It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. Life has a way of getting busier & passing by faster as I get older. As I’ve shared in the past, every year my dad, brother, son & I try to get the stars to align with our schedules & get out during the fall to spend some time together to share in a fly fishing adventure. Last year we weren’t able to do it (pandemic) and this year my son's school/college started earlier than usual in August so he wasn't able to go. Despite that, my dad’s (who's now 86) wanted to make 'the trip.' I think partially he's faced the reality that since he's been recently diagnosed with early prostate cancer and is having a harder time making any hikes more than 1/4 mi. that this might be the last fishing trip with us. It was his wish to involve some new grandkids in this trip so my brother and I 'made it happen' and added 2 newbies to the annual adventure: my 15 year old daughter and my brother’s 10 year old son - both new to fly fishing.
My dad wanted to return to a place we’ve visited in the past that we cherish. It is one of those few wilderness places left in my area where crystal clear creeks & glacial colored rivers flow through groves of trees that haven’t been cut in at least my dad’s generation and I wager some for longer than that. Combine that with absolutely no cell phone, TV, etc. & it’s a place that you feel like you’ve truly ‘unplugged’ & get to spend a bit of quality time together. Finally its a place where wild rainbows & native cutthroat rise freely. We weren't sure how the 'newbies' would take to the trip but my daughter loved both the hiking and learning the 'strategy' of fly fishing and my brother’s ‘plugged in’ 10 yr old son enjoyed every minute of being in the outdoors.
This year much of the PNW experienced lower than normal amounts of rainfall this summer so flows were lower than normal. But after hiking & exploring water that had been kind to us in previous years, we breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like every additional mile/corner was more breathtaking than we remembered & the fishing wasn’t bad either…
I mainly fished with ‘an old friend’ – a 8’3” Winston MT 6wt 4pc glass rod. I was reminded how much I enjoy fishing this full-flexing 5wt that is impeccably finished. (my daughter used my 8ft T&T special dry fly & my nephew a 7'6" EC glass rod which you couldn't pry from his hands). I was reminded how good the Winston glass was - it performed beautifully with big dries, droppers,& handled strong fish that knew how to use the current & spit flies back in your face. We're not sure what this next year will bring, but the 'newbies' already made us mark next year's calendar for another adventure...
Posted: 19 Sep 2021, 22:39 • 
