I love to strip a bugger on a sinking line or better yet an I line, it is the closest thing to the bite of a steelhead on the swing, which just so happens to be what I live for. It is a great way to fill the gaps in fishing seasons, April/May fly fishing in Washington state can constitute some really good lakes with impressive trout and scenery. Impressive trout being found easily at Issacks Ranch during April and May.
Upper lake at Issacks
Lower lake at Issacks
Now wile in Montana we are surrounded by historic trout streams and rivers and the lakes are nearly untouched, well, until the word gets out. Last week Mark and I went up to Clark Canyon Lake expecting to see the thirty boats that have been there on past trips. Not a soul around, four boats to a thousand acre lake, I instantly think “ah shat bad idea”. Well we hit it very good on all prospects, no boats, good weather and best of all great fishing on the stripped bugger. This lake is unlike many of the lakes in Washington instead of shoals with mud flats in between, we fish a creek channel entering the river (the red rock river). It will run from 2-3 ft with grass into a five to twenty foot wide channel that will be 7-15 ft deep and has the bottom contour of the origional creek, deep on the outside bends and all that. Good positioning of the boat and an angler can cast up and down the channel. The neastest thing is how the fish will ball up in a particular location within that channel, when thebite is on there is no mistaking where that spot is as fivbe casts in a row will produce good hookups.
Mark on Clark Canyon Lake one of many from the inside channle.
First fish of the day, olive bugger on an I line. Note the wild fish dorsal fin, we get a good number of these I think they are from the Red Rock river.
We finished up without five minutes of down time just before the terrential downpour, heck of a good day.
Next season I will be on Issacks in eastern Washington for three trips April and May dates, come on over with me and get your game on after the steelhead season and during the run off for some lake fishing for trout!
Over the last twenty years fishermen and baseball players have had some interesting superstitions.
I don’t know many of the baseball ones first hand but the fishing phobias I have down pat.
The old Banana in the boat is one nearly all fishermen know of, and clients eventually learn first hand. I can not remember how many times I have thrown a Banana overboard and wasted a few ours of fishing to get the stink off before the bite returned, this is exeptionally important on a steelhead trip as the bite has to be taken advantage of when it happens.
Now the past few years I have been coming accross a few Rattlesnakes, I have never killed one but usually go and check them out shoot a pic or just shoo em off the road. I was thinking that I was being nice as I kinda like reptiles in a naturalist sort of way.
Last month Seth Mklean and myself went overe the High Road to Melrose for a guides day off float fishing, we seen a Rattlesnake and stopped to shoot this picture and kindly escorted him off the road to safety. As we entered Seth’s monter truck to continue our journey he says I don’t think we should have done that. Upon questioning he said he killed one last year and the next day fishing was terrible on the Beaverhead, well if you knew Seth and the Beav that just don’t happen! I shrugged it off due to my kindness to the snake,,,,we had less than good fishing that day which is unusual as the day before with clients we crushed them on the same float, it did not register.
Four days ago Mark a friend from Cascade MT came down with four dead rattlers in a cooler, Eric the chef was wanting some to make a real cowboy dinner for us to try. That day we went down to the lower Jefferson with two boats Rooster, Mark, Ben and myself. We had gotten some reports of Drakes down by the Caverns and last year we had some good days in there about now. We floated 12 miles for 12 fish in two boats. I thought nothing of it as this section has fewer fish and we know how reports go, I like making them not following them.
The very next day (after eating rattlesnake) on the upper Big Hole the dry fly fishing was great in Joe’s boat (Joe did not eat the snake) but mine floating all around him with the same shit we could not hook them, they were biting but not getting hooked as if we had no hooks on our flies, it was on the verge of comical and or supernatural, I could see the fish open there mouth a chomp the bug and nothing. We tried streamers, the same thing BAM a hit and no fish, we had thirty or more bites and 5 to the boat with one rod in four hours, strange,,,,.
Last night it all came to me clear as day it is the “curse of the rattler” I instantly remembered last fall when Joe Macomber came from Colorado to film some steelhead fishing. We put in on a float I did the day before with Jason Boitano, we crushed the steelhead and some huge trout and a few bulls to make the day with Jason. The next day Joey, Newel and myself launch and head for the first run, big trout, next run a double steelhead on the same line, instant break off. The next four hours we had 0 action no trout, no steelhead, not even a whitey. Then comes the break off session, brand new leader breaking up in the fat stuff, we loose ten steelhead in a row and I am out of leaders and it is getting dark, finally on a home made leader we land one steelhead at the get out.
The clincher to the newly discoverd phobia, and now assumed responsable for the action of that day, this little guy caught by accident the night before one hole up from the get out 24 hrs and one minute before we finally laded a fish the day with Joe and Newel from Colorado.
Scanning what memories I have left this has happened at least three other times twice on the Yakima and once more last summer with Can-o-nasty.
Don’t mess with Rattle snakes or you will get the curse!
I have resently been introduced to the fly and rod company Targus. They have a long line of rod options and very tough reels all at a mid range price. The rod I have been using is the Gary Borger model they are fast to medium fast action and very responsive. Throws a nymph taper very smoothly and feels a lot like a Sage XP without the high price and its available. The load is smooth and strong without any hint of collapsing. The package for both rod and reel is around 600 dollars aproximately 400 less for comparable products in the Sage, Winston, Ross line of equipment and the kicker is the rod comes with an extra tip section and all repairs are FREE!
My second gear report involves rod holders, the magnetic type that ride on your vehicle hood. Since I recently had my 7 year old set from Orvis stolen I purchased a set from Tightlines Industries. They have more space for attaching rods and two magnets per piece. After 100,000 miles with the Orvis set never falling off I assumed the same with my new set. Bad assumption, just tonight they flew off my buddies truck with four rods attached. The damage report goes like this; the winston w/hatch reel totally blew up the reel however is still usable, the Sage VPS with a twenty year old Ross cimmeron came through with barely a scratch ( so far ) the 596 xp looked fine till a practice cast broke the but section and the Ross gunnison needed some bending repair to the spool. The 905 Targus rod and reel recieved some good scratches and the reel had its ballance broke off but still casted well and and did not break from the testing, all in all the Targus received the worst abrasions and scratches but held up the best.
I can honestly say that Targus is a great deal and I will begin the replacement of all my equipment with their product!
