Roll Damn Trout: My Time Spent up High Recently

What I want you to think most of my trip looked like.

Excerpts from a long walk in the mountains this past weekend.

 As per my usual blog format:

All the photos are right here at the top for you visual people.

Down below all the photos are a few paragraphs in more detail about this  alpine experience.

What my desk sees right before one of these trips.

Rowan hiking in. This hiking part should be enough fun for most people.

We truly hoped these jumbo backpacks would help us cut a larger profile for cougar safety. What mine would probably do is flop me over backwards so the cat could more easily disembowel me.

Plants make good art. Josh Raleigh lets me know that this is Corn Lily.

Ridic. 

Male Brook Trout. with attitude.

Closer up on another Brookie.

A Native Rainbow! Conjured up from the depths through use of spinning gear.

Native and Introduced Range of the Brook Trout. Which is actually a Char !

Although I am aware that it is illegal to use fishing to talk about other things in life ...

 I press on.

Hiking in to high lakes in the Cascade Range of Central Oregon.

     These overnight backpack-in to camp at alpine lakes trips are not for everyone.
Some of the gear can be pricey. And it was hard on the 7 year olds that we made carry the majority of our gear.

     The month of May in this area still means ultraclear snowmelt streams trickling 38 degree water into clear cold lakes.  Bald Eagles snatching trout from the waters surface. Very light black bear pressure and no other people save my friend Rowan are foolish enough to take 3 days off  to get cold, wet, huck gear and catch tons of pretty polka-dot trout. Somebody found occasion to use the phrase "up the yin yang".  I guess rightfully so.

Enter Brook Trout or "Brookies":

     These particular polka-dot trout out west here are actually Eastern Brook Trout.
Native to Appalachia and the Great Lakes. We white folks brought them here to the West generations ago - around 1900 -  and they have done quite well. Some say too well. What Brookies are good at is ganging up and blocking the larger native Rainbows and Cutthroat from prime feeding areas. When traveling with a fish biologist like Rowan - you get some inside info. What we saw this time of year - the Brook Trout controlled the edges of the lake -  the drop-offs in 6' of water.  Prime real estate in May at this elevation for insects and crayfish. Though we did catch a few big Rainbows and one native Cutt - we caught more than 90% Brookies. 

.
     So it seems at first glance that a fish so far from its home waters surviving and thriving to the point of dominating larger species is counterintuitive. But it is this cooperation of packs of Brook Trout that allow them to do this. Imagine intimidating teenagers keeping you from wanting to hit your favorite empanada place as often. kinda. So we did eat some of these allegedly invasive brookies. They were orange fleshed - possibly from eating crayfish? and of course really good.

     The list of Invasive Species we humans have aided in their legacy is long and varied: Horses, Norway Rat, Carp, Starlings, English Sparrows .... I imagine a child dumping his goldfish into a canal and setting feral goldfish in motion forever.
And even Crayfish cross county lines in GTO's going 140mph. all. the. freaking. time.

And I know:

     A small hole is created  in the universe every time a white person utters the words "invasive species".  That phrase should get sucked into a void when spoken.... but through some fluke of bullshit I am allowed to say it.  Out West here the cute and noble and mos def spunky Brook Trout is "Invasive".

     But...Roll Damn Brookies.


     So about the therapeutic camping:

 All you need to do to experience the beauty up there is get an expedition sized backpack, hiking boots, headlamp, tiny cook stove w fuel, smart wool everything, extra socks, rain shell, tarp, dry food, compass, map, toilet paper, sun hat, extra shoes, gloves, toothbrush n paste, sunglasses, dry bags, water filter, possibly fishing gear, camera, wilderness permit, and a lack of responsibility toward all the nice folks in your life.... for 3 days or so. 

     At present, I may be running away to nature to avoid human relationships.
But I still love you all.  Hiding in the profound to avoid the intimate.  Or maybe just running away from one profound thing toward another profound thing. Or sometimes I  just like it quiet. But lets not overthink it. :) These are indeed somewhat turbulent times but I am trying to make them fun times. 

