Merry Christmas!

Winter Break

I decided to start my break with a trip to the Metolius. I had gone Thanksgiving and seen a Bull Trout viciously attack a pretty sizable dying rainbow trout (it very well may have been a dying Kokanee which would make more sense, but that is not what my eyes saw). I had this trout, or to be more accurate char, in my mind as I made the trip. His hole was the spot where I started my day. I was fishing with a streamer that was probably 6-8 inches long, so if he was in the mood for a big meal again I'd be ready.
I felt pretty good about my chances, but as I worked my way through through the pool I began to wonder. Then my fly stopped cold and I was hooked into something very strong. I have little experience with Bull Trout but I am quickly realizing that when it feels like someone is tugging hard at your line but not going anywhere it is probably a Bull Trout. While this doesn't make them a great sport fish, it does make them impressive. (I can just picture a Bull Trout locked into a fight with Rainbow Trout and thrashing around. I'm pretty sure the Rainbow will be hightailing it out of there as quick a possible, which is why Rainbows are so fun to catch.) That's not to say Bull Trout aren't strong and aren't fun to catch. I think quite the opposite. For short stretches of time I think they are stronger than any trout and are a blast to catch since they are so violent. Back to the story at hand. I managed to keep him for getting tangled up under his long and started to pull him in. I thought he was tired out but he thrashed around some more on the surface. This was a scary fish. I could picture that thrashing being him attacking a duckling or another fish. As I brought him to hand I realized he was definitely the biggest trout I'd ever caught and was definitely the most impressive fish I'd ever caught. Any fish species that is native, can only live in very clean water and spent years with mankind trying to exterminate them is cool with me.
Unfortunately the picture does not do him justice. (My camera had a rough day as it got a little wet and didn't start working again until today, so I'm just happy to have A picture.) Lets just say my Betta Clarkii would be the fish equivalent to finger food (fin food?) for him. The rest of the day I had a little luck with nymphs but the surface action never happened. It would have been hard to have topped the beginning to the day anyway.

Fish Man

This guy is crazy, but he's got some pretty cool footage. He literally swims the Yellowstone River for fun.

http://www.mikekasicsound.com/FishMan.swf

Steelhead Evening

So, I decided to take a break from grading yesterday and try to catch a steelhead. It's getting late in the season for them on the McKenzie, so I figured I better take advantage of being able to take a couple hours off. First cast I hooked into one. He raced around the pool and leaped a couple times. After he jumped I realized something was wrong since my rod was awkwardly bent. The line had gotten rapped around the tip, so I had to ease of the pressure and take care of the problem. He took advantage of the break to catch his breath and bolt downstream, putting me into my backing. I was stuck between deep water and fast current, so I did the best I could to pull him back to me. I had got the line far enough in so I could see the leader and.....nothing. I felt the line go limp. No more fish. No more fly at the end of my line.

I tied on a new fly and got back to it. A few casts later I hooked into another steelhead, but the hook popped out after only a few seconds. There were no fish after this other than a tiny rainbow. I did see a salmon that was cruising around in full zombie mode. I could easily spot the fungus growing on him as he prepared to die after making the remarkable journey back from sea. Seeing a salmon after it has spawned may not be mother nature at her prettiest, but it may be nature in its rawest form (that is unless that was a hatchery salmon, then you can forget most of what I said).

Back to grading...

Maine Brook Trout in Oregon

There are some fish that I will always associate with certain places. Westslope cutthroats will always remind me of Glacier National Park and the summer I spent there. Yellowstone cutthroats remind me of the Yellowstone River and Park. Brown trout make me think of Spring Creek and the other streams around Penn State. Then there is the brook trout. No fish makes me think of Maine more than brook trout. So, today I thought of home a lot as I caught several nice brook trout. This is the time of year to catch them. They are fat from eating all summer, hungry because they now winter is quickly approaching and gorgeous because they are preparing to attract a date. I thought I'd share a little slice of Maine today. I caught more fish than these two today, some a little bigger, but none were prettier.

