Month: August 2018

It’s time….The funky fresh time of the season that is by far the tastiest of jams when it comes to grooving down the Yakima chasin troots…the Autumn. Commonly referred to as the late season in my boat. It’s by far my favorite time to fish, guide, and do generally trout bummy stuff. Already the evenings are cooler and the days shorter…I can smell it, feel it, sense it slowly creeping in. The cold tendrils of Autumn in the evening, the mist off the river in the morning as air temps and water temps pass each other on the thermometer. Later mornings, waking up with the river, sleepy fish, aggressive for food during the day, trout back on a schedule…and fishing much..much later than 5 am.

So far the only real downside to living so far from the Yakima River is that I don’t get to see the river every day…but then again…I am headed to Montana on Monday before returning to the homewater…and it’s a much closer drive. I’ve been wanting to hit the MT area since the last time I did. And a quick trout bum trip with angler peeps is a perfect way to recharge batteries and get into the late season.

I’ve spent the better part of my professional angling focused on the late season fishing on the Yakima River. I know the upper river in the fall better than most…and that’s through hard work, trial and error, and damn near every day riverside in the late season over the past several years. The Yakima is a different river in the late season. A fishery that tests anglers, and rewards them for perfection. It’s quite frustrating and fulfilling at the same time. I have more fun in the fall than any other time of the season…and if you’ve gone down river with me anytime of the year…that’s a tall order to fill. But the Yakima in Autumn does a few things that really get the angling juices flowing.

Flows

The flows drop…controlled for returning salmon, but the flows in the fall represent a more natural feel to the Yakima. Riffles, drop offs, structure, and proper trouty looking water starts showing up all over the river. Fish are no longer forced to the deep depths of the river or the banks trying to escape the high summer irrigation flows while still getting food. Flows drop and expose trout more, the fish tank gets smaller so to speak. Places where there were 3800 cfs now have 900-1500cfs and those 800-1000 fish per mile are a little more compacted in the river. They pod up, feed on a schedule, move about the system more freely, and seek and search out places to feed heavily before the winter temps set in and fish go into a type of hibernation. The annual flip flop of flows, or drop of irrigation water out of the system, is the start of this whole shindig.

Fish

Fish in the fall are able to move more. They move in relation to food, salmon, predators, and holding water. Every morning fish move into areas of the river where they can have easy access to food. As the day wanes they retreat back to their holding areas to rest for the evening. Every day it gets colder the more ferocious they get until the water temps force them to hold and rest most of the day. By mid November they are trout-sickles but the days leading up to that can produce some amazing fishing related episodes.

Bugs

Oh dude do we have bugs in the late season. The tail end of the Shortwing Stonefly Hatch, the Cranefly Hatch, Mahogany, Cahill, and BWO Mayfly Hatches, multiple species of Caddis, including the big October Caddis. Plus salmon eggs and flesh, streamers…especially crawdads, all of it on the menu. Things hatch on a schedule, fish move in relation to them, you can target fish in all sorts of water, using multiple bugs throughout the day, and you can have a lot of fun headhunting fish and figuring out which fly they want and how they want it. Plus you can skate shit and it’s the only time of the year that it works consistently. Mmmm.

Guiding

Its groovy in the late season. Full days are back on the calendar, you can spend 8-10 hrs riverside and catch fish all day. River camping is also wicked fun in the fall. Guiding becomes a really fun challenging experience that makes me get out all the tools and tricks. Different angles of approach, stalking and walking on fish, using the boat to spot hop, getting out of the boat and knee deep in the river again. Changing casting angles, cast types and techniques, longer drifts, perfect drifts, longer leaders, smaller tippet, multiple fly changes, timing drifts to trout eats, hopping out of the boat and netting fish 20 yards down river, fish getting into backing, huge slurps, aggressive indicator drops, and very very cranky fish. There’s nothing like the fall fishing on any trout river but the Yakima is one of my favorites because of its technicality and spooky AF fish after all that summer time pressure. It’s not easy to put 20-30 fish in the net on any river…but I have found it’s easiest for me as a guide in the fall. And that doesn’t come without a lot of work on everyone’s part. I invite all my clients to come back in the late season. I also have many clients that consistently come in the fall because of the experiences we’ve had together. The Yakima River in the late season will make any angler better…no matter the skill level or experience. These fish don’t care…all are equal in the eyes of the Yakima Trout in the Autumn…all equally in for an ass kicking if the A game is not brought.