     Before I close and run off to the end of the earth again... I want to give a nod to facebook. I understand aspects of it are evil... but it has helped me connect to folks I have lost touch with for 20 years and sometimes more. Call me if you want to talk. No don't - I think facebook is perfect for us right now.

Thanks for listening!

Neil 

Hamm's is the beer refreshing

Have We Met in This Swamp Before?

Howdy -

Some big changes with me.  I started a new job. I now have weekends off. 

It comes the time of year when I let the kayak live on top of the truck.  

It is not new that I am inexorably and magnetically drawn to water.
(Life would be better if I could get the song from true detective out of my head)

Here are a few new areas from the this month.

A gnarly death by sogginess. Mt. Hood in the distance - overlooks a  shallow and strange Bybee Lake.

  Reeds and tubers emerge. Otter Beavers Turtle Frog !! By late summer this area will be dry.

Bullshit trees in the way of my morning commute. Smith Bybee Lakes at high water.

Carp surges for deeper water and puts a bend in a saltwater flyrod.

Grace. ...and just a glimmer of the goldfish genes here.

Gliding over sun-warmed gravel bar. (Orvis carp fly)

Bronzed and rippling. Slab side of a noble Carp before release.

  Remember back when tans were healthy? Or when we used to stake out coke drops out here?

Mirror Carp. Selectively bred Ornamental for fewer scales....Escaped into wild.

We shall get back to this Steelhead stuff later perhaps.

Out Where the Buses Don't Run 

      Poking around the wild areas close to Portland I encountered the world's most widely distributed freshwater fish - the Carp. Fascinating in their adaptability and versatility to inhabit waters we have thrashed.  Native to Asia, they were brought to the US in 1831. (Australia now has them as well.) "Malign me. Make fun of my pollution, mud and muck  tolerance" they say.  They live in water that is too fertile - Eutrophic. Carp live in the hell we make. They are us and we are them. You pull one out of the water and they will ask straight to your face: 
 "Who is the more invasiver ?"

     A select cult of deranged Portland flyrodders pursue them by sightfishing. carponthefly.blogspot.com   Sightfishing works like this: You spot an individual fish, then cast directly to it and try to get it to eat your stupid fake thing by moving your stupid fake thing just right - which sometimes means not moving it at all. Rejections are numerous, awesome and humbling. No talent ass clown with wrong fly.

     Right now in April, the water is just barely warming up enough to see them begin to actively feed really shallow before moving back to slightly deeper water for the heat of summer.
I decided I should try this "carp on fly". I started drifting all the nooks of the Smith Bybee Wetland area. An area that is so weed choked and oxygen starved by mid-summer that only Carp survive.Though i did see evidence that some of the birds were catching Yellow Bullheads.

     Turns out.... wild Carp are a great gamefish.  They see well. They hear everything. They are skeptical as all get out. Every time an eagle flys over and throws a shadow they all jet in a puff of mud smoke. The crunch of a Dorito can alert them to your presence. Please do not think that they think you are a tree. See how they forage at the base of that flooded tree?  Yeah...They wont ever do that near your feet. No mater how long you are in the water.

     You get to be in some cool, weird, vast, quiet, sunny, tree-lined, Georgia flower smelling, areas where nobody hardly ever goes.  For instance - I actually saw quite a few frogs out there of 2 different kinds. Tundra Geese !
I even saw turtles. Briding in Carp zones is top notch also.

    I go to Carp now.

Shadows of Twain - A Disturbance in the Flow

Very Large Mark Twain in downtown Muscatine,IA

Mississippi River this January

My parents in the ice fishing hut

Gary with gear

Bald Eagle eaten head of Quillback

Drilling holes w auger

Ice hole and the minimal gear required

Crazy Punk Bluegill - Iowa farm pond

Hybrid Bluegill ?

Lookey here Jeb looks what aye caught!

Bass!

If you look really hard you can find some 70's swingers in here....

Oaks Bottom frozen over.

Wilson River can take a flying....

felt like i had to say goodbye to Johnson Creek mouth

A handmade boat called Recurring Dream (facebook)

So I have to get right to the heart of the matter right away.

