Postcards From the Delaware

Photos by John Albright of a recent trip to the upper Delaware River.

Brothers

Brothers. What are you going to do? My younger brother Pete saw my comments about John in the last post and picked right up on it. He has been known to bait the two of us around the campfire, trying his best to get an argument going. And his best is pretty good.

In this photo Pete took on a trip to the Grande Ronde a few years ago John and I are obviously getting along rather well.

But in an adjoining dialogue in the email in which he sent the photo Pete picks up on the negative yet again. Still baiting. And he throws in brother Mark for good measure:

John speaking: "Jim, I've got to say I'm a bit disappointed. I tell you exactly what to do to catch fish, and then you go out there and do whatever the hell you want to."

 

Jim's response: "Did you see that woman fly fisher this afternoon? Nearly as sweet as Miss Wyoming. Or was it Miss Montana? Anyway, she looked at me."

 

Mark's response: "I saw her. She wanted to do me right there. I'm not kidding."

 

Pete's response: "Hand me another beer."

I have to hand it to Pete. In a few brief lines he pretty much nails it.

There are some factual errors, however. It was "Miss Missouri," named such by me in subsequent reminiscence because she was beautiful, and she told me she was from Missouri. When she talked to me. While we stood out in the Henry's Fork on a peaceful August evening. First time on the Fork. First time fly fishing. Looking at me with her big eyes. Asking about her fly--"do you think this will work?" Wondering about her casting stroke--"How am I doing? Like this...?"

So I said, "Wait here. I'll go get my brother John. He knows a lot more than I do."

The actual Miss Missouri Pool, the Henry's Fork

So. Where was I?

Oh yeah. Brothers. What are you going to do?

Give thanks for them every day. Love them. And go fishing with them every chance you get.

The Fly Tyer's Blog

HMH has revitalized their fly tying blog. I think you might like it.

I'm biased. My brother John is the one who will be writing the blog. He has always been my mentor and teacher in all things fly fishing and fly tying. He knows a lot.

I read his first entry today, about wet flies.

It immediately took me back to the many occasions I've sat on the bank of the Henry's Fork with him talking about flies and fishing while we waited for the hatch. Or arguing about flies and fishing. Like I said, he knows a lot, and he has opinions about the way things should be. It's a family trait.

There was a time when I hung on his every word, tried everything he recommended, and honored the classical traditions. And then came the time that I broke away and started doing things the way I thought they should be done. I tried my own techniques, tested my own theories, and tied sloppy flies with the proportions all wrong. And I still did better than he did.

OK, maybe not really. To be fair, we still debate that. What do you think? Would you rather catch more fish, or bigger fish?

Either way, I did have success, and I like to think it still bugs him a little that I can do something wrong and still get it right. (He thinks I must have an inordinate amount of luck.)

But the truth is that whatever success I have had on my own would have been impossible without the solid foundation of his teaching. To put it more succinctly, everything I know about fly fishing, he taught me. And I deeply appreciate that. Because we wouldn't have had anything to argue about otherwise.

Once again, I exaggerate. It's not really an argument; it's a conversation. And we've had a hell of a good time fishing and conversing together.

So check out The Fly Tyer's Blog. I think you might enjoy the conversation, too.

The Grande Ronde: Making the Most of It

I'm pushing to get a lot of work done today. Plan is to leave very early in the morning and be on the Grande Ronde no later than mid-morning. I'll be meeting my brother John. We've only got two days to fish, but we'll make the most of it.

He's making a big swing through the West right now hitting some prime fishing locations. He was going to be representing HMH at the big fly fishing show in West Yellowstone last weekend anyway, so he decided to make the most of it.

Free Plug

He stopped at the Henry's Fork first, went to our favorite stretch and, in spite of cold and wind, caught a beautiful Rainbow there. For old times' sake.

Today he's sampling the Clearwater for steelhead, and he'll be moving up the Ronde to meet me there tomorrow morning. He'll cap it all off with some time on the Deschutes.

Nice work, if you can get it.

The latest reports on the Ronde are looking good. There are slightly more steelhead than last year, and the recent rains have got them on the move. River levels are up but dropping.

Should be just right. I'm taking--guess what?--plenty of muddlerish dries for skating over those pods of fish hanging in those deep-green chutes.

Or maybe I'm just trying to make the most of it. But that's what we do. Wish us luck.

"Completely Jazzed About Fishing For Big Fish"

Brother John sent some more photos of his steelhead trip in March to Western Pennsylvania and Steelhead Alley. This is a Maine guy, Atlantic Salmon and Stripah fisherman, who has earned his steelhead stripes in the Pacific Northwest. So he wasn't sure what to expect.

But it turns out he was in good hands. His guide was Michael Decoteau, originally from Maine, and now owner of Red Spot Fly, his own fly tying business in Ohio.

But I'll let John tell about his trip.  

finally had a really good trip for steelhead.  

