Fishing The Dark Season...

As we move into December, for many fishermen this marks the beginning of the "Dark Season" of fishing.

By "Dark", I don't mean anything secretive, nor do I imply any sort of clandestine operations taking place on our rivers and streams.

By "Dark", I simply mean the time of year when it is cold, gloomy,wet, and short of light--you know- perfect steelhead weather!!

Which is exactly my point.

Not that I don't appreciate the time when I can reflect on the years past "light filled" fishing adventures, places like, The Henry's Fork, The Rogue,The Kenai, The Owens, The Klamath--(and a few places I won't mention)--Or, grabbing a good book, re-charging my fishing wires-while the fish enjoy a break from the trevails of being a fish. And not that I don't appreciate the time to sit and tie the two fly patterns I know, and pick up magazines and start to plan out next year's wish list,BUT the year isn't over and there are still some fantastic fishing opportunities still out there.

One of the real nice things about this time of year is the lack of fishing pressure. Unless you live in the southern U.S., or have the means to fly to Patagonia and start the second season, most folks aren't really too excited to venture into sub freezing temperatures and chip ice off of the ferules on their fishing rods.

So while most fishermen are content to grab the remote, watch some guy grab a bass by the lips and have another egg nog, others are out there enjoying the solitude of the season.

With todays' hi-tech clothing technology, except when fishing in the Arctic or Swen and Ole's six inch hole in the ice, you can pretty much get yourself suited up to spend two or three hours comfortably outdoors chasing fish that usually have enough sense to remain where it is relatively warm.

At least WARM for a fish.

Fish don't stop feeding in the winter and the results can be INCREDIBLE!!

Even fly fishermen, if they can get their fingers to work on a size twenty-six midge, can coax fish up to the surface to take a microscopic offering.

Again, the point here is, if you put a little preparation, and thought into your fishing endeavors, you can still be out there enjoying the sport during the "Dark Season". It sure beats sitting around eating Aunt Holly's Double Lard Fruitcake!!

To me, there are still very little downsides.

Unless of course you count hypothermia,frostbite and freezing to death as downsides.


Of course, for some of you, sitting in a fish hut on some frozen lake, or standing in the steady drizzle of a Northwest rain, or cross country skiing to your fishing hole still won't sound like fun to you, so there is always Patagonia and New Zealand.

Thank God for Visa cards.....

Fishing With Your Dog.

Man's best friend.

Who better to share time with when out on a fishing trip than....

....Man's best friend.

I don't know about your dog but any number of the pooches I have had in my lifetime have never had the ability to throw a five weight line let alone handle a level wind reel.

Something about the lack of opposable thumbs, has been a real handicap in making our faithful canine companions the perfect fishing partner.

Nonetheless, many a fishing trip has been made with either my dog or a bi-ped friends dog along for the experience. For me, dogs have always added to almost any outdoor experience, whether it be hiking, camping,bird hunting,mountain biking,or skiing.

Fishing, on the other hand is somewhat a different story.

In my mind, I have always dreamed of having that perfect pooch, the one that walks calmly by your side, curls up and takes a nap while you endlessly cast over and over for hours to trout filled waters. A dog that yawns, stretches, wags his tail and comes over to give your catch a sniff and a lick before you release your finny playmate back into its natural habitat.

Nice dream.

I don't know about you, but most of the fishing/dog fishing experiences I have had-- have not exactly fallen into the Hallmark Special dog category.

More like a Mel Brooks comedy.

The dogs I have been lucky enough to know, have always been somewhat overexuberent in their fishing adventures, doing happy things like:

1)Running at breakneck speed and leaping into a fshing hole--especially one that you have belly crawled or "stealthily" snuck up on so as to not spook the fish-- and then swam around in it, thanking you for finding such a wonderful place to cool down after racing up and down the river banks. Most dogs I have owned, have really loved the water, in fact, I used to have a Husky that would swim halfway out into the river, pretty much scaring away any fish in a three county area.

2)Eating dead fish carcasses, which invariably lands your dog at the vets office, where six hundred dollars later, "mans best friend" does not so much as offer one thin dime, or learn even the smallest stupid pet trick, that might land you a spot on Lettermen, to help you recoup some of your costs.

3) Rolling in dead things--or worse! Nothing like having your dog find something good and rank, up to, and including animal excrement, giving a good roll in it, and then coming to snuggle up with you while you try to cast.

4) The old "tangle up the line" trick. Sure, most of the time you can't get your dog calm enough to sit by your side, but want him to give you some room to cast a fly line, and he will walk on, over and through your line, until he has some sort of Chinese string puzzle created, that only a nine year old girl can undo. Better yet, he will "sniff" around right in your backcasting zone until you eventually land a #6 Green Butted Skunk deep within his fur.

5) Speaking of Skunks. Nothing like the eye jarring, nose alarming smell of a two in the morning skunk rendezvous. Your faithful friend is mighty proud that he has saved the fish camp from the nightime intruder. This is especially enjoyable when you yell at the top of your lungs for him to get back in the tent--and then yell at the top of your lungs for him to get BACK OUT of the tent.
This has happened to at least four different dogs, on four different fishing trips, and has left my camping rig and gear smelling like skunk for months. We have even given the old "tomato juice" baths right on the bank of the river, which only makes the dog smell like a skunk pizza. Not to mention, the bath "crime"scene which resembles some sort of sickening bloodletting ritual--which induces calls to 911 from nearby campers.

