Question:

Does anyone know of any good links or resources for current fishing reports on the Klamath? Thx

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FISH FIRST

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Here’s a few links.  The first one is updated every Wednesday.  The other two are interesting but I’m not sure if there accurate or updated very often.     If you want a good book I recommend  "Fishing Central Oregon" edited by GeofHill  published by Sun Publishing in Bend Oregon. BJC http://www.dfw.state.or.us/ http://www.steelheader.net/home/default.shtml http://www.fishsniffer.com/ – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Does anyone know of any good links or resources for current fishing reports on the Klamath? Thx

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So far all the posts are out of date or bait guide ads.  To find out what is really happening on the Klamath, Smith Eel and the Trinity, call Mike Kuczynski at the Eureka Fly shop at 800-435-9546 or e-mail him at Mike has 2-3 guide boats on the water daily and has the scoop.  I went with him in October but conditions are different now.  Lots of bad data put out on these rivers.  Read carefully. Tight lines. John – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Does anyone know of any good links or resources for current fishing reports on the Klamath? Thx

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The lower 30 miles of river fishes best with a fly in September. You need a jet boat for most of this water. That is from Klamath Glen to Weitchpec. In October the fishing is usually good from Orleans to Happy Camp. This is walk in fishing or drift boating. In these warmer months you can fish a floating line as long as the sun is not on the water you are fishing. After the sun hits the water, most anglers use a sinktip to get down a little. In November the water gets a little colder so most are using sinking lines and weighted flies. They have fishing all winter if it is a mild one. — Bill Kiene Kiene’s Fly Shop Sacramento, CA, USA www.kiene.com

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Does anyone know of any good links or resources for current fishing reports on the Klamath? Thx

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try westfly.com great site      

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Question:

Two of us are planning a ten-twelve day canoe trip in La Verendrye reserve in Quebec, late August to early September. Any advice on routes? We have the route maps put out by the reserve, but they’re a bit short on detail. Some specific questions: Are motor boats allowed anywhere in the area? We definitely don’t want to share the trip with them. The portages look pretty short and straightforward – are there any you’d avoid? Same thing with the river sections connecting the lakes – are any of them to stay clear of? (We also paddle Class 2 whitewater but are not taking a whitewater boat along, don’t want to run rapids on this trip.) The campsite density near Le Domaine looks very high – is it really very crowded there? Will the area be crowded over Labor Day weekend? Can you leave your car safely for a couple weeks at any of the other access points? Would you recommend bringing an emergency phone/locator system, or is that overkill? We’ve done a 12-day trip in Algonquin Park (from the northern access) and are looking for something similar, but a bit wilder with fewer other people. Any comments and recommnedations gratefully received!

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Two of us are planning a ten-twelve day canoe trip in La Verendrye reserve in Quebec, late August to early September. Any advice on routes? We have the route maps put out by the reserve, but they’re a bit short on detail. Some specific questions: Are motor boats allowed anywhere in the area? We definitely don’t want to share the trip with them.

Hunting and fishing are the primary activities in La Verendrye and fisherman can drive/fly into the lake they have purchased a license to fish in.  This means you are likely to encounter motorboats on any good sized lake along your route. The portages look pretty short and straightforward – are there any you’d avoid? Same thing with the river sections connecting the lakes – are any of them to stay clear of? (We also paddle Class 2 whitewater but are not taking a whitewater boat along, don’t want to run rapids on this trip.) The campsite density near Le Domaine looks very high – is it really very crowded there? Will the area be crowded over Labor Day weekend?

You can only count on the portages within the Le Domaine area being well maintained so it is hard to say what you will encounter elsewhere.   Can you leave your car safely for a couple weeks at any of the other access points?

This seems to be a problem.  One of our canoe club members suggests leaving your car empty and unlocked. Would you recommend bringing an emergency phone/locator system, or is that overkill?

That would be overkill considering the interior road network and the likelihood of encountering fisherman who have driven in. We’ve done a 12-day trip in Algonquin Park (from the northern access) and are looking for something similar, but a bit wilder with fewer other people.

La Verendrye has the advantage that you can select routes that are long but with relatively little portaging.  It is impossible to do a route of significant length in Algonquin without a considerable amount of portaging. — John Stewart — Computing and Communications Services, Carleton University "you are incompetent bloodlusting idiot pirates. — CCS student feedback"

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Question:

um…depends on the moment and method of collection… jeff (finally…a reason to be interested in tying)

Oh, I can picture it.  Jeffy standing on a street corner somewhere in Greensboro, scissors and little plastic baggies in hand – soliciting contributions. Good effin’ luck Peter

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um…depends on the moment and method of collection… jeff (finally…a reason to be interested in tying) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Waitaminute.. is that a dry fly or a wet fly?     "On the Sunday we arrived, I tied an outrageously colourful fly which featured a tuft of my wife’s pubic hair — Particle Salad/ Noom Room Studio http://home.earthlink.net/~psalad mp3 songs: http://www.mp3.com/particlesalad

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um…depends on the moment and method of collection…

Pffft. Joe F.

