Been a bit dead in here......

Lots of SRC's eating chum fry right now. Starting to see some pink fry as well.
Resident coho fishing has been surprisingly good this winter and spring. Some of the coho are starting to get into that 17-18" range.
Those small coho taste great.

May go bobber watching here in the next week as some decent chironomid hatches are coming off. Haven't fished freshwater in over a year so my bobber down reflexes will likely be a bit rusty.

Anybody else been getting some feathers or fur wet lately?
SF

With this warm weather, we should start seeing some bigger bugs, too. It is time....

Boys and I went out today and slayed the trout in Spencer lake...

The fish were cruising the shallow end of the lake picking off emerging chironomids. I hooked quit a few casting in front of feeding fish while the boys were jumping in the water. The biggest was 20"

Nice.
That lake has some nice bows in it.
SF

If there's still time, I'll give the "chum baby" flies I tied a try this week. It's hard to get my mind around trout fishing in the salt. I should have been doing that this past month while the rivers I had been looking forward to fishing were out of shape during most of the first month of my retirement. I had a brutal but otherwise good trip this past week. I've only done this previously in the late summer or early fall, but have wanted to hike up the Queets River trail and fish my way back during the late winter steelhead season. So I did. However, this past winter's floods have washed out the trail in at least three places, and in another a creek now flows down about 300 yards of the trail, making it necessary to do the hike in waders rather than hiking boots. I could mention here that any hike done in waders is twice as long as one wearing proper hiking footwear. Getting turned around or lost in alder swamps has now become a standard part of this adventure. Consequently the hike took me over an hour longer than it has in the past. Although I got home Friday evening, my toes and shoulders are still quite sore. Nonetheless, the weather and water and fishing conditions were as good as I've ever found them.

I was going to head to the Cowlitz this week and maybe try a combo of spring chinook fishing in the morning and steelheading in the afternoon, but TP raised the river back up from 6500 to 10,400 cfs, so that's out for me. The south sound SRC and rezzie coho option is looking good for this week. Well, I should probably check the tide conditions, something I'm not tuned into for this fishery yet.

Sg

No

Trying to get the honey do list down to a manageable size. Happy wife happy life. She does give me a lot of lee way to go play and fish, so I really can't complain.

My son is graduating HS this year, and she wants the yard in tip top shape, so,... there are a few projects that I need to finish up before June.

I'll get a couple hours here and there in soon either on a local lake for triploids, or on the salt for SRC. Got my gear ready to roll.

Some rezzie coho and searuns today.
The rezzie are starting to get really chunky now that they are turning on to eating baitfish.
Biggest cutt was 17" beautifully spotted hen. A little slim but that will go away shortly now that they are dropping back out into the salt.

Good luck in the salt Sg. Take lots of pictures.
SF

Have a couple outing planned to exercise my new 1wt on Costa Rican Redbands. Hope to get some of the larger ones I have seen. Birthday present to me... May even try some lowland fishing if I can find some access.

my best purchase ever was an orvis 1wt blank kit that was marked $90 bucks at the morning hatch... when I took it to the register he told me it was mismarked. I offered to put it back because I couldn't afford the regular price but he insisted on selling it to me at the marked price.

I always manage a few fish with it in Idaho every year and they always kick my butt...

Thanks for chiming in.
Sound like you have some great old gear. I need to do a major organization of my stuff as well.
With this warmer weather we are having the ditch pickles should be getting active.
SF

I like small pretty fish and the 1wt will work well on small streams. My Dad made me a 1 piece that is about 3' long. I used it on tiny creeks and it was wonderful. For grins I tried it on Dingeness pinks decades ago. Even though the fish took me almost to the arbor I got it in.

That's fishing! You talking about the Salmon Creek that empties into the Sound on Standring Lane? Seen it, never fished it but it looks like the place to look for pretty trout.

The 1wt exercised 9 Tico Truchas this morning in about an hour of fishing. That is, 9 out of about 100 seen. 10-15 would watch a dry or a nymph drift right by. Haven't really figured the code out yet. My biggest was 8', saw a couple that were about twice that. Maybe try towards evening.

I live above that creek. I hiked down there a couple years ago. It didn't seem like much water in it at the time. But, there does seem to have a restoration project going on down there.

No big hit there. I grew up on the beach just north of where Salmon Creek empties into the Sound, Arroyo Beach. I spend many times out on the sound fishing for cod, flounder, and come fall was trolling little spoons for cutties. I wasn't real successful, not many fish met their demise on my account. But, I sure had fun on the water.

My parents still live down there, and that's my goto spot for a few hours of fishing, grab the boat and head to the honey hole and beyond.

Went in search of swamp donkeys today.
A couple small pickles to hand.
Felt odd to not have to rise the salt off everything when I got home after not having fished freshwater in over a year.

Next time I go I think I'll ask the lakefront homeowner if I can take his picnic table for a spin around the lake.
SF

Umpquia estuary..

Just returned from 8 days fishing in BC. River was out the first couple days, but then began dropping and clearing. And fish began being caught. OK, as many were hooked and lost as were caught. But all in all, a very satisfactory trip.

