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Yakima Steelhead…Ponder This!

October 15, 2013 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Bob Margulis of the Wild Steelhead Coalition just passed along a note from someone that I thought might be of interest to those in the anadromous world regarding steelhead in the Columbia Basin in particular the Yakima River region:

The 6,000 steelhead returning to the Yakima has to be put into the perspective that most of the present production is coming out of Satus Creek and Toppenish Creek.  There remains an immense amount of fine habitat in the Yakima outside those two streams.  The Naches River alone should be having returns of over 6,000 steelhead, Satus and Toppenish each 2,000 and the upper mainstem Yakima and many of its tributaries such as Big Creek, Cabin Creek, Teanaway River, and many others should have at least another 6,000-10,000 … even under present conditions.  Given the good passage conditions in the Columbia in recent years and the good overall ocean conditions, the Yakima should be having wild steelhead returns of 15,000-20,000.

During the early to mid 1980s when the then NW Power Planning Council (now NW Power and Conservation Council) began to have discussions about making the Yakima the poster child for Columbia Basin recovery, it was estimated that the Yakima Basin was second only to the Snake Basin in numbers of returning salmon and steelhead.  It was estimated that it’s historic returns were 600,000 combined total with 100,000 of those being steelhead.

However, our present work on the Columbia using amount of available gravel as found in the 1930s to estimate salmon returns suggest that there was sufficient gravel available for about 1.5-2 million spring Chinook alone in the Yakima basin … and that was the most conservative estimate.  If we had used what is a more probable redd area per spawning pair of Chinook it would have been more on the order of 3-5 million.  We have not completed our mathematical runs per gravel available for all the species, but the Yakima had large runs of coho, steelhead, fall Chinook, and sockeye — the latter having 3 large lakes available (Kachess, Keechelus, and Cle Elum) and one smaller lake (Bumping).  In 1916 there was a count made of the number of salmonid juveniles killed in one irrigation field watering of some 200 acres near Yakima.  From that count expanded to the total irrigation acreage at the time, it was computed that about 4.5 million outmigrating smolts were being killed with each watering in the Yakima basin.  Subsequently in the 1920s it was better determined how many waterings occurred per year and the final estimate was that some 20 million outmigrating salmonids were annually killed via diversion onto irrigation fields where they died.  This did not include how many juveniles were killed in the irrigation canals each year when annually dewatered each fall.  It was only a count of those that went out onto the fields being irrigated when diverted from the canals.  This was long after the sockeye runs had already been wiped out in the very early 1900s by construction of dams at the outlets of each of the lakes already mentioned that had no passage systems.  And salmon runs overall were known to have severely declined in the Columbia basin from 1883 onward.  By the 1916-1920 period of time salmon numbers (adult and juvenile) were a fraction of that when Lewis and Clark Expedition occurred.

Just for a couple comparative examples, Osoyoos Lake on the upper Okanagan this year will have a run-size of wild sockeye of about 450,000 (515,000+ have thus far passed Bonneville most of which are destined there).  That is only one lake and Osoyoos is still in recent process of recovery.  Lake Quinault historically had an estimated wild sockeye run-size of one million as late as 1941 (tribal harvest of 500,000 that year).  Obviously, the NWPPC Yakima basin estimate back in the 1980s was a lowball estimate at 600,000 total salmon and steelhead along with the historic estimate of 100,000 steelhead.  I do not have a present estimate we will eventually have for historic Yakima steelhead based on spawning gravel, but I can guarantee it will be well above 100,000.  The Yakima is an immense basin and steelhead historically used nearly all of it.

For instance, we estimated that the Snohomish basin in 1895 had steelhead runs of about 160,000 and the Nooksack 140,000 or more (Skagit about 105,000 and Stillaguamish about 75,000).  None of the Puget Sound rivers had the available basin area the Yakima historically had, and no Puget Sound river had the productivity of the Yakima.  The Clearwater River of Idaho had a count of 46,000 steelhead past Lewiston Dam in the early 1960s (before any hatchery program there) and that was after many were harvested in lower Columbia commercial and sport fisheries as well as in Snake River sport fisheries prior to Clearwater River entry (this was after The Dalles Dam inundated Celilo Falls in 1957 and tribal fisheries had yet shifted to gill netting as the former dip net fishery was eliminated).  Again, the Yakima basin size is larger than the Clearwater and greater productivity per mile of available stream.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Bill McMillan, Columbia River Basin, dams, Oregon, returning numbers, Washington, Wild Steelhead, WSC, Yakima River

Worthwhile?…Absolutely!