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Waitaminute.. is that a dry fly or a wet fly?     "On the Sunday we arrived, I tied an outrageously colourful fly which featured a tuft of my wife’s pubic hair

– Particle Salad/ Noom Room Studio http://home.earthlink.net/~psalad mp3 songs: http://www.mp3.com/particlesalad

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Waitaminute.. is that a dry fly or a wet fly?     "On the Sunday we arrived, I tied an outrageously colourful fly which featured a tuft of my wife’s pubic hair

This whole story smells a little fishy to me.  :P   minkaz – someone had to say it heheh

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While preparing for my move, I found an article from a major London newspaper that some one had sent me about four years ago.  Rather than editorialize (ok, I had to make one comment) it, I thought that this crowd would appreciate it. Fly fishermen find wifely charms provide new lure By Michael Hornsby, countryside correspondent.     Male anglers are going to indelicate lengths to test the age-old belief on the riverbank that female rivals possess some unfair magic enabling them to hook more and bigger fish.     Scientific research (albeit disputed) provides some support for the idea, suggesting that female pheromones, the bodily scents that attract members of the opposite sex, may work equally well in luring salmon and trout.     Anglers now claim to have proved the theory by incorporating strands of their wives’ pubic hair in the material used to make fishing flies. Disclosure of this dubious practice has provoked a risqu

Question:

Introduce yourself and tell us the town you live in/near. Might be someone could arrange a lesson, but also would help with giving you advise and contacts. Dave

I’d second Dave’s advice.  The first time you go out, it’s best to go out with someone who knows what they’re doing.  If you can find a club, you may be able to find someone who’ll take you out. Worst case, if you can afford it, you may want to consider hiring a guide for a day.  He can generally lend (or rent) you the equipment you’ll need, and you’ll at least get an idea of what the sport is about.  You might even catch a fish or two.  The cost of guides varies by region, anywhere from about $150 to $300/day.  If he does a good job, it’s traditional to tip 15-20% (or more, if they’re on the low end of the pay scale).  You can find a guide through your local shop, via ads in fly fishing magazines, or over the Internet. Once you’ve been out once, you can make an informed judgement about whether this is something you want to do.  You could then consider a fly fishing school….Again, you’d have some guidance, and would also meet other beginners in the area. As someone else said, there’s no substitute for time on the water and making your own mistakes.  However, I’d argue you’re better off having some sort of foundation from a guide/school to jump-start your learning curve. Michael — www.geocities.com/yosemite/falls/3363 Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.

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I would suggest visiting your local fly shop.  They will have the staff and expertise to point you in the right direction.  You may also want to consider purchasing or looking at some books at the local bookstore.  What do you plan to fish for? Maurice Paquette

I was thinking about picking up the hobby of fly fishing, but i have no idea where to begin. Nor do i know of anyone who fly fishes. I was wondering if anyone could help me out here, it would be greatly appreciated. — Posted via Talkway – http://www.talkway.com Exchange ideas on practically anything ™.

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JAMFF Introduce yourself and tell us the town you live in/near. Might be someone could arrange a lesson, but also would help with giving you advise and contacts. Dave – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was thinking about picking up the hobby of fly fishing, but i have no idea where to begin. Nor do i know of anyone who fly fishes. I was wondering if anyone could help me out here, it would be greatly appreciated. — Posted via Talkway – http://www.talkway.com Exchange ideas on practically anything ™.

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Books are fine, but just get out there on the water and fuck up time and again. There’s no substitute for experience. — visit my web site: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulff/ something bogus to avoid spam)

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First of all you will have to tell us what type of fish you are going for and what kind of water you are going to fish. Ernie Harrison See Ernie’s Fly-Fishing Stuff:   http://home.pacbell.net/ernie2 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was thinking about picking up the hobby of fly fishing, but i have no idea where to begin. Nor do i know of anyone who fly fishes. I was wondering if anyone could help me out here, it would be greatly appreciated. — Posted via Talkway – http://www.talkway.com Exchange ideas on practically anything ™.

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I was thinking about picking up the hobby of fly fishing, but i have no idea where to begin. Nor do i know of anyone who fly fishes. I was wondering if anyone could help me out here, it would be greatly appreciated. — Posted via Talkway – http://www.talkway.com Exchange ideas on practically anything ™.

        looks like the start of a beautiful friendship… wayno – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

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And if you’re gonna buy a book and know absolutely nothing about FFing, buy: Curtis Creek Manifesto And if you’re gonna watch a video, don’t watch: A River Runs Through It

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I started out..and still basically have taught myself. Through reading books and watching videos. If possible though try to find a local shop or club and join in or just start chattin with people, most will be happy to help. If you put down the area you live in, maybe someone in this group is near enough to give you some instruction. But if all else fails, buy a book. Tim Apple — The fishing is always good, It’s the catching that’s sometimes bad"

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was thinking about picking up the hobby of fly fishing, but i have no idea where to begin. Nor do i know of anyone who fly fishes. I was wondering if anyone could help me out here, it would be greatly appreciated. — Posted via Talkway – http://www.talkway.com Exchange ideas on practically anything ™.

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I was thinking about picking up the hobby of fly fishing, but i have no idea where to begin. Nor do i know of anyone who fly fishes. I was wondering if anyone could help me out here, it would be greatly appreciated. — Posted via Talkway – http://www.talkway.com Exchange ideas on practically anything ™.

