Ross's Skills

Cinematography Reel 2010 from Ross J Reid on Vimeo.

Hire this kid.

WildWater in Idaho

WildWater North Fork Payette Teaser from Anson Fogel on Vimeo.

Great Days Guiding

Filled my waders while chasing it down, but it was worth it. The fish had bent the hook and tore around the creek with Jess and I in chase. After what seemed like an hour squeezed into 6 or 7 minutes we got it. Great day and great family photo.

CATCH MAGAZINE

The season is just around the corner now...

Volcano

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull - May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.

The Methow

Time has flown by after moving out to Twisp last month, and I hope it slows down a tad or else I will be out of here before I get a good sampling of everything the Methow valley has to offer. The Methow, pronounced MET-HOW, is sorta Sun Valley meets Big Sky country, quieter and quirkier though. It is a unique place, with so much to do, one of those spots that leads quickly to an overwhelming realization that multiple lifetimes would be needed to cover it all.

Right now work is long, and tiring, but fun, rewarding and adventurous. The people that I have met living here are great and the guys I work with are becoming close friends. I was lucky to get this chance. Hiking, floating and wading rivers all day everyday is hard to beat, especially here. Today we surveyed the Lost river, not of Idaho, of the Pasayten Wilderness here in Washington. An upper tributary to the Methow, the Lost closely resembles northern Idaho streams such as the Selway, Kelly Creek and Marsh Creek, but with a little bit of the destructive capabilities similar to west side rivers like the Hoh or Skykomish. I found three new steelhead redds in a dark, heavily forested side channel off the main river, a place that has actually probably seen few people. Big Foot was probably following me the whole time.

It is still cold here, but the trees are filling with leaves and the days are becoming longer and longer. Summer is just around the corner now.

Swing, Step, Cast

Chilly Morning from Bobby F on Vimeo.

Spring Season

The winter season never showed up this year, and it doesn't have much time left to make a mark in Washington. The last few weeks have been filled with warm, bright days as if it were already May. Weekends have been spent road biking, hiking and obviously fishing. Fishing, not much catching, the terribly elusive wild steelhead trout. This time last year I was still learning coastal rivers, the two-handed rod and the confusion that is sink tip and fly selection. Somehow I managed to get myself into a 20 pound monster on the Sol Duc during this rookie campaign. How many more years will I have to wait to find another? Probably shouldn't think about it. Nevertheless, the desire to wade the unknown in search of the great fish remains. This year my season ends due to the new job just east of the Cascades, Twisp and the Methow valley will be home until June. It should be an awesome experience and fun place to live for awhile. The spring steelhead season on the Skagit/Sauk closed, and the coast is a circus because of it. This year is the year of reality, the steelhead and salmon of the Pacific Northwest are almost beyond any chance of recovery. Pretty sad, I have lived here all this time and never knew what I was missing till it was too late. I look forward to doing my best to find a way for these fish in the future.

Only one day of skiing this winter, the lowest total since I can remember, maybe even ever. I can't believe it was only one, be it a great one at Crystal Mountain. Only 2 years ago I was averaging 50+ seasons at Big Sky. Lousy snow levels, half the winter in Southeast Asia, less funds and a greater desire to catch chrome definitely led to the outcome. We'll see what the case is next year.

So from here on out most of my posts will be focused on my time in Twisp. The Wellington Way Station cabin awaits.

Watch this Video

ACID TEST: The Global Challenge of Ocean Acidification from EARTHNATIVE on Vimeo.

Orcas Weekend

Weekend retreat to Orcas Island. Walks, lounge time filled with crossword puzzles and reading, lots of good food and plenty of rest. For once it was nice to be sleeping inside a dry, warm house with firelight instead of the front seat of the little mule.

Montana Winters

After watching the BBC's spectacular documentary on Yellowstone I've been thinking about how much I enjoyed the winter in Montana. These photos take me back.

Bringing back the Bulls

Following the sketchy maneuvers of the Bush administration in 2005, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under Obama is making things right again. The policy change "would mean a more than fivefold increase in the miles of rivers and acres of lakes dedicated as critical habitat for the threatened species, and could mean more restrictions on recreation and development on federal lands."
Salmon, Steelhead and other fish that share these waters should be thanking the Bull trout right about now. Find out more.

Now Obama needs to rethink his Columbia River salmon agenda...

The Stoke

Revelstoke from Orange Krate on Vimeo.

Trip with Dad last winter to Revelstoke, BC to visit Jess. Spectacular mountain towering over the mighty Columbia river.

Family in the Turns

Silver Creek from Orange Krate on Vimeo.

A massive evening family float down the S-Turns on the creek. Every fish in the river ran for cover! But fishing wasn't all that important anyway.

The Bozos

Recently I came across this essay by fly fishing writer Greg Thomas. Every time I read it I think back to growing up with our bozo Labradors Benny and Bailey. It depicts life with hounds like these that every lab owner can appreciate. Both Benny and Bailey are long gone, Benny back in my early teens and Bailey one year after I left for school in Bozeman. It would have been great to have had a pup as my co-pilot on all those long icy drives to and from school. I look forward to the day I can afford to have one myself even if it comes with all the licking, scratching, room clearing, garbage dumping and neighborhood cat terrorizing.

