I Don't Know Where I'm A Gonna Go

Spirit Lake at the base of Mount St. Helens has been closed to the public since the blew almost 28 years ago. Fish were discovered in the lake in 1993 and sampling has found some rainbow trout the size of steelhead.

Washington State wildlife director Jeff Koenings says he
will talk with U.S. Forest Service leaders in Washington, D.C., two
weeks from now about allowing a very limited trout fishery in Spirit
Lake. Via: The Columbian  LINK

Because of all the debris that was washed into the lake Spirit Lake now sits 200 feet higher than it did pre-eruption.

Match the Catch

Reel McCoy Fish Studio custom carvings. LINK

R.I.P. - Jeff Healey

I first saw Healey perform at the St. Louis Blues Festival in 1996, he was truly gifted.

Legendary blues guitarist and old-style jazz aficionado Jeff Healey died Sunday after a lifelong battle with a rare form of cancer — retinoblastoma — that blinded him in his first year. He was 41.

“Discovered” in a Toronto club in 1982 by Texas blues guitarist, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, Healey astonished music fans with his outrageous technique.  Via: The Star  LINK

Sauk Paper Scissors

Five of us, including the Chum management team, hit the Sauk yesterday in search of wild steelhead.

We arrived fully armed with a full arsenal of single and two handed rods.

   

I spy a spey rod.

When we stowed the two handers for some single handed Thingamabobber action we hooked three fish, two of which came unbuttoned.

The third E. Bun brought to hand , 200 proof wild metalhead.

Monday Fly Tie Lesson # 7

Learn Fly Tying Lesson 7 For Beginners with David Cammiss

Wild Steelhead Coalition Awards Banquet and Auction

Jeff Bright's slide show was just one of the highlights from last Saturday's Wild Steelhead Coalition award banquet and auction.

Frank Moore was the recipient of the Annual Conservation Award and the evening wrapped up with silent and live auctions featuring a cornucopia of fly gear, guided trips, and artwork all benefiting wild steelhead.

If you're interested in the fight to save wild steelhead please consider taking out a WSC membership or purchase a Patagonia steelhead World Trout T-shirt, proceeds of which go to the WSC.