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Question:

Tom , My friend your singing to The Choir .   Harry – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – :  #17-Outlaw all types of fishing in any of the river so reclamied. : After all it’s about the fish …right? You bet, Harry. I’m with you on that one. Rather than proposing to make it pure C+R, why not have a 1-weekend season? Hunting seems to work rather well like that. If the fish can handle pure C+R, they can handle some harvest. Why bias the policy against the vast majority of fishermen who like to keep some fish? : : 15.) Bill nations with an exorbitant military service fee for resolving their : wars with our military. This huge windfall of trillions of dollars would fund : the government. clean up the environment/save the wild fish and lower our : taxes. Should this be taken as "I’m not willing to pay for it myself"? Of course, sending a bill doesn’t mean you actually collect money. Do you *really* think we’d reap a "windfall"? No, if they have the money, rather than pay us, they’d keep that money and raise their own army. Then we’d be back to square one. It is in our own interest for these nations to not keep large standing armies. That’s what gives us the title "superpower". If a country had the money to build a strong military, it probably would not need US aid to protect itself from other nations. For example, England would not need US intervention in the foreseeable future, but Kosovo will. Meanwhile, the US spent over a billion dollars on Kosovo and we never see that money again. The US will end up fighting over there again without compensation because of Milosevic or some other tyrant and we will spend billions of dollars to try to solve a problem that will never be solved without 50 or more years of commitment. As far as I am concerned, the US environmental problems are more important than Kosovo. Congress whines "a Billion dollars has been spent on the salmon in the last 20 years….", but is a happy camper whenever we blow billions of dollars in a few weeks to try to rectify a problem that has existed for 1000’s of years in the false hope that we can make things better in a month of bombing when the Serbs and Kosovars have been intolerant of each other for hundreds, if not thousands of years. A few years of peacekeeping will not make things better and the US will spend more on Kosovo, a place more than 3000 miles away from America than it will on fixing our environmental problems in the next few years. When was Kosovo a part of the US? Is it the 51st state? It is wrong for the government to spend more money on Kosovo than it does for many states. I bet the people of Wyoming are pleased that the citizens of Kosovo get more Wyoming taxpayer dollars than the people of Wyoming. If Kosovo wants our help, they better pay their share of the taxes. Whenever Americans need improvements or protection, Americans pay their government for those services. Why should another nation who uses our Governement to solve their problems be absolved from paying for the services that they used? Anyways, the *real* question is how much are *you* willing to have *your* taxes increase to fund all of your points?  If you are not willing to pay for it yourself, then it’s all just hot air. no, I am willing to pay my taxes even with an increase, but the government should be efficient with the money it collects from taxpayers. It is not right for the government to spend billions of dollars on the problems of other nations while we have so many problems at home to solve. If the government is going to spend money on other nations, the government should demand payment for services rendered. I pay to fish by buying a license and that money is used to manage fisheries. My payment pays for the management services provided by my state. Why should the military be any different? If a country has a problem that has to be resolved by the military and they ask for our help, that US military aid should be paid for by the country that is asking for our help. What’s wrong with paying for services delivered? It’s ridiculous to let our tax dollars be spent without demanding compensation for what has been done. Spend the money on the salmon/steelhead, forests, waterways, educational system, infrastructure and technology instead of throwing money into a fire. Tom JonCook.

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Are there any other rivers in the lower 48 states that a summer Steelhead will take a fly on the surface?   I’ve had many days of ten fish on the Deschutes river in Oregon skating fly’s on the surface for Steelhead.  Wonder why they take a fly on the surface on the Deschutes, and not on other rivers? — Sharp Hooks, Pat Holdzit Fishing Products Inc. http://www.holdzit.com Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.

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At the right time and place they’ll take a dry on any water.

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I believe wild fish come to the surface more readily than planted fish. I know that Bill McMillan swears by surface fishing for steal head in his book Dry Line Fishing For Pacific Steelhead.

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I believe wild fish come to the surface more readily than planted fish. I know that Bill McMillan swears by surface fishing for steal head in his book Dry Line Fishing For Pacific Steelhead.

Hi All, There are two ways to dry fly fish for steelhead. Waking or skating dry flies and dead drifting dry flies. We met an old English angler on the Bulkley River in B.C. who said that the only tasteful way was to dead drift dries. I think wild fish are preferable. Sun off the water and 60 degree water temperater also can help. You are looking for water that is less than 10 feet deep, moving at a medium speed and with a pretty smooth surface. Maybe late September, early October? There are less Steelhead than ever, but if you want to work hard enough for them, they can still be found.

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There are less Steelhead than ever, but if you want to work hard enough for them, they can still be found.

Why do you think that is, Bill? I mean, why are there fewer steelhead than ever? — something bogus to avoid spam)

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says… There are less Steelhead than ever, but if you want to work hard enough for them, they can still be found. Why do you think that is, Bill? I mean, why are there fewer steelhead than ever?

Excessive commercial fishing pressure, improperly designed dams, water pollution, destruction of habitat and improperly managed sport fisheries….. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text — something bogus to avoid spam)

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If you catch enough steelhead, the nonsense about a difference between hatchery and wild fish becomes obvious.  I have always found steelhead come up for dries best in the tail of a pool, usually on a side.  Probably just less water overhead and that they usually are found in this area at the start and end of the day which probably means they have not been disturbed for some time.  If you spot a fish in such a location, a little skate when the fly is about 2 foot above the fish’s lie helps. Fred – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I believe wild fish come to the surface more readily than planted fish. I know that Bill McMillan swears by surface fishing for steal head in his book Dry Line Fishing For Pacific Steelhead.

