And so would you.

And you know what? It doesn't matter how you do it.

Fish in a manner that is pleasing to you and let others do likewise. Don't be so dogmatic in your approach and keep your options open to learning from others. Also, be open to teaching and sharing when those opportunities arise.  Be kind on the river. Stop and say hi to someone you don't know or to someone you have seen on your river and never spoken to. Slow down, look around a little.  Enjoy the surroundings. They are always awesome!

Lately it seems the fly fishing world has just gone plumb crazy.  I have seen more division among people over fishing "style" in the last few years than I have seen unity. It seems there are more things that have entered into our fly fishing lives that can sneak in and seek to divide. Don't let it happen.

However, it's not all doom and gloom and we need to remember that we have much more in common with our brethren that fish the fly than differences.  We all, myself included, need desperately to get back to the roots of a simpler and less frenzied way.  A way in which we can come together once again, put the silliness and our petty differences aside and rally around the common goal.

The rivers and the fish should always be center stage, when we as humans try to take that limelight away and put it on ourselves we fail every time.



Working on this in my own life, still work to be done.

Here is a good reminder....... 

Philippians 2:3-6 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ...

Now go swing a fly!

Had a great time on the river recently. These pictures give you a little window into what I got to experience on this last trip to the river with great friends. Fishing was as good as I have seen it lately and as usual you had to get out there and cover a lot of water to find them. We found fish in odd and out of the way places. The tried and true spots were not giving it up so we fished some weird stuff. It worked. We had the river to ourselves and we found willing fish every day.

It really is. Lets be serious about this thing we do called steelheading. We all like hanging with the bro's and spending quality time on the river blah, blah, blah, but hey, WE NEED TO GET BENT!  I enjoy the outdoors as much as anybody and it doesn't take much to keep me happy out there but sometimes you need a grab and the ability to pet one every now and again.  Face it, if there was no chance of catching a fish we would all have quit a long time ago.  It's the chance that it may happen in the next cast or in the next run or in the next day or the next week that makes us keep putting the funny pants on.

We don't have to catch fish every time we go out and we don't have to catch a ton of them but any encounter with these fish is spectacular. The numbers are dwindling in almost every water shed on the west coast and our impact to the environment is clearly evident.  We want to steward the resource yes, but we also need some confirmation that these elusive creatures still swim free and strong.  Any action we see out there however small, gives us the knowledge that we can still be connected to these amazing fish.  We need it, we crave it.  We dream about it.  We talk endlessly about it.  A pluck, a grab, a rise, a drive by, a boil, a toilet flush, a good yank and ultimately a loudly screaming reel  is what we seek.  Lets not kid here.  Anyone that says they are content to cast all day and have no action and catch nothing is fooling themselves.  Man was made to pursue these fish, it's in our blood.  Deep down we are all predators, admit it or lie.  The hooking and landing of the fish is what drives the steelhead fly fisherman's engine. It's OK to say you like to hook fish.

My tank is low right now.  I have not been able to fish as much as I would like lately but that's OK. Family and work have had top priority.  But the next time I get out there for a good session ( which is coming) you can rest assured I will be fishing hard and fast and searching for something to spin my Farlex.

It's about the fish man, it's ALL about the fish.


That being said, God always holds first position.......

Proverbs 3:5-6
 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
   

Great George Harrison tune here by Davey Knowles of  Backdoor Slam

The smoke curls off the Lancero and dissipates into the clear and crisp air of the land of the Nez Perce. Dinner is over and it is time to bask in the afterglow of  a few drams of single malt and the fading light of perfect late summer day of fishing. A full harvest moon looms on the horizon, playing hide and seek behind the wispy clouds that signal the front of an on coming storm.  All is still and quiet, except for the occasional horn rattling from rutting bucks in the adjacent field. Then slowly, from across the table from me a voice says

 "You know these are the exact brand that Castro smokes"

"Wow, its no wonder he likes these" I say two and a half hours later as the best cigar of my life still burns strongly. Simply amazing......

That is just a snapshot of one part of a fantastic week with great brothers. The places we fished, the things we saw, the brotherhood of like minded anglers and people that we encountered could fill a book. The Big River is wild and unpredictable. She is selfish at times about giving up her secrets but with time those secrets will slowly be revealed. There was action and there were fish hooked and landed but that hardly mattered. As my friend Marty said so well, and I quote " Catching a steelhead is always the goal, but it's not the point". As I grow older and move between the seasons of my life, that statement rings truer and truer every day.

