There is a empty feeling in my stomach and also a sigh of relief and renewal. For me, my winter steelhead season has come to an end.
The goods, in both water and scenery.
Exciting, taxing, heart-stopping, scary at times, humbling and most of all rewarding are just a few words to describe the past few months.
"Proof, the sun does shine on a dogs ass now and again", Rick Knapp with a 41' x 21' buck.
I’d just got done telling Rick what I wanted, a big hen, 14 or 16lbs would be nice. Next cast, the skagit dives, “there’s one” he says, not a hen but, hardly a disappointment.
Kelsey and her first steelhead, not a bad grip with hot pink polish.
Kelsey and Dean worked hard through the high water we suffered, 3 days for one lost fish. The fourth day was just about perfect, 3 for 3 ain’t so bad.
Heart-warming steelhead, Dean Mades with a stunning sea-liced 33' hen,....perfect
We saw many different water conditions this year, as always. But we saw a lot more low and clear on the coast than usual, which made for tough fishing at times. Even in near perfect conditions we saw some tough fishing, that’s winter steelheading, nothing good comes easy, nor it should anyways.
Wishing well
Nuff said...
Pete Laskier with a clear-finned hen, 1 of 2 landed outta 3 hooked in 1 run, "The Dude Abides".
A dusting
A fine evening.
Jed Fiebelkorn admiring a handsome buck, keep an eye out this fall on the Sportsman Channel for Trout Unlimited's "On The Rise" program.
It has been a hell of a ride and I’m already looking forward to next year and what it’ll bring, hopefully more of the same.
The one...
Thanks to all who came fishing with me this winter.
Rich
It ain’t been easy
February 13, 2012
This winter has seen its ups and downs, along with the flows. We’re at the mercy of the weather and the fishing is the same. If the rivers come up, it’s good on the drop. When the river’s stay low, the fishing gets tough. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know but, we’ve had a very strange weather pattern so far this year.
First of the year, taken in early January
Like every winter season, no matter what mother nature throws at me, I live for this. There is no pull like a coastal winter fish. When it’s right, it’s right and you know it, feel it, breathe it. Every fish tailed is a feat on both halves. Getting tail-whipped as they swim away is as sweet as… well you know…
Good high-water spot
If you have yet to fish for these fish with the hint of the salty ocean coming in on the afternoon breeze, or have driven along the coastline imagining the fish nosing into its rivers scent, you’ve yet to truly fish for them.
A nice hen
Not marinated in awesomeness, only soul...
So, things will change, the rivers will rise again and fall, same ol’story . Be there when it’s right, if not, know where they’ll be livin’.
Gator
Good eats
Chromeo Perez
River’s are full of secrets, you’ll never know one fully.
A hatch-fish taken for the smoker but, notice the girth expansion, def. of squatty-body.
Cheers,
Rich & Bo
In the end…
November 14, 2011
Another season has quickly faded away. They seem to fly by these days. On the North Umpqua we again had another wet spring and high-water in Steamboat Creek through June, which allowed our fish to jettison the main river to their home water, where they want/need to be. Good or bad, depends on how you look at it. For me…. as angler, that’s fine and good, for me… as a guide, eh, it is what it is. It’s a double-edged sword, lot’s a fish can bring lots of people, not so many fish and bad reports mean, fewer but less pressured fish.
Purple flies still catch steelhead, who knew?
Sandra Scandibar of the “fly girls” with a “little hen”(her words, small in comparison to the sea-run browns she’s been catching in TDF). This “little hen” I think gave her more than a sea-run brown woulda in the same size. Bad pic I know, maybe one of the only bad things to say about I-phones, gotta put the girls up, best week of the year no matter the fishing.
Beth Brunswick with a nice Rogue fish
The Rogue fished well at times, other times, well, just typical steelheading, put in your time and you’ll run across 1 or 2, sometimes none, sometimes more. With Gold-Ray dam out though, the fish seemed a bit hotter, maybe the days spent trying to navigate the dam really took a toll on them?, I dunno.
With my first season of guiding on the Trinity pretty much done, I have to say it was so much fun to be guiding down there. While the fish of the Trinity may not be of North Umpqua size, they have the heart and soul of them. One of the coolest rivers on the planet, yes in California. The Trinity in my opinion offers the best chance at a steelhead on the dry you’ll ever come across. The majority of our days down there we saw multiple fish to the fly each day. It’s an exciting, wild place to fish, full of anticipation.
Charles Gehr with his and Skeena's first Trinity steelhead.
It was this good at times...
A good one.
