Drowning in King Fishing

Guiding people King fishing is a bit difficult for me.
Even without all the uncertainties-where are the fish, did the tide bring in a freshy push of Kings, what color plug to backtroll, or which spinner to pull.......it is the sitting in the boat waiting for a king to bite that has started to creep under my skin. Toss me a beginning fly angler on a small stream and I will show you the patience of a saint. Toss me into my boat to backtroll plugs for kings and I will get impatient and think about drinking beer most of the day.
As you patiently wait for a king to strike with gear rods in the holders it seems fitting that you would be holding a cold can of suds.
Natty Ice anyone?
Luckily these ugly beasts have kept me from drowning in a pool of ROH:


Heath's big chrome king, not so ugly


Me and Andy of New Seasons Market with an ugly faced king.


Miguel and I with a 36 pounder.


My sweet fillet job of the 36 pounder.


Rogue Angel Isabel and I with an early morning ugly King.

Worth getting up for:

Bear vs. dog

Taggish pawing sculpins

The other evening, the Crumpster and I were last ones on the dock finishing up cleaning our fish and boats. We watched a brown bear walk out onto the island behind us in King Salmon Creek and noticed how Taggish the dog was busy pawing in the creek for sculpins oblivious to our big friend. 'Some bear dog' we remarked. But suddenly he caught a wiff of stinky bear and ran down the beach barking wildly. As he stood stance at the point barking madly the bear swam across the creek towards him. Yelling from us proved futile as Taggish stood his ground and the bear climbed onto the bank. As the bear hit solid ground running Taggish yapped bravely while backing up slowly. One swift paw and Taggish was a goner, so we grabbed an air horn out of my boat and began blasting it. After a few good blasts, the bear turned slowly away, with another quick blast he began running. Taggish, however, was also scared and we watched as bear and dog ran away from us....together.

Taggish barking as the bear swims towards him

You're breakin' my heart.

Rogue Angel Cecilia shakin the confidence of the fishes as she goes from beginner to pro in a matter of hours:





She landed seven from this hole.

One of Laura's last glimpses at freedom.

Rogue Angel Laura with a little taste of heaven and freedom.

Westport Stamfest 2009 Upd8

Looks like things went well.

photos courtesy of Jager the Dog.
Story courtesy of Stam, for the whole scene check HERE and THERE.

Our lifestyle runs downstream.

Know Your Impact.

"Understanding your impact is an important step in finding ways to lessen your impact."

Over at Recycled Fish, you can start learning more about making a difference. Through July, if you sign up for a membership, you'll get a bag o' swag including a cool tee, a little bit more educated, and possibly win a new net.

As of today, I am officially a Steward through Recycled Fish:

Please skip over there and sign up. Get to know your impact today and help Recycled Fish keep on encouraging us to become better stewards of our beloved waters.

Thanks,

-k8

Recycled Fish ... Anglers living a lifestyle of stewardship both on and off the water, because our lifestyle runs downstream.
www.RecycledFish.org

Just for the Halibut.

Rogue Angel Laura and her son Josiah shining again with a nice Halibut caught in the Puget Sound this spring.
(Nevermind that dude holding it for her.)

photo courtesy of Taggish

Sex, Death, and Fly Fishing

John Gierach's writing in Sex, Death, and Fly Fishing (underlined) is like heading into a jam band concert full of hippie groupies....best done with something to smoke, a beer, and a relaxed attitude. Strumming up a theme, Gierach suddenly lurches out to nowhere land often-leaving you wondering where or why he's gone from talking about trout in Wyoming to lawyers in town...Or thinking that suddenly The Wheel will bust out of Space. But then he cascades into a familiar tone and brings you back to the beginning, usually with an intentionally well placed pun. Entertaining and light this is a good read to casually pick up. If you aren't into trout fishing, ahemDylandahem, skim over the droning of hatches and choosing the right fly and get to his funny quips on people, fishermen, and life.