I am regretfully letting everyone know that Naomi and I have separated. 

Heavy Relationship Stuff Ahead. Rivers of tears. Huge waterfalls of crushing pain.

  I now get to miss the goats and cats hardcore. I have moved out and am renting a room on East Burnside St. My new place happens to be next door to a really good friend of mine - Dave Barmon and his family - a hyperactive landscape company owner who really had my back on this one and not sure how to ever repay.  He likes "wild foods" so I have some idea. Supposedly I will also be making my famous pad thai for his  family.

My family in Iowa - my mom and dad - also caught me perfectly in my fall. My parents have had their differences as well but they were both there for me the past few weeks.

I will also mention Matt and Jill who provided the most comfortable safe harbour imaginable during the worst week of my life. They introduced me to a TV show called Deadwood for which I will ever be greatful. My best friend Luis Campos who is mastering his 3rd career is also going through a divorce so we had some good talks this past month. And to all the other friends I have met for lunch the past few weeks. Unsolicited advice would be to ask along the way for what you want from your partner. Give them the things you know they need.

The break up --- It is disturbingly sad and a lot of people are very sad about it. But some people are still making very funny jokes in light of all the drama and the heart crushing panic and anxiety that I have been feeling. I wont hold them liable if I end up lost on the end of the earth or splayed in a ditch somewhere by a crocodile. The level of sorrow is almost transcendent.  Nice that there was no cheating or drugs or alcohol or racketeering involved. Naomi and I still had some really good good times over our 10 years together and I wont forget those and shall still carry them with me. I have wonderful memories and they shant be taken away.  Naomi and I are trying to work out our differences slowly. So we have not lost all faith. I will always wish her the best. BUT there is a terrible shaking of the foundation right now - things swinging in both directions - good and bad. Looking back and looking ahead.  Corny and awesome all at once.

I liked peanut butter quite a bit and she actually seemed to realize she was allergic to it. We are trying like hell to reconcile, but the whole situation might have us lost for a bit.  Water creatures are so close to my soul. Furry creatures so close to hers. I became a fuzzy land octopus and she became a mer-goat and we still had disagreements.

 I hope continued talking will help. I am trying to get the other camp into discussions about the business we have together.These talks are plodding along and not sure which way they are headed.

 I have a lot of life to live and people to see all over the country and the planet perhaps before I come back to Portland. I have a lot of forks in the road coming up and the people in my life have been providing a huge rudder as well as net. I will be embarking on my own new journey soon and we shall see where it takes me. For now I am still in Portland. 

A bit on the fishing in January - 

Just before this big hell of life shift I got back to Iowa for a week. It gave me time to see my family and it gave Naomi time to peacefully get me out of the house permanently and start dividing our stuff.

Iowa in Winter : Under the Shadow of Twain along the frozen Mississippi.

l got to go back to Muscatine for a visit in early January. It was a blast. I got to go ice fishing. This is the most surreal type of fishing one can do. You walk out on to a frozen lake and drill holes in the ice. Then you take a 2' rod and some blue 4 lb. test (so you can see you line against the all white background) and plop it down the hole with a super tiny pink or green micro jig on it with a wax worm. It was a small farm pond but fairly deep as we were fishing just off the bottom at about 15'.  My dad fished really hard for a semi old guy. The big Bluegills were in attack mode. We caught a bunch including one Largemouth Bass as well. I even had one exciting incident with a big mystery fish that had no interest in being landed or even really coming up in the water column. Go Bass or Catfish ?! 

I was there just after the "polar vortex" so there was a full foot of ice on the lakes and ponds. The Mississippi was even 90% ice covered. Dozens of Bald Eagles patrolled what little open water there was. Bald Eagles stood everywhere on the edges of the open water. I was very curious as to what kind of fish they were catching and how they were catching them. I saw the severed heads of a Gizzard Shad and a Quillback.

Iowa appears to be having a super cold winter by the way. 

