A fish for Christmas

In the tradition of being thankful for the many amazing things that come our way through the year, a Christmas Steelhead and Dolly Lama were 2 of the best gifts of the year.

Happy Thanksgiving

Fresh fall Salmon

Every year I eagerly await the arrival of fall salmon.  Many  of these fish begin to arrive as early as July and August, and  like many anglers and guides I am watching for that first big storm of the year to usher in these fish from the Sea. 

This yearsCoho or silver run never met the expectations that many of us had...with the recent ocean conditions and numbers of fish in the salt, I think we were all waiting for the run arrive.  Fortunately many got a chance to get out chase a few fish around and with a little perseverance we even manged to land a few.

The winter steel head season is already upon us.  With the week of thanksgiving the traditional kick off of the Brat season we are ready for the change.

I have a few days open through the month of November and some in December as well.  Track us down at (gus@sweetwaterangling.com) or Greenwater54@gmail.com)  if your intereested.

New toys and access



River View

 Good buddy Craig recently purchased a new toy and we have been taking advantage of the additional access and opportunities.

I will admit, the feeling of running up and down the river under power is something I may never get used to, but the convenience that a little sled offers is hard to deny.  With the salmon season upon us and the pending the winter steel head just around the corner....the chance to get out and run to a few choice spots or covering water in a different way definitely changes the game. 

A gentlemens group on the River

From the land of the British Isle and over the pond to the Pacific Northwest:



Coach John



I have always felt that every day spent on the river is time well spent.  Occasionally you do have those days that are better than others for a variety of reasons. 

Call it a mix of great company, great fishing and day filled with belly laughs, the trifecta of these made for one of the most memorable days for me in many years and for all the right reasons.

This band of English Bandits has been friends for over 50 years and after a childhood of fishing reservoirs for trout, chubs and carp together, the opportunity to spend the day together on a big western river chasing wild fish was just what they were looking for.  Comprised of an English Soccer coach, a world traveling English poet, and last but not least the English entrepreneur, they all took to the fly rod and "American" approach of dry fly fishing on the move with ease.



Phillip, Ian and Coach John



Between the endless banter, discussions of world politics and an education on the importance of good scotch, we even managed to fish some.

The company on the river was great, the fishing followed in kind and we had willing fish up to the fly from beginning of the day to the end.

Lessons Learned from the day:

• Friends are one of the most important things we have on Earth....
• Fishing is cool no matter what country your in or what continent our on
• English Scotch is good

The summer rambles on




Teresa with a westsider

 The summer rolls on and with the arrival of some warm weather the waders and spring fleece have been put away for the summer...or at least 3 weeks of it.

This last month has been a blur of fishing/guide days and road miles traveled up and down the coast and I have had the pleasure of fishing with some amazing people along the way. 

The west side trout fishing is holding it's own and we have been having good to great days on the cutts fishing traditional techniques.  Single hand rod swing with buggers has been the big producer lately.  After a decade of fishing trout in other water sheds and the watching the number of anglers grow and fish populations shrink it is amazingly refreshing to guide with a small box of streamers and dry flies and having it all covered for the day.

Don't get me wrong....I am a fan of fishing.  I enjoy the chase and the feeling of gratification when you figure it out.  But there are those moments of your childhood when the fishing was really good and the catching was equal to your level of effort. 



"Death Wish" and "Guns" on River





Resident Big Dog



As the summer rolls on we can expect the dry fly to play a bigger role in our days.  As summer stones and October caddis begin to make up a large portion of the resident fish diet, we will enjoy that magic fishing of late summer early fall...big dries and big fish.  Stay tuned as we well be on the water much of the month of August and September.

Forks,WA is more often thought of in the steel head and salmon world but it must be said that some of the finest trout fishing I have ever been part of has been on the fabled steel head waters of the coast.  The winter crowds are gone for the summer and whats left are gorgeous waters with almost no one around.  The numbers and size of the trout will only get better as we get more salmon in the river.....



