Apparently, its raining.

Lazy. Worthless. Regret.

These are all the thoughts that are going through my head right now. I actually feel guilty about not getting out? All the gear was packed up last night, the boat was ready to go, shuttle was taken care of, and spirits were high. My mind was set on floating the D from Warm Springs to Trout Creek in search of my last good chance at the summer steelhead that were hanging around. This was probably going to be my last time at the D for a long time since winter steelhead season is coming up on us not soon enough.

But I kept checking the weather, water levels, which route to take (over or around Mt. Hood?). And so it goes. My (ir)rational thoughts: It wasn;t going to get above freezing on the D, "I've never done this float before..... how long would it take blah blah blah bullshit"?, is it worth the drive through what looked to be bad conditions throughout most of Oregon?....... So I woke up this morning at 4:30 and checked the weather again...... not so good, I was still tired (of course) and I just went back to bed due to what I believed would be a trip that just wasn't worth it.

SOMEONE PLEASE GET ME THE LARGEST TAMPON AVAILABLE!!!!!!!!!!! What the hell is my problem? This is Oregon. It is winter. GET OVER IT!!!!!! Especially when the winter fish arrive. And the rain really starts.

Get out and fish.

Jackson hates me right now.

Happy Thanksgiving

Damn. We love food.

The Rain has Arrived.

Blown out? This is what every river level looks like around the area. Including the coastals...... might be on the drop and ready to fish come thanksgiving. I want to be full of good beer, and all that tryptofane from the turkey. Icing on the cake would involve some time on the water.

Maiden Voyage

I am very proud of this little poacher. Very badass boat that can go virtually anywhere. The weekend was spent feeling her out and getting used to the things she likes. She is going to be a workhorse for seasons to come and I will put her to the test. This will make her happy.

I'm Confused.

"After more than two years of design and development, Ross is pleased to introduce the Flow - a modern rendition of the centerpin reel. The sport of centerpin fishing is loaded with incredible history and tradition, but rather than simply reproducing a reel design that so many have done before us, we have incorporated our thirty plus years of fly reel engineering into what will become the new standard for all centerpin reels."

Lots of respect lost to a reel company thats prices have always treated Jackson and I well. What the hell are they thinking with this move? Is a fly fishing company marketing to Centerpinners???? I thought people got in fist fights over this shit. The last thing we need out here is for those centerpinners to start spreading like a disease and making their way out west. Bastidges.

Ross Reels: Your an idiot.

Buster Wants To Fish!

So don;t try and stop him.......

Jackson and I are eating this shit up.

Buster Wants To Fish

My New Ride.

..... has officialy been upgraded. Ok, so maybe it was previously non-existant. Here is my first attempt at putting her together...... not so bad? Jackson seemed to like it, now all he needs to do is learn to row. How else is he going to burn calories now that our lazy asses will be floating all day instead of long hikes and lots of wading?

Can;t wait to be searching out alot of new and untouchable water.

The Black Lips

My mom always hated my friends..........

Sea Run Cutthroat.

If that didn't catch your attention...... I sure as hell don't know what will. On good advice from what seems to be a fishy steelhead junkie, I decided to spend some time taking advantage of all the Sea Run Cutts that are in our coastal systems. They now fall No. 2 on my list of favorite fish. Steelhead being No. 1. The most interesting thing about these overaggresive- fish is that they act like street gangs..... One piece of water might yield none..... while another has been claimed by these territorial thugs. Here is my props to a badass fish.

On another note..... it was hard to focus on catching these unpredictable ghosts when fresh steelies were swimming right by on their way upriver.

And it all came together.

I feel like I have been a part of something special. Don't worry..... I won;t get all mushy and shit, but I am going to pat my own back for a moment. Every minute I spent getting skunked all summer trying to stick a steelie on a swung fly was worth every moment. Truth.

Jackson will be the first to rat me out though...... I won't pretend like I have finally figured it out and it is all smooth sailing from here. The way i see it, I am going to pay for that fish, more skunking in my future. Shit, it wasn't even pretty when I got the take..... I was fumbling with my rod and line like a 16yr old trying to put on a condom at prom night. But this 16yr old got laid.

