Foam mouse flies

This is the fifth in a series of fly tying photos from the Northwest Fly Tyers Expo in Albany, Oregon.

Douglas Fear from San Jose, Calif. stumbled onto this mouse pattern on accident while tying a topwater burbler for bass. Pretty soon he tweaked his pattern and came up with the mouse you see here.

From MattStansberry

He uses 2mm craft foam on a size 4 Mustad hook. He also uses thick thread that doesn't cut the foam. I'm going to take one up to Alaska this May and see if they work on those rainbows as well as they do on California bass.

Super-bugger: New favorite summer steelhead fly?

This is the fourth in a series of fly tying photos from the Northwest Fly Tyers Expo in Albany, Oregon.

Fly fishing guru Dorothy Zinky took some time during the event to show me how to tie a super-bugger. It's a pretty sweet pattern and I think it might replace the old cuckaburra from last year.

From MattStansberry

These leggy buggers are made without chenille. Instead, it's made from four densely wrapped hen hackles that push a lot of water and offer tons of movement.

Nestucca River winter steelhead pattern

This is the third in a series of fly tying photos from the Northwest Fly Tyers Expo in Albany, Oregon. James Snyder of Monmouth Oregon tied this fly, called the Polar Caballero. Jim is preparing for a winter steelhead trip on the Nestucca River with Creekside Fly Fishing Guides and Outfitters.

From MattStansberry

Puget Sound surf flies -- Coastal Cutthroat patterns

This is the second in a series of fly tying photos from the Northwest Fly Tyers Expo in Albany, Oregon.

From MattStansberry

Roger Swengel was tying flies for coastal sea-run cutthroat trout in Puget Sound. Seems like fishing for these coastal bruisers is getting more popular. I think this book, Fly-Fishing for Coastal Cutthroat Trout was on every shop's table.

From MattStansberry

This is Roger's online bio: Roger has been tying flies and fly fishing for about 45 years in Washington and Oregon. He has taught fly tying classes at local fly shops for approximately 20 years and has tied at the Oregon Fly Tying Expo for the past 10 years. While living in the Puget Sound Area, he has been fishing the salt water for sea run cutthroats and salmon. Therefore, his tying now is more for the local salt water fishing.

Salmonfly patterns from North Umpqua tyer

This is the first in a series of photos from the Northwest Fly Tyers Expo. John Matthews, a professional tyer from Idleyld Park on the North Umpqua was tying some salmonfly patterns at the first table I came to. He uses silk screened wings,crystal flash, closed cell foam, moose mane and deer hair.

According to the bio on the NW Fly Tyers Expo site, John is "The Fly Painter" at the expo. He has been painting flies on cars at the expo for years.

From MattStansberry

Here is a good guide site on fishing the salmonlfy hatch on the Deschutes.

McKenzie River trail in Februrary

A couple weeks back, KP and I hiked the McKenzie River trail, upstream from Belknap Springs. It was really gorgeous trip and it got me thinking about where we live and winters here in the Pacific Northwest.

It seems like we spend a lot of days walking through unbelievably verdant green rainforests; green exploding from everywhere-- moss and old mans beard handing from every possible surface. The water is turquoise, glowing, the filtered light coming through the trees. And it’s every weekend -- in February. I just hope we don’t get jaded or used to this.

I had this idea in my head when I moved here, that I’d spend 3 seasons Oregon, and spend the winter somewhere else. But I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.

This MP3 is the sound of the McKenzie River rushing by. After reocording this we heard this thumping noise. It was giant boulders rolling down the river, shaking the ground we were walking on.

Outdoor Life magazine sucks and is harmful to outdoor recreation

Outdoor Life sucks.

I signed up for Outdoor Life magazine a while back, part of a package with Field & Stream -- you basically got it for free. I've never been impressed with the magazine, but lately I've been downright disgusted.

This was before the Jim Zumbo nightmare broke wide open, but that just adds fuel to the fire. Outdoor Life turned its back on one of its own, a sportsman and award winning writer, in order to save face with its advertisers. One word to describe that behavior: spineless.

Beyond that, 2/3 of the magazine (60 of the 90 pages) are entirely worthless. The front 30 pages is full of inane semi-outdoors related news and gag photos, mostly ads, a handful of throw away soundbite tips that no one will remember or use. The back 30 pages is all product photos and descriptions with the editorial quality of the Cabela's catalogue (no offense Cabela's, you guys are great). And then towards the very end the ads devolve into x-ray glasses, male enhancement and exploding cigars -- scam companies that advertised in the backs of comic books in the 1980s. Comic books won't even take their money anymore, but OL will.

