good ones.  In hindsight I wish I'd gotten a measure of it's length or a full body picture. 

Adios My Friends

The last week or so I have been fortunate to make a few short outings chasing trout before the season closes.  Most falls in the last few years have found me on the salt, but this year has been the return to the sweet water with sweet results.  The colors of fall trout can be magical.  Until next year my finned friends. 

Back to Bows

Being at heart a trout fisherman whenever I get to go trout fishing it feels a bit like coming home.  That is not at all to take away from the other species that I target but trout fishing has evolved into my fishing touchstone.  Over the last few weeks I've gotten out to a place to chase some small wild rainbows.  Its funny how so many of the waters that I fish are predominantly brown trout fisheries.  While I love browns I do miss the bows.  Unfortunately there are not a lot of rainbows in the areas that I typically fish.  Rainbows are a missed fish in my travels.  That being said I did manage to cross paths with some beautiful fish.  Now when can I get out and get more rainbows?  That is the question.

 

 

Spike

Got out last weekend for a little walk and had the wind in my favor.  Saw a bunch of deer 200 or so yards away and got settled in before they moved right past me.  Managed to get some good shots of this young guy. 

Return to the Salt

I headed down to the coast in hopes of seeing the sky teaming with diving birds and bait balls exploding across the surface of the water.  Upon leaving the harbor we didn't' see much that excited us so we hit some rocks where we always do well.  Within minutes there is a small bust right next to the boat and Geoff gets his fly in the chaos and was tight to a fish.  A huge blue by the way.  We thought ok this will work nothing wrong with these bad**s marauders around.  Expect we didn't really find any other targets all day long.  A friend of mine was with a friend of his in a 23' Contender and they traveled far and wide to find an empty ocean.  We made the most of it traveling far and wide and just enjoying the time on the water.  What a difference a couple of weeks can make.

The Trip (day 4)

Our final day greeted us with overcast skies and no fog.  Yippee.   We headed out and found the birds and fish in the rips which were fueled into large standing waves by the stiff breeze.  My little whaler isn’t the best in these situations so even though we got a small bass we moved off for a drier fishing experience.  We ended up not being able to find any bass but we did find lots of Scup and then big powerful gator bluefish.  The wire leader we happened to have from the muskie made the day special.   

 Diner plate sized Scup

        Mr. Bluefish

               Matt with a big bluefish.  

The large blues fought incredibly hard and gave us cramps in our forearms.  As the tide started to ebb so did the fishing and we were greeted by the looming end of the trip.  In many ways it is the hardest part of the trip knowing that it is ending, that the magic of the last days will be lost to the thousands of mundane day to day things that need to get done in order to keep ones’ life rolling along.  This is quickly followed by talks of the next adventure.