Fishing there is about long lines, long rods and long casts. Don't kid yourself and try and cover those far off lies with a short head line and a 13'6" rod. The main reason is, because you can't do it, especially with any consistency. It is a lesson in futility. Get the right tools for the job and go to work. Getting perfect turnover to the fly every time at distances in excess of 100 feet is no easy feat and one that I aspire to become better at. It ain't the North Umpqua by a long shot and it takes me awhile to get out of my bucket hopping, ADD mindset and settle into some 2-4 hour cast and step sessions. I am out of my element but yet can find the groove after a few sessions and make these longer lines and rods work for me better and better the more I fish them.

So challenging and yet so relaxing at the same time. The Big River moves at her own pace, and you must become tuned in to what she tells you. All other rivers have their challenges but the Big River makes you reach down deep to a place that other rivers don't require.

My words and ramblings do little justice to the magnificence that is the land of the Nez Perce.

Until we meet again........

Overwhelming awesomeness...........

Where does it come from? How do you get it? How do you loose it? What do you do if you loose it? How do you get it back?

It can come from many places at many different times.

It can come from ........

The fly you fish
The river you are on
The run you are in
Past success
The people you are with
The things you see on the river
The knowledge that you are doing the right thing at the right time in the right place.

Confidence is gained by time on the water pure and simple. I know it's over used but it is so true. PAY YOUR DUES!  It ain't gonna happen overnight. It takes years, heck lifetimes to have and gain confidence in every fishing situation.

Confidence can be lost when times are tough, you are between fish, you are having trouble keeping them hooked and so on.When you have lost all confidence in what you are doing, especially when swinging for steelhead, don't over think things. Do what you did in the beginning to build it up again. Fish hard, cover water with known and effective patterns. Don't try and reinvent the wheel and start fishing crazy patterns and techniques that you are not versed in. Stay focused on the goal. You are swinging flies for sea going trout not building a submarine. Your time will come again and you need to be fishing in a way that allows you to capitalize when the fish eats the fly again. Don't be way out of your comfort zone doing something stupid or outrageous when Mr. Steel decides to show up. In the same breath I will say sometimes doing a little something different may get your mind off your lack of confidence and on a new fly or run you haven't fished lately. Sometimes diversion can be good and keep you from going completely crazy. There are no hard and fast rules when you lack confidence but try to stay true to what has brought you success in the past.

It happens to us all.  Confidence can come and go like the wind.  It only takes a split second for it to return and can stay with you for a very long time if you let it. We often let situations, people, conditions etc. erode our confidence.  You don't have to.

Confidence is the most valuable player in any ones steelhead game. The slightest bit can drive you to fish more carefully, cast more technically, and fish more efficiently.  The lack of confidence makes all of those factors I just mentioned non factors.  When you don't think you are gonna hook up, do you think you cast or fish very effectively? Not! You just want to be somewhere else.

Excuses start to emerge such as, the run doesn't feel right, it doesn't feel fishy, I hate this fly, it's too big, it's too small, to bright or too dark, the suns out, it's cloudy, the wind sucks, my off shoulder cast sucks, my leader is too long/short, my hook is dull, my waders leak, there are no fish in this run, someone was just in here, I haven't caught a fish in days or weeks or years,this will never work. All of these thoughts and more go through your head when you lack confidence.




Mind and soul are easily mislead. Doubts start to creep in. You seriously think about taking up another sport. Your mind wanders to anything but the here and now.  You are drifting, you are waffling in that world between supreme dedication to a given pursuit and throwing in the towel. You say "I've given this sport a good run, maybe golf is in my future"......



And then the line snaps tight, the reel screams and all doubts are washed away in one glorious moment and guess what, look who just walked in.....your confidence.






Most of all remember where your ultimate confidence should lie........

“For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.”  Prov. 3:26

 “I am determined and confident!  I am not afraid or discouraged, for the Lord my God is with me wherever I go.”  Josh 1:9

 “God guards me, keeps me in perfect and constant peace because my mind is stayed on Him, because I commit myself to Him, lean on Him, and hope confidently in Him.”  Is 30:15


See ya on the river!