I could go on and on: The constant shilling, the blatant dominance of the ATV set (would any of these people even think of hiking in or packing out meat on a horse or on their back?); the months spent on the "Dream Cabin" feature to sell ad space to building material companies (Who gives a shit about the dream cabin?); The "When animals attack" cartoon that illustrates increasingly preposterous scenarios every month.

But all that wasn't enough to set me against Outdoor Life. I've been working in the publishing business for the past 4 years and I know the challenges editors face. Trying to publish something real, lasting, insightful is hard work. Plus, you're at the mercy of publishers and ad revenue -- it's a tough balance. But what really turned me off was the irresponsible, sensational editorial feature in the February 2007 issue.

From Outdoor Life: Hell Hounds! Wolf Attack -- A fight to the death! Our exclusive photo gallery of a wolf eating a deer -- WHILE IT'S STILL ALIVE! -- raises questions whether wolves are noble predators or nature's monsters.

So let me get this straight, wolves doing what they are designed to do (eat deer) makes them "nature's monsters"? Right. So what the hell are we hunters? At least the wolves are engaging with their prey and fighting for their food on their own terms.

Other interesting quotes from the article: Wolves may have killed 200-300 dogs in Idaho -- according to estimates by a guy who got phone calls about the problem after his dogs were attacked by wolves .

OL also throws out this gem: "Wolf attacks on livestock, game animals, pets and even people are becoming an almost weekly occurrence." What does that mean? Wolves somewhere are eating something at some point, almost weekly!

OL pulls a couple canned, out-of-context quotes from 2 wildlife officials in a sidebar, but other than that, no biologists are given a voice.

Check out Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife's stance on wolves.

I'm not against hunting wolves. I think it would be a great fund raiser for state wildlife departments. Charge $100 per tag and sell them by lottery. What I don't want to see is wolf extermination, which seems to be what this magazine is advocating.

I'd like to end with a quote from Ed Abbey's, Desert Solitaire:

We need more predators. The sheepmen complain, it is true, that the coyotes eat some of their lambs. This is true, but do they eat enough? I mean, enough lambs to keep the coyotes sleek, healthy and well fed. That is my concern. As for the sacrifice of an occasional lamb, that seems to me a small price to pay for the support of the coyote population. The lambs, accustomed by tradition to their role, do not complain; and the sheepmen, who run their hooved locusts on the public lands and are heavily subsidized, most of them as hog-rich as they are pigheaded, can easily afford these trifling losses.

I won't hold my breath for Outdoor Life to ask me to write for them.

Fish Lake Interpretive Site snowshoeing photos

Fish Lake Interpretive Site: Here are some photos from our snowshoeing excursion in the Oregon Cascades.

From MattStansberry

From MattStansberry

From MattStansberry

Poacher scum kills Eastern Oregon bighorn sheep

From the Oregon Hunters Association: According to Trooper Robert Wilson, of the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division in Ontario, four hunters discovered the headless body of an illegally killed California bighorn sheep on Jan. 22 in the Long Gulch area east of Owyhee Reservoir.



California bighorn sheep were first reintroduced into the lower Owyhee River area in 1965. The herd now numbers about 200 animals. It costs about $1,200 per head to transplant a bighorn sheep, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, so illegally killed animals represent a significant financial loss to the state as well as reduced future hunting opportunities.

There is a $10,000 reward for info leading to the arrest and conviction of the poacher scum. OHA contributed $5,250 of that cash, with other money coming from the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep.

Oregon Hunters Association reels in ATV abuse

Today I was paging through my March/April issue of Oregon Hunter magazine, the official publication of the Oregon Hunters Association, and I was astounded by the editor's note on the first page. Editor Duane Dungannon tackled an issue near and dear to my heart: Four-wheeling bubbas tearing up wild lands.



From Dungannon's article: The last thing these animals need is to have a dirty-minded Bubba roaring through their habitat, displacing them from their domain and turning their foraging areas into an arena suitable only for mud wrestling. The damage to delicate riparian areas not only destroys flora and displaces fauna, but also results in erosion that destroys stream habitat. Access for those who merely want to enjoy hunting or hiking is also compromised when these clowns turn a two-track into quicksand in a few minutes of muddy mayhem.

In addition to the article, OHA placed a full page ad on the opposite page, offering info on how to turn in these idiots endangering Oregon Wildlife on the TIP hotline (800) 452-7888.

This article makes me proud to be a member of OHA and I will absolutely start showing more support for this group.