A Proper Release (and a reminder not to drink and fish)

More Shark Pictures

Shark Week

 To celebrate Will's wedding, we went on a guided shark fishing trip with Capt. Dave Trimble and On the Fly in San Diego.  All three of us caught a shark (full disclosure, my father's was the biggest) and we had a good time.  We did not run into any Jaws sized sharks, but maybe next time.  We all had a good time and it was a lot of fun catching such an impressive predator.  As an added bonus we saw lots of dolphins who put on quite the show.

  The sharks would come right up to the boat hoping to find a good meal after following the chum line.  With the help of a teaser we were able to get them to bite.  Getting a solid hook set wasn't always easy on these toothy guys.  On the shark I caught, it took me several tries.  I think it just made him more angry, as he eventually hammered the fly and I ended up with a solid hook set.  We didn't catch an leapers, but these fish sure put a bend in the rod and went on some powerful runs.

  If you are in San Diego, I'd highly recommend this one of a kind fishing experience and On the Fly.  In case you're wondering, Will managed to keep his ring finger and was able to get married a couple days later.

Green Drakes

Metolius

Yesterday was a beautiful day in the Cascades of Oregon.  Nice spring weather and lots of sunshine (well, until it started pouring rain).  I was luck to have decided to take the day off from research and fish the Metolius.

I had been hoping to find rising fish, but found none despite a decent hatch.  I was able to catch a nice rainbow and whitefish while nymphing, but was really hoping for rising fish.  Mayfly after mayfly drifted downstream, but none of the fish bothered to take them off the surface.  I waited until the hatch started to die down and decided to head elsewhere on the river.

After the short drive, I searched some of the usual haunts that have rising fish.  I couldn't find any fish and I couldn't find any bugs.  I sat and watched for a few minutes and thought I saw a ripple caused by a fish.  It looked like a fish had taken something just beneath the surface.  I figured I was seeing what I was hoping to see and not what was actually happening, but I kept an eye on the spot.  A couple minutes later, I had confirmation that it was a rising trout when I saw his nose just barely break the surface to take a bug off the top of the water.  That was it, I finally had a rising fish.  It looked  like a small fish, but a rising fish is a rising fish.  After several attempts, I was empty handed and hadn't seen another rise.  So, I decided to give him a rest and nymph a nearby run.

On my second cast with the nymph, I hooked into what felt like a nice fish.  After about 20 seconds, the hook came free.  I tried several more casts, but no luck.  So, I went back to the bank and looked for my rising fish again.  I didn't see him rising, but I decided to throw a few more casts.  Nothing.

I was just about to head out, when I saw a large caddis fluttering on the surface near where I had seen the fish rising earlier.  After a few dips on the surface, the caddis disappeared inside the large mouth of a trout who left a large swirl.  This wasn't the small fish I had thought I'd seen.  I put on a caddis and mad the cast with my hear racing.  I anticipated the rise, but it never came.  So, I twitched the fly.  Nothing.  (Someone needs to create a fly with flapping wings.)  I changed flies and tried again.  On the third cast I saw the trout slowly swim up and confidently take my fly.

I set the hook and realized this was a really nice fish.  At first he seemed to be fin just thrashing his head back in forth.  I was okay with this, since I wasn't sure how much the 5x tippet and 3 weight rod could handle.  After a short fight, he decided he'd had enough of me and swam across the river and well downstream.  I ran after him, trying to keep good pressure on him, but not breaking him off.  I finally had him beat and got him in the net after a few failed attempts (it was hard to fit him in the net, so it was a struggle).  I finally had my rising fish for the day, and what a fish. 

Sometimes it's good to be patient and observe what's going on around you.

Sorry, the camerawoman had to work, so the picture isn't great.  Here's a picture of the rainbow I caught nymphing earlier in the day.

TFO Customer Service

I recently broke my Temple Fork Outfitters fly rod (my first broken fly rod).  I got my replacement rod in the mail the other day.  It only took about two weeks from the time I sent my rod, to the time I got it back.  I was very impressed.  Now, I just need to go test it out.

The Curse Is Broken

I was beginning to think my new fishing hat was bad luck.  After getting a new fishing hat, I have lost several fish.  Last week I broke a fly rod trying to land a steelhead.  First time I've ever broken a rod.

Well, if there was a curse, it is officially broken.

Breaking Point

I headed to the coast this past weekend in search of steelhead.  Despite my best efforts, they have eluded me so far this winter.  Within the first 10 minutes of fishing I hooked one briefly but after a short run there was no tension on the line. Must have been a poor hook set.  After several hours with no luck, I finally hooked into a fish.  The fish was located in a small stretch of water that had several downed trees hanging down in the water.  Fortunately, this fish did not want to head downstream into the tangles.  After a short fight that felt like it took place in a kid’s swimming pool, he seemed to be tired out and I was able to slide him near me.  I reached down and grabbed just above his tail.  I’m not sure what happened first but he slipped out of my hand and I heard a loud crack.  He swam off with my fly and left me with a broken fly rod.

New Year's Snowshoeing

Here are some pictures from our snowshoeing trip around the Marilyn Lakes.