Leaving on a backpacking trip Friday. Then heading to B-10 next week, but that won't be a fly fishing thing.

Sg,
Take any pics you care to post with your new camera?
SF

Did snap a few pics, but I left my new camera with a friend who arrived on my departure day. His camera battery went on the fritz, so he's using mine - and will probably take a ton more pictures than I did anyway - and I'll get my camera back when he returns home.

Noteworthy, but no pics, I caught both my smallest and largest steelhead ever from this river this trip. Big fun.

Good job on the steelhead Sg.

We'd be interested in seeing some of your friends pictures from your camera as well.
SF

Well, I'm a bit short on the fishing tales these day.

However, we did a family trip out to Salt Creek Rec Area this past week. Fished the estuary of Salt Creek, and only hook one small Cutthroat.

Fished Lake Crescent and managed to hook one small trout on a dry Damsel.

Also fished a small river near by and hooked a 12" RB on a Yellow Stimulator, (on a 2wt, what a hoot)

Every where I fished, I hooked something, even a finger, but, nothing to write home about.

So the vacation continues.

Hit the salt in West Seattle, and caught 2 Cutts.

Tomorrow my son and I decided to take a hike, will take the bug rods and see what we get.

Getting in the rest of summer before it ends.

Encountered millions of anchovies on the beach today.
The water looked like it was flowing black. Hadn't ever seen them before on this beach.
The cutts were busting on them sending them spraying, but it was difficult hooking up with that much bait around.
SF

Leave Thursday for a month Down Under. Already have the licence for Tasmania trout. Hoping for some fun, but they are recovering from some huge winter floods. Then, some Queensland creek jungles. Like to get an Archerfish there.

Looks like you have quite an adventure in store C'man. I've never traveled that far south, for fish or anything else. Maybe one day. I'm heading north for another week at steelhead that say, "eh." Bon voyage!

Oz is great fun. Last time I did only a small bit of fishing but saw a couple nice trout and streams, one of which I have permission to fish. Like to get a brown or two. They only stocked them once, so they are in all likelihood English/Scots.

Our daughter is finishing up grad school there. We'll visit, tour, bird, photograph. For the hiker, Tasmania has some wondrous treks.

Enjoy the Canuckian steelies.

Looking forward to the Oz and Canadian reports.
Hope you guys have a great time.

I generally take a week off in September and go on a nine day beach coho bender.
Not this year.
Searun fishing has been decent, but watching lots of double digit coho jumping around and not being able to target them is painful to say the least.
SF

Pretty cuttie.

the flounder fishing has been excellent according to recent reports.

Very nice cuttie !

stud cuttie

Oz update

Had a wonderful trip with lots of birding, photographing, eating, drinking, and general fine time. Plus zip for fishing.

Hit Tasmania in a big storm. The stream I planned to fish (modest creek) was up about 2 metres. All other streams were at least as high and rather brown. Did buy a book on Tassie trouting and it is well worth it-at the right water levels. Almost all wild browns in streams, rivers, and lakes. How do you want to fish them? Tailing (feeding on snails), sight fishing to individuals, big rivers, small creeks, big lakes, small lakes. Plus, they have major sea-run browns (like our cutties but average about twice as large). Lots of bay/estuary fly-casting to aggressive feeders. Next time. And we'll try to be closer to summer than on the cusp of spring.

Was hoping to fish some Queensland streams, too, but there just weren't any where we were that had any access. Had one chance to do some lake fishing for Barramundi (on a 1-wt) but that got rained out, too.

To top all that off, when we landed in LA it was raining for the first time in something like 4+months. When we first retired, everywhere we went it snowed (this included Hawaii). Now, it just rains.

Cm,
Thanks for the report. Bummer about the lack of fishing due to rain, but it sounds like a fantastic trip you had.

Still waiting for pictures and reports from Sg.
SF

I was really bummed that the creek we stayed by was out. I had seen a couple taking surface bugs the last time we were there. Probably a km of bank accessible with browns and maybe some platypus. Next time.....

Since we got shut out on coho this year, I've been spending more time chasing these guys this fall and winter.
Had planned to close out the year today, but I'm getting killed by a cold so no fishing today.
Anybody else getting out?
Go Dawgs,
SF

Those are some healthy, beautiful fish!

Going to cast some vintage graphite today. Hopefully won't break anything.

Sorry your sick boss stone, bet some Seagrams a warm blanket and a husky win will make you feel a bit better!


c/22

Anyone chasing SRC's this time of year? It looks like it's been a couple weeks since last post.
Thanks,

K2

Has slowed down some but still some nice fish around.
Some folks like fishing these clear cold snaps, but I'd rather have clouds and rain.
I've had some really nice days this year fishing dirty water in [Bleeeeep!] weather.
SF

Is anything hitting in the Deschutes?

Not myself, but know someone who lives in the Bend area and he had a good fishing using big dries a few days ago.
SF

Mixed or straight up yes?

Yes sir, preferably while sitting around a campfire

And with Dad at Lake Chopoka. Good stuff that Dry Fly Whisky.