Bald Eagles = Good Luck Charms

I got the call to fish the halibut opener this past weekend but was blown off the water the first two days. However, Dylan and I had a Plan B. We brought our waders and salmon gear to go hiking up some NW rivers. The temperature was perfect; the bright greens of the moss and foliage, the deep blues of the sky, the sun glimmering off the water. We knew we could find some fish! We made our way to the river, and began our trek.

At the first hole we came to, Dylan hooked a Nice fish.  The fight played out and as the fish came to the bank, it came unbuttoned.   So we knew they were there...
We hiked our way through steep canyons, LARGE boulders, and 100yr-old trees.  Beautiful area!Some pools were tough to navigate, but we would eventually find a path up to the next hole. 

Unfortunately, still no fish were taking our offerings.   We fished bobber/eggs most of the day through the deeper holes.  Couldn't BELIEVE we didn't hook any fish holding in this hole.   It seems like the perfect hole for fish to plug up in.  We made our way up around these boulders, larger than cars, to the next run.  You can see Dylan in the upper left-hand corner of the next picture.  This shows how small we can feel sometimes.

 
While wading across one tailout, a large shadow cruises across the ground.   We look up to see a HUGE bald eagle flying up the canyon. 

We've seen it there before, and know there are others in the family.  This one in particular stood out due to its larger size.

We continued up the river until I found a nice deep slot that ran along the far bank, and into a deeper hole.  I pitched my bobber upstream, let it float its way down into the hole.   As it entered the slow water it sunk...

FISH ON!!     After a great fight, we realize it was a hatchery fish!   So, up the bank it came. 
BONK!  Time to stock the freezer.

It seems like every time we see a bald eagle we hook up with a fish.   So, we've concluded that they're our fishing good luck charms.   The next morning, before heading out for Halibut, we spotted another nice bald eagle perched out on the tips of the jetty.   We limited that day by noon.

Santiam Scouting for Springers

Santiam River Spring Chinook Scouting Trip from Sublime on Vimeo.

High Water, But Still got a Spring Chinook

Decided to run up and hit the river with a Mike, his dog Wiley, and Alex yesterday evening around 4. The river was still running high and fast, but had good color, so we decided to give it a try.

We ran up to a couple runs and holes and decided to bring out the diver and eggs and start dredging.

Had a few squawfish take our baits, and a few bites that we swore were chinook, but missed those. Mike's rod started getting nibbled on..waited....waited.....waited.....waited.. for like a minute.. and finally he set the hook and BAM! FISH ON!
The video is from a still cam, so it's pretty shaky, but you get the idea!



Wasn't a large fish, but HEY!, it was a high water springer, so we were happy! We were the only boat on the river. Apparently nobody else thought the river was fishable.  

Too bad we only had a couple hours on the river.  The fish are all over, just have to find them!

Willamette Springers, Steelhead, and Sea Lions

Went out on the Willamette yesterday with a buddy to try for springers. We headed up at first light with a great shot of Mt. Hood on the way up.

Once we dropped the boat in, we decided to sit on anchor for a while, since there were a few fish caught in the area.  We rigged up some prawn spinners, and other ideas and got to it.  If you look closely, you can see the guy right above us has a nice fish on.

Not more than an hour in, Gary gets a nice springer.   An hour later, my rod goes off.  I leap up, get ready to set the hook and......its off!...still hasn't committed yet..  i wait....and wait..hands just an inch from the rod and reel, just waiting to snag it and set the hook.  the rod tip throbs down and back up again...  2 more tugs later he has it and running.  I grab my rod, set the hook and its on. Felt small, but then realized it was only a steelhead.  However, it was missing a fin so we netted and bonked it.

There was one BIG drawback fishing up there.. Okay, maybe about  5 - 10 big drawbacks.. SEA LIONS!   Those bastardly lions were at it.  Once they saw you stand up in the boat, or saw a net being waved around, they'd cruise toward the ruckus and eventually nab people's fish as they were fighting them.  Luckily we never encountered them during our 'hauls of bounty'  But I KNOW there were others that had their catch swiped away.

This lion was floating downstream, tossing a BRIGHT CHROME salmon around and taunting the fishermen.

Talk about heartbreaking!?!  I've lost a fish to a lion before and it really sucks!  If you can get them in as fast as possible, you can usually beat the lions.

One thing I couldn't believe is how many boats out there had slingshots, and 50-cal shot, and rocks.. Each time a lion would surface you'd see a couple holes puncture the water right near it.   I saw one good shot a guy took, hit the lion and that thing didn't surface again til 200yds downstream.. Guess he hit it!  good for him!!     But for the record, its a federal offense to harass them (which is rediculous), so I do not condone the activity.. BUT I DO APPLAUD IT!! 

Earlier in the day it was

Lions:           4 fish
Fisherman:   1 fish

but by the end of the afternoon, the lion must've been full, because the odds definitely jumped back into the fishermens' favor.  We probably saw 20-30 fish caught around us.. The warming water and sunny temps really helped.   We packed it up later that afternoon and headed back to Salem.

 
Not a bad 45 min. run to the river!   Hoping to get out again soon!

Steelhead Fishing -Underwater Footage

Took a trip to the coast with Dylan and met up with Drake, a fishing guide in the area. We hiked up a local river and caught some nice fish. This gave us a chance to play with the underwater housing for the camera. The footage is a bit shaky, but not a bad experimental try.