March 17, 2013 by adminewa

The opportunity arose for taking a few days, mid week to excuse myself from society and all of its attachments by venturing off the grid on the Oregon coast in search of wild steelhead on a small, very difficult stream to access. I had been introduced to this little gem via a now good friend Conrad Gowell who had been courting me for a visit for a number of years, well the time had come. “This is not your average walk and wade trip or even hike in access steelhead trip. Quarters are tight and the only real trails are made by the likes of elk and bear and at best are broken into barely discernible fragments, can you handle that?” asked Conrad and of course the answer was “Yes!”, you can always bail if it gets too tough right?
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I asked good friend Rob Masonis to join me on this little adventure as some of the history of this stream might be of interest to him as V.P. of Western Conservation for Trout Unlimited and Conrad knows the history of this place better than just about anyone. So we left Seattle at 5am watching with a critical eye as the weather pattern for the region was calling for some heavy rainfall. As it turned out, the rain landed squarely on the O.P. but left less than a trace where we were headed so water was low and clear…not ideal but better than the alternative. 6+ hours later we arrive at our meeting point with Conrad, unpack, gear up and head out for the river.

Within a few minutes we are on the water and this place is stunning…giant old growth forest carpeted with thick super green moss and little or no evidence of any human presence at all…and it is all ours.
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As a life long steelhead angler who only enjoys swinging, small water like this presents new challenges and often times a fork in the road for many. This would easily be nymphable water but with some thought on what, how and where swinging is completely possible…certainly more of a challenge but worth the effort in my book, it is always worth that effort. Small water like this forces one to become a better fly angler by micro analyzing how to manage all facets of your presentation and approach and naturally engages your mind to a level of escapism from everything but the task at hand. My issue here is that I am also toting around about 60lbs of camera gear for the sake of documentation…fly rod or camera, fly rod or camera…

About a mile downstream we enter a tight gorge which requires a “hike” up and around to access some of the middle water. Well this ends up being more of a crawl, uphill breaking trail through Salmonberry, fern and the soft decay of the forest and as I periodically stop to watch and laugh at Rob (or myself more likely). I realize I am not the super human I once was and Conrad I am pretty sure is part elk or some other 4 legged animal that has evolved to ascend such terrain with ease making it evident that getting old sucks. Fingers full of thorns we reach the top and walk and spine to our point descent…keep in mind, what goes up must come down and this presents a whole new challenge.
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This goes on for most of the day, one steelhead seen(spooked) and with daylight barely lingering we begin to escape up and out. We get to an old forest service road right about dark, exhausted and out of water with a 3 mile hike back to the starting point and as we walk and talk, we come to a sign that says 1 mile to…Rob and I both about fall over as it seems we have been walking for miles already. Once back at camp, Conrad confirms out assertion that we likely rose nearly 1000 vertical in about a quarter mile…on no trail! Legs burning we eat, enjoy some malted spirits and hit the sack exhausted, hoping to be up for the challenge again tomorrow!

Waking up, I have a much clearer picture of how to pack and what to bring for the day, more water, steri-pen, 3 flies instead of a huge box and have Conrad carry the underwater camera gear for me! That makes things much easier which turns out to be a big help on day 2 with some precarious situations ahead. No fresh rain over-night, Legs feel good, hearty breakfast and a drive to the lower river where we fish a mere 3 miles from the Pacific. Today begins with a serious hike down and in, no easy entry today and after the bushwhack of yesterday, hoping my Patty waders held up and be better than mesh today…amazingly, zero leaks, wahoo!!!
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Again…incredible! Giant boulders make even stream-side transit a challenge and as I watch Conrad and Rob fish I take in all the other goodies that come from being deep in the wilderness. Fairly fresh cat prints and scat, signs of elk everywhere, a lizard Conrad has never seen and tis the “season” for the salamanders, hundreds mating in every little bit of still water they can find and as I watch, I think of how my daughter would be happy to waste an entire day in a 20 square yard section of where we are…that thought stays close for the rest of the day and will for life.
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We move out of the 5th gorge and into a more open stretch and voila…3 chrome, almost opaque steelhead hanging behind a rock. Conrad turns one on his 3 cast which seems to put them off as they proceed to ignore our presence and our flies for the next hour as we trade off turns fishing and watching!
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We end the day with an elk sighting, amazingly the one and only considering all the tracks around, a few sea run cutthroat to hand and just to remind us, a long and arduous hike out. All told, we likely hiked, crawled, scrambled, scaled, waded and slid a good 15 miles or more in 2 days over some rigorous terrain…all for a few cutthroat and the sight of 5 steelhead. Was it worth it, would we do it again, fish or no fish? No question…absolutely! Henry Van Dyke puts it perfectly:
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Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Emerald Water Anglers, Oregon, Patagonia, Sea Run Cutthroat, steelhead

OR and WA Joint Commission on Lower Columbia River Management

December 9, 2012 by adminewa

View the numbers of the report here.

