Against All Odds;

[Ard]

That's how I felt Saturday night when I went to bed, I knew I had a fellow fishing for kings beginning on Sunday morning with the first cast to be made at 6 AM. With very few fish and incredibly high waters I was trying to keep the game face but my mind was troubled. It took until 11 AM but we safely netted the first of six, yes I said six Kings in the past 2 full days fishing.



That is not the largest of them but it was indeed a pretty fish so I selected it for a post. The regulations prohibit removing a fish from the water so there is no way to weigh them. I have caught and weighed many of these fish over the years and trust my best guesstimates. I say the largest was in the 24.5 to 28 pound range and was a blushed fish, I went with the shiny one because I have a thing for bright fish

It has been raining cats & dogs since Saturday morning as if we needed more water but I've suprised myself with a new found ability to make lemonade in the pouring rain. I've found them in places I would never fish and my guest is getting it done.

BTW, this man opted to leave his tackle at home and is getting these fish from a swollen river which is carrying a fair amount of color and he's doing it using my Sage X loaded with that new Ballistic launcher full floating line. I have a 4 1/2 foot section of T-8 spliced into the leaders mid section as is my practice with the total leader length at 14 foot. The flies are weighted AK. Assassins tied on tubes. This fella is casting that rod like it's his own and we have 2 more days to go. Thursday I'm on my own and can only hope to get a few myself

 

[fredaevans]

Nothing more fun than 'introducing' an 'angler' to new water's. Especially if he/she's a good caster. Talk about the run, where the fish typically hold in this type of water conditions, etc

Sit on the beach and have a smoke ,... watch 'him' work a run that you're fairly confident is holding fish.

Doesn't get better than that! :icon_excl

 

[Joey Bagels]

I LOVE it! Some of my best days have come after I first tried to talk myself out of going for one reason or another. Usually water or weather conditions. More proof that the best time to go fishing is when you can!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mcnerney]

Ard

I know you were pretty down about the low numbers in the King run so far this spring, so I'm really excited that you get into some good fish while contending with the rain and high water, congrats!

We have been having rain here in western Wyoming for a week now, the rivers have all spiked due to all the moisture.

 

[LimerickShaw]

Awesome, glad you're having a good time!

 

[dennyk]

Ya gotta love it when a plan just comes together!

Nice Fish!

Denny

 

[ia_trouter]

This post makes me very happy! The king on the fly game is hard enough even with three or more times these beyond pathetic 2018 run numbers. I'm glad a group passed the weir at just the right time for you and your guest. I know you were stressing letting him down. You spend way more time scouting fish than a typical guide would. If you had pro guided for 40 years you'd be in a mental hospital by now from all the stress. I mean that in the most complimentary way buddy. It's hard to describe with words how much effort you put into making others happy. Hope you pick up a few more here and there. Six fish of any size is an epic trip in these conditions. I hope your client fully understands that.

 

[wjlapier]

Rain yesterday and your post has inspired me to go anyway. Off I go to my usual place.

Great story and has me thinking I need to come up there and hire you

 

[Ard]

Another challenge, before I left the river last night I put a stick on a shore line stuck into the sand to act as my water level gauge. This morning it was gone........ the water was higher and more color present. The answer was to start high then drift and search until I found some fish. My fisherman connected with 5 today.



One more long day then I'm going to see what I might be able to find for myself

 

[ia_trouter]

Anymore crossing the weir? Or are you just chasing them upriver??

 

[mcnerney]

Another challenge, before I left the river last night I put a stick on a shore line stuck into the sand to act as my water level gauge. This morning it was gone........ the water was higher and more color present. The answer was to start high then drift and search until I found some fish. My fisherman connected with 5 today.

View attachment 11717

One more long day then I'm going to see what I might be able to find for myself

Ard: That is awesome news, congrats! Putting guy on five fish in those conditions is just amazing, congrats!

 

[Ard]

Ard: That is awesome news, congrats! Putting guy on five fish in those conditions is just amazing, congrats!

Thanks Larry,

Yesterday (Wednesday) he lost 2 as he was getting them to the net but we bagged ten successfully. It took 12 hours on the river but between hits that didn't get the hook and fish played we had action every hour of the day

I forgot my water cameras and his camera was set to shoot in Raw format so it will be a while before I convert them to jepg so I can show you a few. We got some real bright beauties. I'm so relieved that I will be taking 2 more fellows in the next couple days. When they are done I'll go see if I can catch one.

Here's another from Tuesday............

 

[Ard]

Anymore crossing the weir? Or are you just chasing them upriver??

Not the river you are thinking of Dewayne, that one is blown out big time, no records there and I'm not setting foot in that one for a few weeks by the look of it.

