I have been thinking the last few days about some fishing and equipment related things. An interesting post on a popular fishing site got me thinking even more. The post was talking about which fly equipment you would never part with. I thought about it awhile and couldn't come up with anything that I could not easily give up or do without.Now I do have some Hardy reels that I love and a quiver of rods that I have grown fond of, but nothing that I couldn't part with if it came down to it.

However the memories of times spent learning,exploring and gaining the river and fish knowledge that I now have is irreplaceable. The time spent with other like minded people and friends I have met on the river over the years is something I cherish above any equipment I possess.I could easily go back to one single hand rod and a half dozen flies stuck on my hat as long as I had the company of a good friend or two to share it with. I would probably catch just as many fish too. As I grow older I am learning ways to challenge myself more and to fish in a way that pleases me. That may mean fishing a dry fly on a single handed rod almost exclusively for steelhead in the summer and fall. Swinging a soft hackle,streamers or leech for trout when everyone is catching way more on nymphs or dries. Basically, being in control of the method I want to fish instead of letting the fish numbers and others ideas of "success"control how I fish. It took me a while to get here believe me.

I had a great lesson in it recently when I guided a couple of guys who were all about doing it their way with methods that were definitely not mainstream in approach. What transpired was a great day on the water and more lessons learned. Lessons that had very little to do with the actual act of fishing and more with the way they chose to live their lives on and off the water.Words like character,tradition, integrity, humility come to mind when I think of those guys. To these guys, fishing was a way of life, a life choice, something that can't be separated from who you are at your very core, a lifestyle, something so much deeper than just "sport". As I fished with these guys I realized that we were brothers from different mothers and all cared deeply about what we do on the river.We were kindred spirits in our approach to these amazing fish. As we fished, the things left unsaid in the silence of the river were things that we all heard clearly in that same small voice. It was the things we just knew. They could not be voiced, only experienced in the setting we were in, at that particular time.

Now I had only a day with these boys but it could have been a week. The conversations flowed as if we had known each other for years. We had common ground, unmistakable common ground and that was and will be a lasting connection.That's a connection you don't find every day. Sometimes those connections take years with some people,sometimes they never happen.Those are the days that I remember. Those are the days I look to repeat every time I go out.
 

It's not about me. When I make it about me I cheat myself of opportunities to learn from others. Others that may have insight that I don't have. Others that may have far more to offer me than fishing tips, they may have life tips so be listening.

The older I get the more fishing has become about so much  more than catching fish. It is about relationships, perseverance, tradition, history and giving credit to those that came before you,learning from mentors and becoming a mentor, passing down values and ideas that your Daddy gave you.....being a man. Being confident in your skills and not wavered by what the other guy is doing or catching. Not having numbers of fish be the judge of a successful day on the water.




Equipment is nice and is necessary to fish, but I don't ever want to have the success or failure of a day be measured because I didn't have the perfect rod/line combination or the latest reel. We need to get away fro the "Oh, if I would have had my other 7136 with the custom short belly line and that trick poly leader with the latest rock star fly I would have caught every fish in the ditch" mentality and just go fishing!  We have too many choices and in many ways we have made fishing  too complicated.We all have too much equipment, no one reading this could possibly tell me I am wrong,and I think it can take away from the experience of fishing.

Skagit, Scandi, short, mid and long belly, switch, indicator and nymph lines. Floating, intermediate and sinking shooting heads. Regressive, progressive, fast recovery,slow recovery,full flexing, quick tip rods in every length know to man for every situation imaginable. Click pawl, disk drag reels, palming rim etc.A marketing goldmine and we all bought into it, myself included. It will never stop.This equipment whirlwind, and always having the latest and greatest should not be what defines our reality of a great day on the water. We can do very well with so much less.....in our daily life as well as in the fishing world.


So try it sometime this summer,leave all your fancy gear at home, put your shorts on, grab an old single hand rod and a handful of flies and a good friend and go fishing! You will be guaranteed to have a ball. It's very liberating as well. The fish could care less if you have a $100 rod in your hand or a $1000 rod. We should care a little less as well.






Remember, the best things in life aren't things!



 
So................are you building friendships out there or getting ready to start a fly shop?

Davie is the man! Cool fly and instructional video. A fly that would work equally well for steelhead in the PNW.

 A recent Oregonian article on the struggles the Sandy river and it's wild fish face:

By Ken Anderson, Jad Donaldson, Jeff Hickman, Tom Larimer, Mia Pringle, Marty Sheppard, Marcy Stone and Cullen Wisenhunt

As fishing guides who have made our living on the Sandy River for a combined 53 years, we know that wild salmon and steelhead -- not hatchery fish -- are the backbone of our industry. The state of Oregon tells us these wild fish are protected by law, and we've built the foundations of our businesses around them. For decades we have been able to count on these fish because they are incredibly resilient, but the continued presence of an excessive hatchery program on the Sandy River jeopardizes wild fish, our businesses, our families' welfare and the long-term sustainability of our fishery.

