By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

Only in Colorado! Jeff Rogers sent me this image after floating and fishing last weekend. Halfway through the fishing day he came upon one of our favorite campsites on this specific float overflowing with people clothed in Togas. Apparently there was a serious hippie wedding taking place and this little dude complete with crown-o-holly decided to take a break and whack some fish. Go little toga dude, go.

Thanks for the shot Jeff! [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

We got rain and that means fresh summer steelhead on some of Oregon's finest the Deschutes River, North Umpqua, Rogue....sure there are far more steelhead litararies to write about but these are the mainstays that bring people wide and far to partake in the greatest freshwater gamefish alive. As of last week there has been good numbers for August at the Dalles Dam on the Columbia River, 1000 to 2000 fish days. A good friend of mine and fellow industry sales rep Derek Fergus went 2 for 5 in 3 hrs on the new "FERGUS MARABOU MOAL" which if you don't have yet contact myself. I suggest stocking the entire box with varying colors and they can be used for summer and winter steel as well as salmon. On another note the Rogue River half pounder run will be gearing up in the next few weeks down low and they are a blast on 6wts and elk hair caddis. The adult fish are around but still a little early for bang up fishing..contact  www.trophywaters.net and tell them TYLER sent you.....Goes the same for the North Umpqua this time of year..great for skaters if the water temps... [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

Whenever I have an airport layover, I make a point to sit by a window in the terminal so I can watch the planes take off. I hate flying, but I love going places. And it soothes me, as I wait, to watch aircraft lift away from the runways, if only so I might imagine the adventures to be had.

There goes a Northwest jet. The sign on the gate told me it was headed for Anchorage. I watch it taxi for 10 minutes, convinced that somewhere on that plane is a man (or woman) who will see the Northern Lights for the first time tonight. And tomorrow, by dinner time, they might just scratch the tail end of a run of silvers.

A 757 lifts and sails directly toward the sunset. San Diego? Makos? Tuna? Maybe Baja … Gonzaga Bay. Yet another flight thunders down the runway and banks to the south, then levels its wings. New Orleans? Maybe Miami, and from there, on to the Keys. Ah, the salt, the flats. “Be warned,” I think, “One silver king will change your life.

Off another jet goes... [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

I never quite bought those made-for television flyfishing competitions.

Fly casting … I can see that as a competitive sport, in as much as darts or bowling are sports.  But flyfishing is a pastime, not a sport.  The threshold should be:  If you can smoke and drink beer during said activity, it should not be considered a sport.  Well, okay, pole dancing might count.
          
And golf gets an exemption because people will pay money to watch golfers do their thing. So does pro bass fishing. 

But when it comes to flyfishing for trout in the same river, there are good runs and bad ones, and drawing fishing beats is nothing more than a lottery. If we’re hell-bent on making flyfishing a competitive sport, we should judge it qualitatively, not quantitatively.  Have all the competitors work the same 200 yards of river, with a panel of five judges on bleachers watching every move. 

I can see it now: “Here comes Chet … ooh a nice roll cast right into the run there, on the left side of the river, that’s going to impress.  He’s really tuned in here with that Green Drake.  Whoops, he slipped and stirred the... [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

Fishing is still steady, even after the "Heat Wave". Most afternoons have been getting clouds and some rain. On the South Fork, the Canyon stretch has been fishing well for me. Big Grand Hoppers 2-4s, with droppers or Quigleys PMDs if seeing a hatch. Will work riffles alittle, fish still eating PMDs. Section 4, still working good for me as well, Para-hoppers on the grassy banks, getting good browns and cutthroats.

The Snake in Wyoming is good. Just went through a 3-4 day blow out and now new daily releases from Jackson Lake. If coming fishing look at waterdata.usgs.gov/wy/nwis/rt to see waterflows. Fishing mostly variations of red, purple and yellow Wing-Thing Ants and Para-hoppers with either Para-Adams, Purple Haze or red Copper Johns or bigger size Flashback Pheasant Tails. Some days the banks fish and other days the drop offs, really only one way to find out. Mostly fishing in the Grand Teton National Park. Whitewater stretch also fishing well for me.

The Aug. 1 opener of Flat Creek was interesting. If you got out early and frothed the water w/big black streamers you probably did well. If you came... [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

Montana rogue Rusty Vorous once told me about a scientifically proven way for judging the intelligence levels of guide trip clients at the onset of your trips: The larger the brim on a client's recently-purchased shiny white Stetson cowboy hat, the lower the client's IQ.

Once it passes toilet seat proportions, you can bet it will indeed be a very long day on the river.

Rusty was accurate, by my calculations, to within 1/8 inch.

--KD [ Read Full Post ]