Things Learned on the Water in 2009

Small flies really do work for hatchery fish, though most of them are smolts.

Don’t be a cellhole and answer the phone while fishing, you loose fish that way. (2 to be exact)

Mad Dog 20/20 and a half case of Natty Light isn’t a good idea when fishing the Sauk and Skagit.

The ladies really do got fishing karma.

Skaters work and it is more about their movement then their color.

Five weights really shouldn’t be used for steelhead.

Light-wire hooks are springs.

More steelhead get tangled in Columbia River Commercial fishing nets then they let you know about.

Leaves aren’t the best option for cleaning the dookie off you arse. Thank god for receipts and polyleader packages.

Catching steelhead with the sun on the water happens even with a dry line and no shade.

Fall chinook will take a fly presented on a dry line.

Going back to the old spots you stopped fishing really pay off.

The Skagit really is one of the most beautiful places to swing a fly on this earth.

Sometimes road kill really does fill drawers on the tying table.

There are way too many trout fishermen out there playing like they are steelheaders.

There really are a few natives left and a lot more cutthroat then you think in the local rivers.

Bring more then three pounds of bacon on a week long fishing trip.

The old timers really are full of shit, though they know what they are talking about.

Shit happens when you least expect it when you are drifting.

Rainier Beer really is better then PBR and Natural Ice is for a lack of better words, the shit. Always keep an extra half rack in the boat.

Alcoholism sucks

Checking out those places you put on you list years ago really can pay off.

You can catch fish on the D with a foot of visibility.

Apparently catching 55 steelhead on your 55th birthdays does happen for some Jedi’s. Damn Steve!

Cardboard boxes make great coolers.

Wakers can out fish tips on cold days and hatchery fish do like them.

Switch rods really are great fishing tools in low water scenarios for both swinging and nymphing.

Be careful about posting pictures on the internet because someone on the river may actually recognize you.

Most of the Kalama hatchery summer runs are actually brood stock. (fucking horseshit)

Don’t be stubborn and beat the same river over and over again. Especially when you know that other river is fishing well.

Hardy Reels sure sound swell with a nice fish on.

Six weight Echo switch rods will catch chrome chinook.

When you get hurt on the river and know you should stop fishing, continuing to fish for the rest of the day isn’t always a good option.

Don’t carry your buddies bottle of Jamison’s while fishing. Good thing glass is biodegradable.

When all else fails, go back to your instincts.

Comedy with the boys out on the river out plays how many fish caught .

Although your soul and drive may be found on the river, your heart is always at home with the family, thus you need to be there more often. I must be getting gold.

Happy New Year

Mabuhay! Make sure you dirty dogs out there are too drunk and hungover to wade because I'm fishing this weekend.

Steelhead Etiquette

By Scott Richmond

What's the right behavior when you're on the river?

If angling behavior were limited to the letter of the law, everyone's enjoyment would suffer. This is especially true when steelhead runs are strong. A strong run brings out anglers who don't normally fly fish for steelhead, and this creates a situation ripe for conflict.
I think most confrontations come from ignorance. To be sure, there are people who are going to be jerks no matter what, and there's nothing you can do except shrug your shoulders and move on. However, most people want to do what's right, if they only knew.
So here's my take on good steelhead fly fishing etiquette. If you have additional suggestions, click "contact us" below and e-mail them to me. I'll compile some of the responses and publish them in a follow-up article.

1. The best advice for behavior on and around the river is the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," where "others" includes the entire ecosystem. Communicate with other river users in a positive and courteous manner. Expect people to do the right thing, and usually they will.

2. If someone is fishing near an area you want to fish, ask if you will disturb them. If they are sitting, and not fishing, they may be resting the water or waiting for the light to change. In any case, ask before you fish--and if they say "No," find another run. If someone is camped, ask permission before fishing in front of their camp; if no one is in the camp (holler around a bit before concluding this), you can regard the water as available.

3. Don't be a hole hog: don't monopolize the good water for long periods. Give someone else a chance.

4. If someone is fishing a run for with traditional tactics they are probably working their way downstream. Don't wade into the river below them, or near them on the upstream side. If you are not sure how far downstream they are going, and you want to fish the water, ask first. If you enter the water downstream, you should stay at least 150 yards from an upstream angler. This rests the water for about an hour between anglers.

5. If an angler is using indicator tactics, they could be progressing in either direction, so ask before wading in above or below them.

6. If you are floating the river in a boat, give bank anglers a wide berth. Notice where they are casting to, and give them lots of space. If you aren't sure what water they're fishing, ask them. Try to stay at least 30 feet away from the water they're fishing, and pass by quietly without splashing or making other noise that will be transmitted through the water.

7. Don't pull your boat or raft into a backeddy until you are sure no one is fishing
it.

8. There are basic boating right-of-way rules, such as: down-river-bound traffic has the right-of-way; and boats should bear to the right when meeting. However, once a powerboat is in a rapids it cannot back down, and drift craft need to wait to enter the rapids until the power boat is clear. At the same time, a powerboat should not enter a rapids if a drift craft is already in it or is about to enter it.