Italian Tuna, Turbulance, and Taters!

On 9/8/09,
Dylan and I ventured our way over the hill Tuesday evening, to the Mediterranean of the NW in hopes of stinging some bluewater bullets.


When we got over there, we learned of some unfortunate news that put a hault on a Wed. run to tuna town. He and I had the next couple days off, so we decided we'd stick around and check out the sights and sounds of the harbor.



While walking down the dock we saw Johnny Bowles, back from a trip, unloading a few coho and a nice amount of crab!
Crabbing looks pretty good over there.



We made our way around some other docks to look at some of the vessels. This is when I found my namesake boat! ... The Stoney! I had to get a picture with it~



We meandered over to Tillamook Bay Boathouse just in time to see this Crusty Ole' Salt hoisting a load of crab out of the boiler. Some larger crabs than I've seen lately.



I noticed this planter that they had there as well. A tribute of respect to those that lost their lives.



By now, boats were arriving back to port. Many of which didn't make it out to the grounds due to the lumpy conditions. One of which was Chris (id. painter). We ran into him a couple weeks ago while over there.
He was out Wed. but turned around about 12 miles out due to the conditions. However, he managed a nice coho out of the day!

We listened to the forcast that evening, and noticed it was trending down, along with the wind. The decision was made to go for tuna on Thurs!

Next morning, we made our way out. Wasn't a bad run, and even nicer than we thought.


After finding some warmer water, we dropped in. About an hour later, the first rod starts singing. We made sure Chris took the first fish! It was a good one too!



Dylan put the sting on this albie...right in the head! First fish, in the boat!


The Captain was glad to see the skunk off the boat.



A little later I get my chance to fight. This one is a PIG! Took some great runs, until eventually surrendering itself to the gaff. This is my biggest fish to date! 35 lbs. You can definitely tell the difference between a 25 and a 35 lb fish!


Still only had two fish by the afternoon. With each hook-up, we tried casting iron and swimbaits to create multiple hook-ups, but to no avail. Run and gunning to jumpers was out of the question due to the swells and the wind (sheep).

A while later and Dylan gets his chance to scrap. We only had 30 lb line, so we couldn't exactly horse the fish in. He had a good fight with a nice grade of fish also.



While he was fighting this fish, I noticed something about a 100yds behind the boat, moving across the stern. The deep blue water turned milky white, like the color of an iceburg just below the surface. You can see it just below the long white cap at the top of the picture.


A pod of pilot whales (?) surfaced to breathe. Was an awesome sight.


The sun was starting to get lower in the sky, and as much as we all wanted to stay out and enjoy it, we knew we should probably head back to the barn.


We made our way past the tips and towards the harbor.



We had a couple watchful onlookers overseeing our return.



Was a great day with some great people! I enjoyed fishing with you, Chris, and hope to again soon! just gotta keep that boat of yours out here.. no need to trailor it back to ID!

Took a few pictures as the sun set, and before heading back over the hill to the valley.



Any day that you are alive, and out on the water, is a great day, fish or no fish. Chris, I love your perspective on life. I hope some of it rubs off on me. Thanks again!

Killin Tuna and other fish out on Lake Pacific

I had some time to put together some of the trips I've taken out on the Pacific Ocean. Most trips were out of Newport, OR, or Garibaldi, OR. We have seen some amazing things out there, but never have the camera for all of it. The quality isn't very good, sorry about that. But hope you enjoy it anyway!

NEW FISHING INFO LINK!

just created this other page with some great links!

Use it as your main links page! Whether you need to see pass cams, river levels, wind, waves, or just want to see the fish passing through the Bonneville Dam fish cam.

Bookmark this one!

Bushwhacking th Coast Range!

Ran back over the hill to the coast to take advantage of the couple days of dry weather. Once we got over the pass and took a peek at the river, we noticed it was down and in great condition! This watershed has some of the most amazing old-growth timber, including Douglas Fir and Sitka Spruce.


Dylan took this shot of me dropping down between a fallen tree. Definitely a DENSE forest.


These trees were larger than life. We were in the land of the giants.




Dylan, Taylor, and I, geared up to start whackin brush.


This lush rain forest is full of moss, lichens, mushrooms, and other forms of life that need this moist, thick, dense forest to survive.



At one point, we came across an old road.


This helped the bush-whacking for about 100yds... At the end of the road, we noticed an old bridge crossing the creek.


We walked down the creek, took some pics, and kept on scaling the river banks.



Here, I was just playin with how long I could leave it open without ruining the shot...


We made our way up, from hole to hole, and finally Taylor hooks into one. It looked like a good head-shaker at first, but then......We got to see it. . . Poor little Boot! However, we made SURE that Taylor got a picture with his prized catch!


I mean, this was a pretty nasty-looking fish. Along the river rocks, I think I noticed his last Spawning buddy! ...they looked about the same! hahaha!


The hike itself was a good couple miles through some of the thickest coastal rainforest. I admit, I'm a little sore today in the legs! Crawling up and over downed trees that are larger than cars in diameter can do that to ya! But its SOOOO worth the solitude!! Fish on!



Looks like its time to start gearing up for Winter Steelhead! We saw a couple of those caught. Time to scale down the gear and start targeting the Steel!