How To Sneak Down a Tree

The Ozernaya

Excellence again from Rolf Nylinder.

"I Don't Know What You're Called, I'll Call You By Your Sounds" by Susan Landers

"Bird With Red Ivy," Koson Ohara

dew grass a fire shine

mountain a lung

pine cone the bone

tsunami rock hawk jaw

gravity a fall all consuming

a song chirp for sunlight

spine daggers cracking

the sky an ocean paused in its crashing

creature shake trip whistle

rustle nut squirrel swish

stump thunder or thump

thump a swallowing

you beautiful urchin

you rot mound of moss.

Fly Tying Video Library

From Fly Fisher's International comes an extensive Fly Tying Video Library. Click the link to check it out.

A Bolt of Wildness: First Trip to Clear Creek

The temperature breaks 75 degrees for the first time this year. Seems like a good day for a Clear Creek scout. There are five cars at the parking area. I figure they're on the bluff trail downstream so I head upstream.

If there are any fish about they might like this bead head bugger as much as I do.

The Log Jam Run gets some attention. The water is still up a bit but going down.

I strike out on the deer trails that parallel the stream. I want to get even farther than the last time I was here in December.

I cross to the left bank as I've done before. This time I discover that the bank soon gives way to a rocky bluff. It finally blocks me and I have to enter the creek and try to wade my way farther upstream.

The water deepens. My feet are already wet from my blown out waders. When the current laps at the leak in the crotch I decide to opt for maintaining some degree of dryness and turn back downstream. Next time I'll stay on the right bank. I want to see what's around that bend up there.

A movement on the bank catches my eye: a mink intent on its business, rolling along with its bobbing gait. It sees me and pops into its den halfway down the bank before I can get a closer shot.

I fish my way downstream past the Gates of Moria and back to the Log Jam Run. So much prime water but no fish to be found.

I give the run a go again then switch to another white bugger with a titanium bead and rake the bottom for as far as I can reach.

I climb the bank and drop the bugger deep into a slowly revolving eddy.

A good scout. One of these days there will be fish again. In the meantime I'll settle for the glimpse of that mink, a bolt of wildness lighting up the day.

This Is Fly, No. 66

Just in time. Get it HERE.

More and More Birds

The birds are becoming more and more active on these grey warmish days as February breathes her last and March, carrying Spring, pushes its way to the fore.

A Mourning Dove couple bonding for the coming nesting season.

A Tufted Titmouse looking like my energetic little brother back in our childhood crewcut days.

The curious Cardinal, the red Joker in the deck.

Thirty Incher

A thirty inch stick that is.

Trying not to give up on Brookville. I've seen the photos of big fish, but, come to think of it, in the times I've been there I haven't seen a single one of the many fishers catch a single fish.

I'd really like to catch a trout but so far I haven't cracked the code. Next time I think I'll try to get there early in the morning before the lines form. Maybe that will make a difference. 

It's All Yours - National Forests

Remember when we could take our public lands for granted? No longer.

Full Wels

Fish InvasionMonster Catfish Taking Over German Rivers

The enormous wels catfish is rapidly expanding in German waters. The fish can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh over 300 pounds, making recreational fishermen excited about the prospects of catching one. While biologists aren't yet calling the fish pests, they are puzzled by the boom.

Article from Der Spiegel in 2013. Read it HERE.

S. C. O. F., No. 26

Still one of the best. Find it HERE.

Jump Violet! Spectacular Stillwater in Northern Patagonia

Great video. It reminds me of hot summer days on my Washington home waters. When nothing else was moving you could count on finding a few fish--often Browns--launching out of the water to pick damsels off the shoreline reeds and bushes. Fishing the damsel hatch was always a lovely way to beat the heat.

Bird Mysteries

The ubiquitous cardinal again, sitting pretty.

Then this. Taking a quick nap? Pretending like he can see me but I can't see him? Listening to vibrations in the branch? Clowning for the camera? My best guess is stropping his bill, but if so he was only down there long enough to give it one good strop.

The Wild Steelheader, February 7, 2018

February 7, 2018

Let's face it. Steelhead conservation can be a little discouraging. Mostly not-so-good news about our favorite fish. But there are a few bright spots among the sea of challenges, Oregon's North Umpqua River being a prime example. What can we learn from this river system, where wild steelhead are flourishing? On the North Umpqua, the wild steelhead population has remained incredibly stable since the 1940s. In fact, from 1975 to the present, there is actually a growth trend for this run-pretty uncommon in this day and age. Since the 1970s we have made reforms to timber harvest practices, hatchery management and spent millions of dollars on habitat restoration throughout the historic range of West Coast steelhead. So why isn't the North Umpqua trend more prevalent? Most likely it is because we are, as a rule, not addressing all of the factors limiting steelhead population growth in every watershed. While the Umpqua River Basin has seen its share of habitat alteration and degradation, the North Umpqua is a rare example of a sub-watershed where staunch advocates had the foresight and dedication to protect its habitat and fish before they became degraded. Thus, the North Umpqua has never had a winter steelhead hatchery, has had special fishing regulations for decades, and the spawning habitat in its headwaters is in public lands that have been fairly well protected. This is the North Umpqua's secret sauce: a complete suite of protections which have allowed its wild steelhead to thrive even as the climate has warmed dramatically and steelhead runs elsewhere are shadows of their former selves. There is no simple, magic formula for rebuilding and sustaining wild steelhead populations. We must take an honest look at angling practices, become strong advocates for policy decisions grounded in the most current science, and redouble our habitat restoration efforts to return the great sport fish of western North America to its former glory.         One of the biggest challenges in the long effort to rebuild wild steelhead populations in Puget Sound is poor survival of early stage steelhead in the marine environment. A major research effort to understand and address this problem is under way-but it needs a new infusion of funding. Wild Steelheaders United urges Washington anglers to contact their legislators this week and ask them to support additional funding for this crucial research.         Frank and Jeanne Moore have served as stewards of the legendary North Umpqua River for over 60 years. Proposed legislation from Senators Wyden and Merkley and Rep. DeFazio would pay tribute to the Moore's legacy by creating the Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area. This designation would permanently protect a critical wild steelhead spawning and rearing tributary as well as pay homage to Frank's military service in WWII and this remarkable couple's lifetime of dedication to this special place and its incredible steelhead. Read the latest update here.         As part of the recovery plan for salmon and steelhead in the Deschutes River system, a major project is under way to improve fish passage for native salmon and steelhead. Trout Unlimited has been working for the past several years to help resolve issues related to the recovery effort and the Pelton-Round Butte fish passage project while conserving the diverse angling opportunities found on this famous river.         Are some steelhead more prone to biting than others? If so, it is possible that in our angling we are selecting against fish that are more likely to strike, and thus, be caught. While this question hasn't been studied in steelhead, there is research on other species which may provide insights for sea-run O. mykiss.