A Rogue riffle where every cast could reward with the grab.
Thought the Rogue was a nymphing river.
With my summer season done my mind begins to drift west, to the coast. I bit early I know, I tell myself that ever year but, you never know, right place, right time…
A short of shorts of sort of some video clips:
Many thanks to all who fished with me this summer/fall,
Rich
Fall is falling….
September 28, 2011
It’s really starting to feel like fall but, summer has gone by so fast, I’m not ready. But then again, oh yeah, I’m ready.
A good buck showing fall colors.
Quick report:
The North Umpqua has been fishing: slow to fair
The Rogue has been: fair to good
The Trinity has been: fair to good to awesome
Apologies for lack of content, been busy and getting busier. Gotta spend some time with the lady and Tosh .0
Cheers,
Rich
Headin’ down south of the border
September 17, 2011
River awakening
A river that began it all for me, as far as steelhead are concerned, the Trinity has been it. More than a decade ago now, damn I’m getting old, I stepped into a run and threw my fly in, I didn’t even know what steelhead really were. I forget how many casts it was, no more than six, and a good fish took my fly and began to tear me and my 5-wieght up. The steelhead wrapped me around a log and eventually broke me off after several leaps and runs, I was stunned. At the time I was a certified trout-bum, fishing 4 days outta every week for trout. After the fish was lost, I remember kneeling down on an exposed river rock, shaking throughout my body and also shaking my head and thinking, ” if this is steelheading, I’m never trout fishing again”
And that was it, my 4 days off a week were now dedicated to these fish, the steelhead of the Trinity. I’ve fished it all pretty much, every conceivable lie, boulder seam, glide, tail-out, riffle, everything and discovered some amazing things. Over time, my steelheading took me as far north as Alaska and south, but not too far, cause there’s not to many good runs south. I always returned home, the Trinity. Even living and guiding in Oregon, my solo day-off trips lead me to the Trinity.
Looking back on how much things have changed, it’s amazing how it all stays the same. The Trinity still offers some incredible muddler fishing, to fish that haven’t seen a dry since entering the Klamath. To say the least, they’re all over it, a lot of the times so out of control they miss it completely and you get’em on the change up. It’s indescribable at times.
Some of the rocks I stand on still, just show signs of my-own faded cleat marks from over the years, and trails to these runs, what trails…
Over the year’s I’ve watched the Trinity become a bobber fishery. Sure it’s effective but, a 100 bobbered up fish will never equal one steelhead taken on the surface, hands down. Like the Rogue now days the Trinity is sold as this type of fishery, this isn’t the case. Trinity steelhead are probably the grabbiest fish I’ve encountered through my travels.
The Trinity is a magical place and a place that feeds my soul. Recently I’ve acquired the permits to guide the sections of the Trinity that I groove on. (Hence this post and why I’m sharing my love for the river, getting older and wanting to make a living fishing for steelhead and the drive to be on the water as much as I can and continue learning about these amazing fish.)
So, kill your bobber, take the training wheels off, and let the fish of the Trinity show you what they can do.
Where it all began for me, it begins for my Dad as well. My Pops with his first steelhead. This hen bbq'd up real nice.
So if you’re interested in seeing a different side of the Trinity, give me call or shoot an email off, and I’ll show you “my” Trinity.
I’m trully excited to add the Trinity to my guide program, if you can’t already tell.
Rich
Lil’ bit of everything
August 12, 2011
It’s been a weird summer thus far, weather wise anyways. The North just about blew out at one point and the air-temps have been very mild. The fishing has stayed pretty consistant, fish hard, cover a lot of water and you’ll find some.
The ever beautiful North Umpqua
We’ve seen some spectacular rises, chases, runs, cartwheels, leaps and one lost scandi head and a lot of running line and backing. The fish have been on the extra hot side this year.
Jim Ansite admiring a pretty buck that jumped more times to count.
It’s crazy how, looking back at these photos brings me back to that exact moment and I can remember every little detail of what happened.
Tim Filice with his first dry fly steelhead. The smile says it all, he was pumped.
The out-of-the-blue, water-clearing rise of a steelhead is my favorite, Tim got all that on his first and he didn’t jerk, awesome Tim. Congrats.
Grease
That's the stuff...
The man, the myth, the dude himself, KC Biehn. Blurry but had to put KC up, just about dark and this buck hit the muddler so hard just about ripped the "Golden Bear " outta KC's hand.
Chris Marto with a scrappy hen that dug a muddler, she had one of the coolest jumps of the year. Don't jerk Chris, ha.