I got back to Portland and there had been only a little bit of rain while I was gone. It raised the water levels for a few days and things got fishier according to the online forums. But we really need to get some more rain. Portland is way behind. And yes of course I have selfish reasons for wanting more rain. But the farmers will need more rain for irrigation, and even the ski resorts AND anyone not interested in seeing all of the American West slip into chronic drought. So pray for rain everybody.

The Wilson River  - oh turquoise archnemesis -

On a suicide mission again - Matt Reed and I headed back out to the Wilson for some steelheading on MLK Day.  Still low and clear and 8 to 900 cfs - there were lots of different fishing styles on the river that day and I saw no one hook up. I was out there with the new fly rod and fishing an orange/black egg leach. It took me hours to figure out not to focus on any of the sunny areas and really work the shaded areas. I had one take on a little roll cast in one of the darkest eddies I could find. Fish ran for a brief moment ... and was gone.

By early February I was moving out of our house - not by choice. Then the snowstorm hit in Portland. It was pretty snow and it drew people together. I took a lot of long walks and pushed a lot of stuck cars of Oregon nubs out trying to drive. As I write the 3 day snowstorm melts. Rain falls  on top of it. Rivulets run to the river.

Flash forward to me writing on Feb 20 - Now we just got even more rain and February's precip of 5.33 inches to date might be approaching normal. Lots to do and the rivers are to high to fish this anyway. Wait for the water to seep down through the soil and provide that neat ground filtered aqua water that the steelhead like.

Got a great free casting lesson from a wonderful semi retired semi pro named Rowan. He showed me some lessons that I will be practicing in the park.

As far as big life advice.... there is none I am qualified to give.
But I will say -
Hold your loved one and tell them you love them.
Do it now genius. 

Good night.

Neil  

Chrome is Gold

On Steelhead and what happened in 2013

So I'm putting all the photos at the top and all the text at the bottom. I figure everybody likes nature photos but not everyone wants to read about fishing. So here is November and December's fishing thoughts and excursions and some bits on 2013 fish in general.

Naomi photo of Gull in flight - Wilson River

Spawned out warriors on the Wilson on Jan 1

Wilson River Trail - Naomi runs fast

I looked up "pristine" in the dictionary

Nice piece of water for a yoga pose

More cracked out uglyness on the Wilson

Bubba is tying on a jig

Matt Reed reading water

Book of man and salmon

Matt readin'

Typical arsenal for 2013

 Wilson River at about 500 cfs

A deer was beating me up off camera

Clackamas at "action" flood stage

Go Ducks!

RIP Spinning Rod ? not likely

Clackamas: water temp 33

Yay ! I can cut my hair

Futuristic Lures of the year 3000

Hobo Hillbilly Moonshiner

Excalibur jumps your heart out of your chest electrified - Steelhead on the Clackamas River in November

Sandy River having no trouble looking poetic.

Silver is Gold Steel Chaos.  

Chrome bolts downriver and holds on to the night. So I caught a Steelhead ! And released it in short order after taking my obligatory fast and terrible photos. See photo above.

      On the Clackamas River. Almost nothing was right about hooking this fish in this spot. The lure was too big. The sun was too bright at 2 pm. The water was too cold at 41 degrees. It was over sand.  Wrong wrong wrong. I had just fished 5 hours of good looking bouldery pocket water.  I put on a bigger #5 in silver. Generally, I figure that if you have to fish larger than a #4 to get down in the rip you are fishing too fast of water. Well it was near the head of a big pool - so that was textbook. But what do I know. I get the cult like obsession regarding this fish.

     My whole body was electrified. My face looked hilarious. The fight lasted long enough that I began to be conscious of my hilarious breathing. Nervous, focused breathing. You can’t believe your touching this animal. This is the closest thing I have to religion.  But I will take it.  My first Steelhead was a big 30+” hatchery fish that made a hard drag zing like mad. I hobbled over boulders to chase it and was lucky enough that it began to tire near a boat ramp.  Hence the rumble concrete under the fish in the photo.  10lb. test did feel a bit silly… 15 is probably better.

