Oppose Hydro Electric Dam on upper Skykomish River

Despite widespread opposition, a Washington State power company SnoPUD has proposed building a new dam and power plant on the protected Skykomish River. This environmental catastrophe would dewater over a mile of river, including two pristine waterfalls, Canyon Falls and Sunset Falls.

Growing up fly fishing was a summer activity, reserved for vacations in Idaho. I learned to cast a fly on Silver Creek, a place many either love or hate. At 8 years old I loved it, and still do today, maybe more than then. I catch more trout now, but that didn’t matter then. As a guide I am incredibly lucky to share this river. Each day I witness old men become young, wives catch more fish than “veteran” husbands, and children who find something better than Disneyland. It changes everyone for the best, even when it turns you away empty netted. There is no place like “the creek”.

Trout fishing is a grand hobby, a passion for many, fly fishing IS trout fishing. Steelhead fishing changes lives, and swinging for coastal steelhead is either part of you, or it isn’t. The vote is out on whether this can be considered a good thing or a very, very bad thing. I had no choice, my family tells me I was born this way, a trait passed down by the grandfather I never met. He was a passionate fisherman, and steelhead on the Olympic Peninsula his pursuit. My grandparents first owned, then built a cabin on the peninsula in the years before I was born. If only we could have fished together. Out there I like to think we are.

I have caught steelhead of the north, they are more fabled, prized and often larger. British Columbia is plenty big, cold and potentially cruel, but the sun shines more. There are more fish to catch, days less sorrowful. A great vacation, not a time to suffer. During the winter and spring on Washington’s coast it is dark, gray and wet. Fish leave the salt for roaring rivers that eat the rainforest alive. Under a stormy curtain fish feel comfortable, as if they are still in the Pacific. Nothing feels right when it isn’t raining. It becomes harder to find fish, even when you know where to look.

This is where the wild fish are, where the great fish are, and they don’t come easy.

I put together “Where the Wild Fish Are” with the limited clips I was able to shoot this winter. A good project to keep learning how to edit ended up turning into a good way to hold over until next season.

WHERE THE WILD FISH ARE from Bobby Foster on Vimeo.

By Catch Slaughter

Have I been pissed off today, no, but am now!

Read all about it:

http://wildsteelheadcoalition.org/2012/02/agreement-protects-wild-elwha-steelhead-from-hatchery-release/

You can now (since Feb. 16 and through Apr. 30) catch and keep a wild steelhead on one of eight rivers on the Olympic Peninsula. The Bogachiel, Calawah, Clearwater, Dickey, Hoh, Quillayute, Quinault and Sol Duc rivers are the only rivers in Washington where wild steelhead may be retained. See rules on page 27 of fishing regs pamphlet available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/

After all the f–king work that has gone into various aspects of wild steelhead protection not only on the Olympic Peninsula but elsewhere in this state, just when we feel as though the tide might have just come to a slack and begin to turn, WDFW goes and makes one of the dumbest decisions I have EVER seen in my life. Jesus Christ, even Californian’s get it more than we do, I think I want to move back to Oregon, done calling myself a Washingtonian, at least in the fishing world, it is embarrassing.

I don’t care what kind of gear you throw at steelhead or how you do it but to make every effort to kill off these fish in the name of “listening to our constituents” is a crock. Listen to the larger constituent base, the rest of the business owners in Washington who will feel the impact of a state with no wild steelhead and therefore zero tourism dollars coming here in an effort to catch one. I honestly didn’t think this was rocket science but apparently it is.

As Charlie mentioned below, we’re still a couple of weeks away from the prime Spring hatches on the Yakima, but based on a trip over there on Sunday all signs are pointing toward the fishing heating up big time.  In 4-5 hours of fishing and exploring water near the confluence with the Cle Elum, these two fish came to hand, with a 3rd of probable equal size making a nice charge at the fly twice.  All 3 fish were in water you’d expect to see fish in this time of year–deeper, slow-moving troughs–and all 3 were enticed by big streamers.

We were fishing with river flows at Umtanum posted at 1200, and only encountered a couple of river crossings that would be considered border-line aggressive.  There’s also snow still surrounding the river, so be prepared for hiking through that potentially.  All in all, if you know where to access the Upper Yakima, and the flows aren’t spiking (like they’re doing as I type this), the trout seem to be gearing up for Spring.

Parachute March Brown Mayfly

Here are video instructions for a Parachute March Brown Dun that has done well for me in the past.  The natural coloration of the deer hair post makes the fly a bit harder to see, but trout seem to find it irresistible.  Tie a few up for the Yak this season and let me know how it goes!

Sol Duc River Management Zone