Started to think it would never happen...

First year with the spey rod

Like most people who fish, I began my time on the water gear fishing for whatever was in the lake that day as a kid or trolling the Hood Canal for whatever we could find. I fly fished on and off growing up, but still very little. It's only been in the last couple of years that I really began to take fly fishing seriously and develop a serious addiction to the sport. After the first 15 minutes of casting my new two-handed fly rod and also after whapping myself in the back of the head several times, I caught my first fish on the Spey rod. It was a 13” shiny little Dolly Varden in October on the Skykomish river. I thought to myself “this is going to be easy if I'm catching fish already.” Little did I know…

 

Now, I can't even count all the holes in my jackets from learning how to cast or how many flies I lost because I had no idea what a T-17 was. I even snapped off an expensive shooting head one time because of that heavy sink tip. The learning curve has been massive. After a least one day nearly every weekend for the past two years, gallons and gallons of gas, several long road trips to different rivers, watching Skagit Master 1 multiple times, watching Skagit Master 2 multiple times, and then reading from front to back a book written by the great Dec Hogan, I finally am now feeling at ease with my spey rod in hand.  It's only within the last year or so that I've felt confident casting in most situations and conditions and have actually started to see results.

 

 

First Swung up Salmon

This past fall I hooked my first salmon on a swung fly on the Skykomish river. Throughout the last couple of years, I have swung flies and hooked up on several Dolly Vardens,  some Chum salmon, multiple Rainbows, and a whole grip of cutties. All are great fish and all have brought me great satisfaction, but in the end it boils down to my personal vendetta for those chrome ghosts.

 

 This past weekend on the Sky we hiked in to a spot on the river where I knew there should be some fish (since we caught one there two days before on the meat sticks). After a couple casts with my gear rod (aka meat stick) I became bored and decided to go back to the spey rod and walk down river a ways. Wind howling, I had to adjust my casts to figure out how to get some line out without creating a rats nest in mid flight. Second or third cast up just from the tail out, mid swing, there was a weird “nudge” on my line, half a second later, SMASH!! Lifted my rod and there she was! Three acrobatic spin jumps, and she swam right at me full speed. THIS is why they tell you get a large arbor reel for steelhead fishing. Reeling in at full speed I was terrified that she may have spit the white and orange barbless intruder, but then I caught up to her. Got her to shore and that was it. Two years of practice for 2 minutes of enjoyment. Bonk! Off to the grill, it was a nice 6 or 7 lb chrome bright hatchery female. Never been so happy about a dang hatchery brat.

 

 

You always hear about the “grab” and that moment was something that will be hard to forget. I have caught fish many different ways, but none as satisfying as this. It was a swing I will never forget, and I will never be able to pass through that run on the Skykomish river without swinging my fly through its entirety with anxious anticipation of another "grab".

 

For the last couple years I have been severely addicted to fly fishing. This did not help…. 

 

 

 

 

Learning on the Lake.

It’s been a few months now since I hauled the new (new to me at least) drift boat across the Cascades and parked it in the garage to start as a new project. It still has a long ways to go, but after getting it all painted and put back together, I have been itching to get it on the water. With the rivers closed and my extreme lack of rowing experience, getting it out on the lake seemed like my only option.

Growing up, fishing on lakes was the norm. I learned how to fish by spending time on lakes with my family. But since I have dedicated 99% of my time on the water to fly fishing, I have been forced to relearn lake fishing tactics. Aside from dragging wooly buggers around the lake, I feel like a newbie. How am I supposed to cast 17’ of leader with two flies and a bobber attached to it? What heck is a blood worm?

The last few trips have been to a local lake near Snohomish called Panther Lake. It is one of the “three lakes” here in the area. It is a relatively small lake with a decent supply of stock rainbows, bass, and perch. Rainbow trout have been the target as of late and we have managed to hook a few on wooly buggers in about 20 feet of water or so. This is where the long leaders and a chunk of split shot come handy. It’s not the most exciting tactic, but trolling these wooly buggers deep and slow has been most effective.

