Man Crafting...Marabou Steelhead Edition....

Getting there...


Almost Ready


Yep...Done

Winter tying season's in full swing. I have found a new love


Marabou

Hunting Dogs

Happy Dog


Tired Dog...

Although the birds didnt cooperate today, our dogs had a blast

Fingers Crossed for Christmas

Step One in Making Yourself Feel Small...

Go Swing the Snake River




In December.....



When the you think you're hot shit....go post up in the Snake with your spey pole and you soon realize, you're but a small spec of dust on the globe.

Need Vs Want......

Sometimes separating need versus want is a very hard thing to do
In the case of Old Man River, my father, the lines are horribly blurred
Recently he was forced to make a critical choice of two items

One—a much needed hearing aid



Or Two—his dream 4 weight fly rod set up, a Winston b2x 8’6 thing of fly fishing perfection. Exactly what he NEEDs to make beautiful dry fly presentations to waiting cutthroats on the St Joe river in northern Idaho.


To say my dad is hard of hearing is an understatement. Try issuing directions to Old Man river from the front of a drift boat as you fly down rapids on the Grande Ronde River in your drift boat .

When you play pinball off a few rocks…you understand he might not have heard you say HARD LEFT when you needed to. Our boat has paid that price a few times

So, hearing aid, new fly rod, hearing aid…new fly rod….what to choose?
I can assure you he made the right decision for the item he really needed.

That 4 weight Winston lays out line beautifully.



He still can’t hear you when you tell him to set the hook.

Craft Stores...not just for bead freaks

So where did I find myself this weekend in search of undiscovered fly tying materials

The craft store.

The only word that sums up this experience …awkward

Right now it’s tying season. Time to restock our respective boxes, dream up new fly designs and in turn, find new materials could, just maybe, become the key ingredient in a new fly pattern that becomes the “it “ fly.

Now imagine this, all six eight and 260 of me, wandering down the isles of a local crafting store, looking for new materials that might make the wings of a stonefly new catch more light or create a better water silhouette , trying my best to look inconspicuous amongst the walls of sewing patterns, blankets materials and craft store aficionados. I felt like I was in a foreign land

You should have seen the blank stare of the sales associate as I tried to explain that I was looking for 6mm beads to include on a new idea I had for a steelhead nymph. By her reaction you would have though I asked for a stack free hundred dollar bills.

No lady, I’m not crazy, I’m just a fishing geek, expanding my horizons…..

In lieu of logo-ing the Truck....

Why waste a ton of mulah getting your truck all logo'd up. Just use the ice that forms on your window when your driving out to fish and the thermometer reads 8 degrees.

I think I've officially lost it.

Once...there was a man cave

Now...a man CLOSET.....

Beware of the downstairs remodel gentlemen, beware!

A recent conversation with Steelie Mike

Big ups to Buster Wants to Fish for alerting the world to this one.....hillarious

One of my favorite shots...evaaahhh

Well, this picture sums up why I fly fish. If I have to explain, you just dont get it

Taken by yours truely on the Owyhee River. If you can name me the angler in the shot, I will send you a dozen flies, free o charge. First person who gets it right wins...

Late Season Success

Nothings better when well laid plans come to fruition.

With terrible bird numbers in our local areas west of Spokane, we ventured south to our Snake River ground we have access on. I was accompanied by Rookie Brian and the energizer bunny of dads, OMR

It was bitterly cold, but the pleasant bite of the day made for great hunting conditions and good sent for the dogs. It's true that steelhead have my heart but a great day afield can do the same for my soul as day chasing steel.

Rookie Brian had a hell of a day. Being his second time out ever for Pheasants, he's learning the game on the fly. He connected on a beautiful passing shot on a fast flying ringneck for his first pheasant ever. What a pleasure it was to be a part of that special moment



I am having more fun this year bringing new people in the outdoors, and Brian is tops on that list. He's having a season to remember. Just last week he bagged his first buck with a bow, and now he's crossed pheasants off his list. I just hope to put him on few steelfaces before this season is behind us



OMR and Brian then teamed up on the second bird of the day and I rounded out the day with this bird, pictured above. I was a proud dog owner when Murphy caught the scent, and flushed this rooster up in between Brian and I. Two quick shots dispatched the bird and Murphy beelined for the downed rooster and brought it right back to us. Freaking Golden Moment (FGM) for the Murphster.



And yet again it was another day I was fortunate to spend afield with my best friend...OMR



What a day it was....

You know what's pretty coo...??

When you send some flies to a buddy, and who da thunk it...



They work! Congrats Mr Eric on a great job recently on the Methow.

That fly sticking out of it's beak looks pretty familiar

Hoping for a repeat

Cause a day like the one we had above a few years ago doesnt happen very often.


We'll have our walking boots on this Saturday. And quess what their made for....






Chasing you Mr Pheasant, chasing YOU!

