"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?