Even though at times it may seem that time spent on the lake is not as “serious” as a day spent fishing hard on the river in the snow, this has been a great learning experience. I’ve learned the basics of rowing my drift boat, granted moving water is much different, but when it comes to learning how the boat operates, this has been huge. I’ve learned that a roll cast and letting the boat drift is about the only way to get that 17’ leader out there. I’ve learned that “if it ain't broke don’t fix it”, that a wooly bugger is still about the best tactic out there to catch fish. I’ve learned that I have fat fingers and that tying size 14 chronomids is much different than tying intruders on articulated shanks. I’ve learned that I have a lot to learn, and any time on the water no matter what you are doing is valuable.  

 

 

Occupy Skagit - 2014

Last year there was a movement that started on the banks of the Skagit River. Hundreds of steelhead obsessed fisherman put on their waders, dusted off the fly rods they weren’t allowed to use, and made signs to speak their voice to reopen the catch and release fishing season on the Skagit River. This is a group of knowledgeable and experienced steelhead anglers who have put in the time and research to get this movement started. The likes of Dec Hogan and Bob Triggs were there last year and ESPN even pulled their little red tug boat up to the launch to cause a scene. It’s happening again. March 29, 2014 9:00 a.m. at Howard Miller Steelhead Park on the banks of the Skagit. Below is an excerpt from Washingtonflyfishing.com forum written by member _WW_ who has been spear heading this movement:

"Occupy Skagit 2014

Last April we gathered at Howard Miller Steelhead Park in Rockport to show support for changing the management paradigm for wild Skagit Steelhead. Currently, all of Puget Sound Steelhead are considered by the ESA as one Distinct Population Segment (DPS) and as such are listed by them as threatened to become an endangered species.

The decision can be read here:http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2007-05-11/pdf/E7-9089.pdf

The decision covers all of Puget Sound from the Elwah to the Canadian border, every piece of fresh water between these two points that dumps into the sound is affected by this listing. The health of each individual run is not considered on its own merit, but instead the entire area's steelhead are tainted with the aura of “nearing extinction”. While this may be true of many streams affected by the listing it is not true for all of them – the Skagit in particular continues to return healthy escapement numbers. These numbers can be seen to be fluctuating up and down in what many consider to be it's carrying capacity zone.

Scientists can argue over the numbers, their validity and what they mean but here they are in ten year increments:
1978 – 5,757 (the first year that I can find for WDFW escapement numbers)
1983 - 7,732
1993 - 6,900
2003 - 6,818
2013 – 8,800

The goal of Occupy Skagit is to restore the Catch and Release Steelhead season on the Skagit that used to run for Feb 1 – April 30.

In order for this season to be granted by NOAA and NMFS a basin specific Steelhead Management Plan agreed upon by all parties, WDFW and Tribes, needs to be submitted and approved.

Is it possible?
Yes!
It was done for Chinook (almost instantaneously I might add) and it can certainly be done for Steelhead.

The event last April garnered the notice that it was intended to. Believe it or not, we were actually recognized and discussed in the halls of bureaucracy. The wheel is starting to turn, but it has yet to gather it's own momentum. It needs another push!

There are two events scheduled with the meeting in Olympia being the single most important thing you could attend. Rockport is fun, but the real deal is in Olympia.

Occupy Skagit - March 29th
Howard Miller Steelhead Park in Rockport

Occupy Skagit Commissioners Meeting - April 12th 8:30 am
Natural Resources Building
1111 Washington St SE, Olympia, WA - First Floor, Room 172"

 SOURCE: http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/forum/index.php?threads/occupy-skagit-2014.96220/

 

 

The numbers are there. The Skagit is healthy. We need to look at our rivers on an individual basis. Opening the Skagit to catch and release would also take away some of the overwhelming pressure that is happening out on the Olympic Peninsula. I am not a biologist, but it seems like more good than bad would come from the opening of a catch and release season on the Skagit River. One might think that opening up a river to fishing would just cause harm to it. There are mortality rates involved with a catch and release fishing season, but not enough to affect the run. It didn’t when the season was open. This is a legitimate concern in a river system that is in danger. But the Skagit has healthy returns of wild steelhead.

The Hoh River is a beautiful place and is steelheader’s paradise (or is it). However, it often fails to meet wild steelhead escapement goals. Even though the goals are missed, the season continues through April AND you’re allowed to keep a wild fish!! The Skagit has been above escapement and we are not even allowed to swing single hook barbless fly. The logic seems flawed. Let’s Occupy Skagit so we can experience a catch and release fishing season in 2015.

OCCUPY SKAGIT 2013 photo by Sozinho Imagery