Where to begin? Once again, I have let over a year go by without taking the time to sit down and do some work on this blog. Last I posted was in February of 2019 and here it is April 2020! So much has happened over this span of time. So, like I said, where to begin?
The winter season of 2018/2019 as most of you already know was dismal as far as the fishing was concerned. We received very little rain over the majority of the season giving us some pretty tough conditions to deal with. That, on top of almost no fish returning made for my worst winter steelhead season yet. This of course is speaking in terms of catch rates, in terms of experience gained and friendships gained it was phenomenal. There is always a silver lining to the worst days of fishing if you look hard enough. The long periods of low clear water and low fish returns forced us all into trying new things and new spots to fish. The low water allowed us to fully study the river bottom giving us some very valuable info that could benefit the seasons to come. All in all, the fishing was not much to write about, but we made the best of it and learned more about our rivers.
The major highlights of winter 2018/19 was getting to go up and fish the Skagit River with Jerry French. The Skagit River has been closed to fishing for the winter run steelhead and more for nearly ten years. The previous year they had opened a spring catch and release only season, which they again did this 2018/19 season. I was absolutely blown away by the size and majesty of this river system. Steelhead runs and gravel bars miles long suitable for several anglers to spread out more than comfortably.
Matt and I made our first trip up to go fish with Jerry in the beginning of the catch and release only season. This trip was on one of the coldest days, if not the coldest day of the year. Early morning air temps were in the teens and the water not too far behind that. For most anglers this would have been a stay indoors kind of day, but we had made the long drive up and we were not going to miss out on getting to fish such an iconic steelhead river with an equally iconic guide.
We began our float by having to first break free all the ice that had built up on Jerry’s raft, eventually making our way to the first run of the day. I took the top end of the run and Matt took the bottom and tail out. I fished my way through the head of the run back to the boat, which may as well have been a full steelhead run on its own, I had a couple nice grabs from the bull trout that were around. As I was fishing parallel to the boat and chatting with Jerry as I went along, we were watching Matt below us and watched him get hammered by a more than feisty steelhead in the tail out. Quickly, Jerry and I realized something went haywire as we watched Matt go from fighting a fish to yarding in his running line and shooting head with sink tip and all by hand…his reel had frozen solid and the fish broke his mono running line freeing itself and nearly taking all of Matt’s tackle with it. Needless to say, Jerry and I were a bit giddy, this was in the first run of the day, on a day you wouldn’t expect any action due to the temperatures and there was active fish around while we were the only boat out. This was going to be a good day. Our assumptions were correct, it turned out to be a great day despite the conditions and by the end of it, Matt had hooked and landed his first ever Skagit river winter steelhead, as well as his largest winter steelhead to date. Just before Matt hooked this beauty of a fish, Jerry while standing in the boat and guiding Matt through the run says to Matt, “You’re going to get a grab once you are standing directly under those powerlines.” Sure as can be, exactly where he said, Matt got the grab and it stuck.
We made several more trips up to the Skagit throughout the remainder of that season, taking the jet sled up with us. We had some great times and learned much about this legendary river and I look forward to hopefully being able to fish more winters to come out there.
Winter 2019 eventually gave way to spring and it soon was time for summer steelhead and trout to be on the menu. We made plenty of trips over to the Deschutes having our fun catching loads of hungry trout and camping out under the stars. Which, by the way if you haven’t done, is the only way to camp on the Deschutes. Right under the stars on cots. There are too many trips to the Deschutes to retell them all here, so I will let the photos tell most of those stories for now.
Of course, I also made a few trips down to the land of steelhead dry fly magic, the North Umpqua river. Unfortunately, the past couple summers I had been fairly busy with guiding and didn’t get to spend as much time down on the NU as I normally would. This particular summer season of 2019 was also impeded a bit by my wife and I moving into a new home and all the typical duties that come along with that. So here too I will let the photos kind of tell the stories of those few NU trips.