The stoke is very high this year. It’s been a rougher season for my beardy face. And I’ve moved and am taking on more water and other guiding next season…so I’m looking forward to the familiar schedule of the fall fishing season. Plus I get to camp for basically 2 months straight and guide and fish my ass off for the next 60-80 days. That may not sound awesome to some…pshhh. Camping, showering outside, colder temps, smelly waders, coffee with grounds in it, lifted burn ban, riverside nights, 8-9 hrs of fishing a day, missed fish, landed fish, big smiles, damp 20’s, firm handshakes, trout handshakes, and a general lack of that ‘normal’ 9-5 life, replaced with all things trout, fly, and rod. Ya…it’s not for everyone…but it’s all I’ve ever wanted.

I hope to see you out there this late season. Take a trip if you like, full days, half days, walk and wades, it’s all up for grabs and the fishing rarely disappoints in the Autumn. It’s by far the most consistent time of the year on the Yak. And with the forecast for flows and weather…it’s looking pretty damn spectacular. Especially after the warm water of the summer.

There are dates open, but it fills fast. And it’s good all the way to Halloween Day on the Yakima River and sometimes even into November. I’ll be back on the Yakima Thursday the 30th. My tiny house get delivered to the homestead next week, so I’ve got to get ready for that…plus I am trying to sneak to Montana for 2 days too. But once I’m back it’s all Yakima until the season ends and I plan on fishing and guiding every day I can!

Hope to see ya riverside.

Tamarack

Well the summer is finally leaving! Smoke is starting to clear, temps are dropping, and the river is returning to normal flows.

We’ve got roughly 80 days of trout season left here on the Yakima River. I’ve got availability over that time but the late season always fills up fast.

Give me a call, send an email, or yell at me riverside, to get on the calendar and enjoy the best time of the year to fish the Yakima River with fly and rod.

The Autumn approaches…get your gear…let’s go chase some trout!

Tamarack

Tis the tail end of the summer. The dog days, the final push before everything simmers down and we get to that sweet funky fresh time of fishing in Autumn. Don’t get me wrong…I love fishing in the summer, even this summer with it’s not so cool attitude and Smokey demeanor. But the summer on the Yakima is not even in the same realm of the Autumn here.

The late season is my jam. Fall is by far my favorite time to fish and guide. I see a lot of familiar faces in the fall…and the more experienced, or higher caliber anglers…tend to venture forth in search of Yakima River Treasures. The entire tone of the river changes as the summer leaves us. The Yakima calms back down…she returns to her normal flows. The fish, after being hammered by heavy irrigation water, hot water temps, and lots of traffic and pressure, start to return to a schedule. A routine if you will. They react to their environment like a proper trout…because their home is finally back to normal. The Yakima is not a large river. It’s barely a medium sized river and the 3 months of high flows…I really don’t count them. It’s high, hot, and heavy…super fun, but as the summer wanes the fishing shifts to early mornings only these days, and fish go deep in this river, and some never come up off the bottom the whole summer.

When the flip flop occurs, and the dams shut down for the season….the Yakima goes back to her normal self. It’s like the dams aren’t there, and the river is as free as it can be. The fish know and feel this too. Once again the fish are able to move about the system, feeding, swimming, resting. They aren’t pushed around by the heavy summer flows and can move freely throughout…and they do. Trout in the fall have one thing on their brain…as do all other critters. Winter is coming. Trout start to feel the water temps react to the overnight air temperatures getting lower. This triggers trout to start prepping themselves for the winter cold, hibernation, and general trout-sickle conditions. Luckily the Yakima River has some amazing hatches and as the water temps start to go back to normal fluctuations, the hatches return…and the fish respond.

