I've gettin me a new Creek rod, but still love my Sage Flight

     Spending the last couple of days pitching small dry flies on Salmon Creek really changes my perspective and makes me think a lot more of fishing moving water again.  My only problem is that most of the good water is to damn far away , say I-da-hoe, or Mon-tanee. Sure we have the Methow, Boulder Creek, but this time of year to much tourist traffic for me to go fish a few hours.

Johnson Creek up on the top is great fishin but the greedy land owner now wants me to help pay the bigger part of his taxes in order to fish and walk on his land.

      This morning I was up the creek early my Sage flight 370-4 with a size 18 PMD tied to the end and on the water just after sunrise 6ish. The air is really starting to cool down at night so today it was 52 and zero wind and that deep in the valley I knew that it should stay cool and as long as I could stay to the eastside of the creek so I didn’t have to look into the sun at least till 9ish. Then I would have to switch sides to keep my shadow off the water.

    I started up above Happy Hill and work my way down I figured it should take me all of about 3 to 3 1/2 hours to make it just over a mile. By then I was going to have to either restock my fly box or have something to eat. I parked and headed up creek and at to first spot just below Mel and Barb’s house I hit the water at the deep hole.

    My third cast produced the first fish a little par marked Bow of 10 inches.   Then four more only smaller and a lost fly to the weeds hanging over the bank.

            It’s tuff for this old set of eyes to retye on another size 18 even with my magnifiers. So I tried tying on a larger PMD and in 10 casts only had a few hits. So I took the time and tyed on another 18 (what a pain) but it was worth it and in no time I was hooking up again. By about 8:30 I was in some pretty shallow water and crossed the creek to the other side and my shadow was back off the water.

   The catchin had slowed down and I changed out to a black elk hair caddis and keeping it down sized with a 16. Sliding it right under the cut bank above the bridge I found my biggest fish of the day so far and fatter than the rest 15 inch what a fighter on the 3 weight I could only run so far with the tall brush and I knew where he was heading into the deepest of holes with all the limbs of the fallen tree. I made it back across the water up the bank and put the pressure on. He would give me only inches at a time and fought it all the way with me having to get in the water a couple more times before I set the net under him.  (FUN STUFF)

     I checked my fly and the knot at the tippit to leader all looked good and walked back up to where I hooked him hoping I could find his buddy if he had one. Not there but down maybe 20 feet I found one of his partners a fat little 12 inch Brookie. Oh what colors this one was all decked out lookin good for the ladies.

   I lost my blk. Caddis to the weeds behind me and switched out to a 16 Adams and as soon as it hit the water I had two fish attract at it. Slamming into each other, then a smaller fish taking it as they splashed it out into the faster current. Wish I had some video of the crash.

      On the east side of the bridge is a big deep hole and lots of little fish little being 3to 6 inches unless you put on a nymph and get down to the bottom. Not me today just fishin the dries. There is a big up eddy in this pool and I set the Adams to work casting into the main current mending two three times and then the line was headed up stream and the fly goes down. Small fish, small fish, small fish Big Bow big bend in the rod and snap! Wasn’t expecting that!

Retye and try that again, this time I’ll be ready for that and bingo there it was on the fourth cast.  And my fly was still in his mouth. So I got my fly bac, too boot.   

I spent the rest of the morning working my way down to and passed the two bends pulling out only a couple of other fish to speak of another nice Brookie all colored up also about 12 inches.

My big fish of the day was the bow at 15 the one I’ll remember the most is the one that I re-caught and got my fly back.

      I had a great time and as predicted the wind started blowin harder than my Sage Flight could handle so Now I’m really thinkin of getting me that Sage Accel 376-4 I hear that it has the power to push little flies thru the wind and still be on target. 

                                         I'll let you know what I think of it soon.

           Keep the faith go find that small creek with a lite stick and have some good old fun.

Time on the water with Jay Kehme

Okanogan River 6:15, low and clear at 920CFS, water temp 72, sky clear and already mid 70s.