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There are less Steelhead than ever, but if you want to work hard enough for them, they can still be found. Why do you think that is, Bill? I mean, why are there fewer steelhead than ever? — something bogus to avoid spam)

I started fishing steelhead in the 60s in northern California. It was still pretty good fishing then, but the older guys really saw it in it’s ‘hay days’. I have fished with an old group of anglers that fished for them heavily from the end of W W II till just recently. Mostly, they are too old to wade and secondly in the last 10 years they have lost interest. We still have a pretty strong younger group that travel up and down the northwest coast of North America. I have listened to them tell the stories of fishing 50 years ago on the great un-damed rivers of North America. The mighty Russian, Eel, Trinity, Klamath, Rogue, Umpqua and on up through Oregon, Washington and the great rivers of British Columbia. It is a crime what we let happen to our great rivers. We mostly wipped out the wild steelhead in the 1900s. Bad logging, too many dams, de-watering and agriculture have lead to the loss of habitate for the might ‘Iron Head’. Commercial netting up north in BC is to blame also. If they could just start working on some of the good rivers that are left we could save some wild steelhead stocks. I have been thinking about this for the last 10 years. Take a few rivers and turn them back to wild rivers with no hatchery fish. Close them for 10 years and build back up a good population. No logging on the drainage. No dams. No more roads. Steelhead should all be wild and all be catch and release. If you have caught wild steelhead on a fly rod with a floating line and dry or unweighted steelhead fly, you can understand this kind of thinking. Hell, if you caught a wild steelhead on any kind of tackle you would understand. Rather than complain all the time, we should try to save what is left.

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says… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – There are less Steelhead than ever, but if you want to work hard enough for them, they can still be found. Why do you think that is, Bill? I mean, why are there fewer steelhead than ever? — something bogus to avoid spam) I started fishing steelhead in the 60s in northern California. It was still pretty good fishing then, but the older guys really saw it in it’s ‘hay days’. I have fished with an old group of anglers that fished for them heavily from the end of W W II till just recently. Mostly, they are too old to wade and secondly in the last 10 years they have lost interest. We still have a pretty strong younger group that travel up and down the northwest coast of North America. I have listened to them tell the stories of fishing 50 years ago on the great un-damed rivers of North America. The mighty Russian, Eel, Trinity, Klamath, Rogue, Umpqua and on up through Oregon, Washington and the great rivers of British Columbia. It is a crime what we let happen to our great rivers. We mostly wipped out the wild steelhead in the 1900s. Bad logging, too many dams, de-watering and agriculture have lead to the loss of habitate for the might ‘Iron Head’. Commercial netting up north in BC is to blame also. If they could just start working on some of the good rivers that are left we could save some wild steelhead stocks. I have been thinking about this for the last 10 years. Take a few rivers and turn them back to wild rivers with no hatchery fish. Close them for 10 years and build back up a good population. No logging on the drainage. No dams. No more roads. Steelhead should all be wild and all be catch and release. If you have caught wild steelhead on a fly rod with a floating line and dry or unweighted steelhead fly, you can understand this kind of thinking. Hell, if you caught a wild steelhead on any kind of tackle you would understand. Rather than complain all the time, we should try to save what is left.

I think the steelhead and salmon could come back to historic proportions if the following things were done: 1.) All remaining undammed rivers are allowed to flow freely for eternity. 2.) Cities built near spawning habitat should be forced stop all development     near the spawning habitat. 3.) Ban commercial fishing for coldwater fish in the sea or freshwater. Catch     and Release only for wild stocks and certain hatchery stocks should be     maintained to create fisheries for the average angler while saving the     wild fish with prudent management. Seafood farming (the planting and     raising of seafood)would be implemented instead of commercial fishing. 4.) Train and pay former commercial fishermen to help study and protect the         fish stocks.     5.) Create tree farms for necessary lumber and ban logging in pristine         forests. Hire loggers to log the tree farms and use their expertise to             assist in the reclaimation of logged forests. Train loggers to fight         forest fires, maintain national parks and use their forestry skills             /training to help wilderness areas. 6.) retrofit all amenable dams with fish ladders to allow fish migration. 7.) breach all dams that cannot be retrofitted to help the salmon/steelhead         migrations. 8.) All hatchery plantings be restricted to planting native river stocks only     and augmenting the hatchery stock by a yearly infusion of native river.     stocks. 9.) Ban all logging, development and restrict access in sensitive areas. 10.) Reward organizations and industrial firms by giving huge tax breaks to companies that actively seek to help the environment by complying with the environmental regulations. 11.) Punish (15,000% tax rate)all firms that show wanton disregard for the environment by heavy taxation. 12.) Punish firms that try to leave the US in effort to circumvent the rules with a 20,000% tax rate. 13.) Punish (100,000% tax rate) rogue firms that try to lay off workers to offset financial punishments due to environmental callousness and ineptitude. 14.) after implementation of rules 10-13, all firms will be in compliance as it will be unprofitable to intentionally pollute. 15.) Bill nations with an exorbitant military service fee for resolving their wars with our military. This huge windfall of trillions of dollars would fund the government. clean up the environment/save the wild fish and lower our taxes. 16.) With the 15 rules above, the salmon, steelhead and other wild stocks would be saved, fisheries for the average angler would exist, the environment would be cleaner, the old growth forest would remain, wars would cease, loggers would still be employed, development would be carefully controlled, taxes would be lower, the military would be superpowerful/well funded and we would have enough money to enhance America’s future and resolve many of our problems.

