Fly Fishing in Oregon -- August of 2009

Long, long overdue, but I finally made a trip out west to visit a great friend of over 15 years at the time, for some floating, fishing, and camping.  I received a world class tour of the state with my friend who is a life long outdoorsman, fly fisherman, oarsman, and world class hiker. 

We floated a couple of rivers together, walked and fished a couple more, and floated a mountain lake at twilight before camping at a spot that we were both quite certain was the best camping spot anywhere near the entire lake, whose beauty was second to none.

August may not be the very best time for fly fishing in Oregon, but this trip was hardly about the fish or the fishing (although, we did fish a little bit, and caught some fish too). 


Just great to reconnect in person with a friend who I'm in touch with as frequently as any friend of mine in the world, but who I've seen seldom, as the land in between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans seems to get in the way.

Those mountains in Oregon are a little bigger than the old mountains of Pennsylvania.  An understatement, certainly.

Summer Fishing Cool Waters -- July of 2009

Rumors of cool water in a stream that had been getting some restoration attention of late landed us on this little trout stream in South Eastern, West Central, Northern Pennsylvania in July of 2009.  A few years back, someone stocked the stream with brown trout and rainbow trout fingerlings, and they had certainly grown a bit by the time my fishing buddy and I arrived.

A good visit, and worth a trip back in the coming years to see how they've grown, and if any took to multiplying...

The guy in the second picture was fishing upstream of me.



He wasn't catching anything while I watched him fish...

Back to Penns Creek -- Early May of 2009

Good times, once again, on Penns Creek in early May.  The creek shows its true beauty in the spring of the year.

Rain nearly blew out Penns on our last morning of fishing, but a 16 inch brown was landed nymphing some slack water below a run by one of us (measured with measuring tape, so I don't think I need to mention who landed that guy).

The great part from this trip was putting my new waterproof camera to use, in a good way.  Not bad photos, for a point and shoot camera.





I took these couple of photos, among others, while my fishing pal continued to fish that morning.













I was content, to say the least, so I snapped away, trying to learn the new camera I was thankfully gifted.  My buddy caught at least a few more as I continued to take pictures, and at least one of his wild browns was caught on the surface with a dry fly.

We were both good and happy after this spring trip to Penns.

Early Spring Trout Fishing, a.k.a. The Trip My SLR Went for a Swim -- March of 2009

An over night trip with an ol' fishing pal in Western, South Central, North Eastern, Pennsylvania was a good way to kick off the fishing year.   Thanks to a tip from a long time fly fisherman who my buddy and I met the year previous on Penns Creek helped us land a good number of brownies fishing green caddis nymphs, all in the healthy 12 to 15 inch range.

To put the unfortunate story from this trip in a fortune cookie, my SLR went for a swim in the river.  I am not pointing any fingers, as I admittedly left my camera in a camera bag on the bank of the stream, the bag unzipped, as always, for easy access.  But as I landed what was clearly a 15+ inch wild brown trout to my eyes at that moment, I asked my buddy for a photo of the fish.

He did grab the camera bag (still unzipped), but rather than taking a quick photo or two, he pulled out that measuring tape of his to prove to me that my 15+ incher was actually a 13 incher at best, which it was, barely, as the tape proved  --  (all fish appear much bigger in sight than when actually measured, and I am fully the most guilty fisherman in the world of that wrong perception).  A reputation that continually brings out that measuring tape, so that I am rightly put back in my place. 

Unfortunately, plop went the camera out of the bag, straight to the bottom of the river during that measurement...  No pictures of that fish!

To my friend's credit, before our next fishing trip, which may have been the very next weekend, I received an early birthday gift that I did not deserve.  He arrived with a water proof, drop proof, rugged 10+ mega-pixel, underwater, point and shoot camera as a gift, which I have carried with me on every fishing trip since.  Thanks, buddy!  You are a good friend, indeed.

SD cards are amazing.  Here are a handful of photos from before the SLR camera went for a swim...

Two of the brownies I landed on day one...

And this one of some guy fishing up stream of me.




He wasn't catching anything while I watched him fish...