I can't believe I have finally landed one. 15 minutes of sunlight was left on the D, fish took directly below me. I'll remember this moment for the rest of my life. Hopefully more to come.

Red Gold

The genious of felt soul media. Everyone needs to watch this.

Deschutes, Thankyou for kicking my ass.

I feel like a lucky bastard.

My old man was in town this past weekend and he wanted to do a steelhead trip on the Deschutes. Ok, so maybe I had a little influence on the matter but he put up no argument. My poor ass can;t afford it. This just happened to be perfect timing. My quest with the Spey rod has been a Beatdown. Having a guide who knew what he was doing was going to clear up alot of things for me and give me my best chance for a fish. Lucky for me I got a guide, Matt McCrary, who is fishy as hell and can cast incredibly with little effort. But more importantly this guy loved what he does and it just showed. Guy picked us up in Maupin @ 4:45 am and we got out of the river at 7:30pm. He had a smile on his face the entire time. This is no Wyoming with easy little cutthroat to make your client feel like they really know what they are doing. This is Steelheading and there sure as hell are NO guarantees. This has to be a tough gig......

My report is one that lacks a fish..... but the amount of knowledge I gained was more important. By the end of the day my fiance was handling the spey rod like she was born with it in her hands. For his first day, the old man was getting the fly out where it needed to be and he was swinging it nice and slow. As for me...... Matt had me more excited about each individual stretch of water than the thought of catching a fish. Sometimes you stick one and sometimes you don't. I have alot of new tricks in the bag now. My knowledge of reading water has improved, I can cast close to a tight bank.... and the wind was an afterthought. I was having a blast the entire day.

Oh Shit. I'm Hooked.

Now, the most important thing I have learned:
This shit is unpredictable. You gotta think out of the box and just get your ass out there and try new things. In the first pool of the moring I was just getting my line out and so I flipped out the leader real close. Steelie took..... I missed. I won't make that mistake again. At the end of the day it was the last run and we had about 15 minutes of light left, and then I hear my dad scream...... "I got one!" 2 seconds later the fish had got off. Oh well..... I better start getting used to this.

Some photos from the day.

Thank God I am a positive person.

'Cause I would have given up already. I have been trying everything I can. Even decided to roll the dice and head over to Washington cause Jackson and I thought those fish might have wanted our offering. Skunked. But My casting is getting better..... and I think I can swing it a tad slower...... now I am just waiting for it to all come together. Been getting skunked alot lately.

Wolf Parade

Saw a great show from The Thermals last night during the MusicFest NW @ crystal ballroom. One show I regret I wont see is Wolf Parade. They are playing tonight, I just can;t afford to miss the season opener for the Cowboys.

Labor Day

After a long weekend of many drinks and non-stop fun I had to drop the sis off at the airport and send her on her hungover way back to the heat of Dallas. Since she had a 6 am flight and I had to drop her off by 5 am....... Jackson's mama and I decided to hit the local stream on the way home to swing for some summer steelies........ great morning for it..... with a nice hangover I was working a greasy looking piece of water when I wasn't even ready for it. The tug came so quick and fast I did what any trout fisherman trying to learn how to swing with the long rod would do...... I lifted the rod straight up the minute I felt it. Lost fish. Shit was fun though. All in all it was nice to be the only ones on the water:

Here is the better half double hauling before the sun had hit the water:


Spent the rest of the day being lazy.

The Thermals

A great portland band. They are playing the crystal ballroom on Saturday as part of the Musicfest NW tour. Go check them out!

Portland. Beer Town USA?........ Revisited.

Jackson has called me out on this one. When we wrote this the first time soon after moving to Portland we thought we knew what good beer was after trying the obvious beers that were found in stores. I didn't know shit. Jackson's super k-9 senses have sniffed out some incredible breweries and delicious brews since then.....
P.S. Just go to these breweries.

Some of our recommendations:
1)Amnesia Brewery: Copacetic IPA
2)Laurelwood: Amber
3)Alameda Brewhouse: Klickitat Pale Ale
4)Lucky Lab Brewery: Black Lab Stout (Jackson's Favorite)
5)*Hopworks: IPA
(I am not sure what it is called.... the brewery opens this fall in SE Portland.... I have only had their IPA at the organic brewfest, and portland brew festival. Insane.)

