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