Big Kings at Bear Trail Lodge

Rogue Angel Marjorie, a King Salmon local and one of the most loveliest of angels on earth, spent the day with Head Guide of Bear Trail Lodge, Heath, and roped in some big boys. From the dock, we could hear Marjorie hooting out on the river as she reeled this lunker in. When questioned Heath said, "My deal is I'm after big kings."

Forwarded to me.

FW: sporting a burn from my most recent camp trip up the &*!@# river. who would have thought riding a BIKE WITH SO MUCH GEAR WOULD BE THE DEATH OF ME.
ATTACHING PICS.
sleeping up there alone was sorta spooky, NEXT TIME YOU NEED TO COME.

oh did i catch a fish? too early in the season to kiss and tell your guess is a good as mine!!!!!!!!!!!

you'll have to come.

-rogue angel whit

Time to go.

I hate this part of the day. I feel it approaching like an itch and mentally begin attempting to outrun it. Casting harder, harping more on my clients, moving to new water....I think if you knew me, you would probably see a bit of frantic panic in my eyes. I just can't seem to welcome it with grace. It's the end of the day.
Time to break down rods. Time to go home. Time to meet the float plane. Time to drive the boat to the dock. It's that time...

So I try for one last cast before I call it a day. Just one more fish I tell myself as the minutes are ticking away, many minutes past the time I should have called it. I'm gonna be late but just a few more seconds....one more cast.

My client, Don, hooks up!
Nevermind that it is a tiny minnow of a rainbow...we got one on the last cast. I feel brilliant. I care nothing for the time or tardiness. As he brings it into the boat and I tell him not to, the rainbow jumps off the hook. I watch in slow motion horror as this tiny little youngster drops through space to flop on the wooden floor of the boat. I dart my hands down to retrieve the little guy, he makes one helluva effort to jump out of the boat, and time turns to slow motion as he misses my hands reaching out to catch him and slides right down between the wooden floor beams and the metal boat. 'Thank God I haven't bilged this sucker yet" as I watch him flop underneath me and the 2x4 flooring in a puddle of dirty boat water. I grab the skinniest longest thing within grasp, my engine grease gun, and start shoving him towards the side where I can grasp him. My stomach feels sick as he keeps flopping back to the middle of the boat. I command my clients to get to one side of the boat and with our weight we create a slide and I push the little youngster out through the gap of the flooring and metal boat. Grabbing the slippery little guy firmly, I place him overboard in the net. He flips belly up and my clients tell me he's a goner. Stubbornly, I begin attempting to resuscitate him in the water, holding his tiny tail and forcing water into his gills by pushing him into the current. Don makes a joke about giving him mouth to mouth as I desperately say some little prayer like 'please let him live through this?'
I felt a twitch from his body. Hope. I jump out of the boat nearly filling my waders and get real active in the resuscitation. Soon the little fish is twitching in my hands and struggling to swim away. I gingerly let him rest in the net for a bit longer as I breathe relief and sigh thanks that I didn't kill the little guy.
I saved a rainbow today.

The sound of a tree falling...

is the sound of grueling work to Rogue Angel Hannah Belford, owner and head guide of Damdochax Lodge in Northern British Columbia. This time of year, Hannah, her mother, and other guides spend their days building cabins, milling wood, and blazing trail.

Rogue Angel Rachel

Rogue Angel Rachel takes a break from studying in Medical School to relax and enjoy one of her many passions, fishing, on the Rogue River.

Westport Stamfest 2009

Good Luck to the Angels on Westport Stamfest 2009:
Here is a few photos from years past:

Rogue Angel Ashley sporting her catch!

Rogue Angel Erika with a fatty.

Rogue Angel k8 with a big king

Hot Days on the Naknek River.