River Cutie Pie...with dead meat



One of the benefits of trout fishing in a place with salmon and steel head is the opportunity to catch a few chromers while your out.  Teresa had the magic touch and managed to wrangle in a few over the past few days.We have been carrying a few gear rods with us on every trip and fishing for coho in likely water, the chance to do a little of both is always a nice way to spend the day.

We will be on the water over the next 2 weeks and will send updates when we get back home.  Stay tuned for some new reports from other new waters as best bud and partner Craig has procured a new toy that promises to open up some new waters.

Tight lines:

Gus Garcia













Home Water

With the arrival of summer (finally) we have been out on the water….our home water. 

What is home water?  Some would say that it is the waters closest to you…while others may say it is the places that you are the most familiar with.  Maybe home water is where you started fishing and/or  guiding….no matter how you look at it, we all have a water and locations we call home.  Like many guides and fishermen in the northwest, I have many places that I have called home.  I cut my teeth in the early days rowing and guiding the Yakima with the Evening Hatch.  Some years later I spent nearly all of my time in Forks, WA.  Fishing and guiding with some of my best friends on the earth…(Chris Senyohl and Gordy Gracey).   The discussion and definition of home water may take more thought and input in later posts….but for now we have lots of home(s) and lots of places I love to fish.

Happy westside trout

We have been working the river waters of the west side lately fishing primarily trout and steelhead but as the summer pushes on we have seen some early salmon in the river.  The rivers of Grays Harbor are greatly under estimated trout fisheries and most if not all boast solid number of fish.  With the winter behind us, the large crowds that usually fish these river are off to other things so traffic has been minimal…many days with no other boats on the water.  The tactics have been beautifully simple….streamers in likely holding water…both swung and stripped and large dries on the move along the banks and buckets with any depth. 

We will be fishing these waters through the summer...we will also be out and about on the Yakima and Forks....

Tight lines,

Gus

Girls Like Fishing Too!

Someone recently asked me if I enjoyed fishing.  Of course I responded with a yes.  After which he replied, “No, do you really like fishing.  Not because Gus loves fishing, but because you like to go too.”  I peered back into my memory bank and stirred up images of shivering cold in the wind and rain…fishing lines wrapped around my back and hooks stuck into my hair…catching no fish, but plenty of floating sticks…getting gently scolded to stop flicking my wrists…and finally said emphatically back to my interrogator, “Yes, I find GREAT joy in fishing.”

It’s been nearly a year since I cast my fly rods.  The Winston’s been sitting idle way too long and I was getting tired of hearing everybody else’s “amazing” fishing stories.  So I begged my man to row me down the Yakima and help me reconnect with my casting skills (most people wouldn’t call them casting skills as much as line tangling/branch catching/close-proximity-line-flinging abilities).

We called some friends and loaded up the boats with all kinds of gear.  Even as we readied ourselves for the trip we tenuously watched the river flows, knowing full well that the Yakima has been blown out over the last couple of weeks and still may be flowing too high and fast to get much fishing done.  I could share all the technical stuff, but growing up the daughter/sister/niece/cousin of engineers I’d rather just tell you that we stopped for an awesome breakfast in Ellensburg first so we wouldn’t be starving one hour into our float.

Midmorningish (which is spot-on exact angler time-telling) we jumped into our boats and followed the mad rush of water down river.  Gus set up my fly-rod with some nice flies that look like they’re fuzzy with legs or wings or something (again… I try to avoid technical jargon at all costs).  Shortly after my 27^th cast, I had a fish on, at which my amazing guide shouted, “FISH ON! FISH ON! SET THE HOOK!” I yanked back on my rod and held on to my reel like I wanted to keep that fish forever.  Unfortunately I guess you’re not supposed to do that when you’re reeling in a fish.  My rainbow trout got away, but I knew there were more to be had.

