I'm Still Here

Wow. Cant believe I did not make one blog post in 2020. Granted, it was a busy year. I finished up graduate school, moved across the country, started a new job, got covid-19... There were times when I thought about making a post. I did fish, a little, but I just never got around to it. I basically started this blog to journal all my fishing expeditions so I could look back and remember. Writing to me is also a form of therapy so thats another added bonus. Now that school is out of the way, I hope to update more frequently. Hopefully...

Gearing up this morning brought mixed emotions. The air was cool, mid 20's, and when I went to put my waders over my wading boots sand spilled out. Sand from the coast of Maine. From striper fishing. Leaving the East coast meant leaving saltwater fishing, which was very difficult. We tried to stay back east, but I could not find a job, sadly. Who knows when the 9wt will see the light of day again. 

On the contrary, I had a brand new rod and reel to mess around with this day, as well as possibly landing a big brown. I shook the rest of the sand from my waders and spread it on the Oregon soil and set out for the river.

This river reminded me of one back in UT, which also holds some nice browns. I was stoked, and ready to feel the rush of the tug again which had been absent for far too long.

The first destination brought no fish. I then drove upstream to find more water and changed to lighter tippet, put on some trusty floro, and tied on a small olive streamer. 

Bam. Man did it feel good. The feeling of that first bend in the rod after a long time was awesome. The fish was roughly 18", a solid first fish in this state. I was lucky.

45 minutes later, in slower moving water, it happened again. But this one was bigger. It put a nice bend on my new Loop and I proceeded to put the butt of the rod into my chest to play the fish. I had no net, which sucked. I lost my last one in Maine somewhere. Landing and taking fish pics is much tougher without a net, but I did the best I could.

This fish was pushing 22", maybe bigger. I'll probably tell people it was bigger. And man was it a beauty.

As the day carried on I tossed the olive streamer along more fishy structure and undercut banks but never landed another. But that was perfectly fine with me, I had my fill.  

As I drove out of the canyon there was literally another vehicle every 2-300 yards. Obviously this was a popular spot, and I was just glad I got there before sunrise. I was kind of annoyed seeing all the people, no... I really was. But as I drove, the fisherman who were gearing up all waved at me in kind gesture. This simple act uplifted my spirits, taking me from annoyed, to only partially. Yes, technically I was an "out of stater", who locals may shun at. But this made me think back to when I lived in UT, and was annoyed at Cali and Nevada folk. Ultimately, being in this situation made me realize that I need to cool my thoughts, and respect all fly fisherman. Unless they low-hole me. 

It felt amazing to get out today. I needed this. I had been pushing it away for too long and for lots of reasons. Regardless, I hope to get out more now that things are more stable. Stay tuned. 

Fall Update

A lot has happened since my last post in June. My pediatric rotation FINALLY finished- it was a very long three months with no free time. Treatment planning and quarterly reports consumed all my time, leaving no time for fishing. I have been longing for my 30+ inch striper but I guess I'll have to wait till next season (hopefully we are still around). I did go out with my daughter after my rotation ended and wrangled in a few schoolies which was fun.

Donuts in hand

Heading out to the jetty

Apple cider donut from the famous Holy Donut

Breakfast of champions 

Wouldn't touch it

Family have come and gone, and now fall is full swing here in Maine. There are still some stripers around, but the majority have gone. As of late, I have hung up the 9wt in search of trout and salmon. A trip to Moosehead was planned and I was stoked for round 2.

Much to my dismay, I did not catch anything at Moosehead, again. This time I even had my sinking line, but still did not catch anything. This lake is a mystery to me. I read an article stating there were "too many fish". I certainly did not see any, except for small minnows. Granted, the lake is HUGE and if I ever try again I will go to a completely new area.

On one of the mornings we headed out to a river I had read about just north of us. When we pulled in there were already 5 other vehicles there. Wonderful! My dad being the social person he is, walked right over to a couple guys who were breaking down their rods. Meanwhile, I rigged up and tried to hurry as quickly as possible as the boss was feeding the baby and my time was limited. In all honesty, my wife is awesome and lets me go fishing all the time. However, in this circumstance I did not want to take too long as they would be waiting in the car.

I walked aways down from the bridge and began tossing my line. The stream was beautiful, and larger than expected. All the other anglers were up by the bridge tossing a line into the deep pools in hope for a big Atlantic salmon. I saw a few small fish rising, and eventually hooked into one but it got off. As I made my way up the bridge all the other anglers had cleared out except for one. Though I was fishing where others just were, I decided to try a few casts as the water looked too promising. I caught nothing. This river is supposed to hold nice Atlantics and brook trout, but unfortunately I did not get to the stream early enough. Until next time...

Recently, I fished a river that I fished last October with Hugh. I caught one brown last year, and this year I only caught one fish as well.  When the fish ate my dry, I pulled back on the rod and the 4-incher flew past me and off of my fly. I honestly had no clue what kind of fish I caught but believe it was a brookie. Even though fishing was not what I had hoped, it felt great being the first one on the river. There was a low morning fog, and I had fun tossing my fly over the plethora of colorful fall leaves on the water.

Destination two that day was another river that was close that supposedly held brookies. This stream was smaller but just as beautiful. I caught some nice browns on a purple wulff pattern I got in Montana a while back. It was fun tossing dry flies between rocks, and logs, something I had not done in a long time. Since moving to Maine my 9wt has seen the majority of daylight. Stripers in the ocean have been too much fun. But tossing dries to small trout hits a chord in my soul that always brings a smile to my face.

Tournament Closure

Well, Hugh and I didn't make the cut for the tournament. We had high hopes to get on board the last couple days of the tournament but we got skunked! No fish were brought to hand the past two days. It's as if a switch went off, they bailed.

The dudes who won averaged 37 inch fish which is crazy. Props to them (local Mainers). They even beat out the boat guys which is awesome. Close to home SLC resident Jake Nichols took second. He is a dental student at UNE. Props to him for figuring out where the big boys are.

Though we didn't catch fish, here's some cool photos taken the past couple days. Foggy mornings made for unique conditions. Fog is common here and one of many aspects why I enjoy living next to the ocean. 

Caught a jellyfish

Hugh's new sticker for his ride. 

Casting, waiting, hoping...

The Marshland

Hugh casting in the early morning fog while gulls call out and boatmen ready their vessels for another day

BLITZ! (Hugh was rushing to get his line untangled)

The "Game Changer" Mackerel flavor

Incoming tide

Small...but feisty

Gulls got this poor fella 

Tournament fish