   For those that don’t know who Jay Kehme is here is a little about him: Lives in Omak with his wife Rita and Daughter Jordan. Works for Conservation Northwest as the Okanogan Outreach Coordinator, He was appointed by former Governor C. Gregorie to the Washington State Fish and Wildlife Commission 6 years ago.  He is an advent hunter, love to hunt Elk and yes likes to fish from time to time when he get a chance to have a fly rod in hand.

When I asked him. What he thought his best accomplishment was in the past 6 years being on the commission?

Jay: By far the biggest accomplishment is getting the Road Kill bill passed hands down.

Tell me a little more about it. 

Will here is the jest of that bill, Kill a deer or elk with your rig be it car or truck while driving you get to keep it, go online fill out some simple questions and you’re done. Meat on the table.

That simple?

Yup that simple.

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Anyway we were all rigged up and headed down to the river and wetting a line by 6:20 the river.

 Within just a few casts we were both in catching bass not the tug we were looking for but a tug.  

By 9:30 we were heading back to his house for coffee.   Between the two of us we must of caught 20-25 bass and had a great time just hanging out getting to know each other better and I can see us doing this much more often.

I have been told that I’m slackin on my bloggin !!!!!

Gary and Scott 

Yes I have been with so much going on between, work at the apartments, (roofing and windows being replaced) the wife having bac surgery at the end of last month, a dog that now has to have a pill twice a day, and the wife with her meds every 6 hours, Sometimes its just hard to sit back and click out a story or two to let you all know how the fishin been doin

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Yes I have had my rod in my hands and have been on the water a few times.

                                   So I’m going to keep it short!!

A couple of weeks ago I had a little time to go out and play, so I grabbed my Spey rods and got to hit the river. More to get bac into shape then anything else. My Winston is for throwing Scandi line and skaters and the old faithful Redington for  bigger bugs, I’ve owned many Spey rods over the years and all of them have had something about them better then others.

I have a Redington RS4 7136-4 and I’m proud to say it is one of the best all round Spey rods for me.. I can do just about anything with it I want. Chuck the big bugs a long way with ease, heavy MOW tips and light Scandi lines almost as far.

    Enough of that. So anyway I played with the Winston for about 2 hours up river where Gary (MM) and I fish for Steelhead catching a couple of Bass. Just to tune myself up a little and work on the muscles that I don’t use as much as I should. Hoping to catch a Sockeye or two would have been a plus. But didn’t happen. I was able to wade out into the river waste deep in the 3400+ CFS at 78 degrees. Throw Scandi line over 90 feet and get a great swing in no time.

I have thought of going bac up salmon Creek with my stuff already in the truck. BUT by the time I leave work most days the wind has come up or it’s just too damn hot for me to want to go.

        Yesterday the river had dropped off to just under 1400CFS. Gary and I did make it out to fine tune our skills again with our Speys. Hooking up more bass then called for, but it’s fish and a small tug.

        TODAY : it was a Big Blue Lake day out in the Sinlahekin Valley. 9AM hardly any wind, blue skies, already hot at 78.

     I like to fish the middle portion of the lake, but today where we launched the weeds were too thick We tried to get pass them but I had rowed more then 200 yards and was still in them I / we were catching fish in the north end so I headed back there. Gary followed me part way and Scott stayed up in the upper part of the lake. The water temp is still in the low70s and most of the fish were in 25 to 35 feet of water. I will say this all the fish I caught were strong and healthy my biggest Bow was just over 18 inches and I did land a very nice Brown just over 20 most of the Bows were in the 16” range and all of them put up a good fight. I packed it in at around 1PM and Gary and Scott stuck it out in the wind after the wind came up at around noon. Gary let me know that after I left he netted another 6 more fish and two took him into his backing.

There was one camper just pulling out as I was pulling in and I took his spot to launch and Gary and Scott pulled in next to me just before I was ready to launch.

All in all: I’de say it was a good day out at Big Blue the weeds are many, the catchin was good ( a little longer between fish but worth it, Good friends to fish with and it was 90 when I fired up my truck to leave.    

MM playing out one of his many catches of the day