Goldfish

GOLDFISH from Detonation Studios

More work done by Detonation Studios, Ian Majszak and Bryan Gregson.

Bacon Lube

Cause I aint fishing until tomorrow and its a good rod cleaner.

Blogging

Tim Rajeff Lookalike Contest

Straight from Rajeff Sports, check it out:

Is it worth shaving your head for a chance at an Echo Rod of your choice? Or deadlifting 100lb dumbbells often enough to develop Tim's Hulk-like forearm physique? How about rocking supertight running shorts and hanging out at the local Tiki Bar? Only you can answer the above conunhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifdrum and if you've ever been to a flyfishing tradeshow, there are a lot of folks out there who'd do much weirder things for a free rod. Given Tim has long-stated being a hair dresser to the stars is a dream of his, well here's your chance to get your shave on and truly "Be Like Tim" (just don't challenge him to any casting contests). Let your imagination carry you away on this one. No limit on number of entries, all we ask is that you make it fun, imaginative, and respectful.

*All entries must be emailed to contests@rajeffsports.com in .jpg format and as high a resolution as possible. Contest deadline is 12:01am January 16th, 2012. The winning image will become property of, and all rights of use to Rajeff Sports, LLC.

Check out Echo Fly Fishing's new website.

Last Roadtrip of the Year

To make a long story short, one could not turn water into wine and instead turned it into cold Coors Light. The cold fertile waters of the Skeena will have to wait until another year when wallet is filled with more then receipts. The plan changed to a roadtrip to visit some buddies in Montana, catch a Brown Trout before it finds a Fall Partner then go visit some river in Idaho where pigmy steelhead have to travel 600 plus miles to get to.















Tamarack in the Hills of Montana.














The short cold Fall days turned to the beginning of Winter in the Rockies and the drive slowed to the pace of snow and ice filled passes and rollovers. Seeing good friends along the way and staying in towns along the way made the drive seem shorter and the lack of tourists made the scenery in Fall colors a different perspective of what I have seen while making fishing trips in the Spring and Summer months.














Ian Majszak lecturing us on good photography.

Each day brought a different river and scenery to the menu. The trout seemed to target the same thing specifically no matter where we were. Fish were caught and good times were had. Though after a few days and seeing freezing guides every morning I could not help but look into the future and what this winter will bring while in search of Winter Steelhead that are just starting to trickle in on the West side of the Cascades.













Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout from a Montana Spring Creek. Note the talon marks from a raptor.

With the weather turning colder and a forecast of 15 degree in the location in Idaho, we made yet another change of plans to yet another venue and one I know well. After yet another long drive through two states we found ourselves on the big river once again. We spent a couple days enjoying the last fruits of Fall then came home to the smiles of our families.















Rick Matney with a Montana Steelhead. If lake run rainbows in the Great Lakes are Steelhead, then this lake run fish in Montana is no different.

Though not the trip I was looking forward to and planning for a year, getting out of Dodge before Seasonal Effective Disorder set in was a must, and like always, lots of things were learned on the river and road to make it worth the carbon footprint.















Classic wets still work just under the surface in the cold!!!

I Guess He Wanted it!

So there I was fishing in the dark the other fight trying to cover water in a boulder field. Water temps were down and working through the run I kept snagging up. Lame as hell really so looking at my tip wallet I went to an old SA clear intermediate that I could not get the curls out of (bullshit PVC crap). While taking five feet per swing I kept tripping on the boulders in the dark as I stepped through the run. Then all of a sudden my line stopped and instead of dropping a loop I just raised the rod thinking it was another boulder then it was there. Weird as hell take and even more so when I found my Fall Favorite in the back of its mouth. Oh well this Buck thirty went to the dinner table. Great end to already good day on the Eastside.

Steelhead Camp Part 2

Justin Koller working the run.

It is always nice coming home to water you know well, though this year with rain and wind it wasn’t the same and challenging in new ways. Fishing the same water for years, the water conditions this year was not the same. Water clarity was not as good and water flow was almost twice that of years past and thus lies and patterns learned over the years changed. Fish were still in many of the same places, but consistency with a dry line was not the same and methods were needed to change over the days to find what we were looking for.





























Keith picking my pocket like always.

Day one brought many fish to a dry line and even the surface, but as the water rose and the clarity started to change the fish were moving though in waves. It was not consistent and by the second day, much of the water that held fish did not hold as many the next day, or at least did not come to the consistency of anything with peacock and gold like years past. Still fish were found, but tactics and fly size really started to become a factor.
















I got hammered three times skating this little one in pocket water before bringing this one to the beach.

By day three large flies were the ticket but as the clarity started to come back we were able to find more productive holding lies and dry lines started to come back into play. Day four produced the same and by the time my father and I left, it was perfect. Fish were there and starting to hold more consistently.
















One of several fish my dad caught.

Despite drinking less and being first on the water, each day just seemed shorter then in years past. Sharing water with my father and good friends was a blast. My dad finally got to see why I travel around the Pacific Northwest in search of these anadromous trout and he even got to catch a few in the process. Watching his hands tremble while holding up his first steelhead was well worth the price of admission and a memory I will always remember.
















Josh Mills from Chucking Line and Chasing Tail lighting up the place.














The traditional last day skated fish on a new creation.