The Steelhead Angler

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If the topic of fly fishing knots has caught your attention lately, you are in luck. There are several excellent ways to learn more about not only how to tie various knots but also when to use each of the knot variations. Some of the resources on hand are free, while others may cost a small amount. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

One of the easiest ways to learn about tying knots for fly fishing is by spending some time with one or more fly fishers. In general, people who enjoy fishing are always ready to talk about their favorite topic, and just as eager to demonstrate various aspects of the sport. In a very short period of time, you can become acquainted with the range of knots used in the sport and when each knot would be an appropriate choice. You may even be given the chance to try tying a knot or two under the direction of your tutor.

If you don’t happen to know anyone who is into fly fishing, don’t despair. If you visit a local sporting goods shop, there is a good chance they will have videos and printer material that have to do with fly fishing. You can browse through and find resources that include details about fly fishing knots. While the books and videos will cost a little, the advantage is that you can read and view the material over and over, possibly following along with a set of instructions on how to tie one or more knots.

Of course, there is always the Internet. There is a wealth of information about fly fishing in general to be found on the World Wide Web, and many of these sites will also include helpful details about fly fishing knots. You can find easy to follow diagrams on various fly fishing knots, as well as details of when each knot should be used. Like the books and videos you picked up at the sporting goods store, these can be bookmarked and revisited whenever you like. Unlike purchased material, these online resources are often completely free and just as easy to use.

To find out more about fly fishing knots, please be sure to visit http://www.flyfishingjoy.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Olivier
 
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While I was sitting here today hoping that the weather will cool off some so that the Salmon and Little Salmon Rivers will at least return back into their banks and hopefully clean up a little so I can go try my luck salmon fishing. I realized that Saturday is the opener for many of the states lakes and rivers.

Now with the spring runoff in full swing river fishing will diffidently be a challenge for the next few weeks if they are even fishable at all. The high land lakes well they are still frozen and it is just as well because the snow is making them all but inaccessible anyways.

I’ve been thinking about trying my luck at some of the lower laying lakes around Cascade Reservoir, Horse Thief Reservoir, and even Little Lake have been some nice producers for me early in the year. I think that with the run off coming so late this year that the feeder steams into these reservoirs will make for some pretty good fishing this weekend.

I have always had good luck fishing these local reservoirs in the spring as the trout are heading up them to start there spawning cycle. My favorite way to fish for these trout this time of year is with my fly rod while it is hard sometimes to get them to take a dry fly pattern I have done very well using small egg patterns with a sinking line. I wish I paid more attention to their names but I expect that most fly fishermen have their special pattern anyways, anything that looks like and egg, ( I do mean fish egg) or even the leach patterns work well for me. I like to fish them right at the head of a deep pole just off the ripples and making sure that they are getting close to the bottom.

I made that special note about being fish egg just for an old time friend of mine but that’s a whole other story that I should write about sometime now that I think about it.

If you have ever wanted to get into fly fishing there is no better time then now and I have a free Download to a great e-book that will get you started out on the right foot. If you are just beginning and it even has some nice pointers for those of you that have been fly fishing for awhile too. All I ask in return is that you sign up to receive an occasional promotional email from my Site at Steelhead Gear.Com you can get the free download here.

Chinook salmon fishing continues to be a very popular sport fishery even as salmon numbers drop. The fisheries managers continue to monitor salmon runs and returns to allow the sportsman every opportunity possible to fish for these magnificent fish. Fishing techniques are adjusted to avoid species whose populations are at risk such as the native or natural runs and focus on those which can sustain large-scale fishing those that have been raised and released from hatcheries. Where that is impossible, the native fish are released unharmed, allowing these endangered species to continue with their natural spawning cycles. The hatchery fish can be identified by a missing adipose fine which is clipped before their release from the hatcheries.

This year is no exception it appears that the anticipated returns are going to be down from what was supposed to have been one of the better runs in years to a run which will be capable of providing some limited fishing. As the managers monitor return numbers they are adjusting the fishing seasons and take limits and even in some cases they have closed salmon season down for the year.

Did you know that Pacific Northwest Salmon is a rich source of heart-healthy polyunsaturated fat called Omega-3 fatty acids or basically good fats? Omega-3s are found mainly in fat rich fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel and sardines.

Wild fisheries could never meet the global demand for salmon especially when you consider their dwindling habitat and in my opinion having the hatcheries is one of the best moves mangers have made to keep a fishable run. While we would all love to see the native fish flourish with politics and economical factors influencing decisions regarding their survival and habitat the natural runs continue their decline.

