Merry Christmas

Thanksgiving Trout

I think I have officially made Thanksgiving on the Metolius a tradition. I was a little disappointed to see other anglers on the river, but I think they all lacked the crazy needed to stay on the river long during the driving wind and occasional snow. (Or, football and turkey trumped fishing for them.)

Britt and I had a good day, although the camerawoman was absent for most of the action. She did play her part in the pictured fish, as she was the scout who found this rising fish. All in all a good day, even if the typical 2 hour drive home was a little longer due to the weather.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.

Brook Trout

While the changing seasons do mean that the summer fishing days are coming to a close, there are some positives. One of them being beautiful brook trout getting even more colorful.

Bobby Lake

Since classes start back up this week, Britt and I made one last backpacking trip. Headed to Bobby Lake for what was supposed to be good fishing for brook and rainbow trout. That may be the case, but all I ended up catching was one tiny rainbow. Granted it was very fat for a 4" fish, but that isn't enough to make me think it'd be a good option for a return trip.

Britt did make a friend who seemed to be rather hungry.

Idaho Ramblings

My father and I returned recently from a week long trip through Idaho. We started off with tough fishing on Silver Creek and the Henry's Fork. The bigger fish did not want to cooperate and the biggest fish was probably 6". We saw some big fish, but they weren't in a feeding mood. (There was one "toad" on the Henry's Fork that was rising, but it wanted no part of what we had to offer.)

The fishing improved on the South Fork. We also had some luck on the Fall River and Blackfoot River. Unfortunately, some camera problems and camera shy fish led to only one getting his picture taken. I guess that means we'll have to go back again to get some fish pictures.

Also, if you stop at the farm (Stocking Ranch?) on the Blackfoot River for access say hello to the friend we made there. He wanted to come back to Oregon, but I had to tell him that my apartment doesn't allow dogs. He's a sweet dog, so give him a scratch on the head and he'll be your friend.

Some pictures

This fish chose not to be identified.

New York Times Article on Saving Yellowstone Lake's Cutthroats

The latest efforts to save Yellowstone cutthroats in Yellowstone Lake. They are releasing "Judas" lake trout with transmitters to try to find where they spawn, then they can more effectively kill them. The story does a good job of talking about the current program and the different sides of the story. The one thing the article doesn't touch on is how Yellowstone Lake is one of the last strongholds for the Yellowstone cutthroat. Here's a link to the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/us/24trout.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=judas%20fish&st=cse

If you want to donate to the cause (and others), here's a link:
http://www.eastyellowstonetu.org/images/savetheyellowstonecutthroat.html

The Joys of Sleeping in a Tent

Britt and I hiked into a couple lakes over the weekend. It was a nice, short hike. Even the off trail hike was easy. Some fish were caught on the lakes and fish was had for dinner. It was shaping up to be a really good trip....then the fun happened.

Let me set the mood. It was a full moon and it looked almost like a flashlight was being shined on the tent. Very eerie stuff. Then around 10 that night Britt heard something. I wasn't sure what it was. It slowly and quietly walked beside the tent (on the opposite side from the moon, so there was no shadow). It went away for about an hour. When it came back again it walked by the tent, trying to figure out just what it was and what was inside it. It came back a few more times that night. We could hear it sniffing at the bottom of tent. Needless to say, it was not a very good night of sleep. Unfortunately, there was no place by the tent where tracks could have been left, so I guess we'll never know who it was.






"I swear the map says the lake should be right here! Why is it just a pile of rocks?"

Some pictures

Been a little while since I've been out fishing (too busy teaching and watching Britt win her age group at triathlons). Here are a couple pictures.

Gold Lake

Metolius with my Family

My parents came out for a visit recently. It was good to see them and they got to see Oregon for the first time. We headed over to the Metolius (along with Britt) for some camping and fishing. A few fish were caught and it got cold at night, but we all had a good time (even if I am now being accused of poking holes in my fathers waders in order to outfish him). (We also went to the coast and my parents went to Crater Lake, so I thought I'd throw those on as well.)

Backcountry

Made another trip into the backcountry. Here are a couple quotes:

"I always think those ultralight backpackers are crazy until I put my pack on."

"It's too bad it's so pretty up here."

Those sum up my feelings for hiking pretty well. It was a good trip despite having to cross over decent amounts of snow and Britt being trapped in the tent trying to avoid mosquitoes. In one lake the fish were small and in the other they were bigger, but in neither lake were they numerous. However, the views and solitude on 4th of July weekend made things just about perfect.

First Backcountry Outing of the Season

I hiked the float tube into Marion Lake for some early backcountry fishing. When we got to the parking lot it was overflowing with vehicles. I spotted the hatchery truck and breathed a sigh of relief. Just volunteers hiking in fish I thought. We passed several people walking down the trail. One boy told us we had good timing, we would have the lake to ourselves. I got excited. Then he finished off his comment, "Yeah, everyone is in their tents right now because of the rain." Oh, that's not what I was hoping he meant by you'll have the lake to yourselves. When we got to the lake there must have been more than 15 tents set up at the first camping area. Not what I wanted to see.