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – :  #17-Outlaw all types of fishing in any of the river so reclamied. : After all it’s about the fish …right? You bet, Harry. I’m with you on that one. Rather than proposing to make it pure C+R, why not have a 1-weekend season? Hunting seems to work rather well like that. If the fish can handle pure C+R, they can handle some harvest. Why bias the policy against the vast majority of fishermen who like to keep some fish? : : 15.) Bill nations with an exorbitant military service fee for resolving their : wars with our military. This huge windfall of trillions of dollars would fund : the government. clean up the environment/save the wild fish and lower our : taxes. Should this be taken as "I’m not willing to pay for it myself"? Of course, sending a bill doesn’t mean you actually collect money. Do you *really* think we’d reap a "windfall"? No, if they have the money, rather than pay us, they’d keep that money and raise their own army. Then we’d be back to square one. It is in our own interest for these nations to not keep large standing armies. That’s what gives us the title "superpower".

If a country had the money to build a strong military, it probably would not need US aid to protect itself from other nations. For example, England would not need US intervention in the foreseeable future, but Kosovo will. Meanwhile, the US spent over a billion dollars on Kosovo and we never see that money again. The US will end up fighting over there again without compensation because of Milosevic or some other tyrant and we will spend billions of dollars to try to solve a problem that will never be solved without 50 or more years of commitment. As far as I am concerned, the US environmental problems are more important than Kosovo. Congress whines "a Billion dollars has been spent on the salmon in the last 20 years….", but is a happy camper whenever we blow billions of dollars in a few weeks to try to rectify a problem that has existed for 1000’s of years in the false hope that we can make things better in a month of bombing when the Serbs and Kosovars have been intolerant of each other for hundreds, if not thousands of years. A few years of peacekeeping will not make things better and the US will spend more on Kosovo, a place more than 3000 miles away from America than it will on fixing our environmental problems in the next few years. When was Kosovo a part of the US? Is it the 51st state? It is wrong for the government to spend more money on Kosovo than it does for many states. I bet the people of Wyoming are pleased that the citizens of Kosovo get more Wyoming taxpayer dollars than the people of Wyoming. If Kosovo wants our help, they better pay their share of the taxes. Whenever Americans need improvements or protection, Americans pay their government for those services. Why should another nation who uses our Governement to solve their problems be absolved from paying for the services that they used? Anyways, the *real* question is how much are *you* willing to have *your* taxes increase to fund all of your points?  If you are not willing to pay for it yourself, then it’s all just hot air.

no, I am willing to pay my taxes even with an increase, but the government should be efficient with the money it collects from taxpayers. It is not right for the government to spend billions of dollars on the problems of other nations while we have so many problems at home to solve. If the government is going to spend money on other nations, the government should demand payment for services rendered. I pay to fish by buying a license and that money is used to manage fisheries. My payment pays for the management services provided by my state. Why should the military be any different? If a country has a problem that has to be resolved by the military and they ask for our help, that US military aid should be paid for by the country that is asking for our help. What’s wrong with paying for services delivered? It’s ridiculous to let our tax dollars be spent without demanding compensation for what has been done. Spend the money on the salmon/steelhead, forests, waterways, educational system, infrastructure and technology instead of throwing money into a fire. Tom – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -JonCook.

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 #17-Outlaw all types of fishing in any of the river so reclamied. After all it’s about the fish …right? HM – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – says… There are less Steelhead than ever, but if you want to work hard enough for them, they can still be found. Why do you think that is, Bill? I mean, why are there fewer steelhead than ever? — something bogus to avoid spam) I started fishing steelhead in the 60s in northern California. It was still pretty good fishing then, but the older guys really saw it in it’s ‘hay days’. I have fished with an old group of anglers that fished for them heavily from the end of W W II till just recently. Mostly, they are too old to wade and secondly in the last 10 years they have lost interest. We still have a pretty strong younger group that travel up and down the northwest coast of North America. I have listened to them tell the stories of fishing 50 years ago on the great un-damed rivers of North America. The mighty Russian, Eel, Trinity, Klamath, Rogue, Umpqua and on up through Oregon, Washington and the great rivers of British Columbia. It is a crime what we let happen to our great rivers. We mostly wipped out the wild steelhead in the 1900s. Bad logging, too many dams, de-watering and agriculture have lead to the loss of habitate for the might ‘Iron Head’. Commercial netting up north in BC is to blame also. If they could just start working on some of the good rivers that are left we could save some wild steelhead stocks. I have been thinking about this for the last 10 years. Take a few rivers and turn them back to wild rivers with no hatchery fish. Close them for 10 years and build back up a good population. No logging on the drainage. No dams. No more roads. Steelhead should all be wild and all be catch and release. If you have caught wild steelhead on a fly rod with a floating line and dry or unweighted steelhead fly, you can understand this kind of thinking. Hell, if you caught a wild steelhead on any kind of tackle you would understand. Rather than complain all the time, we should try to save what is left. I think the steelhead and salmon could come back to historic proportions if the following things were done: 1.) All remaining undammed rivers are allowed to flow freely for eternity. 2.) Cities built near spawning habitat should be forced stop all development    near the spawning habitat. 3.) Ban commercial fishing for coldwater fish in the sea or freshwater. Catch    and Release only for wild stocks and certain hatchery stocks should be    maintained to create fisheries for the average angler while saving the    wild fish with prudent management. Seafood farming (the planting and    raising of seafood)would be implemented instead of commercial fishing. 4.) Train and pay former commercial fishermen to help study and protect the         fish stocks.         5.) Create tree farms for necessary lumber and ban logging in pristine         forests. Hire loggers to log the tree farms and use their expertise to             assist in the reclaimation of logged forests. Train loggers to fight         forest fires, maintain national parks and use their forestry skills             /training to help wilderness areas. 6.) retrofit all amenable dams with fish ladders to allow fish migration. 7.) breach all dams that cannot be retrofitted to help the salmon/steelhead         migrations. 8.) All hatchery plantings be restricted to planting native river stocks only     and augmenting the hatchery stock by a yearly infusion of native river.    stocks. 9.) Ban all logging, development and restrict access in sensitive areas. 10.) Reward organizations and industrial firms by giving huge tax breaks to companies that actively seek to help the environment by complying with the environmental regulations. 11.) Punish (15,000% tax rate)all firms that show wanton disregard for the environment by heavy taxation. 12.) Punish firms that try to leave the US in effort to circumvent the rules with a 20,000% tax rate. 13.) Punish (100,000% tax rate) rogue firms that try to lay off workers to offset financial punishments due to environmental callousness and ineptitude. 14.) after implementation of rules 10-13, all firms will be in compliance as it will be unprofitable to intentionally pollute. 15.) Bill nations with an exorbitant military service fee for resolving their wars with our military. This huge windfall of trillions of dollars would fund the government. clean up the environment/save the wild fish and lower our taxes. 16.) With the 15 rules above, the salmon, steelhead and other wild stocks would be saved, fisheries for the average angler would exist, the environment would be cleaner, the old growth forest would remain, wars would cease, loggers would still be employed, development would be carefully controlled, taxes would be lower, the military would be superpowerful/well funded and we would have enough money to enhance America’s future and resolve many of our problems.