Fishing must be carefully managed so that salmon continue to be a harvestable resource.

RR Smith

Pacific salmon are in the genus Oncorhynchus, which contains several individual species Chinook, Coho, and Steelhead are probably the most popular. Unlike the Atlantic salmon, Pacific salmon only spawn once before they die. These salmon may swim hundreds, even thousands, of miles to get back to the stream where they hatched. However, only a small percentage of salmon survive to reach their natural stream or spawning grounds. It has been estimated that today around 80% for the juvenile salmon or smolt as they are called will never survive their trip to the ocean. In the Northwest salmon normally have seasons from spring through fall this season depend entirely on the expected return numbers today.

Pacific salmon connect headwaters to the high seas, from Japan to California. The larges of these salmon are known as Chinook or King Salmon, they average 10 to 20 pounds in size, but 30 to 50 pounds is not unusual and there are occasions where they will reach nearly 100 pounds. Pacific salmon are represented by seven different species, these seven salmon species have life histories that are unique, multifaceted and vary widely within and between species.

Dams have stopped many runs from having access to the oceans where they once traveled. These areas which are scattered throughout the northwest now have what are called landlocked salmon since they mature for three years in freshwater and return to the river to spawn and die.

Pacific salmon is also farmed, but due to political reasons on a very small scale over all.

Managing salmon in the Pacific Northwest is a complex endeavor, bringing up a wide range of political, economic, legal and social issues. The cultural issues of salmon management shouldn’t be overlooked, as salmon fishing has been and continues to be a way of life for many families throughout the west. Managers need to know where their stocks move, how long they stay in different areas, and how ocean conditions affect growth and mortality. The eventual expansion of pilot studies into a full out program to reintroduce salmon back into river systems, combined with archival tagging studies, will allow scientists and managers to monitor salmon movements and habitat usage along coastal North America, from California to the Aleutian Islands, year-round. Knowing when and how salmon move, feed, and migrate will be the key to their survival if we are going to save these magnificent and mystical fish.

Salmon Gear

I just got done checking the Chinook numbers coming over Bonneville Dam and while they run seems to be about three weeks late they are looking pretty good for right now. Yesterday over 9,000 salmon crossed Bonneville dam on their migration home we have not seen numbers like these in over a decade for the last several years 3,000 per day was a good number lets hope this continues as we wait for there arrival.While only 1,600 have crossed Lower Granite Dam so far this year as I mentioned they seem to be running about three weeks late so I’m expecting to see these number increase as well over the coming weeks. Come on Salmon!!

It is truly hard to get vary excited though as every time you turn around you are hearing more bad news about the West Coast Salmon populations and this year for the first time ever they have completely shut down salmon fishing on the west coast. It makes you wonder that with over 9 Billion dollars spent on there recovery and number being at an all-time low (for summer run salmon) if we will be able to continue to enjoy seeing these magnificent fish return in any respectable numbers in the future.

I was doing some research over the past week when the seals again became an issue with the migrating salmon and I definitely became disillusioned with this thought. If the seal numbers are 238,000 as they say; and lets say that they eat just one salmon every other day do you know how many salmon that works out to be in a years time? Well the number is astounding 43,435,000 salmon a year. Now you add Orcas the commercial fisheries the fact that over 80% of the juveniles will never make it to the ocean and how the climate change affects the oceans conditions you really begin to gain some respect for these fish. Well it was just a thought  not a good thought but a thought.

The good news at least for this year for those along the Columbia River systems is that we are expecting a very good run this year. So I suggest that if you ever wanted to try your luck in catching a Chinook salmon that you get your gear ready and give it a try this year as we can not predict how long this will continue.

Do you have some thoughts about these magnificent fish if so join use at Idaho Trout Hunters Forum  in the catagory TroutHunter Member’s RoundTable and let us know what you’re thinking. http://idahotrouthunter.smfforfree2.com/index.php

By: RR Smith
Looking to save on your next purchase of Fishing Gear Please visit my Store at Steelhead Gear.Com I’m sure you will find some of the best prices available anywhere for your Salmon, Steelhead, and Trout Fishing Gear wants and needs.
http://www.steelhead-gear.com

Once again Idaho Salmon are facing another man made obstacle on their migration back home. Bonneville Dam is seeing large numbers of Sea Lions and California Seals again that are feasting on our Salmon runs. While state and federal agencies have been monitoring this situation for years and have decided that they need to take action the Humane Society of the United States has step in and are trying to prevent their efforts.Look at some of this information posted on the Free Republic Website

*”Salmon and sea lions are protected species. But California sea lion numbers are booming, while many northwest salmon species are struggling. The sea lion population, about 1,000 animals in the 1930s, now numbers about 238,000 along the West Coast. Biologists think the animals have maxed out available breeding sites and habitat.

