Lingcod Are Mean

I do not think I can tie a pattern to match the one this Linger took. Then again I am sure Rick Matney has a few.

That Other Way to Fish

Well one thing I try to do ever year is pull out the red can of Hills Brothers out and plunk some worms for some bottom feeders. I like to call it getting back to my Midwest roots. I spend many a summer day when I was young fishing with my father or grandmother for whatever would grab onto a hook. I have many found memories of catching fish with both of them everywhere from Kansas farm ponds to bass lakes in the Ozarks.

This year with my Cornhusker father spending the summer in Washington, I was finally able to go in search of catfish. The only difference is this time we were able to take my daughter. My daughter is only five years old and as you know getting kids into fishing is not always an easy task, especially girls. But Lil is one of those kids that is in love with animals and we have talked about different kinds of fish through the years and she has always wanted to see a catfish. So this was an easy mission.

West-side catfish are not the easiest species to find and large ones even more so, but going to one of my college stomping grounds in more ways then one, I took them to Sauvie Island, just North of Portland. This island is blessed with warm water species, though nothing of size. Anadramous fish however you can find salmon, steelhead and sturgeon on both the Multnomah Channel and Columbia River sides.

Still not a far drive from my home Southwest, Washington this was an easy answer to find my daughter a few fish to catch. And catch some she did.















Lil with her first channel catfish, not huge, but rare in my experience on the island.





















My bleeding red father showing Lil what a bullhead catfish looks like. We caught tons of them, but they never get that big. It got me thinking about pulling the six weight out with some nymphs and streamers. Maybe next year I guess. Catching a catfish on the fly is actually something I always wanted to do and have lots of friends that have done it by accident.















Average size bullhead that day.
















Yellow Perch, the wannabe walleye.

Motiv Madnass at the Film Awards

MOTIV Fishing - GEOFISH Drake Fest Submission from MOTIV FISHING on Vimeo.

Jody Seay at The Back Page with Scott Sadil

Here is a great interview done by Jody Seay of Oregon State University on Oregon author Scott Sadil. Check out Lost in Wyoming.

Epic Shitter

There comes a time for ever outdoors-man when they come face to face with the fact that when out in the sticks, sometimes you need to take a shit. The fact of the matter is most of us do it and dread it and even when there are facilities available, you never have the comfort of your own office. Then you come face to face or hand to butt with the fact that we do not always carry TP for the bunghole. You can only cut the sleeves off so many shirts and you don't always have enough receipts in your wallet to wipe your butt with. So now some of you are thinking this is disgusting, but really tho, we all have dealt with peristaltic movements in the woods and these are life and death movements, or moments, or whatever.





















So today while hiking up a trail I came face to face with a small building with a solar panel on it. I didn't think too much of it but don't remember seeing it there in the past. After fishing for a few hours and hiking back with my father I decided to check it out and low and behold it was one of those new fancy Composting Toilets and good for my dad because it was in the nick of time. As cool as that was, what was inside was a little more then expected.





























Now we have all used outhouses and they are almost always rated on the higher side of repulsive, however this one brought both a side of home as well as multiple aspects that cater to both men and fishermen in general. Flowers, towels, mints, hand sanitizer, calendar with some very lovely ladies of distinction and highly sought out merits, ample supply of yes TP and last but not least, a magazine rack filled with non other then fly fishing magazines.

I don't know who paid for this thing, I do not know who assembled it and I do not know who added the new additions, but what I do know is I like and for sure everyone using the river will appreciate it. Both from an ecological aspect as well as a lack of fumes and the added comfort of home. It certainly is an Oasis for those dreaded bowel movements on the riverside.















It also helps that you can catch this right next to it.

Thoughts On This One...................

Remember it doesn't matter what fly color you use as long as its Purple!!!

Geofish Trailer

Had another Filipino feast and Jaybird's Vantucky home last week and got to see some of the footage Jay and Chris have been working on from their travels down the Coast to the Yucatan Peninsula. I am always amazed to see how their work is all put together and rest assured you will be amazed once again with the stories and footage they are putting on the screen. For those of you going to this years Sixth Annual Fly Fishing Video Awards in New Orleans, LA, you will get to see some delicious footage from their travels and Jay will be there moderating the event.

Early Morning Freestone Pimp.

What is the EMFP?

The “Early Morning Freestone Pimps” are a group of anglers committed to the environmental concerns over our wild resources, and the passion and commitment to obtaining…. oops wrong group……..let me rephrase…

It means nothing, and everything…. All at once.

We have rules about being a Pimp.
We love to fish.
We love to take a road trip, and fish.
We love to fish early, unless we sleep in.
We enjoy a beer or a sip of the harder stuff.
We love gravy.
We love to give each other a ton of grief.
We have fun throwing a fly, to whatever.
We impress the ladies; however there are never ladies around, so that is speculation. But we would like to think we impress the ladies.


Our late buddy, Ben Kapp is the creator and Godfather.
There are only a few Original Gangsters- Me, Mike, Jay Johnson.

There are maybe a half a dozen others… maybe. They have earned the right to be an “EMFP”. They are allright in our book.

If you see a sticker, come say hi, and give us a beer.
Or buy us dinner.
Or just be yourself.

PS.... My Name is Mike Gamby. I like long walks in the park, cold hot dogs, and spooning.
I am tired of this blog, and all this "steelhead" talk... They dont exist. It is like the unicorn. or maybe because I SUCK at steelhead fishing.

But I do love me some trout... so Mike let me in here, so I can talk about trout. And the EMFP.


















You better listen up now!

Booty Call or a Morning Swinging a Fly?

Today I was posed a question I thought I would never need to ask myself. Do I drift and swing flies in the morning or meet up with an eager gal for a booty call this evening? Being married for the last ten years, this was an easy answer, but today with my wife finding greener pastures and less steelhead in the freezer it has become more confusing. Being posed with this great dilemma I had to think hard to whether the possibility of a swung fish is more important to me then getting laid. Is it? From years of being married I thought about this and the answer was as clear as mud. Perhaps if I was getting laid more I would not be going through this personal turmoil and divorce, perhaps I would still be happily married, perhaps my liquor cabinet would not have disappeared when I was not looking. So many questions and few answers. So in the end I am going to swing a fly in the morning and think of my decision every step down each run. Perhaps it was a bad decision. I think I will leave it up to fate.

What would you guys do? I can't change the shuttle time and my fishing buddy will be there early in the morning.