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Fish and Wildlife Commission today approved a new management framework for Columbia River fisheries that includes more salmon for the sport fishery, a gradual shift of commercial gillnets to enhanced off-channel areas and development of new commercial selective gears for the mainstem. The Commission also set new barbless hook requirements for sport anglers beginning in 2013.

The adoption of the new management framework is the culmination of several months work by a two-state workgroup comprised of members of the Oregon and Washington Commissions, advisors and staff.

“We are very grateful for the time and effort of our Commissioners, our sport and commercial advisors, our colleagues in Washington and our staff in developing a new framework for Columbia River fisheries in a very challenging environment,” said Roy Elicker, ODFW director.

“The challenge going forward will be to implement this plan to the benefit of both the sport and commercial fishing industries,” he added.

Sport share of mainstem salmon harvest to increase

Both sport and commercial fisheries are constrained by the allocation of wild fish they can catch. The plan approved by the Commission generally shifts more allocation to the sport fishery.

Increased production in off-channel areas

Commercial gillnets will gradually be moved from the mainstem of the lower Columbia River to off-channel select areas. To balance the loss of mainstem fish to the commercial fleet, the number of hatchery fish in the off-channel areas will be increased. An additional 1,000,000 spring chinook, 920,000 coho, and 500,000 select area bright fall chinook smolts will be released each year during the transition period, with additional increases in future years.

The plan also would allow for some continued commercial fishing in the mainstem, particularly to harvest excess hatchery fish. In addition, the plan would allow commercial fishing in the mainstem using more selective gear such as seine nets. The commercial efficacy of alternative gear will be tested during pilot fall salmon fisheries in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Barbless hooks, new Columbia River endorsement required for sport anglers

The Commission declined to delay the barbless hook requirement on the Columbia River and selected tributaries. Therefore, beginning in 2013, barbless hooks will be required in the mainstem Columbia River up to the OR/WA border and some lower tributaries.

For 2013 the following tributaries will be restricted to barbless hooks:

Northwest Zone

Youngs River from Hwy 101 bridge upstream to markers at confluence with Klaskanine River.
Lewis and Clark River from Hwy 101 bridge upstream to Alternate Hwy 101 bridge.
Walluski River from confluence with Youngs River upstream to Hwy 201 bridge.
Gnat Creek from railroad bridge upstream to Aldrich Point Road.
Knappa/Blind Slough select areas.

Willamette Zone

Willamette River mainstem below Willamette Falls, includes the Multnomah Channel and Gilbert River.
Lower Clackamas River upstream to Hwy 99E bridge.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Chinook, Coho, Columbia River, Emerald Water Anglers, Oregon, salmon, steelhead, Washington

Mt Hood is Burning

September 9, 2011 by adminewa

Thanks to our friends down in OR at Little Creek Outfitters for these amazing shoots of the fire that is burning on the flanks of Mt. Hood.

Mt. Hood Fire

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Emerald Water Anglers, Forest Fire, little creek outfitters, Mt Hood, Oregon

Deschutes River Road Trip

December 27, 2010 by adminewa

Here’s the thing about road trips:  they rock.  Here’s the thing about fishing trips: they’re awesome.  That’s why I’m digging around in my closet with my headlamp on looking for my fingerless fleece gloves at four in the morning on a mid-November Friday and why I only slept four hours the night before.  I was up late tying flies, and in thirty minutes Ted’s gonna be pulling up outside my apartment ready to drive five hours to stand in a cold river hoping to maybe-if-we-are-very-lucky get a tug from a wild steelhead.  Oh yeah, here’s the thing about wild steelhead: they’re beautiful and strong, and on my home planet they are rare.

Ted and I are fly fishing guides in Seattle, Washington.  This means we are surrounded by hundreds of under-appreciated streams for the fly fisher, but it also means we are surrounded by the ghosts of once famous steelhead water.  My home rivers are the Stilliguamish, Skagit, and Sauk, three famous rivers where wild steelhead are almost extinct.  This travesty has been brought about by overfishing and habitat distraction.  (In previous sentence, reverse to say: Overfishing and habitat destruction have brought about this travesty.)  Now when we think about steelhead, we think about the Olympic Peninsula, Eastern Washington, and Oregon.

This gets me back to road trips.

It’s five in the morning; Ted and I are stopped for gas and coffee.  I’m calling my mom because the third member of our expedition, Dylan, had to back out at the last minute.  Now that there are only two of us, I figure it wouldn’t hurt to see if my mom feels like driving four hours from her own little fishing mecca in Baker City, Oregon to meet up in Maupin on the Deschutes.

My Mom’s husband answers groggily, “Hello?”

“Oh… Sorry, did I wake you?”  Stupid question, of course I did.  Normal people are asleep at 5:00 A.M. on a Friday morning.  “Would you have my mom call me when she gets up?”