Cheers!

How I feel today.

After Portland's first good day of rain since June, these are my emotions. Now if only we could get a few more days to be exactly like today........ Maybe more fish will be pushed into the system and the bite will turn on. I think I am ready for the fall.

Holy Shit! Its Friday! The Pixies!

Jackson has begged me to put this one up. Here you go......

"Bringing it all back home..."

After a weekend on a "legendary" trout stream I have come away with this:
-We fought crowds
-Gave those in RVs the finger
-Drank some Mexican beer
-Saw some big fish
-Fished a dry (when we knew it wouldn't produce shit)
-Broke out the heavy artillery streamers
-didn't land a fish till the second day

What bothered me most was seeing the "tourist" dressed up and clinging to the only thing that made them feel remotely comfortable:
The General Store

Frustration put a chip on my shoulder for most of the weekend. I was ready to declare the river OVERRATED. But oh how my better half can shine light on my negativity:
She reminds me constantly what it is all about.... why we love it.... why we lay awake at night thinking about it.
She helped me remember what its all about.

It's Just Fishing.....

Rasta dog gets some lovin:


Ready for a siesta:


Wild and Native.


I respect you.

Gone Fishing

Hitting up a central Oregon river this weekend with my human and his woman.

Any time now........

Should be starting sometime soon.

The most comfortable shoe ever made.

Jackson and I will endorse this shoe forever. The Vans classic slip on. It is the most comfortable shoe ever..... and we know you have always wanted a pair. I mean who needs laces anyways? Plus, I think they would do well on slippery rocks while wading through a heavy current. Think functionability. (Is that even a word?)

I know this trout was looking at my shoes while I was releasing his ass.

Jump on the Bandwagon! Read a Great Blog!

The genious of felt sould media not only makes gnarly fly fishing films out of 15 minutes....... they also put together a kick ass blog. Check them out: (Click on the wire)

THE WIRE

Pocket water.

I found myself day dreaming about cold + clear + pocket water today....right in between my work day going to hell. Sometimes I just want to say "F%#* it", grab Jackson, the woman, give my customers the finger, sell everything I own and move to Bariloche, Argentina. But I'm not that dramatic (errrrr I mean I don't have the balls). It is painfully obvious that I HATE the rat race. To bad I don't have much of a choice. I'll just look forard to the weekend........ maybe I'll hit that one pool I love.


A pocket water fish..... from the pool I love.

3 Minutes and 58 Seconds that make you want to say Yeah Yeah Yeah!

I need to get out!

Jackson and his humans have recently relocated to a better place in the Portland area.......Jackson has his local hang out a block away (Lucky Lab), he can now chase a whole new set of bitches at the nearby park, and he has more space to himself. As for his humans...... they have been super busy, NO time to fish because of all the shit that has been going on in their lives!!!! They need to get out and fish! They are too young to be "busy" and missing out on the great fishing.




They do have a free day today.They are walking out the door on their way to the Oregon Brew Fest. Figures.

Silversun Pickups

Reminds me a little of Smashing Pumpkins. Check em out.

This is Fly 2!

Holy shi-ite! This is fly issue 2 just came to me via email and it is off the hook. And to make things skankier..... it is the "reggae issue". Couldn't have come at a better time for me..... I have been in a reggae mood for weeks (my ipod has been playing nothing but reggae when on the way to the river). So when you go..... go to page 21 launch the audio player, get out the bud, start reading.

Jackson gives it 2 paws up.

This is fly

Play I Some Music!

The question has come up while drinking beers with friends many times......."If you could see ONE artist/band in concert either in their prime... or before death/split of band, who would it be?"

One simple answer:
BOB MARLEY (Jackson's Favorite)

Some top runners:
-Sublime (Bradley Nowell R.I.P.)
-The Clash
-Ramones
-Bob Dylan (Before he went electric)

Who would you pick?

N. Umpqua

I just recently bit the bullett and bought the spey rod. I just couldn;t deny it any longer:
"I live in Oregon..... what the hell am i doing chasing trout? The rivers surrounding portland are loaded with steelies. Sure I'll make that drive over the mountain for my fix on the D...., camp the met, fish the fall, hike the salmon.... but I want to be spending a majority of my time right near home on some great rivers, swinging a fly, getting skunked, and hopefully one day feel that pull."