Backcountry Lake Outing

After a change in plans I headed to Linton Lake for a day trip. In between periods of sunshine and downpour the fish were pretty active. I was able to get this little brook trout (I had heard they were in there, but had never seen any evidence until this guy) and a nice male brown trout around 15". Pretty nice way to spend one of my last free days before my life is taken over by economics again.

More Pictures

More Yellowstone Pictures

Got some pictures in the mail from my parents so I thought I'd put them up here.

Assorted Pictures

Hopper Madness

Slough Creek is a special place. There are not many creeks where you can watch large, native cutthroats cruise around in search of food. In fact, Slough Creek is the only creek like this that I've seen. The trout act like they are in a lake as there is little current in many places. The morning started off slowly with only one fish in the first couple hours. In was particularly still section large cutts were cruising picking off spruce moths from the surface. We thought we had the right fly, but there was one problem...our flies wouldn't flutter and flap their wings. The only bugs we saw get eaten were flapping their wings and try as we might we couldn't replicate this.

As the sun warmed the meadow up and the wind started blowing we notice grasshoppers begin to fall into the water. This sent the fish into a frenzy. Not a striper attack everything craze mind you, but a Slough Creek cutthroat craze. The fish would still slowly rise, inspect and then slowly take the grasshoppers, but they began to lose some of their caution as they got greedy. This was good for us and led to several nice trout brought to hand. Britt caught a nice 16" fish, PJ caught several nice fish and had a couple very large fish just elude him and I managed to catch some nice fish. The order of the day was still to have more fish look at the fly and maybe nudge it before moving on. The other problem we encountered was a lack of patience. When an 18" trout slowly swims up to your fly and opens his mouth it is hard to remember to wait to set the hook. The British fisherman who fish stillwater say "God Save the Queen" in their mind before setting the hook. This same theory can be applied to Slough Creek. I try to wait for the fish's head to turn down. Unfortunately, this thought eluded me on the nicest fish I had rise all day, but it's a lot easier to take this when you know just around the bend there are trout just as big to cast to.

Lamar River

If I had to choose a small area where I had to do the rest of my fishing, I would probably pick an area that included the Lamar River and Slough Creek. To me those rivers are just the perfect size. You can easily cast across them, but they aren't little trickles. It doesn't hurt that they harbor many Yellowstone Cutthroat that are looking up for their dinner. We had to search for fish, but when we found them often an Adams was all that was needed to rise several nice fish. The fish are beautiful and you could argue the scenery is even better.

After hiking back from an afternoon/evening fishing the Lamar we were met by a crowd of wildlife watchers who asked if we had seen the bear. We weren't sure what they were talking about as we had seen nothing other than a couple of bison on the other side of the river. They explained that they were heading up the road following a bear that they spotted on the other side of the river heading upstream. This was news to us. It's a little unnerving to know that we were so close (not sure if it really was that close or not) and have no idea that such an impressive animal is around. It was a relief to not have run into this Grizzly, but I would have liked to have seen it.

Yellowstone River

Yes, that is a bison on Fishing Bridge.

On the first day in Yellowstone we decided to check out Hayden Valley and the Yellowstone River. I knew it was lat for fishing the river and returns from the lake have been low, but that wasn't enough to keep me away. As evening came to the valley I spotted a few large cutts rising. After many unsuccessful casts with assorted dry flies, I realized I was just seeing large tails, but the fish weren't breaking the surface. I put on a wet fly and shortly after that I felt a strong pull. After some thrashing around just a few feet from me this large decided to make a break for it in the fast water. I know most people consider cutthroat to be weak fighters, but I think they use the current to their advantage much better than other trout. After a long bolt downstream I was able to start making some ground. I had deep water to my left and fast water to my right. I decided I was stuck there for better or worse. Pulling a big fish upstream is not exactly what I choose to do, but sometimes there aren't other good options. I was able to get him up to the point where I could see the leader and then the line went limp. The fly had pulled out. I fished for a while longer with no more takes and decided to pack up.