Did I mention it was raining. Rained all day Saturday and didn't stop until we were hiking out. Fish were caught and I saw few other people fishing. However, once I got out on the lake it was like it was just me, the ospreys and the fish (and the rain).

It was a good start to the backpacking season and I am anxious to hike into other places. Now that the snow is melting I am hoping more places will be open soon. (Pictures tomorrow if I remember to bring my camera in.)

The Value of a Fishing Hat

I went fishing for a couple hours locally last night. I caught a couple trout, but I felt like I should have caught many more. I'd get a rise, set the hook, feel a head shake or two and then nothing. I know exactly why this happened. I couldn't find my fishing hat so I was wearing a different hat. That is why I didn't catch those fish. Never mind that it was a Trout Unlimited hat, it wasn't my fishing hat. If I had my old, beat up Penn State hat I would have caught those fish, I'm sure of it. That is the value of a fishing hat.

Don't worry, I found my fishing hat when I got home. Should be great weekend of fishing now that I have my hat.

Summer Time

It's been some time since I've been fishing. I guess I haven't made it out for any serious time since Spring Break. That change this week as I finished up the term and had my grading in by Thursday morning. This gave me time to spend a couple days camping and fishing. There was one great day of fishing and two great days being outside. Here are some pictures.

Happy Memorial Day

One week..... Where to go? Gold Lake? The Metolius? Hike-in lake? The Deschutes? Hmmm....

Yellowstone Fish Management Plan

Slowly Yellowstone is beginning to put more and more effort into protecting native fish. Not sure Yellowstone Lake will ever be the same again since there doesn't seem to be a way to eradicate the Lake Trout. I do think they need to put lots of effort into keeping their population in check and maybe someday we'll find a good solution (or better yet Mother Nature will).

http://www.nps.gov/yell/parknews/11046.htm


One more week of classes and one review session then I'm free for the summer (well, until I teach). I think some fishing is in order as it has been a long Spring with little time on the water.

Steel

Today was a good day. I caught some fish and enjoyed one of my favorite places in Oregon. It's a race with steelhead between me and them to see if I can get my camera out before they revive. So, I only took a picture of one. I also took a picture of a steelhead that was hanging around with me. He decided to take up the spot of the bigger fish I caught vacated. He was pretty ragged, so I don't think I was helping natural selection but I think I made his day.

Small Stream Getaway

Last winter I made it out to fish for steelhead four times and caught one fish and lost another. I thought this was a pretty good record, especially since I caught one my first time out. I tried my hand at summer steelhead only to lose several fish hooked. Then, this winter I have struggled and only had fish on for about 5 seconds. I don’t view fishing for steelhead the same way as trout fishing. I can have a great day trout fishing and not even come close to catching a fish, but for steelhead it’s a different story. The crowds wear on me and there are no hatches to match.
I feel different about small coastal streams where the crowds are nonexistent and the fish (the few there are) are wild. Any time you combine small creeks with few people and big fish there’s a good chance I am going to love it. So, I headed to this coastal stream in search of steelhead and better yet solitude. Luckily, I found both. After managing to spook a few fish in the clear water I hooked into a nice male. At first he was happy running upstream and so was I since this was easy to control and I figured this would tire him out. This wasn’t his plan though and he bolted downstream. I “sprinted” down after him treading water and trying not to fall. He was headed straight for a downed tree. I figured this was the end but ducked under the tree where there was a big enough gap between tree and water. The run had stopped and I feared that I was hung up on the tree. Then he bolted straight downstream. With the reel screaming and me trying to chase after him I prayed that this would be the one to end the drought. After such a long run I could see he was tired and I pulled him in and tailed him. My first native steelhead! I wanted a picture. Of course this meant the camera didn’t want to work. By the time I had the camera ready so was my fish. I let him go without a picture in hopes that in a couple winters I might be able catch one of offspring. I felt satisfied and this gives me an excuse to go again.

Fishing Trends

Found this by way of Midcurrent this morning. It has the trends from 1991-2006 in fishing. Things I noticed:
-Less people are fishing today than they did in 1991 (somewhat surprised)
-Saltwater fishing increased in popularity until 2001 (no surprise there)
-People in Maine, PA and Oregon like to fish for trout. Guess that's why I've lived in all of those states.

The moral of the story to me is that we need to get more people out fishing. I hate finding a crowded river, but if people don't like to fish how can we expect them to protect the fish?

http://library.fws.gov/Pubs/nat-survey2006-trends-fishing-hunting-1991-2006-focus-on-species.pdf

Help Protect the Yellowstone Cutthroat

Yellowstone National Park is proposing increased efforts to remove non-native species and restoring native species. I have been fortunate to visit Yellowstone the last two years and I feel that it is truly special place due to the native cutthroat trout that swim in its waters. Take a moment to make a comment on the proposal and let them know what you think.

Comment here:

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=111&projectID=30504&documentID=37967