      It happened the Monday before Thanksgiving.  From most of my reading, Thanksgiving should be about the earliest one can expect winter fish in the tribs. (This is what one does when one does not quite have time to go fishing --- we all read about it on the internet.) I also got a couple of small steelhead smolt  that day and lost 4 spinners. It made it a lot easier that I was going after them on spinner rather than fly.   BUT I was not able to cover very much water on foot. Access is limited to the parks along both rivers that I fish - so someday it would be nice to have a raft or a boat.  But the hiking an exploring on foot is still really fun.  I always have a moment in a day of fishing where I realize where I am at - EVEN if I am in the middle of Portland on the Willamette River. I am in an incredible area and how quiet and peaceful it is. I am conscious of my breathing in a different way in these moments. 

     Steelhead mess with you head.  This is by far the most puzzling fishery I have ever experienced.  I can kind of understand why people would do it. I am not sure I understand why people would go Steelhead fishing more than once.  I built up the mystique of Snook in my head like this as well but I think Snook are way easier. I have thrown at so much DECENT looking water in December. I have yet to see a fish other than the one I caught. (I am not counting spawned-out salmon, whitefish and suckers) Though I am not able to sight fish to suckers either. Somehow I am always hooking them in 2’ of water but never seeing them while wading ??

      I really don't know if I'm casting to any fish all day.  It is a strange fishery ---you don't see any fish. The species in the river in winter other than Steelhead are just whitefish and suckers.  Hence the Cult of Steelhead. and the Cult of Egg Pattern. The Steelhead is the only fish and the Salmon eggs are the only hatch.  Covering water is really a challenge on these rivers out here without a boat or raft. Often you can only access a half mile or so at best right at one of the parks. Wading in each direction usually presents you with an unclimbable cliff or private land or and unsafe river crossing.  But we make do. I usually fish it a little too hard when on foot. Really trying to cover the water – fishing sections all the way through twice slowly cause it’s all I have. BUT I think I am starting to get it with the water levels and the water temperature. It is very slowly starting to gel. If you can get the water levels, water color and temperature to line up than you have a good starting point. I bought my first fishing thermometer last week.

      I actually almost went fishless in December until I fished the tail of a big pool on the Sandy with a jig.... hard ..... like I was trying to catch a sucker ... which I was. And I managed a couple of Bridgelips on the Sandy.  I was conscious of not wanting to get bageled for the month of December.  Whew…. My insanity is intact.

Reading a book called "Salmon Nation" about the interactions of Salmon and people since white folks arrived. It is quite good. 

      I also have been expanding my winter tackle box to include more jigs and flies. The marabou steelhead  jigs and basic flies. I find the jigs easier than spinners to swing slow-n-low for Steelhead.  I find it a bit eerie that they sell these at Bi-Mart and I get them there -- and then I go fishing nearby and see nobody fishing. I also find it a bit depressing that my hobby is so common that it can be store bought 2 miles from my house.  BUT I think the jigs will help me transition to fly better as they are so similar to the winter Steelhead flies. I think you could get them to hit soft plastics (Mister Twisters) as well but I have not developed any confidence really even with spinners yet and I KNOW trout hit spinners. I am also very slowly building up my collection of flies. Santa was extremely good to me in the fishing store gift certificate area. Hit the Orvis store today and octupled my fly collection. Thanks Mary and Eric!! Thanks Naomi for enduring over an hour of the temple of fly fishing.

Going a bit further afield to fish:

Notes on the Wilson River so far –

Matt Reed of Bee Thinking and I went out to the Wilson river in mid December and had a rough go of it. The water was too low and too clear at 600 cfs BUT a good 44 degrees. It is one of these crazy pretty small coastal rivers with the clear aquamarine cast water. We fished four different spots along the lower river from mile marker 12 down to 7.  At the last spot we actually had the truck broken into and the window smashed and they got a bag of my clothes. I reported it to the Tillamook County Sheriff and hope something turns up. ha! 

I went back with Naomi 2 weeks later and parked at a spot 10 miles upriver in a lot at a great Trailhead.  She was able to get in a long run on some really nice coastal jungle trails. AND she took most of the amazing photos above. 

