Elwha River Restoration Update

There has been a lawsuit filed to stop the Elwha River hatchery. Since this quite a hot topic, I will go the unbiased route and allow you to read the article and watch the video involving the lawsuit and an article from the Times that allows for both sides to voice opinions.

There is evidence that if left alone the wild fish would rebuild themselves (as seen on the Sandy River in Oregon). Anyway. Here ya go.



First the information on the lawsuit:
Wild Fish Conservancy Files Suit

An article from the Seattle Times that gives both sides a voice:
Elwha River Hatchery Proposal

The dam removal was only the first step. If you wish to support the groups behind the lawsuit there is information how in the press release.

Feed Fish Flies, Not Plastic.
-RB

The Best of 2011, Creekside Edition

We have entered 2012 with tails...err...tales of steelhead in our brains and dreams of fishing trips to come. 2011 was a year of high water, really high water into mid summer, a crappy summer of weather until the very end, Donald Trump's run for president and subsequent tongue lashing as he pulled out (please, please run as an independent, we all need something to laugh about), epic steelheading and great fall trout fishing.  All in all, from a fishing standpoint it was a great year. So in the effort of beating a hatchery steelhead into further submission, so to speak, we shall review the year, Creekside style.

Best Steelhead River, The Klickitat: While steelheading was pretty good across the board this past year, the Klickitat takes the cake. This fall it provided more entertainment for fly-fisherman and gear heads then Donald Trump's presidential campaign did for Jon Stewart. A lot of fish, and not just hatchery fish were being caught, lots of big wild fish, bringing smiles to even the most hardened man's face. Hell, even I caught some, which tells you just how good it was and I have proof.

See. Proof. Anyway, the Klickitat fished really well this year. We recommend you start thinking about heding down there next year, hanging out with the boys from the Steelhead Ranch and hooking some chrome in the cold, crisp autumn air.




Creekside Catch of the Year: This one was a tough one to determine.We had some good ones to peruse. From little girls holding their first fish to seasoned vets showing off slabs we got them all. So after much thought, for our Catch of the Year we have chosen. (Someone queue a drumroll or something.)

Gotcha! Ok, ok. Here is the real Catch of the Year.

Hugh and Scott doubled up on the Klickitat!

Top Fly: The bead. I keed, I keed. There were a lot of great flies this year. The one we would choose to be the top fly for this year would be everyone's favorite to say because it drums up Bill Murray. I, of course, am talking about the Dali Llama, as our fly of the year. Cinderella story, this greenskeeper...

Ok and with one finally thing.

Epic Fail of 2011: Steven Tyler. We are talking to you. You single handedly cleaned out our feather market with your silliness of using grizzly hackle, in your hair, while on American Idol. So consequently all us poor defenseless fly-fisherman had nothing to tie size 26 gnats with. So congratulations, you sir, are Creekside's Epic Fail of 2011.

There's our best and worst of 2011.

In other news the westside rivers are coming back into fishing shape, especially the Snoqualmie and Sky. So head on out and get some steelhead that are within reach of Seattle.

I hope everyone had a great New Year and here is to a very fishy 2012.

Feed Fish Flies, Not Toxins.
-RB

Sculpins Attack! Fly-tying 101: #7 Robinton's Sculpin

So we've taken a short hiatus fro the blog here at Creekside this past week due to people running all over the place preparing for things like Christmas, Festivus, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa (does anyone actually celebrate Kwanzaa? I don't even know), birthdays (two of us here at Creekside have December birthdays) and flying across the country to visit friends, loved ones and relatives. I will take this time to apologize  for our lack of posting on the blog but we've been....fishing and busy...ok you got me...it's just fishing. Fine, fine. It's plain laziness. Happy now?! Sheesh.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, today we are happy to present another fly-tying 101 course with our first full length fly-tying video produced via an iPhone and featuring our very own Shop Pro Charlie Robinton. This week we will feature a custom fly created by Charlie using a new product by Fish Skulls called Sculpin Helmets. The video is a bit long but we are slowly working out the details on how to create a video so bear with us as we progress. So without further adieu. Fly-Tying victim #7 Robinton's Sculpin.

Supply List

Hook: B10S #2, Fish Skull Articulated Shank

Thread: UTC 140, Black or Olive

Body: Olive Barred Variant Crosscut Rabbit

Wings: Barred Olive Grizzly Marabou Tips

Legs: Barred Rubber Legs

Collar: Olive Deer Hair

Throat: Red Angel Hair

Head: Sculpin Helmet

Step 1: Tie your thread on the B10S hook wrap. Zap-a-gap and wrap the cross cut from the bed towards the head, leaving enough room to tie the fur off near the eye.

Step 2: Strip off the Marabou at the base of the post off two feathers. Tie in the feathers on each side of the trailing hook. The we are going to tie in some rubber legs in a fashion that allows them triangulate back behind the hook. Cut them so they are not longer then the trailing hook. Whip Finish.

Step 3: Now we are going to slide the trailing hook on the Fish Skull Articulated Shank. Place the shank into the vice and tie on your thread, wrapping it tightly over the area where you slide the trailing hook on.

Step 4: Zap-a-gap and begin wrapping some more crosscut forward about 3/4 of the way. Cut excess and tie down.