The trout will start to wake up and move about to their daily feeding areas, some will hold on to key areas that they’ve decided to stay in for the winter as things get colder too. But fish will move to areas where they can gorge on food and get fat for the winter. This is seen when the salmon show up and fish follow them around the river eating eggs and flesh as the salmon do their thing. Trout will also do this for other food. Like Craneflies.

The Cranefly Hatch is the first Autumn hatch. It typically hits its peak when the air temps get back below 75 consistently. I’ve already seen some flapping around…but they aren’t the ones I’m referring too. There are a few species of cranes, some aquatic, some terrestrial. The big aquatic ones happen usually the 2nd and 3rd week of September. They are algae eaters when in the larva stage. They are a big leggy mess of food for troots. And ovipositing females are better than stoneflies…because fish eat them better here over stoneflies…at least in my opinion. That’s mostly because trout will eat cranes on the skate.

There is nothing like skating a dry fly and getting a fish to chase it and hammer the absolute shit out if it. It’s like streamer fishing and dry fly fishing got wicked f’ed up one night after fishing together and decided to make a dirty baby. It’s almost not fair how much fun it is. But truly, I’ve got clients that will tell you, cranefly fishing is f’ing silly. It beats skating October Caddis simply because I don’t have to be in waders for it. I hate waders…and shoes.

Fish are hangry in the Fall. And they show it by chasing food down, eating aggressively, and testing anglers skills by needing damn near perfect presentations and good trout playing skills. Inexperienced anglers…that’s your heads up…you will get tested in the Fall on the Yakima. Typically trout will eat cranes anywhere in the river. Because those leggy morsels fly and flop all over the damn place. I’ve seen cutties literally come clear out of the water and snatch cranes out of the air dudes…it’s sick, it gets my shit going, and makes me all tingly. They cranes get active around 10 am, and we fish them until about 2pm if things are good.

Get a drag free drift over the water you’re reading…then at the tail end of the drift…just start skating the fly. Enjoy.

The next hatch is the Mahogany, Light Cahill, and BWO Mayfly Hatches. And they can all happen at the same time and last from mid September to mid October. They are like most mayflies, needing overcast, low barometric pressure days, rainy days, and days where things take a bit to warm up. They usually come off in the late afternoon…after they’ve percolated down there. This is why nymphing Copper Johns in a size 16 in the Fall can be money during the mid day prior to the hatch.

Look for riffles, and when things are cooler both in air and water temp, fish tend to be in the slower water and tail outs of riffles. Waiting for the food to come to them. Lazy troots. I like an Adams in Cream or Red or Wine colored , size 16 for my Cahills and Mahogany’s. You can get fancier…but the fish need more of a better presentation over a wicked cool new fly. I use a 12 foot 5X for my mayfly stuff. When the water is smaller fish can see you easier…so longer casts and varying angles of approach is best. Stalk the fish. Read the water…wait…watch…and then cast. You may see a fish rise…we typically do…but just because you don’t doesn’t mean they aren’t there and won’t eat a mayfly. The reason I use this method is because if you beat the water in the Fall…you will spook every fish in the river. Don’t cast over the water. Fish smarter not harder so to speak. And in the fall…fish will just move to another spot if too spooked. And they’ll tell all their friends as they leave.

The BWO hatch happens a little later in the Autumn typically. BWO’s really like the damp days. Look at back eddies and slow seams on riffles with small size 18 Emerger style patterns. Paras. Fish sip on these little bugs, and sometimes that little nose…is a really big ass trout. Rainbows really like BWO’s and they eat them like uppity rich folks to be honest. Super sneaky, with their noses up, only showing their nostrils when they break the surface…the smaller the rise…the bigger the troot. Hehehehe.

Then we have the caddis. There are a few that hatch in the Fall evenings. Like the Spruce Moth…not actually a caddis, bit a cream colored size 14-16 caddis will do the trick. Late September usually. Or the Silver Sedge…my personal favorite, as it’s a larger size 10 dark brown caddis with a dark fuzzy olive body. It has some cool white colorations on its wings that it gets its name from. It’s in early October and I use a size 10 moose hair caddis with dark angora dubbing and light hackle wrap on the body.