We spent a wonderfully sunny afternoon fishing, conversating, eating, drinking, and enjoying the beautiful views of Central Washington and yes, even a couple of fish found their way into our net (thank you Gus). I guess my point in sharing all of this with you is to say that not everybody loves fishing for the same reasons.  I know that Gus delights in the ever-changing puzzle of the dynamic river environment and the competitive challenge of outsmarting those wily river denizens. I relish the time spent with people I enjoy (Mike and Christine and Baby Raya were wonderful guests this time).  I look forward to pulling over and making a fantastic lunch on the bank of a river.  Seeing the eagles, ospreys, deer in the wild and college students rafting and careening down the river all give me cause for smiling/laughing.  But most of all, I enjoy the experience of catching fish (and being with Gus).  

I hope you can come with us soon.

Teresa

Yakima River Report-High Water and sunny weather

 Yakima River: Fishing Report 5/28/2012

Days off and opportunities to fun fish can be far and few between.  We took a look at this weekends schedule and decided to brave the crowds and weekend warriors and venture to the east side of the mountains.



Warm Weather and Beautiful Sky's



With Memorial Day being the official begining of the summer season....we cleared the books and headed to the to the east side to do some camping and of course some fishing as well.  The amazing and late snow pack in the low hills has the Yakima running at or above summer flows. 

We chose to fish the farm lands section of the river...mostly to avoid any holiday crowds.  The river was running about a third higher than usual and many of the spring time holding areas were vacant of fish.  We focused our effort on the soft water and weak sides of the current.  



Teresa surveying the run



Our approach to the day other than enjoying the warm weather, was to fish nymphs in likely high water holding spots.  The time tested and always consistant stone fly patterns like the bead head 20-inchers and pats stones, with various caddis and mayfly trailers worked best.  We were about 50/50 on fish between the stones and little bugs.  We also fished streamers on the move but found that patient nymphing in likely holding areas was the most productive.



Camera shy trout



Water temps are cold!  With the amount of snow melt and water running out of the bottom of the reservoirs.  The fishing was a little slow in the morning and improved through the day as the air and water temps rose.   

Fishing was not easy but it was consistent if you were patient and covered the likely holding water well.  This included changing depths and fly combinations in each area fished. 




healthy 14 incher



We were fortunate to have large areas of the river to ourselves and took the opportunity to shore lunch and enjoy the peace and quite the river can provide...

The fishing will continue to improve as we move into June.  The river flows should drop and become more consistent.

Good luck and tight lines,

Gus

http://www.sweetwaterangling.com/

Sunny Days at the Ranch

One of the many charms of the east side of the state besides the warm weather and open spaces are the mass of desert lakes and creeks.  With trout on the brain and many if not all west side and east side trout streams in the process of spring run off....Lakes were our only option.

Every 2 years....I love making a trip over to Issacs Ranch Lake.  A phone call to old friend and guide buddy Jay Robeson, got a us on the lake on Mothers Day.  For many this can also be called Divorce Day if you abandon your spouse with the kids and go off and fish.  Fortunately for me, Teresa is the most understanding woman I have ever met and my mother lives on another continent.  So after a ramshackle job of packing trout gear and summer clothes that have not seen the light of day in 5 months....Craig and I hit the road at "O" dark thirty leaving the darkness and gloom of the harbor for 80 degree temps and sunny skies of Central Washington.



Jay Robeson in the Guide Shack



We arrived at  the Ranch at 9 am and got the run down of the what's been good on the lake....Jay was the "Dude" with the info and flies.  As the years have went by....Jay has been part of legend and lore of guiding in the Northwest.  Covering water on the Kanektok in Alaska during the golden ages, guiding area rivers for salmon and steel head and now working his 24th year at the ranch. 

Issacs Ranch Lake is one of the premier lakes in the entire Northwest and managed to produce gigantic trout that can be as selective and snooty as any in the world.  With a steady diet of scuds, fresh water shrimp, and tons of other aquatic bio-mass.  These fish grow to super proportions and fight with the passion and ferocity of their steelhead brothers.  


