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!

Albacore Fishing on A Greasy-Flat Ocean

I put together some footage of an albacore trip we took in July, 2007.   We only had to go out 19 miles to find blue water and tuna!  Was an amazing day with many fish caught trolling clones on spreader bars.   My brother even got a couple fish while casting fish traps.  We couldn't have asked for a calmer day out there!

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.

Overnight and Offshore

We took a scouting trip in early Spring, looking for longfins,  fishing overnight, and back to port the next day.   We were hoping to catch the first sport-caught tuna in Oregon that year. 

Offshore and Overnight from Sublime on Vimeo.

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!

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!

Buy Your Decals Now~!!

Here are some pictures of the White Decals. These are best for Windows, trucks, cars, canopies, etc...

Tuna Bomb- Civil War Stylee (2nd Annual! brought back!)

TUNA! Bomb, I must say...

First of all, I've gotta thank FREAKWATER for his recipe (with a few modifications for personal taste) I've fixed it quite a few times now, and I just can't get sick of it. Love it! Thanks!

So, we decided we needed something better for snacks than just chips and salsa and Fat Tires for the game..... we did some brainstorming and agreed this sounded TOOO good and was the perfect size.

It turned out great (as usual ) Try this sometime! You WON'T be sorry.
MMMMmmmmmmmmm!

Eastern Oregon Excursion

Having the day off, Dylan and I decided we were going fishing, we just didn't know where. We checked out the usual choice of the coast. However, it seemed as though every coastal river was blown out from the storm and was unfishable. We quickly put our heads together and decided to head east! Lets try the Deschutes or the John Day! We decided to make our way east on 84.


View John Day River Trip in a larger map
Thanks to some dead dinosaurs, we fueled the car and ventured on.



We kept bombing past Multnomah Falls, but I was still able to get a few good shots!



Right around Bonneville the showers began. A few miles in, we noticed a NICE boat on the side of the road, headed east


... As we got closer, we noticed it was SEELICIOUS!...the boat we Tuna fish for, all summer!


Bud had the motors taken off, and it was on its' way back to North Carolina to have some work done on the hull. Small world!
The journey continued and we guessed the rain would quit once we hit the east side of the range, and luckily, this was exactly the case.


Through the tunnel, and on to the east side, we kept on driving. Dylan and I made our way through The Dalles and past Hood River.





We rounded the corner to see the mouth of the Deschutes River.



The river looked to be in great shape, so we knew we'd have good conditions at the John Day also! We took the Biggs Junction and made our way SE. We saw the smallest of towns.. Like the ones you'd make horror movies based upon. Here's Wasco. Not even a 'One-stoplight town'.


Making our way deeper into Eastern Oregon, we ventured across some unique places...


Heading across the open plains we noticed all of the wind farms and the GIANT wind machines!



These things were so large! It was amazing listening to these things hummmmmmm, and the power they must be producing!


We came across fields and fields of wind machines. Eventually, our road began winding its way down the canyon to the bottom.



These farms were everywhere out on the plains. We had to stop and take lots of pictures...


Saw an old Windmill with the new ones behind it... thought it was a great picture!

Came across some old homesteads that had been long-abandoned..



We were excited, knowing that our destination laid at the bottom of this vast ravine.


We pulled into the parking lot, geared up, and got our waders on.


We pulled up just in time to notice a couple guys that were just taking out. They had been on an 80-mile float that lasted 10 days!


These guys were burley! One guy was lucky enough to apply and GET DRAWN for a big-horn sheep tag. Just two days earlier (thurs.) this guy was so lucky, they had a herd of sheep up the hillside and they made their stalk. After 3 shots, he was fortunate enough to earn a trophy of a lifetime!


Not too many people on earth can ever say they shot a big-horn sheep! Was a beautiful animal!



Click on the picture and check out the road. A truck along the road gives a good idea of how far away this was.


Anyway, the wind was howling down the canyon, making it feel like 30 degrees out there! Was SOO COLD! However, we bundled up, walked up the canyon and started fishing.


The catching wasn't so great, but we did see a nice steelhead caught as well as a couple that had followed my lure all the way up to the surface a few times, yet never decided to bite! Grrr!



Now THAT'S frustrating! Oh well, it was our first time trying that river so we expected very little. However, the scenery was absolutely amazing, and just being able to see such geological formations was awesome!


We are so fortunate to live in Oregon and have this dynamic landscape available to us!