bear tracks

bear tracks along the river last night

cutts & bows

cutts and rainbows to 17" last night all on the oct. caddis.  what a great time of the year to fish.

oct caddis shucks

halibut

annual halibut trip with old Alaska pals and father in law.  We scored on more than one occasion. lower Cook Inlet  

Finally

The season started first weekend in June.

Lots of rivers are running high and cold as well as silty. A short warm weekend has snow melting in the higher elevations. The Columbia River is in low level flood stage. I was able to fish a stream that is flowing at twice its normal cfs rating for this time of year. 815 CFS in June when it should be just over 400 cfs.Tough wading and was just too swift to cross. I had to be content to fish the edges.

The river was running clear and the return of cool weather (49 degrees) hasn't really jump started any significant bug activity.

No green drakes,very few caddis,no yellow sallies. I picked up a few cutts on a stonefly nymph.

It wasn't pretty, chuckin a bead head stone with a couple of splits,but it got the job done!

It sure feels good to be back fishing after such a long break.

Late season snowshoe

We had to get out and enjoy the first sunny weekend in many weeks. The snowed in road at Obstruction Point makes a great snowshoe trail.

The weather warmed to 30 and the sun made it feel like 60. 4 mile round trip with a few steep spots.

In hindsight we should have roped up on a couple of exposed traverses.

Hatcher Pass Lodge

No amenities beyond a warm cabin and cozy bar/restuarant. Great skiing to be had with all kinds of trails to explore. No lifts , no lines , no crowds.

Hatcher Pass Lodge,AK-New Years Eve 2010/2011. Say hi to "Hap" if you ever stop in.