In August of 2019 Matt and I had another fun opportunity to head back up to fish the Skagit River to fish with Jerry for late summer steelhead and Pink Salmon. We of course took the jet sled up with us and were able to anchor it right at camp each day allowing us to get up and go in the mornings without having to deal with boat ramps and launching each day. This was an especially fun trip for Matt and I as we had not fished for Pink Salmon before. We made up for lost time real quick having plenty of Pinks around for us to play with. Some spots we would fish would yield us 6 or 7 fish at a time! Being steelheaders this was too cool for us, being that we are more accustomed to 1 fish or so in a day if any at all. The fishing was spectacular, hanging with good friends at camp was incredible, and the trip will be a favorite of mine for years to come.
Soon summer gave way to autumn and autumn into winter and it was go time yet again. A fresh new winter season was ahead of us and this one looked more promising than the previous with plenty of rain coming in. Our hopes were high for the 2020 winter season. Early on we started getting into fish and the rivers were in prime condition. Then more rain came. Soon the rivers were high and muddy and instead of complaining about too little water, we were hoping for a break from the rain. We had the 2020 Winter Steelhead School coming up and things were looking bleak with all the rivers in the area blown out and no end in sight of the rain. Leading up to the School I was worried we would end up with low clear conditions and fishing would suck for our students. That definitely wasn’t the case. The original plan was to be on the Clackamas river for the school, as the house we had booked for the students and guides was river front on the Clackamas. However, the Clack was blown out and unfishable as our students arrived, so with our fingers tightly crossed we made the decision to move over to the Sandy River. The Sandy too was high and for the most part blown out, but the water clarity was perfect! So, we pushed ahead full steam and put our boats in and went for it. That decision paid off big time, we of course had the entirety of the river to ourselves since everyone else had stayed home assuming it was blown out and unfishable. We had more action on those couple of days than maybe all the rest of the season! In just about every run we fished someone was either running for a net or shouting “fish on!” This was definitely the overall lesson for the students as well as us guides…you will never know if you don’t go. We made some great friends on this trip and had a lot of fun getting drenched on the river catching fish. I cannot wait for the next one!
This pretty much catches us up, the remainder of the season there was some good days fishing with clients and friends and some more fish brought to hand. Things were looking good for business as we neared the peak and best of the winter fishing. Then Corona came. None of us could have ever expected what was coming. First travel was cut off, then one by one more business was shut down and services closed. Now here we are in the beginning of April stuck at home hoping for the best. Most if not all the country is for the most part locked down. Restaurants closed, parks closed, boat ramps closed etc. etc. At this point I’m not sure any of us know what more to expect from this situation. Staying home to help slow the spread of this thing is the best thing we can do now. I know this isn’t what anyone, let alone fly anglers or outdoor enthusiasts wants to hear, but we have got to do it. I know better than most just how frustrating and tough it is to not be out fishing with clients and friends, hell even just to be able to have friends over for a barbeque now that the weather is nice even, but we have to do it for now. I know lots of us across the country are out of work and wondering how we are going to keep the lights on or keep the kids fed. This is scary, but I do believe that it will pass. I hope you all are doing well and keeping healthy. I always look for the win in any situation, for the silver lining. We can use this extra down time at home for something positive, like learning new things that maybe you’ve put off because you didn’t have the time? Read that book you’ve been meaning to, go online and learn a new language or skill maybe. Tie boxes full of flies for the up coming seasons of fishing. Take care of the yard stuff you’ve been putting off. Whatever it may be for you I hope there’s something good you can focus on while we wait this thing out. And when this thing is over and we can all see each other again I will see you on the river!
Stay safe and healthy, if you’re in need don’t hesitate to reach out. If you need to chat call or email.
Lastly, please, please, please when things get back to somewhat normal, please book trips or classes with your local guides who have been severely impacted by this if you can. Support your local fly shops in any way you can. We are all in this together.
Cheers and thank you!
Bryan