Deschutes time = Fun-time. Evan Unti sliding an early wild hen in.
The definition of fishing till dark, that's the moon.
Though it’s been a weird and wild one, everything seems to be settling down and getting back to normal, no complaints on my end.
12 miles of washboard dirt road and a 4 mile hike brought me to these…
Witching hour
Cheers,
Rich
The feeling, shakes and lost time…
July 7, 2011
Summer took its sweet time but, it’s here. The rivers are higher than usual and the fish are later too. They are coming though.
Moon over the "Flats Camp"
Now, I love winter steelhead and the the grab on the tip, but fishing a floater and summer steelhead is where it’s at. Summer is when we as steelheaders get to make up for those fishless winter days.
Though few and far between right now, free rising early summers are the best in our sport. Many are un-landable and the search is more like winter steelheading. The days are long, in both day-light and time spent on the water, cast after cast upon more casts after cast. And it’s always a little funky changing up to a Scandi from a 20′ Skagit and 15′ of “T” and lead-eyes to however deep you wanna get.
Then it all comes together.
Clean & Chrome
The feeling:
The fly coming into water you just know has a player in it. Like when you have a winning hand in poker, you don’t bet too big or too little and you never call it out.
The Shakes:
When a good fish erupts on your fly and misses. You’re left with a mind game of, wtf do I do.? Change? wait?, or throw right back out there???….
Lost time:
When you see the out of the water “gimme that f**king thing”, and you’re waiting ever patiently for the line to come tight, yeah right, right.
Oh yeah, and everything that happens during the fight, landing, release and about 15 minutes afterward or enough time for a smoke.
Everything that is going on in the world and your life fades away, it’s gone. Nothing else matters then.
Why we fish.
There were a few more eruptions but, like your first high, it don’t get no better. We’re lucky enough to get this first high with each changing season, dry, tip, winter, fall brutes, re-uniting with rivers, new rivers, coastal, we’re pretty damn lucky.
And the chase goes on…
Steamboat Falls ladder is once again blocked, as I type, ODFW hopefully should be clearing it. Works are in progress to rebuild the Steamboat ladder for next year.
The rebuild is in thanks to these great organizations:
These organizations have and still help out the river we love and enjoy, and will continue too. You can help them out by becoming a member of one.
photo courtesy of the North Umpqua Foundation
Once upon a time steelhead could clear Steamboat Falls and make it to their summer refuge. Then we came along and could “make it easier”, right.
I’ve spent many hours at the various falls along the creek and have yet to see one make it. I was lucky enough to see one make it over Little Falls and was also lucky enough to get it on film.
In this video there is about a 30 second flurry of activity, scroll to about 2:20 and wait, the first fish to jump makes the falls. It was incredible to watch first hand, hope the video does it justice.
Cheers to summertime,
Rich
Feathering the rough…
May 31, 2011
Holy crap, the weather sucks. It’s been a long wet spring and there is no end in the 7-day forecast. Typically I like April and May, just sandals, shorts, t-shirts and catching up on things I’d let go to long during the season. But I think we’ve had like 2 nice days here in that time. Enough of my weather smack, who really cares anyways, right. I have been wearing sandals for the past month, just ’cause though.
Longing for a weekend away on the river, despite a marginal forecast and high winter-like flows, I sped off.
- Feathers, stick and line winder.
Typical sky line
Steaks & beans for dinner and another night of 10 hours of glorious sleep.
Brewed coffee in my palm and the truck defrosted, Bo and I drove down river ’till a run begged to be fished. Again it just felt really good to be standing in the rushing current and swinging a fly and fishing it well. There is something to be said about the satisfaction of fishing a run well. You know what I’m talking about.
I have an idiosyncrasy when I fish, most of us do and no, ‘one more cast’ doesn’t count it’s over used and played. So when I fish through a run thoroughly and am working a long line. I reel in half of my running line and stop, strip the rest in and make another cast and swing. Does it work?, it hasn’t yet and my clients can attest to that, as I put them through it as well. I knew one day it’d work.
With Bo sleeping, in the sand bed he’d made, I finished the run and did my thing. As the fly made it’s turn to swing, it hesitated, knowing there is a bedrock reef there, I gave the rod tip a quick ‘pop’ to lift it off the reef, the reef ‘popped’ back. The reel, out-goingly clicked a few times. The line slackened, confirming my suspicions of the reef. A nanosecond later the reef peeled off well over 150 yards of running line and baking, this ain’t no reef. Gathering myself and tight to nothing but backing, the fight began. This fish had no give, I couldn’t turn him. I saw him a hundred feet out and thought it was a chinook, cool I thought, but not what I was after. With the head of my line gaining ground, he surfaced again, this ain’t no chinook. After an epic battle, and yes ‘epic’ is over used and played, but it fits here, I brought him to hand.