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On a side note, to make this trip even more memorable, the night in between our two fishing days, we stayed at a class "c" motel, at best, somewhere near this river, our only option other than sleeping in the car we drove to the river. 

Sleep minutes that night were few and far between, thanks to a woman's voice screaming and moaning, along with headboard banging, in the room next door that would go on for what seemed like hours, then pause just long enough for us to maybe catch a wink of sleep, only to begin again, then pause, then begin again, then pause, and then begin again.  All night long.

As we geared up the next morning for day two of fishing, my buddy's words were priceless:  "That was no wife in that room last night."

The Pine Creek Watershed -- June of 2008

A planned trip in June to Pine Creek for several days with an ol' fishing pal was a blast from start to finish.  We each caught a bunch of fish (later we learned mostly stocked rainbows in Pine Creek), but the weather was great, and the fishing was on in a great way.  Rainbow trout are great fun when hooked, and some of them took us into our backing on that big river.  Great times all around.

The image to the left is a fishing buddy releasing one of those great rainbow battlers who took the angler on a good hike/run down the river during the fight.




One of our evenings during this trip, during an on and off light rain, we made our way up one of the tributaries.  I do not know how or why, and certainly did not deserve to hook or land this fish, but to this day, this wild brownie remains one of my most memorable.  Naturally, I left my SLR in the car, as it was raining, so no pictures from this evening, but I could honestly care less, as my memory of this fish is as clear as any.

Did he take my bead-headed brassie nymph that I drifted through the tightest of runs on the far bank of the stream?  You bet ya!  My net wasn't barely big enough for this wild brown, which was clearly a 20 incher as I rested him in the water in my net, waiting for my buddy to see him.

He quickly pulled out his measuring tape, and the brown trout, deep red spots and all, measured 18 inches, according to his measurement...  As I think about that moment now, I actually never saw the end of the measuring tape which apparently read "18 inches"...  Hmmm....    Thanks for the short stick, buddy...  With no photo evidence, a 20 incher he will remain!!


(I admittedly have been known to add an inch or two of length to some/many/most of the fish I catch.  A quality/trait/fault that I am reminded of by many a fishin' buddy).

The fish happily (or rather, angrily) shot back into his home like a rocket.  That fish, on that particular stream, is one that is beyond memorable.

It was good fun to have had a conversation with that fish, before sending him on his way (I usually talk to the fish I land, before releasing them).

The Grannom Fly Hatch on Penns Creek -- April of 2008

Nothing short of blind and great timing landed an ol' fishing pal and I on Penns Creek at the absolute best time during the Grannom Fly Hatch of 2008.  We both caught fish each day during our trip, here and there, but nothing of size, and were convinced at the time, as were many an angler who we met on the stream, that the fish in Penns Creek are "smart".

I have since learned that wild fish are wild fish, and are not smart by any stretch of our imagination.  They are certainly aware of their surroundings, as is any wild creature, but to call them smart is dumb.  Trout eat sticks and stones and berries and take a nibble at just about everything that floats their way in a natural manner.  Fooling them with a hook and hair and feathers attached to plastic line is a skill on many levels, but the fish themselves are not smart.

Included below is a picture of some guy fishing upstream of me.  He wasn't catching anything while I watched him fish.

A Former Bait Fisherman Gets Hooked on Fly Fishing -- April of 2007

After moving back to Pennsylvania in the fall of 2006, early the following spring an ol' fishing pal, who I grew up bait fishing with on various ponds and lakes, wanted to go fly fishing this day in early April, so we did.  We had fly fished together previously, once or twice in years prior, and he had caught a trout or two or three with a fly rod and fly, but was yet to fully understand, and/or get into the sport.

On an old friend’s recommendation, we drove to a mid-sized trout stream in Eastern Central, South West North, Pennsylvania, and braved the sub-50 degree early April temperatures, and fished the whole day together.

I loaned my buddy the first junky fly rod and reel with fly line I ever owned, all of the above dating back to 1994, and he additionally borrowed leaky waders from another fisher friend in the area.