Robbi with first of many



After a few war stories and belly laughs...we hit the lake.  Great Friend and awesome angler Robbi K was also able to sneak away for the day and hooked the first 5 fish of the day, which included a 2 for 1 deal that consisted of two 20 Plus inch fish at the same time...Needless to say I bungled the net job and we lost both fish, but it is not everyday that you see to fish that size on the same line.



Craig with a little fish



later in the morning we headed off to the upper lake and as we figured out the pattern of the what the fish were interested in we had the chance to experience that amazing fishing we all dream of.  Brief hatches of calebaetis and damsels had fish to the surface occasionally and nymphing chrononmids was nearly a slam dunk. 



Jimmy P and Raftapalooza



As the day wore on, we headed down to lower lake, we offered to help out our fellow angler Jimmy P with his shuttle from one lake to the other.  But he opted to go the "drive" blind route instead.  I never did ask how he controlled the accelerator from his spot hanging out the door.



set  the hook







Afternoon and evening fishing on the ranch is some of my favorite....the temps cool down just a bit.  What fish that decided to hunker down in the bright sunlight have decided to come out and play.  We hooked some amazing fish that ran into backing and jumped into the evening sunset. 







I am already looking forward to another day on the Ranch....







till next  year!





Opportunity Knocks!

As the winter season came to a close my travel schedule heated back up as I had to be on the east coast for a couple days the back to the midwest a week later, opportunity knocked. Rather than rack up more frequent flyer miles I took the opportunity to go back home and fish with my original buddies, my dad and brother on the river I cut my fly fishing teeth on!

We fished the Ausable River one of the top 10 rivers in the USA on most lists, it is at least one the most historic, with the origins of Trout Unlimited tied back to its headwaters in Grayling, Michigan. Browns were the target species with these fish being eager at aggressive as young 12" and smaller fish and the old big boys being super selective and weary in the 18" - 24" pig range.

With my work week ending and a long weekend upon us Mother Nature tried to send us a message, Northern Michigan received 5 inches of rain the day before. The rivers in Michigan are typically very low gradient and often have multiple dams on them, usually allowing for one day of decent fishing before an onslaught of chocolate milk.

We hit the river Friday late morning with a little bit of color in the river but mostly just the color of weak tea, which is totally normal. The Hendricks we're around and fish were rising and several small trout fell to them, with a change of tactics that afternoon produced a couple fish over 12" and one beauty at about 18-19" this fish had character, it acted as if it was auditioning to be a dolphin at Sea World, launching from the river, somersaulting and tail dancing like a 8" cutthroat would. After landing that fish I was more than happy to row the rest of the weekend as I had got my two hour fix.

The next day had me rowing for a family friend and my dad for a couple hours. Taking Jim and dad was a joy, dad took care of his own needs and I helped Jim understand nymphing in chocolate milk. Both of them caught trout that morning but it was cold and 4 hours in we changed out the passengers with my brother meeting us at the midpoint in the float and my morning passengers heading for warmer / drier locales.

We again changed tactics up and rounded a corner in the river, Bryan made a cast that deserved to be rewarded and in turn it was. The rod bent deep into the lower section the line peeled off the reel as it sung to life, his eyes widened to the size of golf balls there was no doubt he had a pig on the other end of the line. This fish never broke the surface it would come up and porpoise but never went airborne; I knew he had the biggest fish he ever hooked on the end of the line. Now if he could only keep his cool and not screw it up.

Anchoring the boat I slipped out with the net, Bryan had not seen this fish yet, as I moved below the fish it broke the surface. "Craig don't worry if we lose it I saw it I know how big it is", I called BS (it was more colorful than this but it’s a family blog) on this and about 30 seconds later the fish was in the net and the hook was just about straightened. The fish of his life so far, the net was 21" tip to tail and this fish easily had another inch on the net, I'll call it a solid 22".