Step 5: Strip off the marabou at the base of two more feathers. Tie to each side again. Then tie more rubber legs in the same way you tied the ones on the trailing hook. Tie off. The rubber legs shouldn't be longer then the shank.

Step 6: Tie in angel hair on the underside of the fly. Cut it short of the shank, so that it gives the appearance of a colored throat area.

Step 8: Cut deer hair, clean out excess fibers, and stack in a hair stacker.  Tie to front of shank tightly. You may need to do several clumps or just one. This is up to you. Cut the deer hair down in a tapered manner. Wrap in front of the hair tapering down. Whip Finish.

Step 9: Zap-a-gap the front of the deer hair and the thread. Slide the Sculpin Helmet over the hair and hold it there for a few seconds allowing the glue to set. We like to take red thread and tie it in in front of the helmet to create a block in case the glue fails. (It most likely will not but better to be safe then sorry) Whip finish that....and viola!

Ok so. Here we go. If my instructions weren't clear enough or you need a visual reference. Here is our first featured fly-tying video with many more to come we hope.



If you have any questions feel free to contact us via email, phone or simply leave a comment here and we will respond as quickly as possible.

On another note I have been informed that our Class Page has been updated with a multitude of new beginner and advanced classes. So peruse that and if something strikes your fancy or there is something you would like to learn that isn't listed you can tell us and we can probably set it up for you.  Stay tuned for some more upcoming classes, videos and events at Creekside.

Feed Fish Flies, Not Toxins
-RB

Creekside Angling Winter Rate Special!

We here at Creekside Angling are happy to announce that for the dates of December 1st through the 15th of March we will be offering special winter rates for trout fishing on the Yakima River of $275 for 1 or 2 people! This includes flies, leaders, tippet material and if you can't provide your own rod/reel we have those too. These trips will be bring your own lunch and last around 6 hours on Washington's only blue ribbon trout stream. Snacks, water and soda will be provided.

The Yakima in winter can be a perfect time to float. The water is low and clear and the fishing can be excellent. However it is eastern Washington and it will be chilly so don't forget to bring warm clothing and some waterproof gear and a thermos of coffee may not be a bad idea either. The scenery isn't bad either.

The fishing has been good on the Yak and the weather hasn't been terrible at all so give us a call here at the shop (425-392-3800) if you would like to set up a trip and we can get you rolling on a mid-winter excursion that breaks the doldrums of fly-tying and watching the BCS nightmare known as bowl season.

Tomorrow should bring a post entailing our first full-length fly-tying lesson featuring Shop Pro Charlie Robinton! Learn how to use our new Sculpin Helmets to tie a killer Yakima winter staple, the Sculpin. So stay tuned for that and enjoy the slice of nice weather we are having. Get out and angle!

Feed Fish Flies, Not Toxins.
-RB

Partytime in Dollywood

Dollywood.An amusement park built around a country singer that made an appearance in our fishing report at the start of the month. Seems kind of silly but that's America for ya. While Dollywood is in Tennessee and a helluva long ways away we here in the Northwest have our own version of Dollywood come the wintertime. While it may not have the roller coasters, concerts, sticky buns or elephant ears, most fly-fisherman prefer our Dollywood to the real one. Where is this Pacific Northwest Dollywood, this magical winter play-land for fly-fisherman? The Sauk and Skagit Rivers of course. The quarry you are chasing. Dollies.

Yesterday Johnny Steeltrout and I headed up to Dollywood with a friend in search of the ever aggressive Dolly Varden.  We started on the Sauk near Government Bridge, swinging rabbit strip and marabou creations the size of small birds in the color of the snow lining the surrounding hills. The river was a little high and slightly milky but it didn't seem to affect the fishing much. The Dollies are in and eating.  There is some proof below. 

This was our average size for the day. Excuse Johnny's facial expression I believe he was trying to imitate the fishes displeasure at being fooled. Flesh wasn't the only color working as evidenced in this photo. Black leeches were also working.  I was using a large Loop Sculpin in olive with the egg sac on the head. 

We seemed to have good luck casting out and stripping back across rather rapidly. Swinging was also working, but you have to be patient. Most of the strikes were happening at the point of the swing known as the "hangdown." That is the end of the swing, just let it sit straight out below you for a few seconds before stripping it in to reset you cast.

Remember that Dollies seem to prefer shallower water then you may be accustomed to fishing. Fish the 2-3 feet deeps sections of runs and tailouts. Look for Chum redds and fish behind them. An intermediate tip should be enough to get the fly down, dollies will move for meat but you could try a type 6 if you would like. 

The best flies are 3-4 inch long flesh or olive colored leech type patterns. The bigger the better honestly. I was using the Olive Loop Leech, Johnny switched back and forth between a black hot head MOAL and some Chartreuse and white contraption. Andrew was fishing a white marabou fly with a peach colored Schlappen face that was incredibly effective. Pretty much anything big and ugly will work as long as it has movement and/or is stripped fast to illicit the chase response. 

It was cold and beautiful in Skagit Land. The fishing was good. The company was outstanding and we dealt with a plethora of different weather but it was worth it for some big fish.

So come on down to the shop. Pick up some supplies and go chase some dollies in the cold, clear waters filtering through the towering mountains covered in snow. It's called the American Alps. I will leave you with some video.

                                                                                        

Get out and angle.                     

Feed Fish Flies, Not Toxins

-RB