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This year my spring fishing was severely limited as my family moved from the house we spent 10 years fixing up to a house will are likely to spend 5 years fixing up. In addition to the move, the house has proved a bigger project than anticipated and so far we have removed wallpaper in nearly every room, painted nearly every room, repaired ceiling tiles and drywall... Ok you get the point. With the majority of projects completed, we are starting to get out and back to our normal life. Recently, this included meeting a number of people from Maui Visitor's bureau. In a speed-dating style event, I met representatives from Maui as well the neighboring islands. I had about 5 minutes with each person to learn more about their resort or activity and tell them about what I do. Because I had been to Maui before, I was familiar with the Island. I had even kayak fished off the island, although it was in January and not the best time for kayak fishing. Most of the folks very curious abo...

Sunshine and the threat of drought do not make an ideal winter day in the Pacific Northwest. But, it was all we had to work with on my latest kayak adventure. The trip was slated for a Sunday in mid January and the clear skies and lack of rain had the Clackamas River running at summer levels in both volume and clarity. Michael Rischer and I pushed our Hobie Pro Anglers into the clear water and headed downstream in search of winter steelhead. My goal was to see how well the kayak handled in the river and see if I could accomplish my next major goal - spey casting from a kayak. The first riffle was simple and fast and after floating through a calm stretch at the end of the riffle, we headed into a more complicated chute that caused anxiety in the approach and endorphins at the exit. It may not have been major whitewater, but it did prove the PA could handle some rough water. The next couple river miles proved fairly easy and fun and the PA continued to prove its stability and comfo...

In December 2013, I realized that the most versatile boat was not made of metal, wood or fiberglass. No, the most versatile boat was made of plastic (and fiberglass, but mostly plastic). I started this post because of a recent kayak trip down the Clackamas River in my Hobie Outback. It was the second to last test in determining if I had made the right decision is selling my sled and have my only boats be kayaks. My boat obsession started with a 12-foot Klamath Fishmaster I picked up for $200. A lifelong fly angler, my fishing exploits changed with the arrival of my son. I knew a different approach was needed and with a limited budget I took a chance with the $200. I refurbished the boat, sold it, bought another and continued this upgrading process in order to minimize the impact on the household budget. Neither my son, nor my wife, truly enjoyed being in the boats so I made a selfish goal to work my way up to a jet sled. I reached that goal within four years when I ...

       The Columbia River is truly one of the great rivers of the world. Running through two countries, three states and draining a huge portion of the western United States, it refuses to be fully tamed. The fisheries of this river have been nearly decimated and only recently have they shown significant life. This year more than a million Chinook, or "king" salmon returned to their home waters. And this is only one of the salmonids that return to spawn, die and continue a cycle of life that is nearly as old as the land itself.         As a boy growing up in Heppner, a small town in Eastern Oregon, my brother and I would spend our summers fishing for trout in Willow Creek, the small stream that ran through the tiny farming and ranching town. On a typical hot summer day, we were fishing near the confluence of Willow and Rea Creek. We could nearly have jumped across either creek but the confluence was deeper and wider than any other...

      My buddy Jim made me go to the Deschutes River for a weekend in mid October. Okay, so he didn't need to twist my arm much, but I almost didn't go due to a tedious project at work and a near miss on buying a house. Fortunately everything fell into place and Jim wasn't taking no for an answer. Jim with a beautiful Deschutes River hatchery steelhead.       We left Friday afternoon and set up camp in time to get a couple hours on the river. The sun was bright and the temperature was perfect for a long sleeve shirt and fleece pullover. I brought the 5 weight switch, 7 weight spey and the 5 weight single handed rod expecting to spend most of my time with the switch. I was also excited to fish my 1930s Pflueger 1496 reel with the round line guard.        I stepped into the water in the middle of a great run, threw a short cast and started working the water. With each cast, I worked out to the sweet water and was tossing 70 feet be...