From Greg Thomas's blog, Angler's Tonic:

"Shadow and her son, Moose, vying for bite time. I’m on night one of a five-day trip to Idaho’s Clearwater River, an attempt to land and release as many of those big, meaty B-run steelhead as is humanly possible. But it’s 4 o’clock in a narrow, mountain canyon and, to my surprise, already dark. Suddenly, I have no idea what I’ll do during the 14 hours before daylight returns, sentenced to the back of the truck with two spoiled Labrador retrievers." Read more here: Fishing Labs

Grande Ronde 2008

Grande Ronde from Orange Krate on Vimeo.

Footage from two years ago on the Grande Ronde and the drive over from Bozeangeles. Thanks to Dad for making the clip.

Ahhh, Winter Steelhead

After a three month hiatus from fishing I was finally able to get back out on the river. It felt great, especially because I was standing waist deep in the Skagit. While still early in January I knew our chances of catching something chrome were slim, but just getting out and being part of it again was the real pursuit. Plus I had a sweet new rod to test drive.

This time I brought along my best friend Clyde, totally new to steelhead fishing and only a relatively seasoned fly fisherman. The real goal was to teach him how to spey cast, ignite some interest and explore the rivers for when things are more hopeful this spring. Without the slightest pull ever occurring (that little wiggle of a fight from a tiny bull trout doesn't count) the trip was still a success. Clyde was bombing 75+ casts by the end of the day and we found some great looking new water. Water so good it gave me that intangible feeling there could actually be a fresh wild fish anywhere in the run. If the river is still open in March there will be. Next up is the Olympic Peninsula at the end of the month, maybe... Right now the rivers are so swollen and angry they will definitely need some time to relax when the rains end. Plus I really need to get the job and grad school situation sorted out.

But when we do go it will be great to see how Clyde reacts when he has a 10+ pound slab headed back to the ocean, fly line disappearing without control. His last fishing trips with me include the slow sipping cutts of Slough creek and egg hungry rainbows of the Big Lost. It'll be a big step from 16 inch trout to say the least.

Fishman cruises the Yellowstone

Watch footage of a dude swimming the Big River from BBC's documentary on Yellowstone

Video

His website: http://www.mikekasicsound.com/

Dad's Video

SEA Fall 2009 (alt ver) from Orange Krate on Vimeo.

A great collection of photos from our trip to Southeast Asia.

That last day in Korea

Maple Tree Korean BBQ from Bobby F on Vimeo.

When we arrived in Seoul at 5 am it was dark, and very very chilly. Wearing every long piece of clothing we had our extremities were still almost frozen, a dramatic change from the jungle temperatures of the south. Once aboard our bus bound for downtown Seoul things warmed up fast, not only was the bus comfy and somewhat luxurious, it really pumped out the heat.

An hour later we were back out on the streets in the early morning, this time facing the challenge of locating Eric's apartment while some nasty wind gusts intensified the chill factor. Amy had been here before, so although in the dark things were a little confusing we still managed to find Eric's place in less than 30 minutes. After taking a quick nap and allowing for the sun to rise it was off to spend the day in Seoul, this time with more clothes scrounged up from Eric's bedroom. We went straight to the subway were we met Seoul's workforce, a very hustle and bustle scene, before arriving at our destination in the old, artisan district. We had a quick breakfast at Starbucks before meeting up with one of Eric's coworkers to leave our bags with during the day and also to confirm a lunch time and location.

From here we just kind of cruised around, did some shopping, checked out a building project Eric had worked on, went to a mega underground bookstore, and then finished up the walking tour with a stroll along the man-made river within downtown Seoul. Eric's building was currently under construction, but a large poster was mounted on the containing wall showing renderings of what would eventually stand behind it. A very cool building, resembling a tree stump in design. Then it was time to meet up with Eric's coworker and enjoy a large Korean lunch. Soups, savory Korean pancakes, kimchi along with a Korean rice wine, not Soju. It was one of the best meals of the trip for sure.

After lunch we headed off to the royal palace were we spent about another hour cruising around, taking pictures, being cold and thinking about our next Korean meal. Maple Tree restaurant had been glorified for years, and throughout the course of our trip. Eric's favorite restaurant in Seoul, he had taken every member of the Druse family and often goes with his boss for special occasions. This also happened to be Brandon's favorite restaurant in Seoul, but he was now in Ho Chi Minh city. Too bad. Inside the warm, amber lit room the wood chip fueled grill thawed Amy's hands and provided some great smells. The kimchi salads here were fantastic and service was fast. Within minutes of the grill reaching full heat we had our own chef cooking steak and mushrooms right in front of us. The beef was of extremely high quality and some of the best I have ever had. Our chef would cut it up and instruct us to put each piece onto a pickled sesame leaf before eating. The mushrooms were also very tasty. If I had lived in Seoul this would have also been my favorite restaurant.

Next it was off to the airport after getting our bags back and doing a little more shopping, our trip coming to a close for good. I would have enjoyed spending more time in Seoul, but there is always next time. And knowing Amy there will probably be a next time.

Korea pics