“Uh…Ok…”  Click.

We get back on the road, me feeling a little sheepish, heading south down I-5 through the perpetual mist and rain that is Western Washington weather.  At Portland we take a left and follow the once mighty Columbia River towards the Dalles.  Ted plays Woodie Guthrie’s “Columbia River Ballads,” and we talk about the quandary of dams.  There are thirteen mainstem dams in the Columbia river which provide power to Western Washington, Oregon, and parts of California.  On the one hand, I rely on the dams for power they produce.  On the other hand I detest what they have done to wild anadromous fish.  We talk about the dams for a while: electricity, jobs, the economy, and the environment.

My mom calls me back.  I explain the situation.

“Want to steelhead for three days on the Deschutes?”

“We’re getting in the car.”

“Cool, see you in Maupin.”

Yeah, I have the coolest mom.  Once after getting skunked on a five day guided Deschutes trip she told me she would never spend money chasing steelhead again, then spent a week camping in Southeast Alaska in May trying to catch them.  And she succeeded.  Now she is pumped to learn to spey cast, and hopefully hook up with a second steelhead.  In other words, like any sane person, she is going to drop all her plans for the next three days, drive four hours, camp along a high dessert river in mid November, and quite possibly not catch anything.

In Maupin, Ted and I stopped at the Deschutes Angler to pay our respects.  Amy Hazel greeted us warmly and gave us the scoop.  The white river was blowing chunks and pretty much shutting everything down below the confluence.  But there’s plenty of water and fish upstream.  With that info, a tip on a good place to camp, and a note to send my mom in our direction when she made it to town, Ted and I moved upriver to our campsite.  Thirty minutes later, camp set up, Ted and I slipped on waders and into the river.  I promptly fell in backwards and so, while Ted fished the rest of the run I stripped off my wet clothes.  About that time my mom and Steve caught up with us.  Steve was along to fish for trout, so we rigged up his rod and everyone wadered up and we were ready to fish.

The sun was starting to sink lower in the horizon when we settled into the next run.  I went upstream to start at the head, and Ted took my mom to the middle of the run for an intro to spey casting.  He broke it down for her: anchor, D-loop, bliss.  It’s pretty simple when you put it that way.  Under Ted’s expert tutelage my mom was rolling out sixty feet of line in no time.

The river was peaceful, flowing smoothly towards the ocean way off to the north and west.  With each swing I got to watch my mom casting.  Then it was too dark to see, but I could hear the ripping water as she made her D-loop and a happy chuckle as her line sailed off into the growing night.

The next morning we were in the river before full light.  I started upstream of Ted, a little around the corner to avoid crowding.  The water was deep right against the bank, so it took me a little while to get situated.  I had just started my first real swing when Ted let out a holler.  Really man?  You should at least let me get in a cast or two.  I reeled in, threw my rod up on the bank and splashed downstream as fast as I could, camera held above my head.  Sure enough, Ted’s rod was bent over.  I snapped a few blurry pictures (free handing at 1/5 second shutter speed), and a few more as he brought a beautiful, wild hen to hand.  She had deep-red flanks and a liberal scattering of spots all along her back.  I was in love.  I shot a couple of pictures of her in the water, and then we sent her on her way.

The Deschutes is lucky.  Despite damming on the lower Columbia, there is still strong runs of wild fish, likely due to selective gear rules and the absence of development and logging along the river.  But just because there are fish in the river doesn’t mean all is well.  Hatchery fish dilute the wild gene pool making the entire population more susceptible to extinction.  Overfishing, even from catch and release anglers could also become a problem as the number of productive rivers shrink and more anglers crowd in on the few remaining strong runs of fish.  This is the state of steelheading:  the rivers that no longer have fish need restoration and the rivers that still have wild fish need protection and conscientious stewardship.

I once said that I fished for trout because fishing for them takes me to beautiful places.  The same holds true for steelhead.  If you appreciate beauty, take the time to walk along the floor of the Deschutes River canyon.  If you fish, get in the water.  If you fish, I’d also recommend trying it with a spey rod, swinging flies.  I don’t want to start a debate about what’s better or whats proper; I’m just going to offer this thought: when you swing for steelhead you give yourself a chance fish with feel and instinct and allow your eyes and mind to wander across the natural beauty of flowing rivers and rolling hills, something you can’t do with an indicator.  When a fish does take the fly, your body knows before your mind.  Fingers tighten on the line, arm and back tense, even before the first tug.  Your mind, off contemplating the flame-orange of fall foliage, hears the whisper of fish in the line and starts to refocus.  But before the thought is formed, the fish is on, the rod rising by instinct, and wild, pure energy pulsing through the magic connection between you and fish.

