Don't call it a comeback!

Well in less than 16 hours I will board a plane returning me to Alaska for 6 more weeks, so home and family has been a priority the last few days.. but when Nate over at "confessions of a ninety percenter" e-mailed that he had a hot Chinook lead it was hard to hide. Caron as always picked up on it and asked what my deal was, I told her and surprisingly she said "you really should go" as nice as that sounds of her I really believe she is just trying to get one step closer to meeting Nates wife in hopes of finding a fishing widow shop-a-holic friend... and I guess I endorse her motives. Anyway 3:45 a.m came extra early and I stumbled into the truck with high hopes and headed for the Sandy river an hour away to meet Nate. The morning started with a slow Oregon drizzle that progressed to a blanket hatch of rain, which Oregon salmon fishermen pray for. The morning started slow with us checking out a few spots but ending up where were started. we split up and I bush whacked upriver for about a mile, gave up and returned to Nate to hear the story of a hook up, a battle, and a spit hook.. OK, theres fish around. I walked upstream a bit of Nate and stood there for a moment and noticed he was re-rigging so I did what all good fishing buddies do, I swung ny vibrex right through the slot in front of him and was greeted by a solid hard pulling thump...Fish on! I sung out with a slight tone of guilt in my voice.. played a chrome brite hen for who knows how long while Nate video taped it ( check out his blog later this week for the premier ) Finally landed her and the day was mine. Nate actually had more action but the fish just wouldn't stick.. some days your the hammer... and some days your the nail I guess. So as the monsoon turned the water to bait only quality I headed home, with a feeling of redemption.. have had some bad luck the last few weeks, hopefully the worm has turned-

Calling all readers!

Ok, this is a little shameless but I have entered a caption contest on the Hopper Jaun blog, some sweet montana fly co. swag goes to the winner... and I want to win! The blog is a sweet blog and ive been lurking on it for some time, but finally made an attempt at one of his contests. Soooo, if you feel like going over and checking it out please consider voting for my comment " throw your purse at it" or I guess if you like one of the other 4 finalist better, vote for them... but check it out if you have the time. You can find the post at hopperjaun.blogspot.com Thanks and tight lines-

Gearing back up

Well the grieving time has passed and its time to move on. With my departure back to Alaska only 6 days away I'm in need of a few new rods. I plan on hitting Cabelas tomorrow for a new 5 or 6 wt C.G.R and I'm thinking of buying an Echo switch rod for the rest of my Alaska fishing this summer, maybe its time for something new. Anyway just thought I would fill you all in on what I have in mind... stay tuned for more adventures, they are only beginning-

Theft ends the C.G.R chronicals

Its over, my rod is gone, actually most of my rods are now gone, I don't even own a modern reel anymore. The details are unimportant.. but since the 7/8 C.G.R is gone I won't be posting any more war story's for it, I was on the verge of purchasing a 5 wt but I don't think I care anymore.. cabelas can send me a new one if they feel like it, but since the Riverkeeper only has 31 readers I doubt that will happen. So I guess I will kick around and find a new rod to flout the attributes of, I'm thinking of contacting Steffen Rods and commissioning the build of a sweet 8 wt steel head rod, but that will take a while, maybe I will win a sweet review of something on the Outdoor Blogger Network.. who knows.. the cabelas rod was worth the money and performed past my expectations and I would definitely recommend one to anyone who wants a sweet glass rod. Here the last photo of the last fish my beloved rod beached... good bye my friend.. it was fun-

Cabelas C.G.R and North Idaho Bass

Well after returning home last week from a long stint in Alaska it was time to head to hope Idaho for a few days of fishing and family time. I had been looking forward to some trout fishing on the Clarke Fork and the Pack River, but apparently the huge snow pack and the warmer weather had conspired against me by blowing both rivers out. I walked around the condos basically feeling sorry for myself when I spotted a rather large small mouth sitting on a Redd... and the whole direction of the week changed in a heartbeat. Now im not one to typically chase Bass, but I'm also not one to turn his back on an opportunity so bass fisher I became. Armed with my newer cabelas 7 wt and a box of trout flies ( the black buggers and purple egg sucking leeches were the stars of the show ) I polished off the remainder of that day with 12 small mouths and 2 large mouths.. not bad for a steelhead/trout guy I thought. I lost alot of fish the first few days to docks, rocks and weeds, the 4 lb tippet I had just wasn't enough for fish that are such talented escape artist. I managed to round up some 12 lb izor line and put an end to that problem. The glass rod was amazing, fought the heavier fish very well and was still soft enough in the tip to make the smaller fish enjoyable. I know I have always called them ditch pickles, but I have to admit they were worthy adversaries in a time of need.. no Bass were killed in the making of this post- Happy Independence day-