Well, we just finally got home from our annual trip. No moose hunt this year ... just some serious steelheading and some time with the family

Incredible weather ... the best we saw all summer, great water, decent fishing, great friends, way too much food. All in all, a great trip that started in early September as we left our Fish Camp up north.

Rowan got to see just how big a moose is up close. Rowan figured out it was a statue ... Rainey, barking wildly in the truck, did not



Took us a couple of days to drive the 1700 miles .... but we finally made it and it didn't take long to get camp set up.



Water was primo to start our trip, so we ventured down to a fave spot that is just perfect for swinging. Didn't take long to fold the rod over, our first look down a rod at a beautiful piece of water:



On the end was a pretty girl with a striking blush stripe all the way down her side:



This little Honey Hole turned out to be a top producer for us again this year ... with a few days even seeing double digit numbers of fish on the fly ... far better than we've seen for a couple of years. Not a lot of really big fish, but maybe next year coming off the better numbers of this season ... insert fingers crossed here!

Only pitfall of the run was that there was really only room for two guys, so our usual trio ended up splitting up each time we ventured this way. Oh yeah, two more pitfalls, the wading sucked (but the big loose rocks are why it held fish), and there was no soft water anywhere nearby to land a fish. It was hook and down you went ... remember Parker ????

A walk back up one morning from landing a fish presented me with this interesting dew show:



Another look at our Honey Hole in the morning mist:



Simple flies, as usual, do us plenty good ... a little bunny fur and a few strands of flashabou make up one of my most productive patterns:



A look downriver from the top of the run, if you look dead in line with the end of my floating section, you'll see a fish splashing away for Jim:



Oh no, over the lip we go into the chute!



Art and a wild one:



Success, he slides her into the shallows:



We're not the only ones who like this spot:



Jim walks in "at the rock" ... another beautiful sunny morning!



There's that stupid basic fly again!



But you gotta play around a little, let's see if these that I tied on these Waddington Shanks will work? Yep



But there's always more than fishing to these trips. Lots of food and drink. The "Girls of Camp":



Our camp hosts were kind enough to roast us a big ... a chainsaw might have made this job a little quicker:



Would you expect any less, when it was time for the guys' turn for a picture, most were in some sort of alcohol-induced chaos:



Speaking of our hosts, here's Victor on the left leading us all in a toast to celebrate Al & Dottie's 50th anniversary!



Family day of fishing. While Rowan digs to China ... Rainey follows dad right in:



Not satisfied with being close enough, she just swims below me in place for a few minutes:



As we bumped around fishing spots, it was time for Ro-Ro to see the "Nays":



She even found hereself a perfect walking stick at our next spot:



And then decided to wet a line for a bit:



Rainey, ready to pounce if needed, watches one swim away!



More ....