But everyone knows the big guy in the Fall…the October Caddis. It’s big here…like a size 8-6. It has dark brown wings, a fuzzy, rusty, sometime bright orange body, big legs, and long antennae. It hatches like a Stonefly. It crawls up along the bank, pops out of its casing on the rocks, and flies up do to its thing. Fish key in on the hatch as bugs will fall in the slower water along the edges of the river, they will also pick them off as they move towards the bank. Swinging wet flies during the early evening before the hatch can be super fun. And skating big dries as it gets dark makes for some amazing end of the day fishing.

The Fall is a fun time to fish the Yakima that is for sure. It’s the time of year where I am at my best as a guide. I know the Yakima River in the Autumn better than most…and I can say that with the utmost confidence. I’ve put more time into figuring out the late season fishing than any other time of the year on the Yakima. It’s still the only time of year where I’ve got into over 30 trout with clients during a trip. It’s consistent, it has never been bad for me in 12 years, and to this day it’s when I put the most consecutive trips on the calendar. Last year I worked almost every day, and fished almost every day myself either prior or post trips. I can’t get enough of the Fall fishing, and we get roughly 60 days of it…might as well fish every one that you can.

So that leads us into the sales pitch. Book a trip for the Autumn on the Yakima River! September is filling up fast…and October will go quick. It always does. Come let me show you what the Yakima River is all about in the Fall. Plus the colors change, you can wade your ass off, we go back to full days of fishing, French Dips riverside for lunch, overnights with campfires again…mmmm….I can smell it already.

The Countdown to Autumn has begun!

Tamarack

I am back on the Yakima Wednesday:

I’ve still got the mornings of August 17th and 18th open! Big eats on dries, cooler temps in the morning, off river before the floaters and tubers get out…home by lunch and back in the AC…I mean…it’s how I fish the summer, come get some early morning trout in…it’s better than coffee…trust me.

Urgent: I will be on voluntary Hoot Owl Restrictions until further notice.

Water temps are still too hot for afternoon fishing. We are still seeing 70 degrees by mid afternoon. I will only be doing early morning trips and off water by 2pm from now until conditions change.

Trips on the schedule will be moved to morning start times if they haven’t already. If you are scheduled for a float and can’t do the morning you will receive an email about rescheduling or cancelling.

If you have questions please contact me. Hoot Owl benefits the fish by not pressuring and stressing them out during hot water temps where trout have a harder time recovering.

Thanks,

Tamarack

Hey anglers,

We’ve still got some warm water temps. Gauges are still reading 72 by the mid afternoon. Overnight air temps are finally dropping back down into the 50’s at night so the morning water temps are dropping back into fishable ranges.

I’ve got the following dates open this week for Morning Floats!

August: 15th 16th, and 18th are still open this week!

Early Morning trips typically mean you’ve got the river to yourself, bigger fish eat wicked early, and um….dry flies. Most morning floats you’ve got your biggest trout before 7 am! Better than coffee let me tell ya.

Come see what summer fishing before the river fills with tubers, floaters, other anglers, and the mid day heat, is all about.

Call, email, or message to reserve today!

Tamarack

Urgent: I will be suspending my guide operations this week and into the 13th. Water temperatures in the main stem Yakima River between Cle Elum and Roza Dam are hitting 66-70 degrees by the afternoon.

My cut off point for fishing is 65 degree water temp. With the increased heat and water temperatures not being able to cool overnight fish aren’t getting a break. Until the water temps drop back to suitable levels for fishing I will be halting guiding and fishing until the air and water temperatures drop back to levels that are less stressful for trout.

I will start guiding once the temps drop back down. Trips currently on the schedule are still a go. If your trip could be affected by the hot water temps you will receive an email discussing options.

If you do plan on fishing I suggest taking water temps, playing fish on heavy tippet, keep fish wet as much as possible, fish in the morning,and consider ceasing fishing when water temps hit 65 degrees.

The Cooper River is dear to me. I haven’t fished it seriously in a few years. It was a place that I shared with my close friend, guide buddy, and angling partner Casey. Casey passed away a few years back now…a US Marine that was using fly fishing to heal and recover from trauma…sadly he commited suicide.

