Reports 2012

"Strength is often passed to those who are watching."  ~R.D.~

February 20, 2012

Well I did it my way today on the Snake.  After several days of not even a grab, I hit two fish.  My way is a 13'6" Meiser MKS, Hardy Salmon 2, 570 grain Airflo Compact Skagit head, 8' of Airflo T-12, and my tie based on a Kilowatt pattern with a few of my own adaptations.  The grabs were awesome, and the fight was pretty darn awesome too. "PERSEVERANCE & CHALLENGING!"  Two words that have been taken out of the fly anglers vocabulary by the "numbers of fish" generation.  The world of "INSTANT GRATIFICATION" is the world we live in today.

See ya on the river, Rod

February 16, 2012

I floated the Grande Ronde from Cable to Boggan's yesterday and managed to hook one fish right at Boggan's.  Not much action until I got to Cottonwood Creek.  I only saw 3 other fly anglers.  One of them was my friend John Sullivan.  John is the head guide at Boggan's.  He said they had rose a couple of fish earlier in the afternoon and landed a couple the day before.  Everyone else that I saw were conventional anglers mostly drifting corkies and yarn.  They were doing well.  I saw several fish landed below Cottonwood Creek.  DV and I are headed there again tomorrow, so stay tuned.

No word on the Methow yet.  I still have faith that it will open in the next week or two.

One last thing: I spent several years guiding the Yakima River.  I fished for Smallmouth Bass in the Lower River from Prosser to Richland, and Rainbows and Cutthroat from Roza Dam to Ensign Ranch just out of Easton.  After separating myself from the Yakima for the last several years, I have decided to start guiding it again.  Let me know if you are interested in fishing it.  We'll get something set up.

See ya on the river, Rod

February 12, 2012

I am back in the Methow Valley for a few days, and then I am back to the Southeast corner of Washington.  My friend DV and I fished the Clearwater the last several days.  The fishing was awesome; the catching not so good.  In fact we never even got a tug.  My opinion:  the fish are holding in really slow, deep, boulder strewn water that is very, very difficult swing effectively.  I am pretty sure that I could nymph them up or be affective with a center pin, but I haven't done that yet.  Fish are being caught at Boggan's which means the Washington fish are congregating in the Cottonwood Creek Acclimation Area.  Same story as the Clearwater with the conventional anglers doing more of the catching so far.  Both nymphing and center pinning can be very affective from the Cable Hole to Boggan's.  We will see because I am planning on fishing the Ronde again the middle of next week.  I will be floating from just above the Cable Hole to Boggan's. 

As for the Methow,  I still believe that it will reopen for a March fishery.  And the ice is pretty well off.  Ice is also starting to break up a bit on the Okanogan.  I am going to check both the Okanogan and Similkameen this afternoon.

See you on the river, Rod

February 5, 2012

I am hanging out here in Pomeroy.  I fished the Clearwater on Friday.  The fishing was awesome.  The catching not so good.  I don't feel too bad though.  One of the runs I swung, I watched 2 drift boats go through drifting bait with no success.  Both boats were guide boats.  I also checked out the Snake and Grande Ronde yesterday.  The Snake is still too high and visibility is poor.  The Ronde has dropped, but is still pretty dirty.  Too dirty to suit me.  Looking forward to next week.  The weather has been awesome.  Sunshine with highs into the mid 40's.  The Snake is currently flowing at 26,900 cfs. and the Ronde is at 1,530 cfs.

I checked in with Keith about 2 days ago.  The Okanogan and Similkameen still have ice.  He did say that the Okanogan is starting to break up a bit but still far from fishable.  The 10 day weather forecast for the region is daytime highs in the high 30's and low 40's with lows around 20 plus or minus 5 degrees.  Stay tuned!

See ya on the river, Rod

January 27, 2012

Keith has been doing some creeling on the Okanogan and Similkameen.  Only thing is there's no one to creel.  The Okanogan is froze up and the Similkameen is partially open but has a lot of ice.  I am getting caught up on my business stuff and plan on heading back to the Snake, Clearwater, and Grande Ronde the first of the week.  My friend DV tells me that they are not real stable right now either - high & dirty.  The Ronde is 3,390 cfs. and the Snake 30,100.  Hopefully better next week.