I was happy my brother beat me as he put it , as we all won this weekend. While it’s not related to Washington I'm sharing it just the same as this is one of the many reasons I fish, the memories and times you share with either family, friends or new friends, they are priceless.

We look forward to creating some memories with you in the future, drop us a line if you are interested in a trip we are back in the rowers seat again!

Tight loops and lines!

Craig 

Another winter in the books and trout on the brain

The winter steelhead season has officially come to a close today and I was fortunate enough to get 4 days on the river  just before the deadline and experience the best that Steelhead fishing has to offer.  No crowds of first and second year Patagonia clad guides staged in every run, pool and riffle.

Fishing in the long shadows of the season allowed for those days of solitude fishing....the kind that Zane Grey wrote about.  Far from the articles in the new generation steelhead magazines, away from the prying eyes of the environmental coalitions, or the competitive first water rowing competition of the new guides and anglers. 

The fishing was great the catching was average.....but we hooked fish everyday and for 2 days, we didn't see another angler on the water.  As the season came to an end...we had one last solitary day on a favorite river.  We hooked 4 bright fish....landed none and received a sun burn for our efforts.  It was as perfect a day that could be imagined....missing only my favorite fishing partner (Teresa).   The day was a gift from above for which I am thankful and a right and proper way to bring in my 40th year.

This spring is full of promise, I cannot remember a year in recent memory that I was so anxious for the trout season.  With Steehead officially "closed" I can now turn my full attention to river residents...I am sure it has something to do with the length and intensity of this recent winter.

Thanks to all who made it to the river with us this last season....it is appreciated and we hope we earned an opportunity to fish with you again.

We are kicking off the trout season on the yakima.... water and weather permitting this weekend.  A summary of the coming months events reads like a traveling road show.....fishing home water on the Yakima....Isaacs Ranch the weekend of the 12th....reel fly gals the 19th and 20th.  

Hope to see you all on the water soon....

Tight lines

Gus

Persistence Pays Off!

Winter Steelhead have been called the fish of 1,000 cast, the winter ghost and other expluratives that I will not repeat here, the point is they can be down right frustrating.  Water levels out of control, weather fronts, moon phases, odd days versus even days all have accounted for weird/unique fishing strategies that I cannot discredit or credit.   One thing that I know is the persistence pays off, that is what makes successful fisher's.  

Not everyone can just drop everything in their lives at a moments notice and going fishing when all of the stars align, so we have to get out fish and learn from every experience on the water.

Here are a few examples to further this thought:

	Con	Pro
You arrive at the launch and there are 20 plus trailers in the parking lot	Great all of the fish will be gone	Perfect they will push them into not so obvious spots, perfect for fly fishing
Water is clear	I’ve never caught fish in clear water	Change of tactics and flies, think smaller Perfect now I can see the bottom and
Sun is out	Fish are going to go and hide	First of all, rejoice any day that the sun is out during a WA winter, pick your opportunities and fish them hard.  Remember it is not raining so it is a good day!
Fish on	Shucks it is not a steelhead	Value any fish; if the lie holds small fish it will hold big fish remember it, especially at different flows.
Focus	You can miss opportunities when they present themselves, often very quickly.	Strike when opportunity knocks, fish move, don't become a pylon in the river, the more mobile you are the better.
Tangles or snags	Dang I have to re rig, don’t get down on yourself, you are trying to push your limits and you are growing as an angler	To catch fish you have to fish cover, enjoy re rigging you will get fast and will catch more fish.  I don't know how many times I've heard I fished all day with the same fly, my response is "how many fish did you catch", "none why", I thought it was a effective new fly pattern I needed in my box, now I know you are lazy".  Practice your knots at home it pays dividends on the water.

Recently many of these came true when I had a chance to fun fish with Gus.  The rivers where blown out, the color of a hot chocolate with marshmellows but neither of us had a chance to just fish in over a month.   As Gus said you can't catch a steelhead from the couch lets go.