       After a great start to the summer, the second half was a series of trials involving an accident, insurance, a mysterious sound and searching for the mythical steelhead.        The excitement of the John Day River rafting trip crashed into a two month ordeal starting literally with a young woman crashing into rear of my Escape in early July. The woman did not want to involve the insurance company - something I would never advise now. Ultimately Progressive was involved and after three months I ended up with a new differential but instead of the insurance company paying for it, I paid the $3,000 (BTW - Progressive is a good insurance company if your the insured. I, unfortunately, was the victim).        The Courtesy Ford Dealership Service Center lived up to their name during the ordeal. Only a few weeks earlier to getting hit, Courtesy did a service check and green-lighted the Escape including the differential which t...

The spring fishing season started with a surprising successful trip to Hagg lake on opening day. The surprise was finding a pod large of rainbows on Scoggins Creek arm. The Hobie proved its worth that day easily pedaling from the Sain Creek arm which had frustrated me that morning.      The following weekend wasn't nearly as successful but I did land another big stocker. During the next couple months, trips to Harriet Lake, Benson Lake, Willamette River, Tillamook Bay, Deschutes River, Columbia River and Swift Reservoir were all mixed with some days outstanding while others a total bust. The trips are all recorded on my YouTube channel.             The weekend before 4th of July was the highlight of my summer so far when my son, Sam, and I joined friends of Western Rivers Conservancy on a four day float trip down the John Day River. The canyon was stunning and the guiding and support from Little Creek Outfitters  made it a trip that...

A calm morning fishing for sturgeon on Tillamook Bay. I n my desire for new adventures in the kayak, one topping the list is catching a sturgeon on a fly rod from my kayak. I have told many fellow anglers about this quest and most looked surprised, skeptical or intrigued. None have laughed.       It's a complicated task and there are many people, including me, who have caught large sturgeon from their kayaks. There is even a handful of people catching sturgeon on fly rods in British Columbia on the Fraser River. However, I have yet to find anyone combining the two.        With the Willamette so close to home, I have ventured several times to the "willy" in hopes of catching one of these ancients on my 12 weight. Last summer I had identified the "perfect low tide" and marked the calendar. On that beautiful fall morning I launched my kayak from the Milwaukie boat ramp a couple hours before the low tide. With the low water and ...

The blog has suffered the past month as I continue to focus my energy on the YouTube channel (in addition to my real job and family). The channel continues to grow with subscriptions closing in on 80 and the views closing in on 20,000. I am expanding my social media channels with Twitter  and Pinterest accounts. The Facebook account also needs more work and that is another goal for the year. Giving a little to the Native Fish Society        Feeling philanthropic for a great cause, and looking for more content for the blog and YouTube channel, I donated a 1/2 day kayak fishing trip to the Native Fish Society Banquet and Auction . The theme is Homewaters Reflect Hopes and is promoted as the largest wild fish fundraiser/party in the universe. The auction is in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, April 13. This year’s auction features a dinner by Food in Bloom Catering, beer by GoodLife Brewing, and wine from Lange Estate Winery, Yamhill Valley Vinyards an...

Note - wow did this take a long time... Launching the Hobie boats went well and Michael, in the Outback, quickly adapted to the boat and pedal action. We cruised toward one of the creek inlets that usually produce fish.The early conversations with Michael included my fly recommendation which were woolly buggers and leach patterns. About 100 yards from the ramp I turned the pedals around, made sure Michael was comfortable and had his line out, and started to fish. I was quickly on a nice sized trout and the day looked promising. In the next hour I hooked three more trolling my go-to green woolly bugger in reverse.      My goal was to fish the stream inlet where I had first pedaled the Hobie in reverse.      As I got closer to the inlet I realized how low the reservoir was. I made my way up the inlet until the water started to show signs of movement. It was the same location where I could no longer pedal the kayak so I took out the paddle, used ...