Afterward you’ll think about that instant, unique to fishing, and contemplate the beauty of the moment.  Fall colors.  Cold air.  Clean water.  Dessert, rocks, and sage.  Instincts and Wild fish.  It’s the type of experience that makes you want to restore the once famous steelhead rivers.

Mom was falling in love with spey casting.  The river was stunning.  Life was good.  A fish would be good too.  Right about the time I had that thought, my swing stopped abruptly.  Up went my rod, and I felt the heavy pull, pull, pull of a big fish.  Then nothing.  The fish was gone as suddenly as it was there.  I brought my rod down, shaken out of my reverie.  I thought about my last steelheading trip, the one up in Alaska with my mom.  On the last day I still had not caught a fish, and on the last cast, a fished touched my fly in the same way.  Just for an instant and then gone.

Now, on this trip, it’s almost dark and I have maybe three more swings in the run.  Ted and Steve already quit for the day.  I contemplate calling it a day, change my mind and lay out another cast.  And another.  One more.  Snap-T.  Rod tip sweeps upstream, then snaps down and back.  Anchor set, sweep back upstream and around.  The line rips through the water, invisible in the dark.  D-Loop.  Rod tip forward, bottom hand back.  The loose line snaps against my fingers on my rod hand as it shoots into the dark.  Mend blindly, and settle into the last swing of the day.  Dinner’s gonna be burgers tonight.  We picked up avocados, provolone, and red onions in the Dalles.  Lettuce and pickl–  arm’s up, rod pumping.  The fish is maybe seventy-five feet downstream of me.  Holding.  I can’t see anything but I can feel his head shaking.  The angles all wrong.  Straight downstream, barbless hook, big fish, bad angle.  I stumble blindly downstream.  Keep tension, change the angle.  Now he’s moving up and away from me.  The angle feels better.  I look up.  It’s too dark to see the line.  I work the rod around and upstream, in control a little now.  Mom’s upstream so I let out a wordless shout, just to let her know.  Now the fish changes directions, moving fast and downstream.  The line and rod feel loose for a second.  I hear a splash.  Dam I wish I could see.  He’s still on.  Now working back towards the bank.   Now out in front of me.  Mom pokes through the bushes behind me somewhere.  “Fish on?”  “Yeah.” My voice is shaky with excitement.  God, I love fishing.

I work the fish around and up.  The sink tip hits the end of my rod.  I’m fishing a short one, it’s only 12 feet long, so the fish is really close, but now I can’t tell which direction he’s pulling.  The rod tip flips around the wrong way and he’s upstream of me somewhere, now downstream again and running.  In the murky dark I can see his form as he turns.  I work him back up to me and with one hand I reach down feeling.  Firm muscle and smooth skin.  I wrap my hand around his tail, drop slack into the line, and slip my other hand under his belly.  In the dark I run my thumb over his adipose.  Clipped, but damn is he a beautiful fish.  Not that I can see him, but his firm muscles and vibrancy…  In the dark he is a wild shape momentarily held in my hands.  My mom blindly snaps a picture and then he’s off with a powerful sweep of his tail.

Mom and I walk back to camp, grinning and laughing, I’m wet up to my elbows and deliriously happy.  That night I fall asleep grinning.

The next morning dawned cloudy, though we’d been up for an hour.  Soon though, the day cleared and I traded the rod for a camera.  We didn’t catch any fish on the last day, but when it was time to put the rods away everyone was satisfied.  Truly that’s what steelheading is all about.  Satisfaction.  You don’t go out chasing a fish like steelhead with the expectation of catching one.  You go out for the satisfaction of casting well in a beautiful setting.  At the end of the day you go home happy.  If you were lucky enough to hook a fish, you go home euphoric.

In the pacific Northwest steelhead are in decline.  Someday these magic fish may well be gone, living only in the memories and images collected by those who chased them with a rod.  That future is one I don’t want to see happen.  Road trips to the Deschutes and other western rivers remind me why the fish are so worth saving.  Trips to the Sauk, Stilli, and Skagit remind me why we need to act now, because it’s almost too late.  Steelhead are being killed by habitat distraction and over fishing.  Politics and the necessities of life don’t make the issue any easier.  We can’t simply remove the dams on the Columbia or stop logging in the cascades.  We can’t instantly make it better.  However, we can be conscientious anglers.  We can be as low impact as possible.  We can be stewards of the river and we can support the organizations that help protect and restore habitat for these amazing fish.  I urge you to check out some of the following organizations. They do good work.