We actually had other business to attend to that day as well, we had to fish a new prototype rod that will be out from Winston sometime this year.  The rod was fantastic a huge improvement from the model we had earlier in the year, needless to say we will both probably have these in the boats next fall for winter steel heading.  


The idea here was to reiterate the fact that fishing is supposed to be fun, if you learn a little each time you are out you will be amazed at how you improve as a angler.


Well I can honestly say I'm looking forward to the switch to trout in the next month, look for updates and reports, from many trout streams around the state.  Here a couple new tasty morsels that I can't wait to serve, to a big fat Rainbow or Brown back in Michigan next month.


Tight Lines,
Craig 

New name but same ole faces....

After a brief hiatus from the river and after a middle school drama exhibit that would rival the exploits in the movie "mean girls"  Both Craig and I are back in the saddle and up and running with a new name:

Sweet Water Anglers:

The story of the name change is best explained on the river or among friends but the basics of the issue were as follows:
We opened our figurative doors as superfly anglers with an accompanying web site called "Angling Superfly"  we had purchased and reserved both domains and chose to use the first based solely on the letter of the alphabet it started with.  After a month of being on the water....we received a message from a "human" that we were infringing on his business name, so after series of spirited emails and discussions we came away with the following:

• I really love fishing more than conducting the business of fishing
• Profane emails make the author who wrote them looked like and idiot
• People generally like and enjoy a good fight, either out of boredom or stupidity
• When I am near 50 years old, I hope to write and communicate better that when I was 15.
• and I like the name sweetwater better any way

Things that were left unclear were the following:

• how many salmon equal a hot lunch....
• The definition of....."well it's on now!".  My kids told me it's from a movie about break dancing, but Im not sure how much break dancing this guy does. 

All joking aside....Both Craig and I are glad to back to fishing and guiding and not this other garbage.

We are pleased to announce Sweetwater Anglers....

Tight lines and good fishing

Gus and Craig

A new friend, old friend and a guest for dinner:

Headed for a favorite rivershed within a days drive away of Gig Harbor with an old friend and a new friend as guests.

That big Orange ball in the sky decided to come out and bless us with its presence all day long, great for being outside in February in Washington.  The river was in decent shape to fish and there was a lot of traffic in front of us, it was a beautiful morning.    Being greeted by a Bald Eagle watching us drop the boat in was a good sign first thing in the morning, it's one of my superstitions.

We fished some non descriptive water that most fisherman would float right by; knowing the river and these little variances is the difference between a good day on the water and a great day on the water.   Changed up a few things all day but they were slight variations as less that 5 minutes into the day we had our first fish hookup albeit short lived it was a fish and was holding in a hidden gem of a spot.

Bob did catch a whitefish, while not a steelhead, it proves two things; first you are getting down to the fish and secondly while it was not a steelhead this time that exact spot would be a great hold for them at a higher river flow!

Shortly after lunchtime we had an opportunity that presented itself that was not obvious, a small slot became visible that I was unaware of in that section of the river, stall the boat as the cast was seeking the top of the run like a heat seeking missile, striking its mark as soon as it stabilized in the flow, FISH ON!  Shortly there after we lost another fish, but spirits were still high. 

We continued fishing and about an hour later hooked up on another beautiful chrome, hatchery fish.  The way this fish fought you would have thought it was a wild fish.   Dropped off Gary on the gravel bar to fight the fish, kept Bob in the boat and I stayed as well.  Fish took off down river, had to pick up Gary in the boat and the chase was on about a 1/8^th of a mile down stream we netted the fish and decided to invite him to dinner.   A really good day became a great day for all! 

I’m sure that Bob had a chance to learn a bunch about steelheading, about the river, the conditions and the differences between Midwest tactics and PNW tactics for steelhead. 

The closing word:  Persistence Pays Off! 

Congratulations Gary on your first 2012 steelhead wishing you many more this year!  Not sure what was brighter this day, the sun, that fish or your smile!   

Craig