LingcodI’m sure you all heard me talking about going Lingcod fishing over the past week and a half. Now it’s time to put my money where my mouth is. Joe and I literally spent hundreds of dollars on rods, lines and tying material in anticipation of catching these honey badgers of the sea. Armed with his video camera, Peter was there to document the whole escapade. Let me first tell you that we really had no idea what fly or even what kind of water to fish. The interwebs do not have a lot of info for ...
New Web Site LaunchesSorry we haven’t had a recent blog report posted in a while but we’ve been very busy. After many months of work, we have finally launched the new version of our website and catalog. Nice job by Peter, PFF’s in-house web guru, for making this new site way more technically advanced, better looking, and much more interesting. You will hopefully notice many new features on the new site and a ton of new functionality in the catalog… such as wish lists, online gift certificates, (optional) user acc...
Invention of the RIO Coastal QuickShooterFor over a decade I have been a Puget Sound cutthroat guide. As a lifelong angler, the one aspect of this sport that has fascinated me more than anything is fly line design. I am pretty sure I have cast the majority of lines that have come to the market in my 13 years at Pacific Fly Fishers. In that time I have always “settled” for line choices in the Puget Sound cutthroat and salmon world. The two main fly line factors involved with this type of fishery are distance and sink rate. I stand st...
Finally the Local Rivers Are OpenAfter a 6 month hiatus for most of our local rivers they are all finally open to fishing again. That means no more traveling to the coast or the Columbia River trips to get my fishing fix in. After a brutal winter fishery with the wonderful weather we had this fall, winter and most of spring, this weekend finally showed signs of summer. That means summer run steelhead are in full swing on a few of our local rivers. The Skykomish opened up on the first of the month and with it being at a fish...
Trip Report: Christmas IslandUpon arriving at Christmas Island and going through customs at their very small airport, each member of our group quickly found ourselves wearing a crown of woven leaves and flowers and a refreshing coconut beverage. We were quick to add spiced rum to our beverages. Contact us to book your trip to Christmas Island with Christmas Island Outfitters. Like many fly anglers, I’ve read about how spectacular Christmas Island is for many years. It was a dream come true to finally be on a plane headin...
Simms Stone Cold ShirtAs a fly shop guy and guide for the last 10 years I have more fishing shirts from Simms then I would care to admit. The Stone cold shirt fits like a well tailored tuxedo (I have worn one recently). The extended sun cuff on the sleeve is just long enough to protect the tops of your hands while not getting in the way or looking silly like thumb holes. The fabric is the best feature, as it pretty much remains the same temperature regardless of how hot it gets outside. Simms says there is somethi...
Wenatchee SteelI asked my good friend and high school buddy to join Joe and me for a trip on the Wenatchee for steelhead. Mike has fly fished for trout for probably close to 20 years, but like so many others he hasn’t quite taken the leap to chase steelies. Ok, I’ll give it away early… let’s just say he’s glad he did! I really wanted to put him on one of my Spey Rods, just to give him a taste of what a different casting style is like. We all know someone like Mike, he is one of those guys that has CRAZY, na...
Banks Lake BassinIf you’re looking for something different, give Banks Lake a shot for great numbers of smallmouth bass. Mid- to late-May is a great time to fish Banks for the bass that are in pre-spawn mode. They are typically in five to fifteen feet of water and staging in or around rocky flats where they will eventually spawn. I’ve done this trip two out of the last three years now and it is a blast. A 6- or 7-weight rod with a full-sinking line is the best setup. I like a 6-foot, 2X fluorocarbon leader a...
Banks Lake Smallmouth and MoreFished Banks Lake for a couple days in May. I was primarily there for smallmouth but encountered a few other fish of interest along the way. The first day, Vance B. met me over there around mid-morning. Earlier in the day, before he arrived, I was messing around with carp on a large, shallow flat. It was loaded with carp! I tried to sneak in there as best you can with a 20-foot boat, and managed to find a few fish that appeared to be feeding. One of our customers is a carp fanatic and has bee...
Two rivers one daySunday, the beauty of this area is just what the title suggests. Was able to fish the upper sky Sunday morning before the sun came out to visit. Low water conditions are here for the summer. Which means light lines and more traditional flies. Was able to get two really good takes, well one really good grab and then the missed fish just subsurface. It is always fun to watch the boil even if you don’t hook up the fish. But there is something to be said about feeling something goofy and then see...
June 7th 2010, Marcel's SteelheadAnother good day on the upper Sky, we were able to miss a few fish and land one nice one for the fish box. The river has been up a dirty for a little while now, but anybody who knows me, knows that I wont be deterred by those conditions. The flies of choice for these kinds of water conditions are big and burly. Light lines and big flies end up for some good early river fishing. Bennett’s Steelhead Exasperator is one of the favorite patterns for this type of water conditions. Even those th...
Its always sunny in WenatcheeNot that I am a fan of that show, but according to the stats it is always sunny in Wenatchee. Well I have been spending quite a bit of time on this river since it has opened. Mason beat me to one of the posts and its been busy going back and forth. But although fishing hasn’t been red hot like it was last year around this time. But for the venturing few that have been out there, there is a few willing takers. As a heads up the Wenatchee has been and for the next week or so will continue to be...
