I Was Going to Fish

Was going to fish today but somehow the prospect of below freezing temps all day, ice filled guides and low numbers of non-grabbing hatchery brats just didn't do it for me. Opted instead for a few hours of work. I must be getting old or something. Guess its better to make reasonable choices like that now, cause I sure as hell wont be when January rolls around and we get a few fish in the rivers.

Fish Meat

I eat fishmeat every chance I get. No wild fish, only hatch doggies and frankly even though I like the stuff if I never ate another salmon again it wouldn't break my heart. Not if they'd take the god forsaken, sack'o'trash, no fin having, death rolling, hatchery turds out of just a couple of rivers. Instead we dump them everywhere, spending millions of dollars annually on ineffective, hatchery wellfare. And most of the jims who love those hatcheries spend half their free time bitching about government handouts and welfare for the lazy. pssh.

Still a man does love that sweet smoked belly meat. the crispy skin post barbeque. When I'm camped out sometimes I'll just eat it with salt, pepper and some bar-b sauce. swear to god its the tastiest thing since tater-tots. Then sometimes we get fancy with the pan fried steelhead cakes, meltin in your mouth like damn I love heart attacks. oh boy, better check the back of the freezer, I might still have a filet or two.

Teenwolf and T-bone modeling the summer fashions. meat on a stick style

This one goes out to T-bone, keep practicing your Scottish accent buddy. The trailer is pretty heady with its dramatic music, panning helicopter shots and seriously unnecessary 15 second aerialized load. Still after meeting Scott last May at the Sandy I can say with certainty he doesn't take him self as seriously as the video might lead you to believe. That said, the dude can drop serious bombs. Plus with his Scottish accent he's gotta be a good fisherman right?

Fishing Buddies

Living under a bridge in steelhead country isn't exactly the most conducive lifestyle to making friends, and for the most part I prefer fishing alone, the Steelhead Dog is all the companionship I need. If you're like me and you hate fishing on the weekends if you can avoid it, it can be pretty tough finding anyone who's schedule jibes with yours to get out with. Fishing alone gives us the opportunity to completely escape the noise of our day to day interactions, the fake social customs, and the contrived BS most of us go through at our workplace from time to time (not that I work).

That said, fishing with a partner isn't all bad, and over the years I've met and fished with some pretty cool folks. Whether I've known them for years or just met them recently, fishing buddies really are a diverse cast of characters. The different personalities, opinions (fishing, political, otherwise), and backgrounds make them all unique. Since the steelhead bug bit I've been lucky to come across some pretty cool people who were willing to help me along, and some others who were just getting started in this ridiculous pursuit. The trash talking, beer swilling, meat eating group of he man wanna be, spey casting, bums I spend most of time are a pretty interesting cast of characters. Most of them are pretty crafty fishermen, and can be downright hilarious to boot.

All that is a lead up to saying that occasionally on this here blog I'll be devoting some time to one of my fishing buddies. A way of appreciating the folks that make the life of an otherwise solitary angler more lively. You've already been introduced to a few of these mangy bastards in previous posts but this will be a little more formal like.

Fishing Tomorrow

Finally. Maybe then I wont have to release my nonfishing angst on this drivel writing I call a blog. I hope for all your sake's that's the case. Its now been over two weeks since my last outing I think, cant remember because its been so long. This time of year in the Lower Mainland I fully expect a skunk but who knows. There has to be at least one steelhead in The Cheddar right now

That One Legendary River

This summer was epic. Not only did I journey to the Northcountry for the first time, I also visited one of the more legendary steelhead rivers on the planet while driving home from work in California. The river didn't disappoint, fishing was pretty slow with only one hookup but the scenery, classic, greasy, ledge filled pools and the draw of her wild fish was more than enough to keep me dialed. That and a summer full of non-fishing travel had me literally developing a rash from not fishing enough. I camped for a couple days on the banks of her most productive, and vital tributary and really enjoyed myself. There were people around but it wasn't unbearable and most people were as awed and reverent as I was, which made them pretty easy to get along with.

I can't describe adequately in words the beauty of this stream. Its not so much the drama or grandeur of the landscape, the mountains aren't all that big in the area. The beauty comes from the chiseled columnar basalt that lines the river banks. The rock comes from a time when volcanic activity covered huge swaths of central Washington and Oregon with lava, some even made it to the pacific down the Columbia River. Over time big chunks of the dark rock have fallen into the river creating some of the sexiest boulder grease on the planet. Steelhead bums thank you prehistoric volcanoes. That and the high basalt walls and sharp angles on the river mean some portion of the river is in the shade pretty much all day. A few choice photos from this mysterious, top secret, not to be named stream.

Never Seen this photo in a Magazine

Morning on a sexy piece of water

Dryfly anyone?

I left here to go fish among the crowds in Steelhead Disneyland. After my first evening record high air temps and water over 70 F forced me to switch my plans up. That and a jet driving, toolkit of a guide decided he was gonna camp out with 10 of his sports on my favorite piece of water. I understand sharing is important but a guy has to draw the line somewhere. (more on that assclown some other time).

5 minutes in the northcountry

Footage from the AEG crew (RIP). Some seriously dirty steelheaders in that bunch. Sadly the group disbanded and the film was hijacked by some rich, soul selling, industry prostitute. Apparently he gave the reins to a ski film maker (who only lives to get radical). barf. guess the true, epic project that this once was set to be will live in the hinterlands for ever. At least we have this trailer to salivate over.