Fly Fishing

So I have a new 12′4″ Echo 2 7wt with a Ross Evolution 6 and 540 compact Skagit that needs to get wet for the first time and Sunday is it.  The rivers may not be in shape and there’s a good chance of getting skunked, but I’m going anyway.  Not sure of the destination yet but most likely it will be closer to town, possibly in the gorge.  Just thought I’d see if anyone wanted to tag along with me and make a day out of it.  Let me know.

Nook

This post comes a little tardie, and for that I apologize.  My only excuse is that I was out fishing!  Fishing twice in an eight day period has been un-heard of for me in the last 9 months.

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Finally got to pull the Hyde thru the Sandy.  Its sad that i live on one of its tributaries yet this was my first time floating it.  The sun was out, the water was cold, low, and cracker ass clear.  Did i mention that the water was low?

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Yes i did say PULL earlier.  With Richey on the sticks your guarantied to leave a mark on the rivers bottom.  Yet you have to hand it to the guy for getting us right on top of some fish.  The boat went 3 for 5 with nothing to bring home. 

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And then it happened.  Scott the third in our party broke out his 12′ 9″ spey rod and started effortlessly tossing his fly the length of the river.  Reluctantly i fell in line after Nookslayer to give it a try.  It didn’t take long to pick up a serviceable cast that was fish-able.  It was rather fun when it was clicking.

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All in all it was a nice day on a great stretch of river with good friends.  I would be hard pressed to ask for more.

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Just a week later i find myself standing in the Clack, 35 degrees and raining thick.  That wouldn’t have been half bad if my waders hadn’t , unannounced to me, been used as a recreation apparatus for my cats.
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Yet here i find myself cold as all can be - standing with soaked frozen feet on a classic Oregon March day. 
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That is because i know something you guys don’t and at the time only Scott did.   It was that at the moment i accepted to throw the Spey rod i was infected.   It starts slow but by the end of the week i was thinking of how to go about building a 13 foot two hand-er.  Maybe that’s why when i got the call Saturday night for fishing in just seven hours - i didn’t think twice.
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I ended up going 0 for 1 while swinging.  On that take i knew then that the tug is the drug and i am addicted.
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Now if i can stay on top of this March Madness maybe i can actually afford this new addiction.  Go baby blue
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Meskel

AKA Che Guevara

While some of you have been flogging the rivers for winter steel (A commendable effort to say the least) I have taken what free time i can find to build a few sticks that i have been meaning to get to.

This is a 9 foot 4 weight that i just finished for my uncle.  He is recently retired and is super excited to take up fly fishing.  This was supposed to be a Christmas gift but what can i say it is only a hobby.  I did give him the reel at Christmas with a couple hand tied bugs just to get him excited.

 I stayed true with incorporating “three lines” as often as possible.  The white lines you see are actually three lines and when assembled there are three wraps located at the ferrules - two on top (pictured above) and one underneath.

 I also like to try something new with most builds for family (ie bark grip on Nookslayer’s 4wt) so on this stick i turned a corn cob as the reel seat and filled it with putty.  This picture just does not do it justice.

Next rod is already started - as a favor for a friend i am going to finish a build he had started.  It is a 10 weight TFO that he plans on using for chasing Chum.  He has requested OSU colors so I’m sure that the orange on the black blank will realy pop.

Then maybe i will find some time to get at three blanks i have at home that i had planned to build for myself.  Yea right. 

Also on a side note my retired uncle is a master machinist and upon receiving his reel he decided that it may be fun to make some of his own.  You know im on the short list for a custom built fly reel that i helped design.

Meskel

AKA Che Guevara

Pulling from the photo archive here, but since the Great Lakes area is under a blanket of snow and winter steelheading is a current topic…

Been to this river a few times and it’s always been productive.   Very much a creek, but holds a lot of fall hold-overs.  When it warms up and the shore ice shelfs receed it’s very fishable and it’s not hard to find a pool or run with a player.

This particular 20 foot slot must have had over a dozen fish in it.  We each snow beached 4 fish and stung many others.   All yarn, aside from one susie that darted out from under an ice shelf to snatch one of those yolk fry flies.  She had shown herself earlier when I was walking and blindly casting a blue and silver streamer.  She came out three times and tugged on the tail but managed to avoid the hook each time.  I checked it twice convinced that the point was missing.

We went upstream to find this deep narrow shown in the photo where they were stacked.  Check out baby faced Reid!

I recall meeting a friend of DC’s on my spring first trip out there to OR that was from this area of PA?

MR