Febuary 14 & 15 9 am to 4 pm
High Bridge/Big Eddy Park on the
Skykomish River, 8 Miles East of Sultan

Casting demonstrations by:

Simon Gawesworth
Ed Ward
Steve Choate & Way Yin
Scott O'Donnell & Mik McCune
Dana Sturn
George Cook
Nobuo Nodera
Goran Andersson (pending)


Manufacturers Attending:
CND, Scott, Sage, Simms Rio, SA, Winston, Loop, Airflo, Patagonia and Waterworks
They will be cooking breakfast and lunch

...and best of all...ITS FREE!!

Contact Kaufmann's Streamborn Inc in Bellevue (425-643-2246), Seattle (206-448-0601) or Tigard (1-800-442-4359).

Sparky,

Thanks for the heads up! Is this the same weekend as the fly fishing expo in Bellevue? Is it dependent on river conditions? I've a mind to set aside the weekend and come up. Any good motels in Sultan, or better to stay in Monroe?

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Salmo g.-
The event is actually the weekend before the Flyfising Show in Bellevue (the show was a great time last year).

There are a good number of motels to stay at in Monroe but the Dutch Cup in Sultan has decent lodging, decent food and a fair amount of local culture.

And as long as the river is not flooding into the Park, we will through with it.

This year, the river will actually be open to fishing (last year it was not) which will make it a much more enjoyable time for those coming good distances away as this year, you can fish too.

...maybe your appearance up here would get the Aidster (Bob) back on a steelhead river for a day or two.

KK-
Thanks for the well wishes and catch a couple steelies for me while I am gone. And dont you worry, I check all my tackle carefully when I got it home as Old Man Worley kept threatening to cut this or that knot or apply Superglue in a not soo good spot etc. etc. etc.

Plan is you'll even have folks coming up from mile post 14 in southern Oregon. Doubt I'll get a licence but at least you'll know that a couple of 'southern boys ...' as in so or know which end of a 2-hander to hold.

'Home water' is the upper Rogue. And no, you don't want to call the 800# and find out just how many fish (by actual count) still do go into some rivers.


OK, ok I get the e mail idea!

As of 12-31-2003 - actual head counts:
Summer steelhead-20,262
Fall Kings - 24,850
Coho - 18970

And that's just in the top 30 miles of river.

Saturday's evening entertainment?

Sparks, have you got a "Plan" yet?

The world awaits with baited breath.
:>)

Fred-
I just posted this on Juro's Board....

"Okay...Here We Go!
Thanks to Bob Munoz, a resident of Monroe, who provided me with some great suggestions, I will offer up these ideas to the group...

If we gather a large enough group say a dozen to a dozen and a half guys, there is an excellent Italian place (I've heard that from many) just a couple minutes from Hwy 2. They have a banquet room which can accomadate a larger group.

If we have a medium-sized group (6-12), Ixtapa, a good Mexican resteraunt right off of Hwy 2 would be an excellent bet.

If just a few of us can make it, we can hit the Sailfish which is a little tavern in downtown Monroe that brews its own beer,

Thoughts???...who is planning on attending?

Just let me know...

Thanks!"

IXTAPA IN MONROE? ARE YOU KIDDING! No, no, no. Trust me on this one. You want to drive the extra 20-25 minutes to the Ixtapa in Duvall. I used to live in Duvall and it is the best Mexican Restraunt around. Still haven't found one better. Both the food and service are great. Plus the Duvall Ixtapa takes up the whole building now as it used to be only one part of the building. You gotta trust me on this one, the Duvall one is better by far.

Ryan, any general idea how many folks may be in attendence? For 'planning purposes,' are you still scheduling a beach breakfast/lunch? And for which days?

tnx
Fred/Joan/Poochie Puppies.

Fred-
Right now I am looking at around a dozen or so people give or take a couple...once the date gets closer I will get a better handle on all who is showing up.

I would like to keep this an open invitation to all involved (presenters, reps, etc) but I will actually be working at the shop on Saturday so I wll not be able to pass the word around. I will be at the event on Sunday.

Secondly, the various manufactures and reps will be cooking breakfast and lunch and offering up non-alchoolic beverages for the group. So both days good food will be available...last year, Jon Covich made a killer breakfast with pancakes and sausage and Brian O'keefe cooked up some homemade chili.

The food is free but a donation jar will be sitting around...proceeds will be directed towards local fishery enhancement projects.

Hey Sparks,

Is Sunday a repeat of Saturday, or is this like a two-day workshop where I'll benefit by attending both days? I've got two-handed rods, and I'm sorta' OK, that is, effective at double Spey, but I always find myself roll-casting when I'm on the left bank of a river.

If there's a Saturday dinner option, I presume Monroe is the better place to stay over, unless the group goes to Duvall for Mexican.