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Question:

Why is anyone bothering to answer questions about catfish BAIT? This is FLYFISHING. We don’t use BAIT.

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I have found that a ball of chicken liver on a medium size treble hook works well in most situations.

BBBbbbbbbut chicken liver flies right off the hook when you’re fly fishing.  Fresh pork skin is the best way for the fly fisherman —  * Center for Computational Biology  * Montana State Bozeman  (406) 994-7061  * http://www.nervana.montana.edu/~sandy */

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Hey…. Martha Stuart of Flyfishing <g <g <g Yuk Yuk Yuk !!! Are you still using the Hot Glue gun to tie your flies (I just came across your article from the Disco era) ?. I (obviously) found it amusing as hell….sorry…<g I also saw your foam nymphs in the Umpqua book…congratulations… — TimW Halfordian Golfer

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We don’t use BAIT.

Gary C. "Lie ? Me ? Never!  No, no, no, the truth is far too much fun !" – Captain Hook

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Why is anyone bothering to answer questions about catfish BAIT? This is FLYFISHING. We don’t use BAIT.

    Some of us not only flyfish, but on occasion I personally enjoy sitting down on the old river bank and do some bait chucking while relaxing on a lawn chair…..     For catties, a ball of Valetta cheese works pretty good.  Nothing however beats the good old nightcrawler though for catching the greatest variety of all fish in local streams, lakes, and rivers…..     I guess I should thank who started this thread, the water is a little unwadeable at my favorite flyfishing stream, maybe I’ll have to get my spinning outfits out today and grab a can of worms and go drown some worms this weekend ) –Randy

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Beginning angler, need advice: What would be best live/artificial Baits to catch Catfish & Bass? What should be the best locations in the streams (no current, fast current, ponds, depths, etc…) where Catfish or Bass are concentrated? Thank you very much indeed.

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Brian, I haven’t done alot of catfishing but I ran across a guy the other day and he said he uses a product called junnies (do a search on the web). he said he bought the stuff off the internet and that a catfish guide told him about it he stated that the guide had the maker come fishing with him and they caught 10 to 1 (maker vs. guide). I do alot of creek fishing and catch alot of bass. I use a lure by rebel called a creek hopper. On a good day I catch and relese about 30 (1/2lb to 1 1/2lds) bass and no telling how many sunfish. you can also check: <A HREF="http:www.tn-outdoors.comtn-outdoors.com</A for other fishing and hunting articles. happy fishing Larry

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I have found that a ball of chicken liver on a medium size treble hook works well in most situations. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Beginning angler, need advice: What would be best live/artificial Baits to catch Catfish & Bass? What should be the best locations in the streams (no current, fast current, ponds, depths, etc…) where Catfish or Bass are concentrated? Thank you very much indeed.

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I have a question:  how do you get the chicken livers to stay on the hook.  I got some fresh chicken livers to use for bait and they were the consistancy of mush.  I would have had a better chance of trying to put grape jelly on the hook.  I have heard you can freeze them but this seems like a messy job.   Any suggestions you can give would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.   – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have found that a ball of chicken liver on a medium size treble hook works well in most situations. Beginning angler, need advice: What would be best live/artificial Baits to catch Catfish & Bass? What should be the best locations in the streams (no current, fast current, ponds, depths, etc…) where Catfish or Bass are concentrated? Thank you very much indeed.

