Poaching on the North Umpqua

Apparently the amount of poaching on the North Umpqua is up this winter and that is just from the numbers of tickets written. Apparently the locals are upset with the semi new catch and release regulations and the healthy return of native fish on their river. Their frustration in the inability to catch hatchery fish is being taken out on the natives. It's good to hear there are some under cover officers working the river and they are catching a number of the violators. Great job guys!

Read more from News-Review.

Bacon Salt

There are many levels of awesome in this world, and this is definitely towards the top. Bringing two of the most fundamental aspects of a steelheaders diet together was brilliant. You need a dry brine for smoking fish, a dash for a riverside sandwich, a topping for that fufu healthy bag of popcorn, seasoning for those campside egg and steelhead omelette, you name it, you got it. This stuff is awesome!







Bacon Seeds, now I'm gonna quit chewing.


















Genius!










Check out Bacon Salt and their products. You can find them at Costco. Proceeds go to a couple of steelheaders and benefits go to the thickening of your blood vessels. Damn, this stuff is even kosher!

The Contemporary Sportsman

There is yet another free online outdoors magazine for us to drool over. The Contemporary Sportsman's premier issues has just come out and much like Catch Magazine, it is free for our enjoyment. A combination of wing shooting and angling, this magazine will keep your eyes and imagination busy for a while. The magazine in broken down into four separate sections, Feature Articles, Road Less Traveled, Down the River and The Contemporary Sportsman's Bar and Grill. My favorite part of this edition is Jeff Bright's contribution, "One Lifetime Hardly Seems Fair". A story about the small stream coastal steelhead fishing in British Columbia. For those of you that are not aware of Jeff's beautifull photography, writings and excursions regarding steelhead fly fishing, you can find it on his website.

Sad Day for the Skagit and Sauk

FISHING RULE CHANGE
WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
January 15, 2010

Closure of Skagit and Sauk rivers to fishing
Action: Close the Skagit and Sauk Rivers to all fishing.
Species affected: All game fish species
Location and effective closure dates:

Skagit River from the mouth upstream to Highway 536 (Memorial Hwy. Bridge) at Mount Vernon will be closed Feb.16, 2010 through April 30, 2010.
Skagit River from the Highway 536 (Memorial Hwy. Bridge) at Mount Vernon upstream to the Gorge Powerhouse will be closed Feb.16, 2010 through May 31, 2010.
Sauk River from the mouth upstream to the Whitechuck River will be closed Feb. 16, 2010 through June 4, 2010.

Reasons for action: The closure will reduce incidental hooking mortality on wild steelhead. The 2009/2010 forecasted return of wild winter steelhead to the Skagit Basin is expected to be below the escapement floor of 6,000.













Its a sad day for steelheaders here in the Pacific Northwest with the closure of these highly revered rivers. The decline in these runs over the last several decades is a sad trend that we are seeing in all our river systems. I like to think that maybe this closure is a sign to changes to be made to help our native runs. But still as a pessimistic steelheader, I worry that this decline and closure are signs of the future in many of the river systems closer to home.
I only hope fish and game close other rivers that need it in hopes for the future.

I have to give up my week trip over my birthday to this Skagit this year, but it is well worth the hope that I will one day catch one in the future. This is a great time to help organizations like Native Fish Society, Wild Steelhead Coalition and Western Rivers Conservancy. Together there is hope for the future.

The Scandinavian Spey Cast

Several months ago a Chou Dog loaned me Henrik Mortensen’s video The Scandinavian Spey Cast. Although I have seen parts of this video in the past I was surprised the detail and cinematography used to convey the mechanics of this form of spey casting. Fishing rivers in Scandinavia, Scotland and Gaspé Peninsula in Eastern Canada, Henrik was also able to teach the viewer the proper way to fish for Atlantic Salmon at different conditions, using different techniques. All of which pertains to steelheading here in the Pacific Northwest.

Included in this video was a chapter on long belly casting done on no other then the River Dee in Scotland. In this scene Mike Donald, a well known Scottish Ghille and APGAI casting instructor covers the mechanics of the long belly. Henrik also applies the Scandinavian techniques to these waters in search of the Dee’s famous Spring Run Atlantics.

This 74 minutes DVD covers, techniques, presentations of both the wet and dry fly as well as casting mechanics applicable to both long and short casts. His review and demonstration of casting mechanics apply to all forms of spey casting in an easy way that provides both epic footage of Atlantic Salmon, the rivers they swim in and the casts needed to find them. Overall a badass video worthy of your viewing.

Henrik reviewing the dynamics of the Scandinavian spey cast. This scene is great because it reviews body mechanics and explains why with simple examples that makes the student see why, not just hear why you they should cast a certain way.


Here is a nice video with scenes from the movie.

Creekside Fly Fishing

I drove down to Salem, Oregon today to visit my friend Rich Youngers at Creekside Fly Fishing and use those mighty gift certificates that have been staring me down at the tying table for over a month now. But instead of buying those needed wading boots like I should have, I ended up raiding the tying materials for all those things I have been too cheap to purchase in the past. Multiple colors of grizzly hackle, black bear hair, amherst, bright orange golden pheasant crest, frenchie gay tinsel, arctic fox, spey hackle, BADASS Loops Black Nickel Doubles for tubes and a bunch of other necessities.

















Rich is one of Oregon's many talented and innovative fly tiers when not guiding in the Willamette Valley and Oregon Coast. Rich is one of the few fly fishing guides on the Oregon Coast that fishes the estuary. I met Rich many years ago and fished with him on the Oregon Coast. Since then I have always tried to stop by and raid his fly tying selection and pick his brain on the local coastal fisheries. Rich offers many fly tying classes and can be seen at the Northwest Fly Tiers Expo. His creative skill at tying classic salmon patterns as well as modern steelhead and cutthorat patterns is amazing. His Summer Run pattern is a killer on the Deschutes in the Summer and a must for the fly box.
















Support your local fly shop and visit Rich at Creekside Fly Fishing the next time you are in Salem.
















Rich with one of many Winter Steelhead we caught while fishing the North Coast many moons ago. Check out his new shop blog.

Why Universal Healthcare Isn't a Bad Idea

Sorry more work related, but healthcare workers like myself see this shit all too often. Besides, we see these morons tweaking by the side of the river after they fill their scripts.