The dog also usually likes this new man/dog bonding ritual and of course wags his tail profusely while self indulging himself in a virgin Bloody Mary, thereby splattering you with most of the tomato juice.

6) Fish wrestling. For the most part, your dog can care less about your fishing experience, usually wandering about looking for any of the aforementioned fun things to do. On the off chance you can concentrate long enough to actually catch and land a fish, THEN suddenly he is on top of your fish, licking, "tooth tagging", and generally treating your catch like a s"squeaky toy".

If the fish is lucky enough to make it back into the water, that fish is sure to swear off eating worms for the rest of his days.

7) Dog flatulence. Do I really need to say anything else??

8) Wet dog syndrome. At some point on the fishing trip, both you and your dog have the exact same smell. All that racing around,splashing in water, rolling in cow pies, sleeping on "dog's best friends" sleeping bag, and playing with fish, has made both of you "olfactor-aly" bound together.Of course, neither one of you are aware of this, which to your dog friend is pretty much not an issue. You on the other hand, try to impress the waitress at the "backwoods diner", who suggests extra onions on your burger, just to make sure she can't smell the stench of stagnant water eminating from your booth.

These are just a few of the many pleasures of fishing with your dog, and I am sure you have some interesting stories yourself.

Man's best friend?

You bet. There is still nothing better than the companionship of our cold nosed, cow patty breathed, furry friends.

And any good fishing tale I have ever heard has been enhanced by the presence of any TAIL of man's best friend.

Happy Tails To You....

what the heck is this?

The thing I have always liked about fishing, is the constant change that takes place.

Each and every day a fisherman's luck changes.

The fish are feeding, the fish aren't biting, the wind blows, the moon shines, water is too hot , water is too cold, ever changing.

The thing I have always liked about the internet, is the constant change that takes place.

The things that were popular or helped to create and fuel the internets growth are much different today than when we first sat down and sent our first e-mail.

Remember that warm glow you had as you pushed the send button, and proudly watched your little e-mail head off into cyberspace like a child heading off to kindergarten.

Or was that fear??

...And like that little naive fresh faced schoolkid, your little e-mail came back proudly sporting some new information and even perhaps some words from another worried e-mail parent on the other end.

Then he grew up!

Pretty soon, little "e" was out there on the internet--with his best buddy "search"-- and the next thing you know, little "e" is not so naive anymore. He meets "spam" and she takes "e" for wild ride in the wild west of the internet.

"E" got grounded.

Through time, the fishing world has changed quite a bit also. Techniques have changed, gear has evolved to almost an unfair stage, it is no longer grab a can of worms and sit by the stream and catch "a mess a fish". Fish finders, cell phones, sonic lures and irresistable attractants have broken the peace and tranquility of fishing and turned it into an "instant gratification", checklist conquering task, that is something most people do on there way to doing something else.

Got our fish--let's go mountain biking!!

.... Meanwhile, back at the internet. Along comes the "weblog", personal journals posted to websites, "blogs", as they are affectionately known, little rants and individual railings against society, a place to tell your feelings and send them off into the immense jungle of internet information. According to wikapedia - the weblog first emerged around 1994. They become really, really popular in 2004 and 2005. Seemingly everywhere, and now even posted by corporations and news giants, the blog is a great example of how fast this information age travels.

See something you like-- blog it.

Something you don't like--blog it.

Heck, politicians even track blogs to see exactly what the current pulse and feeling of the American public is.

Instant feedback and in some cases gratification.

This is where I come in.

Blogs are perfect for me. They are usually short and to the point.

For a guy with the attention span of a flea, and willing to strike up a conversation on any subject that I am neither an expert in nor have all the facts.......it is perfect!!

So, in a great mix of a subject I know just enough to be dangerous in--fishing-- and with a propensity to push buttons that say "send" on my computer--- "fish this" was born.

My own personal blog and railings about the most important subject known to mankind....fishing!!

Like a tree falling in the forest, I have posted important and cryptic messages out into the vast internet wasteland. Tirelessly trying to chronicle my year in fishing, and subliminally trying to convert powerless sheep to the followings of fishdom.

Basically, wasting a year of my life.

As if that wasn't enough, my year of meaningless ramblings ran head on into my current profession..... printing.

So, as revenge for all the books and items I have put into print over a twenty-five year span, I put my blog into print. As far as I know, this is the worlds first fishing blog to become a book. Of course, that is only because I haven't ever seen or heard of one yet.

Therfore, it must not exist!!

If you are an English teacher, you might not want to read this book, because it will be much to painful for you. It is wrought with misuse of the English language, and chock full of grammatical errors. There has been minimal editing done, and you can only shake your head in dis-belief at the overuse of quotation marks. Heck I can barely stand 'em!

If you are one of my past English teachers, this is exactly what you would expect from the kid who was inventing dice baseball games, and playing "dots" while you were trying to teach me the virtues of English, spelling and grammar.

Enjoy it or hate it for what it is.

At least the book is short.