What have you been up to this summer? Bull kelp wrapped around my fins looking for coho is where I have been. Ready for the rain and the rivers, steelhead and silvers. Hope to see you out there soon.

Remaining Nooksack River Outings

Kenn Kiesner with a nice dolly!

The good news is that the Nooksack has produced some great fish this season. The bad news is that we have 8 days left in the Nooksack season. Now or next year baby! The other bad news is that I won't be able to take any more outings personally because I am booked with private trips. The other really good news is that Ed Megill is offering up a plethora of outing dates from now until the end of March (listed above).

Good friend, and guide, Ed Megill is offering discounted outing trips for two people. The Nooksack River, after the January floods, is best fished with two people and we made the conscious decision to keep the experience top notch. Last year the runs could accommodate 4-6 anglers at a time or two anglers for three hours. That is not the case this season especially with the low water.

Ed has been prowling the banks of the Nooksack this season and has had great success on top secret runs and patterns. See what its all about. Get out there, you won't regret it. Give me a call.

The Lunch Bucket

Nooksack River after the Floods

I was out today with a friend on the North Fork. It is still high and quite dirty, maybe a foot and a half of visibility maximum. And that is above the hatchery! The Middle Fork continues to provide 35% of the flow below Mosquito Lake Road and the South Fork and Middle Fork making up over half of the flow on the main stem. I saw a couple people putting in their pontoon boats at Mosquito Lake launch and I hope they looked at the MF flows. The lower North Fork is somewhere around 2900 cfs.

Surprisingly, right before I nearly fell to my waste in Quick-sack sand, I felt a tug on the dangle. I pulled back on the spey rod as I fell and the fish at the other end likely kept me from falling flat on my face in the water. I struggled to shore hoping I had a good hook set. What a beautiful fat dolly! I wasn't sure at first what it was because of the size. Much more than one could ask for on a day like today...and then the sun came out, warm on the face! The fog cloud still sat over Ferndale and Blaine when I got home...should have stayed on the river.

Outings are on hold for a bit until I can get back out and see the river in full. It needs a few more days of cold to drop into shape on the North Fork and maybe a week or more on the Main Stem. The Main Stem could keep it's poor clarity for some time depending on what the South Fork clay banks have in store for us. The Kendall hatchery, as of the 15th, has 46 fish back. Either a bad year, there are more to come, too many harvested in nets or the fish gave up during the flood and are spawning somewhere else. Will we really know if they don't show up at the hatchery? I can't imagine nets were too successful this year either with the early ice and then the floods.

I will keep you posted on outings for late January or early February on the Nooksack. Looks like we should head for the Skagit now that there isn't snow covering the put-ins.

Don't forget the Norrth Fork Nooksack Closure

WDFW FISHING RULE CHANGE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov

December 5, 2008

Fishing to close Dec. 15 on a portion
of North Fork Nooksack River

Action: A portion of the North Fork of the Nooksack River will be closed to fishing.

Effective dates: Dec. 15, 2008, until further notice.

Species affected: All gamefish.

Location: The North Fork Nooksack River from the yellow post located at the upstream most corner of the hatchery grounds, approximately 1,000 feet upstream of the mouth of Kendall Creek, downstream to the Mosquito Lake Road Bridge.

Reasons for action: The Kendall Creek Hatchery in recent years has been unable to secure sufficient eggs from returning hatchery winter steelhead to meet basin production goals. Closure of the fishery is needed to collect sufficient fish to meet egg-take needs. WDFW, in support of the Hatchery Scientific Review Group recommendations, intends to use locally adapted broodstock to support the Nooksack River winter steelhead hatchery program rather than importing eggs from outside sources.

Other information: When broodstock needs are met, the fishery will revert to seasons as listed in the Sport Fishing Rules 2008/2009 pamphlet edition, FISHING IN WASHINGTON.

Information Contact: Brett Barkdull, 360-466-4345 ext. 270 barkdbcb@dfw.wa.gov .

Fishers must have a current Washington fishing license, appropriate to the fishery. Check the WDFW "Fishing in Washington" rules pamphlet for details on fishing seasons and regulations. Fishing rules are subject to change. Check the WDFW Fishing hotline for the latest rule information at (360) 902-2500, press 2 for recreational rules. For the Shellfish Rule Change hotline call (360)796-3215 or toll free 1-866-880-5431.

Where the hell have I been?

Well, a few of you realized that I had not actually stopped fishing. At first I was really busy, then there was the economy thing, and then there were the big beach coho. The summer ran away from me with guide trips and family. Fall came, and I started selling grape juice to the local restaurants. But now, the steelhead itch is coming back and I feel a little stir crazy.

The calendar above offers up some outings for locals who want to float the Nooksack. The Skagit is still a great option, just a little more spendy. Over the next few days I will blog a little about the outings this year and my predictions for seeking the chrome. Ed Megill will be joining me in Captaining my boat for many outings. Ed is not only a great person and a great friend, he is an accomplished fishermen that has poured his heart and sole into the Northwest fishing culture. Any day on the river with Ed is a good day, you can count on that.

We are accepting reservations for the posted dates. Ed is offering a kickoff float at $65 on Tuesday Dec. 9. Don't miss out on the fun! Can't wait to hear from some of you and hopefully see you on the river again.

Jason

Yakima March Browns and Caddis

Photo By Arch Anglers Guide Ryan Smith
Fish caught by EWA Guide Kevin McAlerney

While over at the FFF Conclave this weekend I had the pleasure to float the Yakima with Ryan Smith and good friend Ed Megill. What a great time on a beautiful river. We didn't have a lot of time but we put in at Ringer and were able to float the few hours before dark.

Now I haven't floated and fished the Yakima too many times but I took the opportunity to glean some info out of Ryan. Right now the March Brown hatch is happening in the early afternoon and the fishing can be quite good. Late afternoon and evening can bring about a spinner fall which is always one of my favorite dries to fish. Warm evenings can bring on the early small and dark bodied caddis flies. Be on the lookout for golden stones to be crawling up into the grassy edges so don't overlook those areas in the next couple weeks.

We manged to nymph up a few whitefish and lose a few rainbows on stones and lightning bugs. The evening was pretty slow and the river was seriously on the rise. It is truly a great time to fish the Yakima before the bikini hatch happens, however, I am thinking of returning for that hatch in late June and July. You may need to ask for the exact time for that one.

Ryan says his favorite time to fish the Yakima is the fall. Of course! We all have about 300 rivers we want to be on in September and October, but not all are as close to us as the Yakima. On a good day you could meet Ryan there in about 3.5 hours. There is a lot of river to explore so you ought to take a few days and fish a lot of it. Give Ryan a call.


Call Ryan Smith for a Yakima Trip
Arch Anglers
Professional Guide
(425) 765-2035 cell

Lake fishing is turning on!

Whatcom County lakes may have been cool on opening day but some warmer weather is bringing on the callibaetis hatches. Squalicum and Silver Lake will see these hatches of nice mid-sized gray mayflies between 10:30am and 2:00pm depending on the warmth of the day. Start out fishing nymphs early and move to emergers between 11am and noon. Some of these fish can be pretty big as they do tend to stock some hefty triploids. Be ready for the occasional brown or tiger trout in Squalicum.