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?"