Monday, October 31, 2011

John's first Steelhead

I fished the Methow the for 5 days over last weekend into early this last week. The water was real loowww and real clear but felt fishy. The fishing preassure wasn't bad at all if you float. Most days we were the only boat on our float. The weather was amazing, warmer than usual and with the fall colors and some sun it was absolutely beautiful. I would love to have a place over there some day.   
Methow Steelhead

Since I have been back I have been doing casting classes and schools. On the local scene fishing has been pretty good. There is a decent number of coho around and more chums showing up daily.
One of our guys on Wednesday class hooked a huge chum that fought like crazy. We were getting close to landing it when it made it's last run and the guy broke it off. He had only caught trout before that. Needless to say he was blown away by the fish's strength.
A good sized chum could keep you busy for a while not to mention wear your arm out.

I will be fishing locally for Coho, chum salmon and dollys in between trips to the Methow River for steelies. I do have availability for some of these trips if interested. I have a guy looking for a partner for Nov. 19th on the skagit for Chums/silvers/dollys.
I am also starting to book for the winter/spring steelhead season on the Olympic Peninsula and locally (when/if open). It would be nice if we could get our local wild steelhead runs back up in fishable numbers for a catch and release season but it looks like things are going the other direction.There is a push to shut our local rivers down 2 weeks earlier to the end of Jan. Some of my local gear friends may loose there sturgeon fisheries too. Slowly we get less and less. Instead of complaining I'll try to help. Here is a link to check out about a new political organization that will fight for anglers and our fish -  http://washingtonanglerspac.com/
 
WACPAC is a recreational fisherman supported Political Action Committee that provides funding for candidates for state legislative and state-wide political office in Washington State. Recipients of PAC funds are selected based on their willingness to listen to our message and share our vision of Conserving our State’s Marine Resources. WACPAC is committed to making Washington a world class fishery by restoring our wild Salmon & Steelhead runs and protecting our sturgeon, bottom fish and crab.
Happy fishing,
Mike and Dennis Dickson

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Post G.R. 2011


Tony's Wild Steelhead


I recently got back from a few weeks of fishing on the Grande Ronde. The season was bitter sweet.
Dad ran a few trips on the lower Ronde before I got there and gave me good reports of nice numbers of wild fish they were catching. They were mostly fishing dries too.
I was pretty stoked to fish one of my favorite rivers and hit some fish. Even though the water was low when I arrived there where fish around. My first few trips went great. On my second and third trip in we had a little push of rain and hit a nice pulse of fish with quite a few hook ups.
Shortly after that I got a flu bug that took the wind out of my sail. Being booked every day I had to nut up and run the trips. There were quite a few other guides and patrons that got sick too. That time of year I guess,
Then Bill Vail, the Owner of Boggans Oasis restaurant had a serious stroke. Bill and his wife Farrell make all the lunches for the guides, host most of the client lodging, and are the heart and soul of the upper Washington stretch of the Grande Ronde.
It’s was pretty amazing to see the local community give its support. Guides, friends and local ranchers were even stopping by to lend a hand when they could. I haven’t heard the latest on Bills status but I know he will have months of rehab and wish him and Farrell the best. Even though we got another pulse of rain this last week over there the fishing was slower. I expected another nice shot of fish with the 2nd higher water but it never came. We had to work for them.

I will be fishing locally for Coho,  chum salmon and dollys in between trips to the Methow River for steelies. I do have availability for some of these trips if interested. I have a guy looking for a partner for Nov. 19th on the skagit for Chums/silvers/dollys.

For new anglers we are running 5 hour schools and casting classes multiple times a month with availability. I did a casting class on the Stilly yesterday and saw a few salmon rolling around at Blue Stilly Park.

I am also starting to book for the winter/spring steelhead season on the Olympic Peninsula and locally (when available). It would be nice if we could get our local wild steelhead runs back up in fishable numbers for a catch and release season. Last year a buddy of mine fished the Sauk right before it closed and hooked 4 fish.

In the 2012 season also look for a multiple day trout camp on the Methow next summer.

Happy fishing,

Mike and Dennis Dickson