We had become close, and when we lost him it hit me heavy. I was angry, sad, depressed, and at a loss. Talking to him literally a day before and not having any inclination. We had planned on meeting on Rock Creek Montana the following week. A trip we never got to share. To this day I still miss him. We fished the Cooper together…a lot in the short time we knew each other.

I returned to the Cooper River today. I have been driving along it to Cooper Lake a few times in between the trips of this past run. I could feel it calling me. I could also hear Casey’s deep chuckle of a laugh among the rapids. To this day I still hear it, right near a place he slipped and fell while walking behind me…rolling backwards laughing the entire time as he made sure he didn’t lose any important stuff and decided to just take a quick soak before returning to fishing.

I fished there today…and caught several fish and a few illusive brown trout. I remember his smile catching small hand sized trout among the rapids. Amazed and awed by the beauty of this small wild river tucked up in the highlands. God I miss him. He was one of the only other anglers that could keep up with me and matched my energy level. He just put himself wholly into Trout fishing.

I feel sad…sad is the only word I can muster, when I think about the times we shared, and the times we lost because of his departure. I feel privileged to have known him, fished with him, and shared in the experiences that fly fishing can bring anglers.

The Cooper River is a high mountain stream. It’s source is the Lemah Glacier, fed by way of Lemah Creek, into Pete Lake, into the upper Cooper River, which pools in a large deep lake around 4300ft, Cooper Lake. Not quite alpine. Then the river flows out of Cooper Lake, and begins it’s almost 7 mile journey to the Cle Elum River. The Cooper River below the lake is a torrent of water. With class 3 and 4 rapids every few hundred yards. Cooper Falls is an impressive 60 foot cascading waterfall that descends a solid granite staircase of rock into a large deep pool. There are fallen trees, huge boulders, and crystal clear water that holds 4 species of fish. Native and wild Rainbow and Westslope Cutthroat, wild spawning Brown Trout left over from old stocking habits, and the invasive Brook Trout. Plus Whitefish. I caught 2 of the 4 Trout species today. Brown and Bow. The others eluded me. But they are there.

Dry fly fishing for small creek fish, blue lining up and down the river in search of the precious gems that live, feed, and spawn in such an amazingly beautiful place…it’s what anglers dreams are made of. Hard to get into, but so worth the reward. Fish that only see a few adventurous anglers a season, they eat ferociously, and will happily take traditional dry fly patterns like wulfs, humpys, and trudes.

You feel isolated when fishing the Cooper. Like a bear could pop out at any second…and they do occasionally. I’ve seen all manner of wildlife there, including a rare Pine Marten a few years back. You feel as if you are being watched…but there is no one around you…save for a few trout…and the trees and critters. It’s quiet, well, the sound of the rapids drown out the world. You can barely hear yourself think…which is kind of the point up there.

To escape, to be consumed by river and trout, to get lost in the twists and turns, the current, the flow, the sunlight brightening the river bottom to a teal hue against the hard white granite stone that makes up the river bed. It is a sight let me tell you. Both above and below the water. I have not fished a prettier river, and I’ve fished a lot. Wild trout do not live in ugly places.

The Cooper River is a treasure, filled with gems of Trout. A 3 wt paradise. A place I loved to share with Casey, a place I love to fish solo, a place every angler should see, fish, respect, appreciate, and take care of. There is but a short window to discover and explore the Cooper River, before the snows fly. I invite anglers to experience it…no guide required.

Tamarack.

I’m unlike most younger men…I like things slow. Everything, driving, fishing, making food, sex, tying flies, enjoying a smoke or a coffee…I’m never in a hurry. I didn’t used to be. College, family, my previous business, my previous work…it always seemed like I was chasing another paycheck, another appointment, another school function, pay this bill, pay that bill, can’t afford that, can afford this, run over here and do this, over there and do that. Just a never ending spiral of running around chasing my tail it seemed.

