Serpents

What it all really comes down to?

These.

And these…

Ain't looking for nothin' but a good time.

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Forget about what rod, line, reel, and all the other bullshit. The fish and what's on the end of your line is what it comes down too.

Fish and the end of my line.

While I'm not one to drop plugs. For those who don't know, this is a source for those who like to tie/swim the big bugs

http://scotthowellflyfishing.com/

Here's to it. Whatever it may be.

Rich

Heads or tails

Fall. It's been a beautiful Indian Summer with the exception of one "perfect storm" which I'm sure I'll talk about for years to come. While the fall season was great…it was almost perfect.

Before the storm the fishing was good to exceptional, everything was coming together. The storm was something else, something beyond normal. As September rolled over to October, tributaries that were a mere trickle, swelled to raging muddy torrents. Anadromous fish always follow the water when they can, leaving the main rivers to their spawning grounds. We lost a lot of fish to the tributaries. Fish moved back in but, the fishing could've been, well, perfect.

Heavy lifting.

Joe Minton with a 35" brute

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While it could've been perfect, it was still pretty damn good. 

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Sunrise.

The last North fish we got to the dry, showing October colors.

A beautiful tributary, un-touched.

Flies are important.

Muddler love.

Not sure if it was just me but, the colors of the changing leaves seemed more vivid this year.

Chinese dragons.

So, you want to be a guide?

Treat yo' self

Tail

Torque

The Beav

While cute, this beav was not a welcome site. We had just risen a fish and were in the process of the routine and this giant beav swam through the pool. He was as pissed off as I was, invading his home pool, I understood as he got on his hind legs and made disturbing gestures and hard stares our way. We fruitlessly made casts at our fish, hope was lost for my client but I've had this happen before, right-fish-right time-doesn't-matter. Then he made a swim back across the pool towards us, slapping his tail with a loud "BOOM" time after time, needless to say hope was now lost on me.

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No beav in sight, Hitoshi Matsuda from Japan finally gets it right and brings a bright Trinity hen to hand.

Beth Brunswick of the "fly-girls" with a bread & butter fish fro the Trinity.

Right hand wind, no problem. Andy Marx just cranking' one in.

Bright, late Umpqua fish

Jungle to alpine

Bruce Moore, killed the bobber and gave the fish a chance to show him what they could do. They did a lot for Bruce.

A familiar gallery

Eric White with another nice one, this was one of the hardest fights I've seen this year.

Hard to beat October too

Every one is a little different

Down the side of a mountain and back again, Rick Davis with the reward. A perfect wild hen.

Every year is different and this was no exception, I saw some of the best steelheading I've ever seen and some of the toughest when it shouldn't have been. Getting humbled is a good thing now and again, makes one appreciate it even more when you have one of those days when you can do no wrong. None the less, these fish never cease to amaze.

This is a smattering of clips that I took throughout the summer, nothing fancy.

Thank you to all of those who came fishing with me this fall. Had a great time with all of you, except for the ones I didn't(you know who you are). Looking forward to this winter and seeing many of you again. Until then…

Rich