I gave my buddy a handful of flies and 7 year old leaders and tippet to send him on his way...  Sorry good friend  --  I just didn't have that much gear to loan at the time, as I admittedly was on a budget, and was at the time trying to get more into the sport, gear included...

Funny though, I don’t recall him actually landing a fish, and I do have a memory or two of him breaking off a fish or two of decent size...  Hmmm.  Wonder what the shelf-life is of tippet.?.?

I landed a good number of trout that day, and took a picture of one of them, which at the time was a fish to rest my laurels on, with pride.  I later learned that the fish in the photo below, as were probably most all of the other fish I landed, stocked fish at some point in their lives, despite this particular creek holding numerous wild trout.

After sharing this photo in excitement of my catch with a different fishing pal, I quickly received an email back from him that read, “Nice internet download”...

Most importantly, my ol' bait fishing pal from our childhood had a blast on this day, and he quickly bought himself all of the necessary good gear needed for the sport, from head to toe, and has never looked back.  I am fortunate to have him as a fishing friend.

Rusty's Rules

Rule #1  --  Nowhere within this site will you find stream names (other than those streams and rivers that are beyond well know in this world, and which are not a secret to anyone who fishes in this world).  Sometimes those well know and world famous streams and rivers may or may not be mentioned.  But if they are, I will not mention any location on any famous stream and river.

If you contact me asking for stream names unmentioned in this site, and/or locations on any famous stream or river mentioned within this site, you most likely will get a response from me; however, I promise any response will not include any stream or river name unmentioned, or any location on any famous stream or river previously mentioned.

There is a ton of trout water in this country and in this world.  When I am not on the water, I do enjoy the fun in exploring maps of watersheds, and all of the information that is now available to us fisherpeople, that was not available to us in the past.  Hoping and dreaming that a particular “unnamed” or “secret” stream or river may hold populations of wild trout, keeps me and my fishing pals going when we are not on the water.  Find your own special places and special waters.  Protect them, and keep them secret, and safe.


Rule #2  --  Go fish, and have fun !!

An Overview of the Early Years

At a small liberal arts college in Central Pennsylvania, I tried my best to become learned and educated during four years of undergraduate studies.  In the spring of 1994, my junior year of college, I went fly fishing for the first time with a couple of old friends, after buying waders and boots, a cheap fly rod and reel, a handful of flies that I tucked in my father’s father’s fly box, and then tucked that fly box in my grandfather’s old fly vest. 

I was quickly hooked to the sport, and from that first day until my graduation, I found it easy to rationalize going fishing on any given day, regardless of my class schedule.  There were trout to be caught in numerous streams and rivers just minutes from my college, and attending classes seemed trivial at the time.  I was fortunate enough to have a good number of great friends who shared the same mentality.

After a few fishing trips, I thought that I had a good handle on casting a fly rod and line, and choosing leaders, flies et al.  I caught fish, even wild, stream born fish, and had a blast every day I was on the water.  Looking back now, I fully know as fact that I sucked at the sport during all of those years, had no idea about anything regarding fly fishing, let alone any proper mechanics of casting a fly rod, and most importantly, proper fly presentation.

  

For certain, I enjoyed every day I fished with any number of fishing buddies over those 15 years, and all of the flora and fauna that comes with being near cold water streams and rivers.  Fish were caught by me and my buddies, for sure, but I personally had little idea what I may have done right to catch those fish, and really never took the time to think about what may have worked, and why.

Looking back now, on a scale of 1 to 10, I would rank my fly fishing abilities over those first 15 years of my fly fishing days at a consistent 1.0 or 1.5 out of 10 in every aspect of the sport.



I am no expert fly fisherman now, by any stretch of the imagination, but beginning in 2009, when I met a master fly fisherman who taught me more than I deserved to ever know in all aspects of the sport, I did get better, if by no other means than through osmosis.

A few trips from “the previous 15 years” are worth mentioning, just for fun, which is what I’ve always taken from any day enjoyed on the water.  Fun, that is not measurable in any shape or form, and enjoyment that I’d like to think has added days, months, maybe years onto my lifetime in this world.