Grand Teton Bison

Grand Teton National Park and the Snake River

After my failure to catch a Snake River Finespotted Cutthroat last year, I thought I'd give it another shot before entering Yellowstone. With a full day to accomplish the task, I figured I'd be able to pull this off. After a slow start, I realized the fish wanted bigger flies. The size 12 attractor patterns weren't doing it, but a size 8 fly would bring them up. I was able to catch several pretty little cutthroats, but not the big fish I was hoping for. I decided to drop a nymph off my dry fly and see if this would change my fortunes. I soon had a take from nice fish, but couldn't get a good hookset. It was creeping toward lunch time and I thought I'd blown my shot at a good fish when I thought I heard a big rock thrown into the water. I figured it was one of the rafters who had stopped for lunch nearby, but I didn't see any. I went to investigate and through in a cast where I heard the disturbance. As small cutthroat rose for the dry, but suddenly turned away. A large golden fish came out of nowhere and I saw him viciously attack my nymph. As soon as I set the hook this massive trout leaped. I was shocked to see it was a Brown Trout at the end of my line. This was the largest trout I'd ever seen other than in pictures. I was able to tire this large fish after several strong runs. In the heavy Snake River current I was unable to find any soft places for a clean landing. I knew I would only get one chance. I brought the fish over and scooped my net under him. At that moment I realized just how big he was. As I brought the net up, he made one last flop. I had him right there in my net, but my net wasn't big enough. My reward for using a catch and release net was to see the biggest trout I've ever had at the end of my line easily flop out as I was bringing him up to take the hook out. I'm not sure how this counts in the realm of catching. Was it a catch. I didn't have a camera on me, so I wasn't going to take a picture anyway. I'm not sure. It was exciting nonetheless. I just wish I'd been able to get the hook out and give him a proper release. More than anything though, I wish it had been a big cutthroat, but it's always nice to fool a big, wily Brown Trout.

Tetons and Yellowstone

More to follow soon...

PC Lifestyle

Can you find the fish in the top picture? Hint: It's a brook trout, look for the red and white fins.

With the core exams successfully in the rear view mirror I have had time to do the things I've been wanting to do recently but haven't been able to. Not surprisingly I've been out fishing and tying a lot of flies. I made it out yesterday to Gold Lake and hiked into Upper Marilyn Lake. While it was a slow day it was far from a slow evening. As the sun set on Gold Lake things turned on. The rings from rising fish could be seen all over the lake. Some fish were so exuberant they broke the surface and flew through the air chasing bugs. It was fun to be in my float tube with fish rising all around me.

Britt also had some luck. I told her if she wanted to make the blog she had to have a fish picture and now she does.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there.

Study Break

I tTook advantage of a break in studying to get out and fish for a day on the Metolius. Fishing was slow until some large mayflies (green drakes I suppose, but never got a good look at one) started coming off. There weren't many, but these large portions of protein put fish into a frenzy. Rainbows from 12-16" were slashing bugs and jumping out of the water to be sure to get their meal. My newly tied green drake imitations weren't of interest, so I tried a more traditional pattern. I looked in my box and found an Adams that had been rejected for years for being way too big, but now if anything it was too small. On the first cast it was met by a trout who was intent on punishing my fly for past wrongs done to him by other fisherman. The take was so violent that the fly broke off shortly after. I then managed to lose several flies and a big chunk of my leader on the logs I was having to cast around. I was rewarded for my effort with the nice rainbow in the picture. Then after this half an hour of some of the most violent rises I've ever seen everything was quiet.

I left the river feeling like I had caught many more fish than I actually did. It was a great break from studying and now my month of studying for the core exams begins.

Why I'm in love with my new grill

Yellowstone

I've been day dreaming about getting back to Yellowstone and getting that hook out of the mouth of the fish that swam away from me last year. Hopefully I can get back this summer...

Couple More Pics

Spring Break

Unfortunately, I don't think I really have some great story to tell this time. I fished the McKenzie, Metolius and Klamath River. The Klamath was high and brown and basically unfishable. I did really like the area, reminded me a lot of Montana. Also, saw Crater Lake for the first time. Quite a place especially with several feet on the ground. Here are a few pictures. Here's a nice wallpaper sized picture of Crater Lake with snow.