If you were born and raised in King Salmon, Alaska by two of the most hardcore fishing parents out there, had already caught a 60+ pound king, several rainbows over 30" on a fly rod, more sockeye than fair, and the list goes on, you'd be this kid.
...although I can't guarantee you'd be as cool as Rogue Angel Rylie:

Cheap trick

I call tha last post as "Havin' more B.S. than the Pendleton Rodeo", an that's a lot of B.S.! I don't care if you try to distract me, talkin' bout half naked, funny, goodlookin' fisherman in blue robes drinkin' dirty Mar-Ti-Ni's, settin' in thar tent!

Number one:


Tough titty fer you K8, that does not count according to ofishal fishing rules. This is the biggest cop-out B.S. I have ever read ma laife!!! You can't jus say "Hey I caught yew a fish on such an such river cuz someone caught a fish fer me there and said it waz jus fer me, swear on my mama's grave, will sign in blud, cross ma fangers hope to daie", therefour you fished it. F-that!


Number two:


How dew yew PRO-nounce "Ponoi"?


Number three:


Joke of tha day: You know your a redneck if....you have ever used a toilet seat for a picture frame" -Jeff Foxworthy


Thee end.



Love, LRW

I got a fish on the Ponoi

Ryguy hooked up on the Ponoi-photo courtesy of Ryan Peterson

Okay, so I'm in Alaska on the Naknek fishing for king salmon, sockeye salmon, and rainbows, not the Ponoi fishing for Atlantics, but Ryan from over at the big pull caught one for me, so I got one on the Ponoi. With Ry-guy's sense of humor and wicked chatter I've been able to feel like I'm there, even if I haven't gotten there yet. Shoot over there and check out his daily updates posted from a tent while lounging in a dark blue robe sipping dirty martinis alongside this wild river full of dreamy atlantics itching to bust the surface.


Oh and one last thing.....be consicous with your happiness.

They're not all mosquitos.

Blown Out Brown.

http://www.spanglefish.com/onthefly/index.asp?pageid=159454

I'm reinstating 'blown out brown' and 'steelhead green' as descriptions from the beginnings of this blog, 'cause this is more blown out brown than the Smith River January 2nd 0-niner. Tie your own shitty flies dummy.

***I suspect Loretta Rose Wylie will be weighin' on this one.

Angels gracing Chum Nation...Cast Your Vote.

Moldy Chum instituted a reader voting poll for their popular Slab of the Month for June.
It's worth noting that two Angels lead the polls, Alex with a massive Florida tarpon and the cutest young gal with a southeast Alaskan Steelhead. Photos courtesy of Moldy Chum, now go vote for one of these angels.
VOTE HERE

Roosterfish, Flies and Fins

Jeremy of Flies and Fins wrote this story. A week into our trip in Baja, Jeremy and Joey Mac showed up bringing cameras, excitement, and lots of laughs. They put this video together as well as wrote and played the music accompanying the great footage. Enjoy:





ps, we are on a record 70+ degrees weather with shining bright sun up here in King Salmon....I don't really feel like I left Baja with this sun and heat.

Back Country Fly Shop

Rogue Angel Cathi showing off a trout she caught on her freshly built 2 wt.
She and her husband, Jerry, opened the Back Country Fly Shop in Corvallis, Oregon this spring which happens to be only a block from my abode there. I spent quite a few hours there before and after the grand opening remembering why I love working in a fly shop, helping with displays, and merchandising. I expect I'll spend much more time and money there this winter as Cathi is so sweet she'll put a smile on Oscar the Grouch...stop in next time you are in that part of Oregon.
See ya there,
-k8

Scenes from June in Bristol Bay, Alaska

The boatyards are now empty and the ships are out fishing the Bay.

Caddis Muncher, Underwater Grayling on a dry fly.

Rogue Angel Amy celebrates her birthday King Salmon style: boxed wine and king fishing.

A nice rainbow strategically caught on a dry fly.

My first wolf sighting beyond the tracks.

lonely eagle.

If the sun set.