What's Your Favorite Season?

I've been away from the board for awhile but lurked off and on. This board used to be really fun but lately it feels like all we do around here is discuss fisheries politics. This is certainly a place for that and it's awesome to have all the bios, ex-bios, lawyers, fish junkies and such contributing on a regular basis. Can't deny the history we've made as a community here when it comes to "getting to the bottom of things" but man, I read Vedder's Kenai post and thought, a number of us appreciate pictures and the like and we used to really feed off of picture or question formats. Sitting here after my two year old just went down for the night and preparing myself for some time away from Meadow for a bit (to head up on an annual BC jaunt), I thought to start a thread, hopefully with some interest in the question. What is your favorite season and why? Fell free to explain in text or just portray your feeling in a picture of sorts.

Mine is without doubt, the fall. While every season brings its' charm, there is no other like the fall with its' brilliant colors, deadwood smells and ofcourse, the quarry. Fall salmon and steelhead are hard to beat for this guy... ofcourse it' means the eve of winter steelhead.

I'm with you Danny, except now that I am into bird hunting there are simply not enough days. Not even close.

When I lived in southwest Idaho a lifetime ago my favorite season was fall(sept, oct) 28 degree mornings with sunny 65 degree days with river trout hungry with the winter coming on. Now my favorite season is August/Sept hunting coho on the beaches of Whidbey. Never been much of a picture taker.

At my age and health every day is my favorite season.

Actually August through October is the one for me.

fp

I wish every month was either September or October....November ain't bad either.
SF

April for me. Springers and the hottest steelhead of the year.

If I were King for a day I'd re-order the seasons as follows:

1. Fall
2. Fall
3. Spring
4. Fall

Funny Danny, after seeing your reply in Dave's Kenai thread I'd thought of asking you why you weren't knee deep in a BC steelhead stream. Glad to know you'll get some time there again this fall. I've been away too long. Say hi to a few big ones for me will ya.

Hope you are digging the daddy role. Turns out two is a lot more work than one. Not much fishing time for me these days, but I've tried to make up for lack of quantity with quality and am trying to make the most out of limited opportunities.

Another vote for the fall!

If I were king I would take a week from every other month and split them between September and October! That way might be able to squeeze in all the fishing and hunting I would like to enjoy.

Curt

Chasing BC chrome is memorable but I love fall quarter at Elk U. Awesome campus....

Great photo! Is that a puff of feathers from a hit or is it your shot string just behind the bird?

Fall, without a doubt.

ClearCreek

I absolutely HATE the fall season.... too GAWDAM short!

I wish it could be July all year long. As much as I enjoy chasing coho, I never get tired of watching a rod fold over when a big king crushes a plug.

That is feathers. I actually hit that one! I can say that's a GREAT shot, as I did not take it. A friend did with my camera

A few quick snaps of fall on the water from Vedder's recent Kenai visit.

With kids, soccer, work, and extreme netting and closures, fall is more of a wishful time for me lately. Summers have been a blast though! Awesome pics btw!

ColeyG with some great screen savers.

Gotta say Moose hunting, when you or a buddy has a tag in their pocket

Locally the kings are Giant Tomatoes, the kind I DON'T want to pick. No steelhead season this fall (is the rumor on the Upper Columbia), so it's mule deer the next 2 weeks, and back to Idaho for late whitetails.

Fall - Chanterelles, boletes, white matsutake, twitching jigs for late-run coho, the occasional late fall Chinook or steelhead, cooler temps, and autumn leaves. Just not enough time in the day, or enough days, to enjoy it all.

It could be late October/Early November all year long and I'd be happy.

Little to no pressure on my favorite rivers and beautiful fall scenery.

Gotta be the fall, I just can't wait for it to show up every year.

BFD, hope your trip is going well, enjoy the northern big boys.


c/22

A fall river with brilliant colors and surprises.






All the world is right..



Richard gets a biggun...







First cast of the day...




The very next cast...



Couple pretty shots...






Good times in the fall.

That buck looks like a toothless granny

Perfect example of why no taxidermist should EVER try to simulate teeth on a steelhead mount.

Shoulda saved that one for Election Day, Daniel-san.


WOW WOW WOW!

OK... CC's got me all motivated to sort thru the season's pics and mebbe get "one or two" posted up before clamming tomorrow.

Just ONE problem.... this pic could really use some chrome.

That one of Richard's is in one of my favorite spots . . . I think. Was it a fowl place?

Nice work as always BFD.
SF

Awesome Danny!

You nailed it Dave.


By the way, no "Dannying" the fish here...

See new snapped float rod... think I "Todd'd" the fish this time.



Some more pics...








And finally, in the spirit of Blue Friday (few days ago), GO HAWKS!!!

Never get tired of these fall colors...

Those steelhead had better not be from our state or I'm clearly missing out on a great fishery lol

That bruiser's been hooked a time or two. Looks strong, too!

About time someone livened this place up with a real fishing thread. Awesome stuff Danny and it tugs at my heart strings to revisit some old haunts and friendly faces.

Looks like conditions were great for you guys and I hope you enjoyed being back in the holy land.

Thanks for sharing and keep it coming!

As a teacher, Summer is where it's at. Summer means vacation to Canada to chase toothy critters and then long days to get lost in the woods, along stream banks, up in the mountains, and down by the sea to regain my senses.