Spring Break So Far

Here are some pics from Spring Break in its infancy

http://picasaweb.google.com/crichard.higgins/SpringBreak?feat=email#

In Praise of Wild Fish

I once read that you can tell whether an author caught fish on a salmon fishing trip based on how his story starts. If it talks about the beauty of the scenery and the thrill of the pursuit, he didn't catch any fish. If he talks about the scenery and the excitement of the fish, he hooked a fish but didn't catch it. I'm guessing looking at the picture can be as telling. As you can see I do not have a fish picture, but I do talk about fish in the title, so this will fit into the hooked, but not caught story.

I got up early yesterday morning to make one last trip in pursuit of winter steelhead. I woke up early to try to beat the sunrise to the river. (I think we tied, so I was running late.) I made it to the small river/creek and was happy to see no other cars. I decided to try a new spot and hiked down. I had been there in January, only catching smolt and a nice cutthroat. I felt this would be the time, with the rain of the previous week, there should be fish in the system I thought.

Right as I made it to the first run I saw a steelhead. I tried to be stealthy and make a cast, but she must have seen me. She slowly swam downstream within feet of me. If I could here her, I'm sure she was laughing at my feeble attempts. She would later come back to swim by my feet while I fished the run. She didn't seem to mind me as long as I didn't cast to her. It was nice having some company in the run, but she didn't help me catch any of her friends. I fished upstream and had no luck despite some promising looking runs. I was getting hungry and knew I had homework to finish up, so I thought I'd work my way downstream and head out.

The most promising run looked too good not to hold fish. I methodically worked my way down. The strike indicator went under and I struck, before I knew what was happening I saw a red streaked missile bolt by me. (I am not sure why the red stuck out so much to me since I later saw it was very faint, but that's what I remember most.) After racing upstream the angry fish at the end of my line jumped clear out of the water so I could get a good view. He seemed to start swimming back downstream before he even made it back in the water. He raced past me and I chased downstream. He leaped another couple times and seemed to be tiring out. I got a good glimpse of him to see his silvery sides with a faint pink strip and adipose fin intact. He made another run towards a downed tree limb in the water, but I was just barely able to keep him out of it. It seemed like the tide had turned in my favor when he got a fresh burst of energy and shot off towards another snag with renewed vigor. This time I wasn't so lucky and I felt the sickening feel of nothing on my line.

I was left out of breath and heart racing. I now know what the steelhead obsession is about. The hatchery fish I caught last month was strong and exciting, but there was no comparison. They may have both gone out to sea and made similar returns to their home waters, but there was no comparing the tenacity and fight between the two fish.

Clarkii

Here is my newest roommate, Clarkii.

No Bull

I thought today was supposed to be nice in the mountains so I headed up to the Metolius. I was greated by temperatures around freezing and clouds all day. So, I bundled up and hoped to catch some trout. With frozen toes I started swinging and stripping streamers looking for Bull Trout. I had a few tugs, but no fish. (I think those were from Rainbows or Browns).

As the morning wore on I hoped for some sun and a hatch. With neither in sight I searched deep with a nymph (and a sacraficial fly for weight since you can't add split shot there). I was finally able to bring a nice rainbow to hand. Then I hooked another bigger rainbow right after, but after a couple head shakes he was gone.

There was a lull in the action, but I finally saw some bugs on the water....but no fish rising. I waited. Nothing. Nymphed. Nothing. As I was about to move on I saw a fish rise. Then another. There wasn't steady surface action, but it doesn't take much for me to switch to a dry fly. After no luck and seemingly no fish left rising, I was about to give up when my fly got hammered. A nice Brown Trout pulled line before giving in.

It may not have been the fastest day of fishing, but I was glad to have gotten out one more time before I really have to start digging in with classe.

No School Day

Class was canceled today so I thought I'd give the river a try this morning. Lookie what I found.