Devil's Club and Blazes by SWCC

It's well over 2 years since I visited Skeena Country and it's memory stays strong inside me.  The place is pure magic

Here's a great video the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition put together way back in 2009 as they began their journey of helping to map the native cultural areas in the upper watershed.  

To me, their group is an inspiration of what normal folks can do to stand up and defeat giants.  Good on them for all the great work they do.

Enjoy the show!

Of Roosters, Jacks and Whatever Else Bites

I havent a clue of the target species.

You cant watch Running Down The Man enough times to decipher where the hell the the fish are going to show up on the specific beach your standing on.

What I do know is that the fish are big, fast and mean and the place I'm going is reported to have lots of them.

Cue fishing boner.

But I'll tell you what.  For the the next week or so, I'm going to give them hell.  

Xboundary...

Xboundary from Salmon Beyond Borders on Vimeo.


Take a few minutes to soak this piece up.  Then watch it again.

Remember back to August of 2014 when the Mt. Polly mining disaster happened.  Billions of toxic mine waste cascaded into the environment when the earthen damn at the mine that they said never would fail....failed in less than 20 years of it being built.

The transboundary region of BC and Alaska is home to wild pristine rivers and cultures that depend on the fish that inhabit them.

So watch the video, and watch it again.

Boise Wild Reverence and Iron Fly

Hey Idaho friends, shack nasty season getting the best of you?  Well we have the solution.

The Idaho Angler, Payette Brewing and Iron Fly have a little shindig on March 12th that should be a hell of night.   Tickets are very limited so get on the horn to Idaho Angler if you plan on attending and get a ticket asap.

All proceeds go to the Wild Steelhead Coalition and the Iron Fly competition, it's one of the coolest and forward thinking things going on right now in fly fishing.

And word has it that the host is one you're not going to want to miss.

Get more info by adding yourself to the FB EVENT PAGE.

Mr Rabbit Out of Hat....

It's not even weird anymore, you just come to expect it.

On the days when catching is at a premium, OMR goes all magician and catches the only steelhead of the day

As our season draws to a close, this day on the water was likely my last day for this run of fish.  I had two come unpinned earlier in the day and our buddy landed a monster bull trout that made his day, but alas none of the targeted quarry had come to hand

So to the last run of the day, and it was no surprise that Mr Houdini absolutely picks my pocket and brought this lady to hand.  I'm not even mad or surprised, I just smile and know that some dudes just have more juice than others

Thankfully, that dude's my dad.

Guest Post-Heather's First Swung Steel

The text came through last weekend and you could feel the happiness in the message

"It happened, my first steelhead on the swing"

An that person is Heather Hodson, friend and super enthusiastic creator and leader of
Spokane Women on the Fly.    Heather's group is doing a tremendous job of creating a sisterhood on the fly and making it easier for ladies to get into fly fishing.  They're breaking down barriers and making it fun and easy for women who are interested but dont know where to start. Lets be honest, if you're on the outside looking in, man or women, fly fishing can look pretty intimidating to a novice.

Well Heather and her boyfriend Britton have snagged the steelhead bug pretty bad, and now that she has found that elusive first pull....they're pretty much screwed!   Here's Heather to share her experience of her first steelhead on the swing.


It was my last chance at getting the job done this season. As I was driving down to the Big River, I was envisioning what the tug will truly feel like. I’ve heard that there’s nothing like catching a steelhead on the swing . I was ready to have the adrenaline pump through my veins and feel what the hype is all about.

Our first stop was more of a two handed casting clinic for me. This is my first year Spey fishing. I can count the number of times that I’ve swung on one hand. Needless to say, I need a lot of practice! After I started to feel a little more comfortable with the Snap-T cast we decided to go to a different run.

As I started to wade out into the run, I started to question if steelheading was for me? My hands were freezing, the 24,000cfs river was roaring and deep, the large rocks that I had to maneuver through was difficult for my vertically challenged 5’ 2” self. Then it happened……

Literally my fourth (not beautiful) cast and then I felt it. There was no doubt that I had a decent steelhead on the other end of my line. At first I was dumb founded. I couldn’t believe that such an awful cast could catch a fish! Then the fight was on. Despite the cold January temps of the river this fish was not ready to be caught. My line kept going and going. I cranked my drag down and landed a beautiful bright hatchery hen. The best part of it was I caught her on my first Steelhead swinging fly that I have ever tied. Such a great feeling to catch a big beautiful steelhead on the swing, but even better when it’s on a fly that you’ve twisted up!

As if I wasn't already hooked, now I can’t wait to get my hand on a spey rod and continue to master the art of this type of fly fishing. One day, I too will be the flyfisher that makes people stop and watch the beauty of spey casting.

So ladies, if you're interested in meeting a super awesome group of women and get into the sport, please get in contact with Heather.

Check out more info from Spokane Women on the Fly via their FACEBOOK PAGE

A Stolen Season...

Sitting here reviewing pictures from the fall and winter and Murph Dog is sitting next to me, snoring away.

It's occurred to me that I pretty much stole this bird season from her.   She's in her prime and I made it afield 3 times.  One of the days I shot so poorly I think she laughed at me, but the last day of the season made up for two other mediocre efforts with the scattergun

That's horseshit in my opinion.

So a belated resolution.  I'm going to get my dog's nose in the cover more come next fall.