Brazda's Fly Fishing

Jim Brandt with the first steelhead on self made Bamboo 8wt.

Jim and Mike steelhead day of days #3

Time does fly when fishing has been good, I get into the day to day roll of guiding and feel as if I am never looking up. The weather is on another change to partial snow and rain mix with 50 mid day temps, I knew this when I walked outside this morning, before I even looked it up. This will be great for the hardened steelheader’s but tough on the boy anglers. The leaves have turned into there beautiful orange and yellow hews much sooner down here on the Yakima than upon the Methow where green and brown still prevailed when I left Friday night.
The rains are raising the rivers again and that will shuffle the deck and spread out the fish already in the system, new ones are sure to arrive. The salmon will be hard on the spawn with the shortening days and the lower light of cloud cover. The first of the Coho I seen arriving Friday will already be finding there zones, rustling in with the steelhead and cautiously avoiding the Chinook.
I will be happy to find the rivers nearly blank from anglers and full of fish upon my return from a short week-end off. These respites always renew my already eager enthusiasm to find the next pod of biters. The next few weeks will be the best in my world, I may get a day off to fish, the Chinook will finish there spawn and the steelhead will be very curious biters again, sampling my swung presentations, some with HATRED on the minds, as one good friend and client once said.
The rivers angling inhabitants are of a slightly different breed in November, they are of the seasoned sort. Old tattered leaky waders and heavy wool sweaters with sticks from the Kispiox or Dean still stuck into the fabric. Anglers down to there oldest left over spey rods cause they have broken three this season and the return time will not be waited on.
Upon the banks we hear stories from around the pacific coast on how the steelhead runs are doing and what new or old flies worked again this season often told over a dented old silver flask of scotch.
For me this is the best fishing in my world of guiding, colors abound, life and death in every run, steelhead eager to bite a good presentation. We can catch them ANY way we want, skated dries, deep nymphing, swung wets you name it. I am living my childhood over and over again every fall, I have birds on the horizon, salmon on there beds and steelhead in every run.

Jeff  Oct 25 Fly Fishing Reports