Trout Unlimited
Western River Conservation
The Hoh River Trust
Wild Steelhead Coalition
Wild Fish Conservancy
Save Our Wild Salmon
Native Fish Society
Steelhead Society of British Columbia
The Nature Conservancy
North Umpqua Foundation
North Coast Steelhead Alliance

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Deschutes, Emerald Water Anglers, Fishing with Mom, Oregon, Road Trips, spey casting, steelhead

Driving Alongside Rivers…

December 2, 2010 by adminewa

I have grown up my entire life either on or in a river, swearing I wasn’t on/in it, as of late dreaming of them and if not those then driving alongside them, whenever possible. It is a problem to be reckoned with. Even so much as to drive several hundred miles out of my way in order to gaze longingly at some piece of water I am unable to fish right then. I LOVE water!

This brings me to my latest point and I don’t want to mention names but I do know someone who has been given the very same prognosis by many fish doctors and have seen the evidence of this disease (any impairment of normal physiological function affecting all or part of an organism, esp a specific pathological change caused by infection, stress, etc, producing characteristic symptoms; illness or sickness in general) on the side of his truck; damage caused by side swiping a bridge on an interstate trying to get just a few more inches of perspective on the water.

HOLY S–T!!! I myself have heard this more than once as well so the apple must not have fallen far from the tree. On this past Thanksgiving weekend, (irony completely intended but not intentional if that makes sense??!!) my dad and I were driving along the worst culprit of the disease there is, the North Umpqua River in southern Oregon.

For once the water was in amazing shape and we were both really excited to fish so every time the river was by the road, our chiropractic neglected necks would literally pop!

Then it happened…dad was watch the river not the road and as I looked up, HOLY S–T escaped as we were well across the center line on a road owned by logging trucks.

None were there and we gave extra thanks on Turkey day for that and the beauty of the river itself. There simply is no cure for this affliction, fly rods in car or not, doesn’t matter. All you can do is fish hard and hope for the same luck we came away with…AGAIN!!

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: driving, Emerald Water Anglers, North Umpqua River, Oregon, spey rods, steelheading

Fall Steelheading…Oh Yeah!

September 10, 2010 by emeraldw

As fall arrives in our region, some anglers begin to feel a bit anxious, almost hormonal in a way. It’s the change in the air as we walk downtown to work or while trout fishing one day late in the summer, we can smell it, even sense the change of season upon us.

It is fall and my absolute favorite time of year to fish and not only fish but to swing flies, both dry and wet for steelhead.

For some, it is the time of year when they will marginally consider going out fly fishing, only if the weather is “cooperative.” For those anglers it is the last chance at a steelhead for the year as they won’t endure the winter conditions to pursue these fish, their disease hasn’t set in — yet!

Fall steelheading is pure serenity on the water. Cast, mend and step, watch the line swing, or not, take a deep breath and feel the cool crisp fall air deep in your lungs — repeat. Paying more attention on the next one because you know you are headed for the bucket or something grazed your line on the last pass, nearly impreceptible in this perfect piece of water, a mere hesitation that brought you back to your senses.

As those of us who are hosts or carriers of this affliction/affection for steelhead wander or sprint our way into this time of year, we inevitably question ourselves on every facet of the pursuit. This is the game and we love it. It drives many nuts to even open this proverbial can of worms with someone like us because there are no absolutes with one exception — you must be in the water with your fly to even have a chance, this we can all agree on.

I don’t wish to delve into the minutiae of the rest, only want to open a door here for those who haven’t yet had it cracked. Without question, this time of year will drive those whose heart is not owned by a particular river insane — way too many choices!

May favorite question from my regular and new clients is “Where should we go to get a steelhead?” My mind says “HOLY CRAP, did you really just ask that!” Because I can only come up with about 20 absolutely beautiful, serene, sexy, fantasmical (word unsure?) rivers to watch water pass on. Especially if 7 hours drive isn’t too much and for those afore mentioned anglers, this is not a problem.

Here is a brief list of my favorites with candy:

North Umpqua River, Oregon


Grande Ronde River, Oregon, yes Oregon


John Day River, Oregon


Deschutes River, Oregon


Snoqualmie River, Washington


Cowlitz River, Washington


Hoh River, Washington — Yeah, there are summer fish here too!


Skykomish River, Washington

I think you get the point and the scary prospect is this barely scratches the surface. Imnaha, Clearwater, Rogue, Willamette, Toutle, Wenatchee, Methow, Klickitat, Sol Duc, Salmon, Kalama…if it happens to be a tributary to or even a trib to a tributary of the Columbia or any of these other rivers, it likely has steelhead in it this time of year. And don’t let anyone tell you you can’t catch steelhead on the swing in these either, you can you just have to actually do it. Please do not let someone tell you they are going to have you swing then after an hour of half hearted effort be like, “Well, good thing you have that long rod because it sure makes managing your indicator easy from the boat!” Choose your path and stick to it, make it a mission and it will happen.