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Question:

Lost my hiking hat in the Chattooga River above Dam Sluice on section one . White hat with many patches from South Carolina state parks, Canadian National Parks (Fundy, Cape Breton, and Gros Morne) patches, and Foothills Trail patches. A lot of memories down the river! If found,  please e-mail: Thank you. James Alverson

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I tried out a couple Feathercraft folding kayaks today and was quite surprised at how well they handled.  I’m seriously thinking about getting one because of the ease of storage and transport. I’d appreciate any experiences you may have with Feathercraft or any other folding kayaks.  I’m mostly interested in ocean day trips and maybe playing in the surf. Thanks,   Ray Roux

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I tried out a couple Feathercraft folding kayaks today and was quite surprised at how well they handled.  I’m seriously thinking about getting one because of the ease of storage and transport. I’d appreciate any experiences you may have with Feathercraft or any other folding kayaks.  I’m mostly interested in ocean day trips and maybe playing in the surf. Thanks,  Ray Roux

You didn’t mention which models you tried, which is important since they have four singles (in order of size) K-Light, Short Touring, K-1, Khatsalano.  Each has its benefits and idiosyncracies. Probably the best for playing in surf is the Short Touring.  It is around 13.5 feet in length but is a whitewater boat at heart and will turn on a dime.  It is also the strongest boat they make in that it incorporates square aluminum tubing as opposed to round (BTW, the hull on all of them is the same, high grade, expedition weight hypalon sourced from France, perhaps the best source for such).  The square stuff is also used in the company’s double, the K-2.  The Short Touring is a bit more difficult for sea kayaking and does require the flip-up skeg option or a rudder to go straight (the skeg is the better of the options for this as all you are looking for is tracking). The K-Light is also a good choice all around for day trips, open water and some surfing.  It is lighter built than other models but tracks well, turns well, and is a delight to paddle; its shorter length, 12 ft. 10 inches also makes it nice for surfing.  The price is right too at $1800 (the other models are considerably more with the Short Touring at around $3000 if I’m not mistaken.). The K-1 tracks extremely well and is a full-fledged ocean touring boat. Like any regular sea kayak it is a bit limited in surf playing but will get you through a surf okay.  It costs just shy of $4000, so consider this choice carefully.  If camping is your game and you want to take weeks of goodies, this is the boat. (It’s around 16 feet long) The Khatsalano, the newest model of the Feathercraft fleet, is a true Greenland styled boat, narrow in beam, upswept ends, and almost 18 feet long.  It comes in two versions, with and without air tubes or sponsons along the side (most foldables have such perimeter tubes including all the Feathercraft mentioned previously).  Both do require good bracing skills and are best for those who know all the Greenland style paddling, bracing, rolling and sculling techniques.  The one with air tubes is the more easily manageable with only a token level of such skills.  The one without demands you have such skills in spades.  It is a $4100 boat, quite expensive. I really would like to answer your question about experiences with other folding kayaks but that would take tons of space and time since I’ve been in just about all of them over the last eight years and even wrote a book regarding folding kayaks.  You might do well to go to one of those coffee shops masquerading as bookstores, get a copy of my book (The Complete Folding Kayaker, McGraw-Hill, 1994) and read over an expresso or latte to learn more about the range of possibilities with folding kayaks and specifics on other available models. If you have specific questions regarding any model, e-mail me or call. ralph diaz — Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 "Where’s your sea kayak?"—-"It’s in the bag."

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Following up on my last post (pardon me): Get a copy of Ralph Diaz’ book _The Complete Folding Kayaker_.  It has a lot of information on folding boats and if the comments on the K-1 are any guide I’d say the information presented is very accurate and reliable. If you want a really beautiful boat, look at the Feathercraft Khatsolano, a Greenland-style boat.  If I were buying now, and assuming it turned out to be not too advanced a boat for me, I’d probably buy the Khat or maybe the "-S" version (with sponsons) jut because it is gorgeous.

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: I tried out a couple Feathercraft folding kayaks today and was quite : surprised at how well they handled.  I’m seriously thinking about getting : one because of the ease of storage and transport. : I’d appreciate any experiences you may have with Feathercraft or any : other folding kayaks.  I’m mostly interested in ocean day trips and maybe : playing in the surf. : Thanks, :   Ray Roux I bought a Feathercraft K-Light this spring. I really like the way

it handles, although have not yet used it in heavy waves. It went very well in strong headwinds and I was able to keep it nicely on course with side winds. (I do not have a rudder), Re. assembly. I keep mine assembled and car top it, but have taken it down and put it together 3 times now. The first time took me (blush) an hour and a half, straight from the box. The second time was 30 minutes, and the last time including greasing all the connections and putting on the two hatch covers, 25 minutes. I think I can do much better than that with a little practice. It helps to mark some of the parts so that I know which way round they go. I have used the boat on lakes so far, but plan to take it to the coast any chance I get.There seems to be lots of room for gear and I think I could easily pack it for a week’s trip. Hope this helps.

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I tried out a couple Feathercraft folding kayaks today and was quite surprised at how well they handled.  I’m seriously thinking about getting one because of the ease of storage and transport. I’d appreciate any experiences you may have with Feathercraft or any other folding kayaks.  I’m mostly interested in ocean day trips and maybe playing in the surf.