In terms of how my fishing season has started, i feel like i've just had the fishing equivalent of a 15-run first inning -- i'm starting the game way ahead.

i landed at least 10-12 fish.  hooked briefly, or touched at least a half dozen more.  we didn't photo all the fish caught.  after awhile, you just smile, toast the fish and let it go.  all but two of the fish were on an egg/bead drifted under an indicator.  i did hook and land two while swinging a fly; missed 2 or 3 on that method.

anyway, it was an eye opener for sure.  best part was how pretty the fish are.  some look tired, but so do some of those western fish.

and thinking more, not all western steelhead do the screaming run thing.  our Ronde fish were all quite catchable -- at least mine was.  and my first ever steelhead on the Snoqualmie River near my friend's place was an 8-9 pound female that took the fly at the head of the run, and stayed within 50-60 feet the entire fight.    so, seriously, i've concluded that western steelhead fishing and great lakes steelhead fishing are mutually exclusive; they can't be compared, only contrasted.  its a different ball game, and i want to play both as many times as i can.

both michael and i lost our final fish of the trip in the same pool, and both would have been the biggest of the trip.  i hooked mine first, near the end of a longish slow run.  a tall shale cliff was opposite, and there was a long shale shelf running the length of the run.  my fish was sitting right at the edge of that shelf.  this was late on friday, and by then the water had warmed from about 38 to maybe mid 40's and the fish were noticeably more active.  in my case, this fish simply didn't allow me to stay parallel with him -- he kept wanting to go downstream in a big way.  long story short, in spite of michael's counsel that i don't go any further downstream (fast water, ledges, and blowdowns) i had no choice but to follow.  before we could do anything, the fish was hanging in very fast water and the hook pulled.  20 minutes later, michael hooked a big fish near the head of that run.  same story.  no matter how he tried, he couldn't keep the fish in the pool and it was lost in the fast snaggy water below.

John summed it all up in another email to a friend:

 'First, every fish i caught was beautiful -- not stunted, dark, beat up old fish that i sort of assumed was what great lakes steelhead are like.  Second, steelhead fishing in the NW is a completely different situation and philosophical endeavor than great lakes steelhead;  there are too many differences, one of the biggest of which is the habitats of the fish. The big brawling rivers of the NW, with long runs and pools enable those fish to turn their body into the current and make those long screaming runs that we all learned was what steelhead fishing is all about.  And those same rivers are most conducive to swinging a fly, something we atlantic salmon anglers can relate to, and love to do.  But out here, the rivers are small, with short runs, pools, and pockets ('buckets'), and shale edges to provide cover instead of deep runs and heavy rapids.  As Michael Decoteau put it, you have to find and fish hiding water for GL steelhead instead of the 'classic' holding water.  And, except for too-few exceptions, the best way to get these fish is to dead drift a fly under an indicator.  As a steelhead angler, i hate the idea of drifting a fly.  But as an angler pursuing REALLY big, beautiful rainbow trout in small intimate settings, i can definitely adapt to that technique.'

Having said that, he then added for me:

I think i'll try to do all this again.

in BC

Attaboy. So yep, we're making plans for a northern foray. Now that he's the expert...

Meanwhile, we're both concentrating on our respective home waters and the opportunities opening up for us this spring.

I still hope to make a trip down to Lenore Lake for cutthroats before Trout Lake opens on the 27th. And then I plan to get reacquainted all over again with that beautiful lake and its beautiful trout. It's been six months since I've caught a Brown!

And John...well, here's what John is dreaming about:

the shot of the flies that i've attached had nothing to do with the steelhead fishing, except that i got so completely jazzed about fishing for big fish that i am now fixated on early fishing for big brookies and landlocks in northern Maine on heavy streamers -- the fish are coming up out of the lakes into the rivers chasing spawning smelt.  So, i fell asleep at the tying bench late one night; in my dream, i fell into the river and saw schools and schools of minners swimming by being chased by giant brookies, and then i woke up and there that same school of minners was, right on my tying bench!

Way to Keep Going, Bro

Still at it. Elk Creek, in Pennsylvania. This posted by iPhone by Guide Michael from the river as it happened just a few short hours ago.

Now I'm a little jealous.

Way to Go, Bro

Perusing Facebook today, and, oh my....

It's my brother John! Hey, John. So what's up?

If you have noticed a recent lack of posts from RedSpotFly, it is because we are in the thick of the spring steelhead season with Steelhead Alley Outfitters. Taking an off day today to swing flies with John Albright from HMH Vise...with success.

How about that. Nice one, John. I'm not jealous. Nope, not at all.

He and I, and brother Pete, are talking a fall steelhead trip this year--western U.S., or maybe western Canada. I'll have him take a shot like this of me. Can't wait to post it.

And I think again I just might tie up some of those beautiful flies before then. Here's just one sample photo from the Red Spot Fly page. OK, two sample photos.

Gorgeous. They really dress up those grip and grin shots.