One item to note, so as not to make it even worse, I haven’t even mentioned leaving the U.S. to the north, even I can’t take it once we bring those lovely waters into the picture.

So to summarize, where will you find yourself this fall? Here maybe:

“Where is this?” you ask. Anywhere you want it to be, you just have to get yourself there!

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Deschutes, Emerald Water Anglers, Grande Ronde, John Day, Oregon, Skykomish, Snoqualmie, spey casting, steelhead, swinging flies, Umpqua, Washington

2nd Installment: Steelhead Inspired Wine

August 23, 2010 by Dave McCoy

There seems to be a theme here, many fly anglers have their hands in the wine making business as we will continue to show over the coming months.

This month, Lange Estate Winery and Vineyards located in the infamous Dundee region of Oregon gets the nod. Don Lange, owner and winemaker, swung for steel with my dad on the Deschutes awhile back and happens to also produce one of my favorite wines with bottles adorned with traditional Atlantic Salmon flies.

Next time at the grocery store, swing by and pick up the Pinot Noir or the Pinot Gris Reserve and look a bit more closely at who you are following down through Wagenblast as it may just be Don!

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Emerald Water Anglers, Lange Winery, Oregon, steelhead, wine

1st Annual Bug Launcher – successful!

August 3, 2010 by Dave McCoy


A couple weeks ago, my dad, Mike McCoy hosted a small, by invitation only, fly casting games/competition down at his house on the North Umpqua River.

About 20 people showed up which was perfect as this was a “test run” if you will for next year. This year there were 12 stations each with 3 different targets and all with their own challenges. Some stations were on dry land, others on water, some had long targets nearing 80 feet while others were short but studded with over hanging branches and grass or requiring curve casts to get around other obstacles. The longer targets were riddled with backcast obstacles such as steep hills with tall grass and berry bushes or for later competitors, there is always that lovely afternoon crosswind.

Now I consider myself a pretty good angler and caster but this course was tough. The winning score was a 98, meaning their fly touched the ground that many times on what would be a 36 par course if you hit every target on the first presentation. I didn’t win but did get my best score of 104 on my first time through. I think my cockiness helped that along because on later efforts, over-thought and impatience got the better of me! If you know me, this should surprise you.

Each participant was asked to donate to the whatever amount they were comfortable with, all donations were handed over to the Native Fish Society for their conservation efforts. Recycled Waders, Native Fish Society, Temple Fork Outfitters and the Caddis Fly Angling Shop in Eugene all donated raffle prizes so everyone went home with something. Dad gladly provided a BBQ lunch and beverages for everyone as well.

So for next year there will likely be some changes and the word will get out much sooner so reservations will likely be necessary. Here is what we are looking at changing/adding to the scenario:

Teams of 3 will be assembled and assigned “Tee Times” about 20 minutes apart with a shotgun start, teams starting at various different stations at same time.

Several Spey/Two Handed stations will be added.

5 presentations max at each station, if missed on 5th, score is 6 for that target.

Winner will have donation from event to conservation organization of their choice given in their name.

On Water targets, where applicable, if yarn goes in grass and can be dropped into target, credit for one stroke given and on last station, if you can raise a fish to your yarn in 5 casts, “hole in one” for the last target.

This an industry professional event and a great time to just hang out with each other and also give a ration of s–t to those who invariably will stumble along the way. Great opportunity to also raise some money for a good cause, have fun, leave the fish alone for a few moments and enjoy each others company.

Look forward to seeing some of you there next year. Please contact me or my dad with any questions.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Bug Launcher Casting Competition, Caddis Fly Angling Shop, Emerald Water Anglers, Emeraldwateranglers, fly casting, Mike McCoy, Native Fish Society, North Umpqua River, Oregon, recycled waders, targets, Temple Fork Outfitters

About CCA, Everyone in PNW Should Read This

January 24, 2010 by Dave McCoy

Bill Monroe: Does CCA’s bet in gill-net gamble indicate its hand was forced?

By Bill Monroe, Special to The Oregonian January 23, 2010, 10:00AM

Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian Spring salmon are the Columbia River’s most prized — and controversial — catch. Jim Wells (left) and Brian Tarabochia pull the gill net out early on a cold morning on the Columbia. Like a methodical poker player suddenly switching to “all-in,” the region’s largest and potentially most influential player in sport salmon fishing is shoving all its chips forward in the gill-net gamble.

But is it by choice?

The Coastal Conservation Association of Oregon has launched a ballot
initiative drive to rid the lower Columbia River and tributaries of gill-net
fishing for salmon, steelhead and sturgeon.

This, after the association and others failed to talk the 2009 Oregon
Legislature into mandating gradual shifts in salmon harvest away from
gill-nets.

