Hey guys, it’s that time again and the fishing has been “good” to error on the conservative side albeit quite the adventure at times! Also, in some brief shop news, I want to take just a quick minute to welcome Jad Freeland to the BBT Shop crew…
Jad comes to us by way of Curtis that most of you already know and a prior knowledge of our operation. Both are proud military veterans that we are beyond proud to have on-board. The two met in Alaska at Alaska Rainbow Lodge where Jad is head guide during the summer months into October. To say that he brings a wealth of knowledge with him would be a major understatement and we are very lucky to have him while we can!
After that last report my next outing was on Sunday with my buddy Steve of Barski. Long story short we went looking for some fresh run fish and found ’em! I was a little surprised at a few friends reports of lost fish because they were “too hot” from a day or two prior, but after having our own butts handed to us a few times I understood! ;^)
Once again, after I finally landed one, I reverted to chef, net man and “guide” as well as social media director, but Steve kept his line wet, lost a few hot ones also and landed some dandies including the banner fish we estimated in the mid-teens and his new personal best.
We fished both C&D with flies and spinning rods with floats and beads. Floats and beads won out as the primary catcher, but also the most used. Once again, size 10 in the yellow spectrum… Flies were larger glo bugs and nuke eggs in Oregon cheese, bright orange and chartreuse.
Took a day off on Monday, but Tuesday and Wednesday found me out with Dennis for our annual pre-peak floats and we persevered despite some crazy weather and circumstance! The ice storm arrived on Monday evening and lasted all day Tuesday…
Tuesday morning found us on roads that the local road crews had done a fantastic job with, but then at a launch site that was sheer ice from top to bottom. Luckily, we weren’t the only fools determined to go and with the help of Richard and Cameron who went to get more grit in addition to what I had already brought in my truck we were safely on the water by 10:30am having started the process at 8…
Dennis fished hard as always, lost some and landed some! Understand, Dennis is my definition of a client who has evolved into a trained assassin over the years, and he is literally beyond proficient in every manner of pursuit we usually use from floating lines and indicators to C&D, pitching hardware (Expert level!) and streamers on sinking lines, running bait or just tossing beads with bobbers for the easy route.
With conditions what they were, we easily opted for the “everyone’s a hero easy route” beads and bobbers both days! (Beads, center-pin reels, float rods & float fishing accessories now available at BBT in addition to our vast array of all things fly and all things bait, please use responsibly and only where legal…)
After dealing with everything wet and icing over all day on Tuesday the temperature dropped dramatically that night into single digits. Wednesday’s commute was once again uneventful, and we made quick work of getting the boat in with less grit needed at the launch site. I think it was about 14 degrees starting out, hit a high of 17 or so during the day with pretty constant wind and the occasional snow shower in the am that you could hardly see thru!
All of that may sound horrible to many of you but rest assured that Dennis and I had a great time due to proper preparation and we simply laughed it off while comparing it to our many other adventures of the past like getting caught out in that major hailstorm last fall and more! The bite was pretty much non-existent in the morning hours after the shock of the temperature drop, but Dennis’s persistence paid off in the afternoon once again losing some and landing some…
The river is currently in great shape, but she’s pretty clear again and another dose of rain and/or melt off certainly wouldn’t hurt anything. There are good numbers of fish throughout the system with some being wiser than others and winter tactics are still recommended. Use some stealth on approach and lighter leader quite often, but not necessarily all small flies, bait or beads. Sometimes a bigger meal is just what they’re looking for.
If you’re pretty sure they’re in there, they probably are right now. Cover some water of course but take your time in those spots you know to be producers. Grid those deeper pools and runs from the inside out and if that doesn’t work change what it is that you’re presenting and try it again. Changing tactics can be a game changer also… Sometimes the slower in your face presentation of C&D ticked right on the bottom is just the ticket and at other times nothing short of a perfect indicator/bobber/float drift at the exact current speed is all that’ll work. Above all however, just get out there and have some fun! We can all use a little more of that right now…
As mentioned before, we are still in our winter hours, closed on Tuesday, 9am to 5pm the other six, but that should change soon! The shop is loading up with new inventory daily that we hope you’ll help us with, and the phone is ringing. If you haven’t gotten your motel or guide dates yet and want to; I’d suggest doing it soon. Some very prime dates just recently opened up that are still available when our confirmation letters went out and we had a few cancellations. Call (231) 745-3529 for information and reservations!
Can’t stress enough how much we appreciate your support no matter how big or small as we know it doesn’t work without you! Hopefully things like these reports that are freely given are of some value and help to steer you our way in an ever more competitive market.
-Steve-