Cool re-cap Danny, looks like you guys had a great trip.
Missed you by a week this year, but found the coohoo eating funky colored worms when we were there as well.
What kind/brand of blue worm is that?
Thanks for livening up the board with your report.

Cool thread. With out a doubt it's fall / winter. Good luck,

SZ

Summer seems to be the only time of year I can get some time to get out on the water. Between my daughters activities, ski school, softball and my job, there just isn't much time left. I make the most out of the time I have available with short trips to Ketchikan.
Lots of halibut this summer.



Got my little one up for her first trip this year. Put the hurt on a few nice chums and did a few hikes for some trout fishing.



Snacks we're always within reach.

Lots of nice feeder kings in September which made up for fewer silvers.

Overall, it was a great summer with family and friends!

Holey worms makes a ton of colors and there as easy as slipping on a corky. They're made by BNR tackle.

Late summer/fall.

Got my wife her first kings back in Sept.


They were very fresh and full of fight. Caught on a 6-12 10.5' steelhead rod. Her arms were pretty dead after the first fight, finally requiring my assistance to land the second one. The first fish made a 25 yard run upstream in about 6" of water. Also met some awesome people that shared the wealth in this hole and later gave me a ride back to my rig. Her giddy laughter during the fight was the bright point of the whole day. Definitely one of my most memorable days on the river.


Here's her first coho. After 4-5 days of standing next to me, doing the same thing I did but coming up empty, she was rewarded on a pit stop on the way to the beach.


I'm grateful we can spend this kind of time together.

That's so cool!!!

Yeah... gotta agree that fall has the most rewards of any season all year.

From gorgeous sunrises...





to stunning sunsets...



And some dam good eats in between...

That lid for that jar say Pautskze?

As I tell my two year old, don't eat the bait!!

Even without color, fall is still the BEST season....

You pretty much nailed it in that last paragraph Coley. Ones alot harder and two... good gawd. I find my allotted fishing time is severely reduced when you have a little one with real responsibilities. Totally worth it though.

Amen Francis!

This is usually the time of year that I post my annual Martha Stewart-esque "fall colors with chrome coho" pic....








[





... but with the local 2016 coho being so elusive (for me, at least) I really thought this year's pic would remain hopelessly fishless..... just like last year's pic when my local rivers were abruptly CLOSED to salmon.



.
.
.
.
.
.
.


Well, OneEyedGoat (JF) and his good buddy DancesWithChums (JD) came to my rescue in the search for chrome.... and they delivered admirably. While coho have traditionally been the mainstay of this perennial pulchritudinous pic-post, 2016 has me breaking tradition. Let's just say desperate times call for desperate measures.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

BEHOLD....

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

These ultra-clean chums saved the day.... and my hosts were kind enough to let me keep them all to donate to a good charitable home. I took personal care of the raw skeins and converted them into premium-grade ikura for friends that appreciate that tasty delicacy (in other words, the ones who aren't afraid of eating bait)

nice chums

You should have seen the still-living critters in the water! Purple platinum is usually a description I reserve for ocean kings.

I caught a few chums yesterday, but nothing that clean. Glad to see them making a solid appearance; seemed in doubt a week ago.

This was last night when I put the mirin finish on the eggs....



They absorbed all the mirin and came up to full turgor by this morning.... LOVELY!

With fatherhood quickly approaching, the fall season took on a whole new meaning. Two days before the birth of my son my dad and I had a reflective trip that coincided with a smattering of fat coho. Twitch and repeat. Going to be fun passing the fishing tradition on.



t

Warms the soul, Brad.

This was last night when I put the mirin finish on the eggs....



They completely absorbed every last drop of the mirin and came up to full turgor by this morning.

This is what the caviar looks like tonight... never touched 'em apart from a costume change on the ornamental garnish.

LOVELY!

Your caviar looks wonderful. If it's not a secrete I would like to know your recipe. The mirin has me intrigued. Thanks JP

Full pic-tutorial on the whole process ala fNp coming soon.

Stop eating the bait.......

Haven't gotten out much this fall, which is probably my favorite season.

Taught The Boy how to shoot a bit....



Smoked up some meats for some Husky Tailgates.....



Watched some EPIC Husky Football games....



Managed to fish once or twice here or there and with great friends and family!



Even managed to sneak away to Vegas for a long weekend....




I did manage to work on the house a bit...



and even managed to go on an Armed Nature Hike...



Looking forward to finally getting on the river with my boy here in a couple of weeks!

That's some great progress on the homestead there Paker. Way to go!

The last six weeks has been full of football, yard work, shooting a deer, killing a pile of salmon, crabs, and harvesting buckets of various types of wild mushrooms.

Our garden is finally winding down from feeding us two meals a day every day (to go along with all the stuff I kill or gather)...what's not to love about the fall?

Didn't make it to BC this year, but that's not BC's fault, or fall's...can't do it all every year.

The lame coho season was...lame. The few openers they managed for us gave up plenty of fish, though, and while it's usually two entire freezers full to get me thru the year, it's more like one...good thing this year's deer is quite a bit bigger than last year's

I really don't have a "favorite" season, since my passion for the outdoors is served year round by something or other, all the time, but if the widespread availability of non-store bought food is a significant measure, then fall wins it all.

Fish on...

Todd

Finally got around to posting the full meal deal....

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?p=13268161#post13268161

Thanks Doc. Now all I need is the fish gods to be nice to me.