Even after that failure, the association’s one-step-at-a-time strategy
appeared intact through summer and early fall as players began positioning for another run at the 2011 Legislature.

… until the ballot surprise, unveiled around Christmas.

CCA Oregon’s initiative, if passed in November, will ban all non-tribal
gill-netting for salmon, steelhead and sturgeon statewide, i.e., on the
Oregon side of the Columbia River and tributaries, including currently
netted off-channel Select Area Fisheries Enhancement (SAFE) areas. It calls for an effective date of Jan. 1, 2011.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife would have to use most of all of the angling surcharge fee increases to help the gill-net fleet transition into more selective harvest methods such as set nets and seines that don’t kill fish.

Dave Schamp of Hillsboro, chairman of CCA Oregon, suggested the decision was inevitable after CCA learned of a separate, well-financed effort poised to launch a similar ballot initiative.

CCA was cornered. Its rise in popularity, after all (more than 10,000
members in a few years), was based in large part on the presumption the association would do just what the ballot initiative proposes — end
non-tribal gill-netting.

Schamp acknowledged the association’s more methodical approach had already raised eyebrows within the membership.

“They wondered what the heck we were doing,” he said. The “what,” Schamp said, was a shift in the CCA’s emphasis from allocation to conservation. “We don’t have anything against commercial fishing,” he said. “What we’ve wanted all along is harvest reform.”

So was CCA Oregon caught between a rock and a hard place, forced to act prematurely?

“One could draw that conclusion,” Schamp said. “But we also didn’t want the wrong petition out there; we wanted something with a high degree of success and we wanted to do it for the fish.”

Forced or not, Schamp said CCA Oregon is confident of the initiative’s
passage, citing extensive polling before the December launch. “It showed overwhelming support by a broad spectrum of voters for the end of gill-netting,” he said.

The gill-net community is understandably prepared for a difficult battle.

Jim Markee, a Salem lobbyist representing the commercial fleet, said current statutes allow only gill-nets in the Columbia, not the kind of commercial fishing gear the initiative demands. That, he said, will effectively ban commercial fishing, leaving all returning salmon to sport anglers — a message he will try to convey to voters.

CCA collected 5,000 signatures (2,000 were required) within days, Schamp said, to get a ballot title from the state attorney general. The comment period on the proposed title ends Monday. Chief petitioners are Schamp, Senator Fred Girod, R-Stayton, and Representative Rod Monroe, D-Portland (no, we’re not related).

Its status can be viewed online by going to www.sos.state.or.us/elections/. On the top bar, go to “Elections,” then scroll down and click on “Initiative, Referendum and Referral Log.” On the form that appears, change the election year to 2010 and enter Schamp’s name (or Girod or Monroe) as the chief petitioner.

Without being specific, Schamp said CCA Oregon will comment on changes it wants in the proposed ballot title. Review by the attorney general’s office will probably delay publication of a ballot title well beyond the Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Show on Feb. 10-14, Schamp said.

Markee said he will also submit challenges to the attorney general’s office before Monday’s deadline.

The secretary of state will require 82,769 signatures to get the initiative to the polls in November, but Schamp said the target will be at least 150,000. “We won’t have any trouble at all getting way more than we need,” Schamp said.

More problematic are the potential risks:

— If the initiative fails at the polls, so will all or most of the impetus
for harvest reform at the legislative level — perhaps for years or even
decades to come.

The initiative could drive a wedge in the Columbia River Compact, with
different commercial fishing rules on the Washington and Oregon sides of the lower Columbia.

— A vastly lower or zero incidental mortality on wild salmon for commercial fishing could mean a major increase in the commercial take of hatchery salmon and, thus, lower numbers for sport fishing. That’s contrary to the reason many CCA members signed up in the first place. Tribal gill-netters above Bonneville Dam might also face increased scrutiny of their take of wild salmon and steelhead.

— Commercial gill-netting is already tightly controlled and, state managers say, is not exceeding its allowable incidental kill of salmon and steelhead listed as threatened or endangered.

— The state Department of Fish and Wildlife would have to re-allocate
angling fee surcharges from the popular restoration and enhancement program to re-tool the commercial fleet.

Schamp acknowledged each potential pitfall but declined to debate or
elaborate. Instead, he repeatedly fell back on the conservation mantra.

“People have a lot of fear of the unknown. Our focus is on doing what’s
right for the fish,” he said. “Putting the allocation issues aside, the goal
is to eliminate a method of harvest that is not selective.”

Markee, however, said federal protection of endangered salmon and steelhead will still allow the same number of incidental mortalities whether they’re taken by commercial or sport fleets.

“This is not about conservation,” he said. “Those fish are still going to be killed by somebody.”

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: CCA, Columbia River, Conservation, gill netting, Oregon, salmon, steelhead

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