We have two K-1’s and have done a little paddling in them so far — in Puget Sound, off Monterey, and off San Diego.  In this admittedly limited experience we found them to be stable (noticeably more so than the hardshells I’ve tried), reasonably fast (better than some plastic boats I’ve tried; I don’t have experience in fancy Kevlar boats to compare), comfortable, roomy (we were able to fit camping gear, a two-burner Coleman stove, and a pair of crutches in ours without problems), of high build quality (after inspecting the pieces, I understand why they cost so much — there is a ton of machining, welding, anodizing, sewing, etc. in each boat; much more manufacturing effort than in hardshells), easy to store in the closet and ship by airplane, and (the only negatives) heavy to haul around (at the airport, rent a baggage cart!) and rather a chore to put together (despite practice, it still takes me 1/2 hour per boat with some effort.)   All in all, we love our boats and even if I had a garage to store a fully-assembled boat in, I’d probably still buy a Feathercraft because I like how it paddles and _love_ being able to fly somewhere fun and then paddle _my_ boat, not some rental boat.  I’d just leave it assembled! The K-1s track well, turn well with rudder and OK without (keeping in mind that it is a sea kayak meant to go straight.)  I haven’t much surf experience and can’t say how they would handle there.  The sea sock makes me feel very secure and the hatches seem pretty much watertight.   There is less water at the bottom of my wife’s boat after a day of paddling (1cup) than in the typical plastic boats we’ve tried; my boat may have a little "weep" or maybe I’m just a messy guy since there is usually a little more (2 cups), but again not a troublesome amount.  The hulls show no damage or really any wear, although we are careful with them too. I also demo’d the K-Light and thought it was a nice boat, and the lower price and 33-pound weight was tempting.  Because we wanted room for week-long trips, we went for the K-1’s.  The longer wider boat also felt a little more reassuring.  We also tried the K-2 but had no prior experience in a double so can’t really comment. One thing about the Feathercrafts: because of their hardshell-style cockpits they aren’t so handy for fishing, carrying coolers to the beach party, lazing around and getting a tan, and so on.  If I wanted more versatility I would also look at the Klepper and Folbot which have open cockpits.

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: I tried out a couple Feathercraft folding kayaks today and was quite : surprised at how well they handled.  I’m seriously thinking about getting : one because of the ease of storage and transport. : I’d appreciate any experiences you may have with Feathercraft or any : other folding kayaks.  I’m mostly interested in ocean day trips and maybe : playing in the surf. : Thanks, :   Ray Roux Hello Ray, I bought a Feathercraft K-1 last summer and have been out in it around 18 times. I also bought it for its convenience in storage (I live in an apartment) and I also was very impressed with how it handled. BUT, I have found that the assembly and disassembly is a pain when one is using it primarily for day trips. It really takes 45 minutes to an hour to assemble and another 45 minutes to disassemble. When one just wants to get out for a day’s paddle that extra 1-2 hours is a drag.  And if one is paddling with folks who have hardshells, they aren’t too happy waiting for one to put part A into part B.  I now leave my boat assembled for the season (My landlord lets me store it in the basement). If you are ONLY interested in day trips (I do plan to do kayak touring) then you should consider the smaller Feathercraft. The K-Light is said to be much much easier to assemble and disassemble and also is highly rated for handling. The K-light is also a lot less expensive that the K-1. –Doug Denholm —         P.O. Box 79226                       Waverley, MA 02179     "We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it."  

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Question:

After a long break away from fly fishing (but fishing extensively in salt water), I want to begin fly fishing for stripers. In an attempt to start out with a decent but not overly expensive rod, I was considering purchasing a 9 weight Cabela’s Fish Eagle PT rod for $140.00. Comments please. Thank you. Baron Briggs

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start out with a decent but not overly expensive rod, I was considering purchasing a 9 weight Cabela’s Fish Eagle PT rod for $140.00. Comments please.

I have the PT in the 4 weight 4 piece.  My favorite rod, over and above my others from Orvis, Redington, etc.  However, the rod is somewhat slow, and I’m not sure if the 9wts are similar.  If so, a faster rod may be better for throwing into wind, bigger flies, etc.  Btw, Cabela’s Cahill reels are fine for trout and bluegill (I have 3 of them), but I doubt they’d be sturdy enough for saltwater/big fish. Jerry Cobb Nashville, TN

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Question:

If I hear Flip Pallet’s bogus into, with his burning of the memories onto film line one more time, I think I’ll go crazy.

Response:

If I hear Flip Pallet’s bogus into, with his burning of the memories onto film line one more time, I think I’ll go crazy.

I enjoy Pallot’s show most of all the ESPN shows.  I do wish that he would spend more time on technique and tackle, without brand names unless they are critical to his recommendations.

Response:

If I hear Flip Pallet’s bogus into, with his burning of the memories onto film line one more time, I think I’ll go crazy. I enjoy Pallot’s show most of all the ESPN shows.  I do wish that he would

spend more time on technique and tackle, without brand names unless they are critical to his recommendations.         The same could be said about "Flyfishing the World".  The host spends way too much time waxing poetic and mooning over whatever celebrity he happens to have invited along for that weeks show.  (By the way, has anyone else out there found new respect for that chair tossing sumbitch Bobby Knight?) Consequently, the show spends far too little time detailing tackle and technique.           Mark Sosin is the best of the lot in this regard.         RF         Cedar Falls, Iowa      

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Perhaps not so bogus: Walker’s Cay Chronicle is actually shot on film, not video and when processed, film developer actually "burns" the photosensitive emulsion into the film. Imagine that.

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Perhaps your observation about Flip’s intro is valid, but I’d be interested to know if you were ever offered $1800 to guide a day of fishing.  I understand that’s his going rate.  If I got to fish and make that kind of money at the same time, I probably wouldn’t have reservations about being a little hokey myself.

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Question:

I,ll be in Missoula May 5-12.  Whenever I get to Montana I like to make the best of it! I have never fished there in early May.  What can I expect?

Response:

Early may can be an excellent ime for our rivers. As long as the runoff hasn’t started, which is usually late may, there will be dry fly activity as well as streamer and nymph fishing. One of my favorite hatches at that time is the Skwala hatch, an olive stonefly.Also there will be Ameletus, a large black mayfly. If you like streamer fishing, there will be plenty of opportunities to fish large nymphs and streamers to imitate the salmonfly which would be hatching within two to four weeks of when you plan to be there. I’m a local guide and would be glad to offer any advice. Tight Lines! Brian D. Nelson

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