See ya on the river, Rod

January 24, 2012

I am back home in the Methow Valley for a short time.  Had to make sure the cabin is still in good shape and that the mice and pack rats hadn't taken over.  Lots of snow here in the valley, but not much different than what we had in Pomeroy.  The Methow River has lots of ice.  No word on what will take place come March, but I really believe we have a good chance to have a steelhead fishery during that last month.  So, have "HOPE and FAITH".  "It is not over until it is over."  Keith tells me that the Okanogan is pretty much frozen solid.  I plan on taking a trip to the Similkameen while I am here to see how it looks.

When I left the southeast corner of the state, the Snake was high with a quite a bit of color and the Ronde was blown out.  Got a message from my friend DV this morning telling me that both are improving and should be fishing in a few days.  The Grande Ronde has fallen considerably over the last few days and is down to 2,300 cfs. from about 4,700.  It is looking better than expected.  I will be back over there the end of the week or the first part of next week.  Stay tuned to what is happening there.  February is normally the start of the good catching around Boggan's.  Washington fish time at Cottonwood Creek!!!

See ya on the river, Rod

January 17,2012

The weather here in Pomeroy has been pretty tough.  Not extremely cold but snow and wind over the last few days.  I have to head back to the Methow late this week.  I really want to fish the Snake or Ronde before headin home  - maybe Thursday.   I am planning on being back here though, before the first of February.  Stay tuned.

See ya on the river, Rod

January 13, 2012

DV and I floated the Snake yesterday and it was cold.  Wouldn't you know it.  Probably the coldest day in the last couple of weeks.  No fish but we had fun, and so did the dogs.  DV has a Black Lab named Ford.  He loves going in the ClackaMax.  I think he also has a crush on Pepper.  Been checking out put-ins and take-outs on the Clearwater.  Planning on floating it soon from below Lenore to Cherry Lane.

See ya on the river, Rod

January 11, 2012

My friend DV and I fished the Clearwater yesterday both below and just above Cherry Lane.  The fishing was awesome, the catching not so good.  Over the last week, I have spent time on the lower Ronde and the Snake.  I have had some decent tugs, but so far I have yet to land a fish in 2012.  Right now I am kind of thankful for the two suckers I landed.  Sorry I haven't posted any pictures.  I am going to try and get some up here in the near future.  I have been doing more dry line stuff than tip stuff.  I am probably going to start using a Skagit head with a tip.  Especially since DV got a report from an acquaintance that he landed several fish over a 2 day period using a chunk of T-14 and a stinger style bug.  Stay tuned.

January 5, 2012

I am headin back to Pomeroy to spend some more time on the Snake and Grande Ronde.  Even considering spending a little time on the Clearwater.  I drove over to the Okanogan yesterday to check out its condition.  It is ice free and looked good.  I saw no one.  I will be trying it in the next couple of weeks if it stays ice free and float-able.  I figured out the computer service in Southeast WA somewhat; so I should be able to keep this updated and let you know what is going on.  I can be reached on a land line in Pomeroy, and the number is 509-843-1959.  Stay tuned!

See ya on the river, Rod

January 3, 2012

Well I am back in the Methow Valley for a few days.  I have to get some tax stuff done.  Just about my most favorite thing to do.  With this system being closed, I am going to head back to Southeast Washington and spend some more days on the Snake and the Grande Ronde.  The catching on the Snake has been decent.  The Ronde, however, has had a lot of ice.  When I left there on Saturday rain and warmer weather had caused it to raise and go off color.  It was even having a bit of an impact on the visibility in the Snake.   All my fishing on the Snake is swinging, both dry lines and tips.  Stay tuned for further reports and call or email if you think you might like to fish either one of these rivers.

Also, the Okanogan and Similkameen are both still open, and I am going to be spending more time on these two rivers when they are ice free.

See ya on the river, Rod

January 1, 2012

I am really sorry folks for not updating this report.  The reality is:  I have been in Pomeroy, and it is a little behind the times.  Even for me.  In fact, it is just one step ahead of smoke signals for its primary method of communications.  Talk about frustrating.  Well anyway, the bottom line is:  Today is the last day for steelhead fishing on the Methow River; too many wild fish being reported.  Some of this could be some false reporting, but who knows for sure.  Right now there is a possibility of the fishing reopening in March, so all we can do right now is "Hope."  In the mean time, the Okanogan and Similkameen are still open.  They can fish pretty well in February and March.

I have been fishing the Snake River and plan on doing a little more on it and the Grande Ronde through the remainder of the winter.  The catching has been fair, and the fish are definitely there.  Keep the "FAITH"; we are not done yet.

See ya on the river, Rod