I am really shitty with the long rod as of now...... but since I will be making MANY casts between fish I am sure there will be improvement. Jackson sure as hell needs to be giving me a little more room while I fish...... I don;t want to drive one deep into the tail, or ear like I have done before.

Back on track:
So my fiance and I decided to take my poor excuse for skills to the N. Umpqua and go after the summer run. Incredible river. I feel as if Zane Grey himself is looking over my shoulder between each cast. This river is incredible. The sight of it is worth the drive alone. (I might be saying this because I got skunked)



We saw a nice looking summer steelie, swung some traditional flies, drank beer. Both days we were up before the sun, and spent the middle of the day sleeping...... recharged to be back out till dark. We were told to be back in october. N. Umpqua, see ya then.

Jackson's Eye View of the N. Umpqua:

A beer you should try.

Lagunitas Maximus. All the India Pale Ale you can handle.

Saturday Plans.

Checklist:
1)Fill the cooler with snadwich and beer
2)pack up the 3wt
3)Grab the box of dries..... (leave the streamers and nymphs at home)
4)Feed Jackson so he has plenty of energy to hike
5)Put Beef Jerky in backpack
6)Pack up dog treats for Jackson so he doesn't eat ALL the beef jerky
7)Update ipod create playlist for ride out
8)wear lucky boxers.

What tomorrow should look like:

Its Thursday.

One more day till friday. Time to have a beer.
Cheers,
Jackson.

Happy Father's Day

For all the dads out there.... Have a beer, go fish.
Cheers,
Sir Jackson and Me.

Field Testing.

Ego Booster.

What you see is what you get. Small, wild, jewel.
If you are getting your ass handed to you by the Metolius.... pull out the map find a blue line near sisters..... pack up the cooler (hopefully with an IPA), get your 3 wt and go after the wreckless natives in that creek nearby.

This was the case when my dad, fiance, and I decided we REALLY needed to feel a tug at the end of our lines. A short, light rod, and bushy dries. Oh yeah.... some stealth required: My old man stalking:



This place is not a secret..... and its not talked about. I mean, who would give a shit about this tiny creek close to the deschutes, fall, metolius, and many central oregon lakes?

Metolius.

The Metolius...... cold, clear, technical, beautiful. A stream that bubbles right out of the ground to form a legendary river. Legendary? While I must say the scenery was legendaty..... the fishing was NOT.

I had looked forward to this trip with my family for quite some time. I was not doing my usual routine..... sleeping in the dirt, eating whatever kept me warm at night and drinking enough to ensure a good nights sleep. Instead, thanks to my family, we got a cabin..... RIGHT on the river.

When we first showed up, bugs were everywhere.... pmd's, cadddis, and blue winged olives were all mixed in. I thought for sure the trout fishing would be cake. What I wanted most of all was a bull trout. And I thought I came prepared:



After getting skunked for our entire first morning (me, my fiance, and my dad) we though regrouping and having some beer would get us ready for the afternoon. I was confused..... where the hell were the fish? The bugs wewre out in force, the temperature felt perfect, and the flows seemed great. What I soon realized was that I had not seen a single person catch a fish all day. After asking around it quickly became clear that even the locals know that paying your dues on the metolius is part of the game. I can respect that.

That afternoon I was bouncing a stonefly off the bottom of a deep trough when IT took my fly and decided to peel off down stream.... my rod was pumping and after a few head shakes, in my most classic nature, I lost the bull trout I so badly wanted to catch. Even though I was pissed I did manage to bring a trout to hand before dark. My ONLY Metolius redside:



Not a large amount of fishing took place.... but that was fine with me.... the highlight of my trip was sitting around the campfire with my family drinking and being merry. I plan on returning to the Metolius with different expectations.... a gorgeous river that is technical is my cup of tea.... but I have to be mentally prepared for it next time. We were too early for the green drakes. I'll be back in a few weeks. Sir Jackson loved it as well:

A Fish Is A Fish. Is A Fish. Right?

A fish.....


is a fish......


IS A FISH.....


is a fish.....


is a fish.....


Is a fish.....


RIGHT?