SUH-WEEET RIDE!!!

Some of the rif-raf from the Drake Bulletin Board met up for war stories and beer somewhere in Montana last week. Word is you had to be there.

Doug Rose, one of my favorite writers, has put his own website up on the internets. The best part is his fly fishing blog, lots of current info on the beaches, rivers and lakes of the Olympic Peninsula. RAH!

Wikipedia: As true as anything else you'll read.

I had no idea that Brian O'Keefe is the "greatest saltwater fly fisherman in history."
Wiki it!

edit, 8/8/07: it looks like the folks over at wikipedia have cleaned up the fly fishing article, removing the "famous fly fishers" section completely.

Hot Lips!

First they took the salmon from us, then the steelhead. Now it appears that some folks from the Midwest have taken the tiger carp from our beloved Columbia River and planted them in the the Great Lakes.
It seems that Bacon can never get enough big fish action. But really, who can? The only dif between him and the rest of us is that Bacon does get big fish action. Lots of it.
Check out the Skirt. Huckmomma?

Tom Chandler of Trout Underground lives an old time life of sports and leisure in New England. Check it out.

"Woot"

Rain, outgoing tide, bait present; decent conditions for some mid-day salmon action on the neighborhood beach. A good way to kill time before we hit the pub.
Thee Trouthole and myself hit the water at about 1:30. By 1:45 I had landed the one and only fish of the day.
The resident coho squirted out of the water in low hurdling arcs, except for my fly in its mouth looking like the bait that it was chasing moments earlier. A couple of splashy tail walks thrown in for show.
First salmon of the year, Huzzah!

The Case Of The Missing Flies

Two flies have seemingly been stolen from my close personal friend Trouthole. He tells me that the flies, "WHICH I TIED MYSELF" were stolen on the night of Wednesday, July 11.
Described as "pink" and "size 6 or 8 or sumthin" the flies were last seen at The Beveridge Place Pub.
My investigation has turned up evidence which suggests that the flies may have been taken across county and state lines.
If you have ANY information regarding the whereabouts and disposition of these "pink, 6 or 8 or sumthin flies" please leave a comment on this post or send an email to this blog.
TIA,
Flytimes Office of Inquiries and Investigations

Yargghhh!

Close personal friend and lights out photographer, Dave Perry, seeks beer and trout in the Treasure State.
When Dave's not gaining private access to little known and isolated trout streams in Montana he's in his garden; planting, weeding and blogging.

The Commando Way

Mike and the rest of his team. Early morning pre-combat checks, old timey Scottish Commando style.

For the latest speculation on the incoming pink salmon run check out the Saltwater Forum over at WAFF. Watch the anticipation build over the next few weeks as lies are told, predictions are made and fly recipes are swapped. Pink salmon sightings will be reported, rumors of early fish whispered.
Then it will all stop. The local internets will be quiet re: pink salmon. And that is when you will know that the pinks are in.

It's gonna be a long, hot summer.

Wildfires have been a part of the Western landscape longer than hayfields, logging roads and subdivisions. Of course the ecosystem isn't what it used to be and I'm not so sure that these fires are part of the 'natural' order.
Looks like the Little Chopaka fire isn't getting any better. Our friend Matt Bascoe's got his work cut out for him. Good luck Matt, stay hydrated and be careful out there.

Capr On A Rising Tide: or A Gentleman's Carp Fishing Primer

Despite constantly rising water Ken and I managed to catch arm loads of capr and smallmouth basss.
I landed three noteworthy smallies; 3 lbs, 4 lbs and 4.5 lbs. Ken caught, broke off a huge smallmouth. I guess we'll never know how big it was. Serious carpers consider the smallmouth bass to be the whitefish of the flats but I think they're kinda fun. Some people even fish for them on purpose.
It took the better part of the day to find feeding capr but when we did Ken broke off four of 'em. They were tailing and mudding over the top of the flooded road bed/gravel bar we call The Reef. Me and Ken spent the last two hours of the day out there wading through a quater mile of Grand Coulee Koi.
When Ken figured out his place in the order of things he started to catch capr. By the end of the day he had brought 4 to hand, typical for a freshman carper under my tutorage.
Good times... good times. We were doubled up twice. I Boga'd 8 or 9 of 'em before the winds came up. The biggest capr weighed in a t 14.5 lbs. Fly in the kissa, every time. The first whitecaps rolled in around 5 o'clock, the winds were full on nuclear fifteen minutes later. A good time to leave the flats.

...for basss and capr.

Happy 4th!

Carp '07

Banks Lake Mirror Carp
Gas up the rig and head out to the Grand Coulee Country, the capr are waiting.

Richmond Fontaine: Thirteen Cities