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

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