Quack Quack...BOOM

I stepped out of my comfort zone and had a blast

Thanksgiving brings us to Central Washington, and fortunately an invite to tag along on a river duck hunt on the Columbia. I know my way around the upland game, but river ducks are all new to me. When faced with something new, I try do my best to ask questions, learn and listen to what's going one. My hosts were more than obliging and we had a fantastic day on the river

A few ducks, a few geese. Not bad for half a day. The star was Deke. That young boy earned his meal money and then some. Double retreaves on some monster geese and a 100 yard retreave on a Widgeon that did its best to elude the big boy. No such luck quacker....Deke was on ya

The River Still Hasnt Gone To Bed

This literary work of perfection still rings true.

I have always heard of the names.

A River Never Sleeps

Roderick L. Haig-Brown



And finally I found a copy to dive into. Here it is, almost 2010 and this book written in 1944 feels like it was written just a few years ago. Take away historical references of time, wars and lands afar...it feels like you can stand next to Haig-Brown in the Campbell as he works his flies down and across

The artwork in this classic doesn't leave anything to be desired.



If you havent found yourself drawn into a copy yet...Do it!

Sequence of Events

The Cast


The Battle


The Fish


Another glorious weekend on the Grand Ronde. Swinging for summers is almost done, water temps are hitting the high thirties during the day. But, everything aligned for a beautiful Saturday. Zero crowds; our favorite water was devoid of people. It allowed a father and son a rare opportunity of fishing holy water at a comfortable pace, and to share that experience with the canyons of my favorite steelhead water.



A few on the swang, a few on the bobber, including this flat top destined for the smoker.

As we climbed out of the canyon, we were given this shot of god's splendor



I think we will be back

Cast of Characters Vol 3-- Superguide

Interweb followers, meet my buddy, the guide of guides. Joe W.

A small story to explain how I met Joe. One night Joe, his beautiful GF and I went out for barley sodas and Ke'lah inquired about how Joe and I met.

Joe and I, in unison...sheepishly..."the internet"



Yes, we met on a fly fishing chat board. How modern eh?

Besides being a member of the fish obsessed tribe, Joe can also claim membership in the large human club. When he and I hit the rivers, at least we can intimidate the fish with our collective size.

Guiding for the better part of a decade, Joe can be found especially keyed in where the steelfaces are running hot. Summer time finds him in Montana, throwing the big bugs and scoring ridiculously big fish for his clients. Like this one



Seriously, fishing with this guy only makes me better. Its like when you're 10 years old and you go play hoops with the kids in Jr High. Playing out of your league forces you to raise your game.

You kind of have to step back and just watch how artful and skillful he is with a fly rod, especially a spey rod.




This isnt the first time he's interweb-famous. Take a peek at this story from the Fly Fish Chick



So here's to you Joe. Cant wait to fish with you again!

Cast of Characters Vol 2--Wonder Boy

At least that's what the guides in Belize call him

Next up for introductions, Sean V., owner of the Silver Bow Fly Shop

I dont believe I have ever fished with someone who throws a better line than Sean. When I think I have my shit together, I just go watch Sean throw loops and realize I have a long way to go.

Equally adapt at crushing lips with a 3 weight tipped with a midge as he is swanging a narly loop leach, the man is a fish catching machine

Sean runs THEE shop in Spokane and every once and a while we coax him away to go fishing with us.

Usually...he out fishes us. Bastard!

And ladies...he's single....

So if you make it to the Spokane Valley, make sure to poke your nose into the Silver Bow Fly Shop and say hello to "Wonder Boy"

Cast Of Characters......Bo

Characters. Personalities. Whatever you want to call them

The people I hunt and fish with are a funny bunch. Those of you who read this are well versed about OMR, but now its time to introduce the circle of friends that make up my world


First up, Bo.

Crazy driven by steelhead. He's the perfect guy to share a beer or pitcher or four pitchers together with as you discuss the merits of line speed in spey casting and all the dreams he's had in the last week. Depending on the day, he'll have a new invention in which to make his fishing life easier

Capable of throwing tight loops and ripping lots of lip



Steelhead, beware of this man.

Munny's first Pheasant Hunt

I took my buddy Brian on his first pheasant hunt today. He had to slog through the hunters ed class at 29 years old, listening to 12 year old display vast and deep knowledge of the hunting arts so he could come along and chase birds with Murphy and me.

Today, I wish I could say was full of birds. But alas, the pheasants weren't that cooperative. It feels to me that this years hatch sucked royally and bird numbers suffered. That's ok to me, I just have to steelhead fish more

But.....I think Brian had a good time



I might have ran him into the ground a bit....

Images from the Methow

Fall was in it's full glory this weekend on the Methow. Everything clicked. The fish ate, ate and ate some more. PBR has officially been crowned as my steelhead beer of choice. The Million Dollar run continues to produce and catching fish on the first cast of a trip finally wasn't a kiss of death.

The highlight of the weekend. Watching my buddy Chris hook into a monster, and after the battle.....he shook like a leaf with buck fever. All I could do was smile