9. Anglers and boaters of all persuasions should recognize the right of anglers and boaters of differing persuasions to use the river. Manners are contagious. Which kind do you want to perpetuate on the river?

10. Don't target or harass spawning fish. Recognize spawning redds and don't wade through or anchor in them.


Scott Richmond is the author of several fly fishing books for the Pacific Northwest that include: Best Fly Waters, Deschutes River (two editions), Cascade Lakes, Endless Season, The Pocket Gillie for fly anglers as well as the Rogue River and Craine Prarie: Deschutes Headwaters River Journals. You can find other writing from Scott in periodicals and on Westfly, a non profit based website with a blog and forum available to help educate the general public and advance the quality of fly fishing in the West. For those of you who want to explore the waters of the Pacific Northwest and especially the Deschutes River, this is where to do your research.



















Scott's Fishing Oregon's Deschutes River is a key ingredient to success on the Deschutes River. This second edition includes way more secrets then we need to know and the 152 pages has some of the best photography ever done on the river by Brian O'Keefe and Jim Schollmeyer. For those of you who want to explore and find success on the river this is a must read, worthy for all trout and steelhead fishermen.

For those of you who are interested in hearing a recent interview Scott did with Lani Waller, you can find it here on Westfly. They cover a wide variety of topics that include etiquette, history, river stewardship as well as tips and tactics.

Get Your Orvis Balloons

From the Orvis website:

"Fly fishing strike indicators adjust to any water conditions, big or small. Attaches easily and stays afloat better. Suspends nymphs better. Reusable. Biodegradable. 10 balloons and O-rings per pack. Instructions included."

Now for some odd reason these are marked down and you should all get on it and buy them up for stocking stuffers. Damn, you wonder why Orvis gets a bad wrap, not to mention nymphers. Now I am not talking trash about Orvis or balloon chucking, though I should. But seriously, a balloon and an O-wring were previously a dollar a piece? WTF? The purpose of cheap assess using balloons was because they are cheap asses and Orvis marketing that is bright. But hey, at least they added instructions.

Strong Runs Newsletter

I highly recommend reading the Native Fish Society Fall Newsletter. All of there newsletters can be also found in their archive. This Fall newsletter covers a variety of topics including:

Conflicting goals of fish management agencies
Economics study on the cost of Mitchell Act hatchery fish
New study that documents the lethal effects on young salmon caused by sulfite egg cures
Dangers associated with raising salmon as livestock
River Steward notes and news
River Steward Program grows
Thank you to NFS membership for their support
NFS upgrades web presence

Spring Chinook for 2010

Although the Columbia River fishery managers expect the largest run of Spring Chinook in the 70 years of counting fish for 2010. I am very skeptical regarding this information. This estimate does not include Lower Columbia River stocks or Willamette basin fish. When these numbers are added to the already 470K fish that expected to cross over Bonneville Dam, the run will be huge. As a pessimistic steelheader who has watched the runs decline on all my local rivers over the last decade, I have a hard time believing this. Many of my local spring chinook fisheries were closed early last year because of poor returns. However with these numbers estimated at four times the return seen over Bonneville Dam in 2009, I hope I am wrong. Maybe the ocean conditions that brought a healthy return of summer steelhead and Coho Salmon in the Columbia River in 2009 is a sign of a new trend in ocean conditions. Then again the drastic fall in Fall Chinook on the Northern Oregon Coast and Washington Coast lead me to think otherwise.

Chinook returns are based on jack counts from the previous season. Jack salmon are two to three salt fish that return early and are not sexually mature fish. The Spring Chinook jack counts over Bonneville Dam for 2009 was over 66K in 2009 leading to believe that there is good ocean survival for this years return. However this relationship does not always carry weight as seen in the returns in 2007 and 2008 where there very large jack counts seen did not lead to large returns of fish. Lets hope the genetic alternations of hatchery fish over decades have not changed the genetic makeup of these fish and we are not seeing a new trend of mini chinook. But hey, I am not a fisheries expert and hope my pessimistic thought is wrong. Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope to swing one up this spring.

Read more about the 2010 Spring Chinook returns courtesy of Oregon Live and the Columbia River Bulletin.

Later Dumbass!

Well the dipshit Mayor of Forks is out of office finally. Nedra Reed was the the mayor of Forks that opposed catch and release fishing in the Olympic Penninsula back in 2004. For some fucked up reason the Fish and Wildlife Commission altered the regulations and now what do we have? A depleted run of steelhead in the Quillayute River system. Last spring 4700 fish were counted in the entire system. This was 1200 fish below the minimum escapement. Now retention from sports harvest is obviously not the only problem, but it is the one that we can manage. Good god man, let them go. Read more about how proud Nedra was for this accomplishment from the Peninsula Daily News.