The number that could be killed under the initial federal proposal is about one one-hundredth of the number that biologists estimate could be removed without undermining the overall population.
Anglers and biologists have grown increasingly frustrated with sea lions that swim up the Columbia to Bonneville Dam, where they feast on salmon gathering to climb fish ladders upriver. Last year, monitoring crews counted sea lions eating more than 4 percent of the salmon run, although biologists suspect they probably ate more.

Hudson said state and tribal biologists estimate sea lions may consume 13 percent to 17 percent of spring Chinook salmon passing through the dam.”

* http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987633/posts

Now I do not know about you but I’m tired of my tax money being used to feed a predator that by all accounts have over populated their natural environment and are now seeking to find an easy meal on the very same fish that we as sportsmen, tax payers, and even as consumers have been trying to protect and improve their numbers so that we can continue to enjoy fishing for these magnificent fish.

Have you heard the answer to the problem from the Humane Society of the United States as stated by spokes woman Sharon Young “agencies should look to cut back fishing before looking at sea lions”

I’m all for protecting wildlife and I believe that I do my part I keep very few of the fish I catch and most of the time I catch a release my fish just to insure that the will be there tomorrow and for the next generation to enjoy as I have. But when you see articles like this it makes you wonder way we spend billions of dollars ever year on salmon recovery programs have numerous agencies work for their recovery and then when they decide it is time to take a corrective action we do not allow them to do anything. They do not want to eliminate the seal population only take a control measure and reduce their numbers. I say load the seals up in a box and ship them to Sharon Young and the Humane Society of the United States and tell them that their seals are in our rivers and they need to do something with them.

By: RR Smith

Looking to save on your next purchase of Fishing Gear Please visit my Store at Steelhead Gear.Com I’m sure you will find some of the best prices available anywhere for your Salmon, Steelhead, and Trout Fishing Gear wants and needs.

http://www.steelhead-gear.com

While I’m sitting here today thinking about the Chinook salmon season that is suppose to be one of the best in years, I find myself thinking back to my youth. It was back in the early 1970’s when after talking with my best friend Randy that I discovered he had never fished for salmon before. I found this odd as are love of fishing had taken us on many different and exciting adventures while chasing fish every time we had a chance to take off and go. Yet I never mentioned any thing about steelhead or salmon fishing and we had never been salmon fishing together how we could have missed doing this together before now was something that I could never really under stand since this is my favorite type of fishing.Oh well back to the main thought I was having. When I talked to Randy about this he got very excited about going so we planed a trip for the following weekend and since our work schedules had us both off at the same time it would work out perfectly. Little did I know how perfect this trip would turn out at the time?

The rest of the work week seemed to drag on as time normally does when you have something that you are looking forward to doing, but soon it was Friday after noon and we both had gotten off work late adding to the excitement to get going. But finally we were on our way to meet up with my folks who had left earlier in the day to setup camp down at Riggins Idaho along the Little Salmon River where we would be fishing.

On our trip down Randy was full of questions like how hard does a salmon hit, what size hook do you use, are these fish hard to land, what should he use for bait. On and on this went he was really getting worked up about this. I told him that salmon fishing once you learn the basics and where the fish might be laying is really like any other type of fishing the big difference is the battle these fish give you once you hook into one. I told him that he should not plan on being able to land every fish he hooks into, as the power of these fish is unmatched by anything he had fished for before. He told me that he had heard they did fight hard and that you needed heavy line he had purchased some 60 lb. test line and asked if he needed anything heaver. I assured him that the line he had was way more then he would need and that I just used 25 lb test and that was more then enough to handle them as long as you let them play out before you try to force the issue with them.

We arrived at camp late but the folks had kept dinner for us so we ate and sat around for awhile telling stories to the folks about some of our adventures many of which that got me a look from my dad that only a dad can give; you all know the look I’m sure, (the one that says what the heck were you thinking)? It gets late and we decide to turn in, now being a young teenager at the time the excitement of the day to come makes the night seem like it will never end. I remember Randy waking up numerous time through out the night and having a flash light click on and off again after awhile the light would click and randy would say are you awake is my watch working is it really only 1:00 am. or has my watch stopped. This continued for most of the night and I began to wonder if maybe I made this salmon fishing out to be more then it was, (No there’s no way I could do that it is all what I said and probably more).