 

[Ard]

Friday = A day for me I've made a new head to help with the water levels and hope I might catch at least one. I haven't transferred the Raw images to jpeg yet so I don't have the shots from Wednesday. I've been trying to catch up on some rest it was a long 4 days. We were out there between 12 and 14 hours each day with an hour commute both ways the boat rides are almost as long as the truck rides.

This was an extremely rewarding series of days for me. A couple years ago I had a pair of anglers for a 5 day camp and we had what I'd call flooding conditions. They only caught 4 fish in 4 1/2 days and I could sense the frustration. I did everything I could think of to get a fish even rigging 9' 7 weight rods for jiigging heavy Prom Dress flies in the buckets but nothing worked. At the end I felt that they felt I had somehow failed them. After that (last year) I only took one person fishing because I really didn't like the vibes I had from the preceding season. The 2 guys who were in that same camp the 5 days before the second pair showed up had caught 128 salmon. It had rained all week but the water stayed clear and they caught fish. The second pair just picked the wrong week for weather and I was helpless to change that. As if that wasn't bad enough, when they left I had a third party arriving the same day. It was just one man but things remained the same, super high water, no fish to catch and he too gave a very negative vibe. He did manage a few salmon but the weather was awful to say the least. I was ready to give this up. The cost of all my permitting, the licensing, the insurance, I need to do all that every year just to be a small time one man fish guide business here. When at the end of the season I feel worse than the people who only caught a few fish I thought it may be time to stop.

I decided to give it one more try with a very light schedule so I ponied up all my requirements again this spring and........

This fellow who was with me the past 4 days had dreamed of fishing for these salmon for many years. He contacted me 3 years ago but I talked him out of it for the past 2 seasons based on the bad conditions and low numbers. He agreed to wait until I called him to report that I thought he might have a decent chance and he booked his air fare just 5 weeks ago. The air plane ticket cost him more but I knew we might have some sort of chance for success and I said to do it. He is considerably older than I am myself and this was his shot. A nicer man you couldn't ask to meet if you are a worried type like me. He was willing to try and he kept that AK. Assassin in the water constantly.When I dropped him off back in Anchorage today he said that there was no way he could have ask for a better fishing trip. That was so good to hear after having some folks hold me responsible for bad fishing in the past.

I'd guess that until you yourself took someone fishing for a fee and they failed to catch fish you may not know the feeling I'm talking about. It isn't good. I'm not doing this because it is a profitable enterprise, I do this to try to give a few people a chance to experience just a little of the thrill and the beauty that I have been so fortunate to have enjoyed for so many years. Seeing someone utterly speechless when they see their first 20 plus pound fish safely in that big rubber net is just the best feeling I can get anymore when fishing. Maybe I'll get to see one tomorrow.

 

[ia_trouter]

Not the river you are thinking of Dewayne, that one is blown out big time, no records there and I'm not setting foot in that one for a few weeks by the look of it.

I realize you are on a different river based on run number you posted. I was just curious if the run was perhaps late in places and ore are coming for a partial save. More importantly you showed some clients a solid trip under tough conditions..

 

[Ard]

He got in just under the wire, the river was closed this morning at 6:00 AM to salmon fishing. No C&R no salmon fishing period. I went up and snooped around anyway. The areas where we saw lots of fish Wednesday was totally quiet, no trace of fish at all. There could be some late fish but I wouldn't bet on it.


I spoke to a fellow I know at the launch this morning, he told me that he saw 2 seals at the mouth this morning at 7 AM. If there were a bunch more salmon down in the Inlet the seals would be there not at the mouth of the river. Whenever I see seals way up the river that tells me there isn't much food down at the tidewater, they don't swim 50 miles up the river for exercise...…………..

 

[Ard]

As luck would have it I have a Photoshop Elements 10 program that allowed me to convert the raw files from my fisherman's camera into jpeg images

On the last day of his fishing trip he did catch 10 salmon and we lost 2 as he was leading them to the net. There were no huge fish in the bunch and I feel comfortable saying they ranged between 12 and possibly as high as 17 pound for the very largest. Hardly big for the species but beauties every one. Along with low numbers over the years I see many smaller fish as the large breeding stocks are clubbed, gutted and taken................

I'm happy for what we got and there's even a picture of me trying to look friendly here.



Now a few fish shots;

There are more but due to the fish pretty much looking alike I figure you'll take my word for it. The fellow went home with a lot of pictures and some memories he won't forget. Especially of his hard working guide seen below..............

Yeah he caught me staring into the bushes and who knows what I was thinking

 

[fredaevans]

Great photo's Ard, especially the last one. Played 'Local Indian Guide' for a lot of Out of Towner's here on the Rogue or Chetco River's. Second home was in Brookings feet from the best spot on the lower river at tide change.

Many folks over the years, only one 'dud' in the lot. Those are very good odd's!

fae