I am also engaged in an interesting debate regarding bait vs. lure. vs. fly  or the caste or class system as represented by fishing.  rich=medium=poor   I have fished lures comfortably for ten years and fished them mixed with bait prior to 2002. And now dabbling into fly fishing.  How does one decide on traveling far to fly fish?  or fishing bait close to home instead?  Does one drive farther for better water or fish closer to home for more time on the water ? I like the stuff the group Urban Lines is doing on the subject of fly fishing your home waters. I always have to have a spot I can go to and fish for just a bit that is close to home. 

This discussion was spawned by some insulting comments I made about bait fishing. I did not intend for them to be insulting but I can see how they were taken that way. I think bait fishing is honest. And thank you to Brian for pointing out that we all use hooks.  As a qualifier I would like to offer that spending time fishing for non-food fish is ridiculous and that I have mixed feelings about it - yet I still do it. Conflictions.  It is the socio-economic aspects of the different types of fishing that I find worthy of discussion.  

I took a survey of some fishermen I knew: 

We did a one word association with the 3 main types of fishing  

1.bait  2.lure  3.fly 

Here is what I got: 

Neil –   bait= food               lure=fun                    fly=far driving 

Phil –   bait=amateur          lure=fun                    fly=unessesary

Adam - bait=worms            lure=big tackle box    fly=snob    tenkara=interesting

Ryan-   bait= uninspired      lure= utilitarian          fly=artful

Dave – bait=fish                 lure=sticks                 fly=nothing

Gary –bait=stink                lure=doll                    fly=rising

Naomi – bait=master          lure=allure                 fly=super 

Matt – bait=powerbait         lure=mepps               fly=legit

Luis –  bait=  neil                lure=neil                    fly=neil

Brian - bait=hook                 lure=hook                 fly=hook

End of Year

Ruminations and stuff that happened. 

I caught 21 species in 2013 year on lure and fly.  See List BELOW.  It was a good year. Fishing is picking up for me in general - work has calmed down a little.  

Though I did not do any full on  “fishing trips” this year I managed to weasel in some fishing on family  trips to Hawaii and San Diego and on camping and hiking trips. I suppose the thrill of the year was the  3 Trevally I landed at on Kauai.  2 on poppers...!!  (these would be juvenile Giant Trevally). Jacks and Trevally are my favorite fish. It is like god has handed you an inshore tuna. Kablaam !

Though being a bit intimidated by fly fishing (the limited casting, the knots, the snobbery, the prices, accessing the whole water column) I managed to get out on a couple of Oregon rivers and on my own, throw some nymphs and some San Juans and land some trout on my 5wt. 

To be fair this Steelhead thing is kicking my ass psychologically. It is quite possibly the

most humiliating thing I’ve done to myself.  One never knows if there are fish in the river ... except when the water is low and clear and then you can see that there are no Steelhead.  Nothing ever busts the surface in a big way. But you fish anyway and go fishless in some of the prettiest river water imaginable. I think half of the addiction is about these amazing areas.  The water seems to either be too cold, to high or too low the past 2 months. Really need higher dirtier water. Watching the Wilson spike a bit after a small rain but quickly drop - headed for a mere 400 cfs......

I am learning to work hard for my fish.I have to learn a whole new type of fishing really.  This is Oregon baby smurf,  fish it hard.

Fish Species of 2013 – new fish in bold

Manybar Goatfish

Barracuda 

Cornetfish 

Giant Trevally 

Peacock Grouper 

Smallmouth Bass 

Largemouth Bass 

White Crappie 

Carp 

American Shad

Northern Pikeminnow

Corvina

Bridgelips Sucker 

Black Rockfish 

Sculpin

Mountain Whitefish 

Brook Trout 

Cutthroat Trout 

Rainbow Trout 

Chinook Salmon 

Steelhead 

Fishing is a celebration of how these creatures live in this weird earth life we all share. 
 Have a great 2014. Get out there and fish. 

- Neil