Finally 4:30 arrives and we crawl out of or sleeping bags and start getting ready to walk up to this hole I had found a few weeks earlier. All week long I had told Randy that this hole has produce a Salmon on the first cast every time I had been their and that it was well worth the walk to get there and in the pre-dawn light we set out to get to the hole before some one else. Back in the seventies we didn’t have the crowds we do today and you cold still get in a hole first if you left at early dawn. Any way I give Randy some last minute pointers on the way to the hole and we arrive to find that we were indeed the first ones to arrive. Standing above the hole I point out where he needs to cast and what he should expect when a salmon hits. We bait up and start down to the hole. Now until you have been around Randy for awhile and know him a little bit it is hard to explain what happens next but I’ll do my best to explain this.

Keeping in mind Randy has equipped his reel with 60 lb test line, the following takes place. Since Randy has never taken a Salmon before I decide that I will get him started before I start to fish. There is a lot of brush along the river bank so I tell Randy to strip off a little line and just flip it out along the seam of the current and be ready for the explosion as the salmon takes his hook. I remind him that I have caught a Salmon here on the first cast every time I have fished here. Randy decides to move down just a few steps before he cast and when he goes to move down he stumbles on the slick rocks that are covered in the morning’s dew. While trying to catch his balance his line that he striped out dips into the water as he falls back on his butt and at the same time he is falling back he jerks the pole back over his head trying to catch his balance. As I’m watching this his line comes back out of the water and here comes a 14 lb spring Chinook salmon that some how had managed to get a hold of his hook the motion of Randy falling back literally jerks this salmon strait out of the river and onto the bank now Randy and this Salmon are both flopping around on the bank as Randy somehow manages to get a hold of the salmon before it gets back into the river. Once Randy get a hold on the fish and his feet back under him he looks at me and says your right this hole does produce a salmon with the first cast. Well that is how Randy got his first salmon we still fish together to this day as hard as this is to believe it actually happen just like I said you should have been there. Randy Still has the same type of luck I know he could truly catch fish in a mud puddle.

By: RR Smith
Looking to save on your next purchase of Fishing Gear Please visit my Store at Steelhead Gear.Com I’m sure you will find some of the best prices available anywhere for your Salmon, Steelhead, and Trout Fishing Gear wants and needs.
http://www.steelhead-gear.com

With Steelhead fishing less then impressive this year my stepson Steven and I decide to take a break and do some Turkey hunting yesterday.While here in Meadows Valley the snow is still deep enough to cover a pick up in many locations we were able to get up next to a ridge close to town where we took of walking before daylight. Now walking through snow that at times will hold your weight and then your next step you break through and your standing in snow past your knees was making getting any where a challenge we were able to get to Southwest facing slope which actually had bare ground on it.

We set up under a tree and gave a few soft clucks on our faithful box call and got an immediate response from a gobbler. This was going to be way too easy I thought to my self as I leaned back against a large yellow pine tree. I took out my reed call and looked over to make sure that my stepson was ready for some action and gave a few more soft clucks, and bang this tom response with a thundering double gobble not more then sixty yard below us on a ridge.

Now I will not shoot at one of these great birds at anything over thirty yards and as long as they are coming in closer I like to let them work their way in. I give a soft purr call which again is met with a double gobble this tom must really be lonely I thought to myself which is a good thing when working a large tom turkey. It must have been thirty seconds and he sticks his head up in front of us not much over forty yards away now he goes into a full strut right there in front of us and you can hear the humming of his wings as he struts across this small ridge and soon disappears over the ridge.

Suddenly I hear a hen down below clucking and putting and know that this is going to change from a quick easy bird into one of those that probably will end up disappearing down the ridge. I look over and my stepson Steven is sitting there shaking his head as he realizes what is about to happen. We sit there for the next several minute as we hear this toms gobbles become fainter with every gobble and soon it is silent all together.

After sitting in the shade for over an hour now after working up such a sweat get into this spot I’m shaking so bad now I’m not sure I can hit the mountain let alone a turkey so we both decide to get up and get some blood circulating. We have not been up for more then a minute and I look down the ridge and there is a tom with about four or five hens feeding there way right up the ridge. Normally they would have seen us and been gone but they must have been so busy feed that they did not see us so we clamor back under a couple of large yellow pines and once were ready I take out the box call and cut lose with a gobble of my own this normally will shake things up if you have a tom with hens and true to this theory bang this tom cuts lose with a double gobble and runs right up the ridge. Now he’s is running so fast that we don’t even have time to get the guns up before he is standing there not more then 15 feet from Steven goes into a full strut and gobbles again I can see Steven grinning from ear to ear as this tom dances there in front of him and he does not dare move for fear of spooking him off. He finally struts back over so he can check on the hens down below and this give Steven the chance he was waiting for and he claims his prize a nice tom turkey with a 7″ beard. Not bad for the first hour and a half of a hunt.