Oregon communities and businesses no longer take Sandy River salmon and steelhead for granted. Instead, companies like PG&E, along with the city of Portland and a coalition of environmental groups have supported the recovery of wild fish by investing $100 million dollars to remove both Sandy River dams and restore its habitat. But with numbers of wild fish lower today than ever before, shouldn't the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife join this effort and provide these threatened fish with the best chance of recovery?

When the Sandy hatchery opened more than 50 years ago, its goal was to keep fish in the river and the fishery going, despite the dams and habitat loss that wreaked havoc on wild salmon and steelhead. In that era, the firm belief was that by raising fish in a tank we could keep wild runs going. But today, 40 years of science indicates just the opposite -- fish raised in artificial conditions do not survive like their wild counterparts, and when they do survive, they reduce the number of wild fish at all life stages.

 The hatchery program on the Sandy is a confusing and dangerous relic of thankfully departed times, and we have 40 years of data carefully documenting the decline of wild fish on the river. From a historic run numbering 20,000 wild winter steelhead, we currently have a pitiful 670 fish. These wild Sandy steelhead, as well as the four remaining species of salmon, have been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act for more than 10 years. On the river, the hatchery program detracts more from our guiding business than it provides. Our customers return with us to fish the Sandy for the excellent experience we give them: hooking and releasing powerful wild fish.

If ODFW does not give these wild fish the same chance to recover, as our larger community has already initiated, Oregonians are headed for the kind of widespread fishery closures that would devastate the businesses that sustain our Northwest communities and families. To save our industry, our fishery and these wild fish, join with us to oppose the continued excessive hatchery programs on the Sandy River.

Ken Anderson, Jad Donaldson, Jeff Hickman, Tom Larimer, Mia Pringle, Marty Sheppard, Marcy Stone and Cullen Wisenhunt are Sandy River fishing guides.


Some excellent additional articles and info about the plight of the Sandy river  HERE 

The article on Scapoose Creek and it's health wild run is especially intriguing. Even though that area was extensively logged, wild fish are thriving. It has never had a hatchery program at all and the wild fish populations are far greater than the Sandy watershed which is huge by comparison.

Get involved and make your voice heard, lets all pitch in to keep the Sandy River it's wild fishery healthy and viable for our kids.

I love David's simple instruction and very relaxed stroke. Makes it look so easy.Good stuff! Check out both these videos!



Here is another great video from David that I posted a while back but it is so good I will post it again. I consider myself a pretty good single hand caster but I learned a ton watching this.This guys instruction has made me take a good hard look at some of my casting flaws. The way he explains the double haul and how he hauls his line is very different from the way most of us were taught or learned on our own.It makes complete sense.

This little video has made me a better single hand caster for sure.If you follow a few of these tips it will make you a better caster as well.Probably the most helpful and instructional short video I have seen on the subject. It makes total sense and works well when put into practice.Getting the rod tip to travel in an elliptical path is the key to keeping the stroke smooth and non jerky. The elliptical path is kind of another way to incorporate "rod drift" into the stroke.A way to keep constant tension on the line to get maximum load before forward delivery.A really, really good video!

Time to get the single hander out and study up folks, summer steel are right around the corner!

DVD Review: "Taming the Wind" from Davin Ebanks on Vimeo.

I know many have seen it but I'm putting it up again because it's just so darn cool. By far the best selection of spey rods,lines,fly tying materials anywhere.His customer service is above and beyond and something that you just don't find ANYWHERE anymore. He will let you demo rods,reels, lines and about anything else you can think off. He will mail them to your door, how cool is that?If he doesn't have it he will find it and get it for you for sure. The man is dedicated to the sport and truly cares about his customers, he's not just out to sell you something.If you need anything in the world of spey, give Poppy a jingle....you won't be sorry.

I was in a pinch once and needed a part fast for an upcoming trip.He sent me the part,a retaining screw for a Hardy Bougle reel,before I had even had a chance to pay him. It was on my doorstep 2 days later. He doesn't sweat the small stuff he aims to please.....yes I paid him.In this day and age who sends you something before it's even paid for.....no one. The part wasn't expensive but that is beside the point. He cared enough to get it to me fast, he knew he would get paid.It's the little things like that that make him unique in the fishing retail world.

Check out his store here Red Shed

Poppy's Red Shed from Henry Harrison on Vimeo.

I found this poster on The Quiet Pool blog(thanks Shane) and think it is timely and important to put out here as well.This is a problem I see all to often on the North Umpqua at this time of year. Some friends and I have thought about trying to get a proposal together that would close the river to fishing above the confluence of Steamboat Creek to the dam. It would be good to see this area closed around the middle of to end of March to protect the upriver fish. I think it would be a good idea.

If you see anyone above Steamboat fishing shallow gravel and paired up/staging fish the next couple weeks please ask them nicely to stop. Use the time to educate them as to why what they are doing is harmful to fish. Those fish need to be left alone to get it done.

This of course would also apply to any obvious gravel and spawning areas in the lower river as well. Use your heads out there and be aware where you are and where you walk.
The next generation of wild steelhead depend on it.

The river is the only one that knows!