Late Summer Recap - The Skunk Continues

It's been an entire month with nary a post.

That's not good in the blogosphere!

Yikes. Work has kept me on the run and with a lack of good results from my few fly trips, I suppose I've been a bit embarrassed to post about getting skunked.

Speaking of getting skunked... it's getting old!

Sure, I've knocked the crap outta steelhead and pink salmon this year on friend's boats fishing gear, but it's been a rough go on the spey rod. I did get into some Pinks on the fly last week on the Skagit which was pretty fun despite the fish looking like zombies (I think zombies would smell better though). I'm still waiting on that big tug from a Summer-head though...

When I think about it, I'm fairly certain that I've hit the 7,500 cast mark with nary a good hookup to show for it. I've fished the right water, the right bugs, and anymore it seems like I'm fishing the "right" way. Hell, I've even fished two times with guides and I'm still sitting on an 0-fer. The temptation to get a bait rod is constantly in the back of my mind but I haven't caved... yet.

Time to get back on the horse, rig up the long rod, and keep grinding.

With it being the "other" busy season for my job I'll likely only get out a few more times until November but the Deschutes is calling my name and I think I'll have to go for a visit tomorrow.

Thankfully there are lots of trout in the Deschutes. It makes you feel good to know that you won't get completely shut out. If there's one thing I can catch, it is whitefish trout.

Get out there and make your own adventures... be they fish-less or not.

Ways to Fish Less Often...

Lately, I've found ways to fish less often than I'd like to. Sure, we'd all like to fish more than we do, but I've rarely gotten out at all. Thinking back to last summer, I was knee deep in trout fishing and rabies exposure shots at this point.

Oh well...

Here are some fantastic ways to find yourself fishing less often than you'd like:

1. Buy an old house... (Build a fence, re-landscape a yard, deal with broken plumbing, etc)

2. Work... a lot. (Days off are few and far between lately)

3. Drive 3,000+ miles this month for work alone. Yeah, that's equivalent to driving to Craig, Montana twice (round trip)

4. High water temps and low conditions on local rivers. (It's not good on the fish and it sure makes for tough catching) 

I will admit to a few early-hours sessions including a nice day up on the Upper NFL with a new fishing friend, and one recent gear chucking jaunt on some local water that produced a Summer-run fish for the dinner table. 

Cedar planks and Summer runs go hand in hand!

I guess my past month isn't that bad, but here's to enjoying the days on the water to the fullest. I'm looking forward to some diverse fishing this August (Steelhead, Sea-Runs, Pinks, and more!)

Tight Lines.