Just plain mean
He taped a solid 36"
After a few quick shots and a tape, I picked him up and faced him up-stream, I did not tape his girth, never cared to much for it. Looking down on his back, he was thick. Facing back upstream, with a firm grasp on the wrist of his tail, he shook from my grasp, literally, my arm waved back and forth until I released. Nose headed upstream, this guy powered against the current, far upstream, of me and a very happy black-lab, out of sight. I think he was more annoyed with our brief encounter than anything.
I’ve done as much I know to do to help preserve these fish. This fish alone, nailed a railroad spike into the foundation, as to why for me.
Thumbing through the vast ocean of what is the internet. And reading that, “Steelhead have enough friends”, makes me sick. You may get a swift upper cut to the chops, if I hear that face to face.
If that was true, we wouldn’t have the problems we are seeing now.
Over this past winter I heard a phrase that has stuck with me, ” to study depletion is to perpetuate depletion” Think about it.
These fish can be saved, their survival is in our hands.
On the 26th of May, the commission of Medford voted to pass the 7.6 miles and 50′ buffer zones, of the small but invaluable tributaries of Bear Creek to the city comp-plan. A meeting date has not been set for the Medford Council meeting, that would write it, in the city code. Good things are happening on the Rogue, let’s keep it rolling.
If we give the fish a little, they’ll take a lot.
Apologies for the small rant at the end of this post, why I need to stay away from internet chat rooms.
Hope all is well with you and yours,
Rich & Bo
The Rogue
May 11, 2011
Gold Ray Dam
Gold Ray Dam no more
It’s rare to see a dam removed from a river, let alone two. The Rogue River has had two dams removed in the past few years, the Rogue now runs free 157 miles from Lost Creek dam to the pacific.
Bear Creek and it’s tributaries are major spawning and rearing habitat for the Rogue’s salmon and steelhead. The pics below follow Lone Pine Creek, a trib. to Bear Creek.
Lone Pine just above its confluence with Bear Creek
Falls below Table Rock Rd underpass
Passage beneath Table Rock Rd
Above Table Rock Rd, Lone Pine turns into an irrigation ditch
Lone Pine Creek then crosses under Biddle Rd and continues into a concrete canal through the Medford International Airport.
Lone Pine entering the airport canal
Lone Pine emerging from several hundred yards of pipe into concrete
Lone Pine's entrance into a several hundred yards of pipe
Lone Pine flowing freely
Habitat
And the fish are there. Through two miles of ditch, canal, pipe, chain-link, concrete, and grates. Wild coho and steelhead smolt are there.
Currently there is a proposed riparian corridor expansion for 7.16 miles of fish bearing creeks throughout the city of Medford. Including Lone Pine Creek. All of the creeks in the proposed plan are used by salmon or steelhead. While this won’t take out concrete canals and underground pipes, it will protect the creeks from future decimation. A step in the right direction.
This post is a call to the fishing residents of Medford, or if you know somebody who does. At the past hearing there were only of few of us. We need a lot more voices for the fish.
Thursday – May 26th, 2011
5:30 pm
Medford City Council Chambers
City Hall, 411 W. 8th St
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call or email.
Rich
Winding Down, and some firsts…
April 9, 2011
Rogue in the a.m.
We never had one of those magic days, but this is swinging for winter steelhead. Magic number days are reserved for summer steelheading. You got to want it in the winter, you have to want it bad. They don’t come easy, unless your name is Beth.
First steelhead, first time speycasting, first run and instant backing. Beth Guthrie having fun.
Ed's first too.
As steelheaders we can fall into a rut, wanting it real bad and thinking too much. We forget about the fishing part. We can definitely fish good water, fish it well and fish a lot of it but, at the end of the day we can’t make them bite. Just fish and let it happen.
Good water.
Good tail.
Keep your corn in the water.
Former Great Lakes steelheader KC Biehn and his first "real/wild" steelhead.
Coast.
So for me another winter season has come to a close. Spring brings new life and the promise of summer steelhead, can’t wait. Time for tying flies, bbq’n, cold beers with good friends. Maybe some trout fishing, maybe.
Claw-dad.
A parting vid of a coastal steelhead where he should be, in front of a big rock.
Big thanks to those that came fishing me,
Rich