Anyways, I've got the event on my calendar, but it's time to firm up plans.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Salmo g.

Sunday is more or less a repeat of Saturday. Ed Ward will be presenting on Saturday but not on Sunday so there will be more time for personalized instruction and play time (try various rods and reels) on Sunday.

However, I will not be at the event Saturday but will be at dinner.

If you are going to stay over, I would be more then happy to hit the river with you Sunday before I show up at the event as there have been some fishies caught!

BTW-
Here is the schedule:


It begins at 9:00 am but the first presenter will take the stage (or should I say bar) until 9:30.

Also note, there will about 15 minutes between presentations for setup etc.

Saturday

9:30-Dana Sturn

10:15-Steve Choate & Way Yin

11:00-Mke McCune & Scott O'Donnell

11:45-Ed Ward

12:15 Lunch

1:15 Simon Gawesworth

2:00 Nobuo Nodera

2:45 George Cook

4ish-Go home and come back tomorrow!

Sunday

9:30-Dana Sturn

10:15-Steve Choate & Way Yin

11:00-Mke McCune & Scott O'Donnell

11:45-George Cook

12:15 Lunch

1:15 Simon Gawesworth

2:00 Nobuo Nodera

We have left extra time on Sunday so that you may be given extra time to play around with all the differant rods, reels...get more personalized help from the instructors etc.

4ish-Go home and come back next year!

Ryan,

That might be fun to attend the workshop Saturday and then put technique to practice Sunday morning and then hit the afternoon finale.

Should I drag my boat up there, or just plan to walk in to a drift or two?

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Salmo g.-
I would not worry too much about bringing your boat up. There are plenty of good walk-in spots that can be accessed...some have even been putting out a fish here and there.

Plus, the water is getting pretty low and I would assume the river will be getting pretty trick to run come sunday (given the current forecast).

Contact me offline for more details if you would like. ryanpetzold@msn.com

Hey, I just realized I have no idea where this thing is at. Anyone have directions? If I don't get any, will see if I can do an internet search when I log back on later tonight. I fish the OP, so don't go up north much.

Jerry-
It is pretty easy to find.

Take I-5 to I-405.

Head north on 405 until you hit the Woodinville/522 Interchange. Head east on 522 to Monroe.

When you get into Monroe, 522 will dump you off at a light. Take a left at the light...you will now be heading east on Hwy 2.

Follow Hwy 2 through Monroe, Sultan, and Startup. After Startup, you you will enter Gold Bar...follow Hwy 2 through Gold Bar and about 3 miles east of Downtown Gold Bar you will go over a very large bridge (High Bridge)...you will see all the casters and commotion on the south side of the bridge on the east bank. Take a right into that park...you will see a sign.

Look on a map and you should see where I am talking about. If you get lost, give us a call at the shop 425-643-2246 and one of us will be more then happy to lend you a hand.

You missed one HELLUVA event. Probably the most beneficial event I've been to regarding this style of fishing. Especially Simon and George, they really put a new spin (and a fun one at that) on spey fishing. One I'll go to next year for sure. Hopefully next year it won't be on valentines weekend. Missed the after event dinner. Had plans with my Valentine last night.

KK,

It was worth giving up two days of fishing for me to attend. I've had two handed rods for years, but I've never taken the time to become a decent Spey caster. I got plenty of useful information to bring home and practice with. And if all goes well, Spey casting will be as much instinct as single hand rod casting. Oh, that would be so nice!

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

A wonderful time (truely!!!) was had by all. Kaufman's/Dennis/Ryan/et. al. out did themselves. Weather not withstanding (more than a tad damp on Saturday/Sunday. Monday the weather was off the chart.

"IXTAPA IN MONROE? ARE YOU KIDDING! No, no, no. Trust me on this one..." Place was PACKED! One hour wait .... so into the bar. Poor Darlings. Food/service were both very good. Interesting thing was you had to drive by another of this chain (Sulton?) and the parking lot as just about empty. (Don't tell Joan .... went into the bar to get a bottle of beer and actually had a 'single lady' "hit on me."

Now that's good for a 61 year old guy.

Hey SalmoG and Fred,

Great to see you guys there! A very fun couple days to play with new toys, watch the experts put on a show, and enjoy the fine chili -brats- coffee! Outstanding doesn't even begin to cover what a great job Kaufmanns did.

Fred - this is a family board, so I'll refrain from diving into an analysis of your social exploits, fondness for the two-hander, etc. :p :p It doesn't suprise me the Monroe lady was impressed. It was fun to finally meet you and, along with others, am glad you made it home safe.

SalmoG - I've gotta continually remind myself that, no matter how nice those rods are, they're not the reason we catch fish. If they were, I'd be in serious trouble
(---$$$$$$)

hasta,

Brian / Doublespey