This Nice Tom Turkey was Taken not far From New Meadows Idaho.

By: RR Smith

Looking to save on your next purchase of Steelhead Gear Please visit my Store at Steelhead Gear.Com I’m sure you will find some of the best prices available anywhere on the internet. http://www.steelhead-gear.com

Ok well now as Paul Harvey would say for “the rest of the Story.”I need to tie up again; now maybe it is because I’m cold or maybe it’s because the gremlins decided to come fishing with me but I have not been able to tie a knot on the first try all day finally on the third try I have my hook tied on. I go to slip on a piece of lead and someone has stolen my rubber tubing I say stolen because I would not have forgotten to put this on I’m an experienced fisherman. I cut the hook off and slip on the rubber and corky and then tie on the hook guess what for the first time today tied on the first try.

I thought about building a fire to warm up a little but that thought quickly passes when I go to light-up a cigarette and realize that I have lost my lighter some where along the way. Now just to be safe I look around to see if I can’t see one of those pesky gremlins hiding in the trees, or some where among the rocks, I’m convinced that they are the ones messing with me today.

Well for the next hour every thing goes pretty smooth but still I have not had a hit yet, the wind is still blowing and I’m starting to really feel its bite. I decide that today just is not the day for me to be fishing and after reeling in for the last time I go to pick up my tackle box and head back to the truck. About half way back to the truck the handle on my tackle box decides that it would be a great time to break off and when the box hits the only rock in the trail for fifty yard in any direction it explodes open and it looks like the 4th of July with corkies, yarn, hooks, and beads flying every where. I must have spent the next twenty minutes gathering up my equipment and chasing down the yarn that was dancing in the wind down the trail.

I finally make it back to the truck and put what’s left of my tackle box, gear, and rod in the back and go to get the keys out of my pocket, keys in my pocket? Man I must have lost them when I took the tumble earlier so I go to where I fell and start searching after looking for what seemed like days I decide to go to the truck and get out of the wind for awhile. You know that just getting out of the wind feels much warmer and I’m starting to feel a little better. I must have sat there for twenty or thirty minutes when I look down at the steering wheel and do you know what is hanging from the ignition yep the keys. Okay I should have looked earlier but I never leave my keys in the truck.

When I arrive home my wife asks if I had any luck. Well I gave her a strange look and was to telling her about my day she just smiled and said well maybe tomorrow will be a better day. Seems like I have been saying that more and more often lately but I can now say that it was a better day. The fish are in and they are starting to hit pretty good if you can keep out of trouble.

Have you ever had one of those days while fishing where every thing just seems to go wrong? Well yesterday was one of those days for me. I decided to run down on the river for a couple hours of steelhead fishing and I should have stayed home with a good book or just took a nap.It started with the trip down when I had a choice of running over a rock that rolled down into the highway or taking on a semi that was coming the other way attempting to do the same, needless to say I decided the rock was much smaller and was not charging at me at 60 MPH, while I tried to keep from hitting it with the tires I some how managed to do so with the front but the back tire hit it square and there went a $95.00 tire. Changing the tire gave me some time to think about all those steelhead that should be in the river now and I once again feel that rush of excitement and anticipation of hooking into one of these fish.

Ok so I go on down to my fishing hole only to find that instead of being full of steelhead it is full of steelhead fishermen. Well there is another hole down stream about a half mile so I grab my rod and gear and take off. When I stepped of the edge of the road way and started down the bank my feet go out from under me like someone just pulled the Rock out from under me and of course when I look up there are six other fishermen starring at me wondering what and the h___ I was doing. Well now I’m covered in mud and my back side feels like I just stood under Niagara Falls but I keep thinking about those steelhead laying in wait just down stream so I pick up my gear and continue down to the hole.

Now I have been fishing and tying knots for well over forty years now but today for what ever reason it takes me forever to get a knot tied that does not break with the first tug. The river is still running a little lower then normal so I cut a small chunk of lead and slip it on and my first cast end up catching a branch that is sticking out over the river I swear some one tied it to the branch because it will not come off and I end up breaking it off and starting over.

While tying up for the second time the wind starts to blow and of course being soaked makes it that much more enjoyable. I make my second cast now and I can feel it bouncing along the bottom when it suddenly stops and I set the hook and have tied into one of the biggest rocks in the river and that is where my second rig stays.

I have to go Now so Check back tomorrow for the rest of the story my luck did not get any better.