I was always hurried to the water, trail, or slope. Get there fast so you get as much time as possible, one more cast in, one more run, another 3 Miles in. Get away from all the noise, the bills, the kids…the people. Unplug, disconnect, and sync up with the outdoors. I never felt like I had enough time to enjoy all of it before. The past 4 years have been quite the opposite.

I only chase one thing now…fish. Typically Trout, but the angler in me needs more. I’ve got other water, other fish, and new experiences on the brain. Knowing this has made me really appreciate the homewater and the entire watershed from sources to confluences and down river. I’m observing it all…I’m a very visual person. Things that stimulate the eyes and make the mind ponder and wonder are something that still take my breath away, make my heart flutter, the adrenaline I am so addicted to course into my body.

Things like: a Trout eating a dry fly. A mountain and glacier shining faintly but intently in the alpenglow above the lake. The whitewater of a class 4 rapid, the bubbles and chaos of water underneath while snorkeling, the smooth worn rock that the river slides through, the trees…oh the trees…to this day I lose myself in watching them sway against the night sky…that lime green hue that comes just after sunset…the first faint stars glistening against the deep purple…moonless night. These things enrich and fulfill me in a way that I cannot explain. I can only introduce others to…and hopefully they feel something similar.

I was reminded of this yesterday during a river float. Two friends and clients were planning a birthday float. I wasn’t busy…so I invited them to fish with me. The fishing was spectacular. And the company couldn’t have been better. Plus a few bottles of bitchin’ wine as a thank you is also nice. Thanks Darby. Seriously. Darby Wine…

But at one point we were all fishing separately…and Jordan hooked up on a beautiful big cutthroat. I helped net, videoed the release and snapped a few photos as I tend to do. I was very stoked for him, a big trout on a birthday float is hard to beat. As I was walking back, I turned back to say something cheeky, and noticed Jordan just standing…kinda spacing off…at first I didn’t get it…my super stoke level and all…but he said…”I’m just trying to be present.”

When he said that honestly…my heart skipped a beat…that’s the kinda thing…as a guide…but moreover, just as an angler and outdoorsmen…you want to share with people. That moment…that fish, that ascent, that wicked run…when it all hits you…you’re not sure what it is…but it’s something. You can feel it, your body, your mind, the place you are in, the things you see, smell, hear, taste, all the stimulus, the sensations, that overwhelming sense that something is connecting you…to something.

Like I said…hard to explain. Clients and friends, anglers and fellow guides… all share that common connection. Some feel it more deeply than others, maybe because of their life history, or maybe they’ve experienced trauma, or depression, or maybe they just need to feel something other than the spiral. No matter how, who, what, or why…doesn’t matter…that connection is sacred… it deserves reverence…respect. Never doubt or underestimate it, never judge those who feel it deeply…like myself. Yes I get excited, very loud, but if you knew me before the age of 25-28 you wouldn’t believe it’s the same person both in appearance and in personality.

I stopped caring what others thought about how I am when I feel that connection. A lot of the time I meet people that don’t know how to feel or react. I’ve been asked if it’s okay to get into it, more times than I can count! Yes! Hoot and holler, curse and swear, have fun, or be quiet and focus, be intense…but be something. Feel something.

This constant connection makes me slow. Makes me patient. Whether it’s being low holed by experienced guides out here, having rookie ones blow through water, old ladies making snarky comments about my beard, asshats making jokes about the way I live and the way I guide, or all the other shit…I’m just to chill to give a shit anymore. There’s so much more going on in the world right around all that stuff I tend to get distracted and forget about it. Keeps the negative out of your life a lot more. Makes you happier as a person. Haters gonna hate so to speak.

I’ve been camping since June now. I’ve been all over the place. Seen all sorts of things, people, and stuff. The couple having a conversation with me mid shower, the kids that grabbed my extra snorkels and picked up trash at the Cooper Hole the other day, the younger gal walking around the French Cabin Creek camping area…picking up everyone’s trash. The 60 plus campers celebrating Phillips Birthday up until 2 am for 3 nights, the people just yonder watching a movie on a big projector in the middle of the campground with a bunch of kids, the parties, the families, the RV’ers, fellow RTT’ers, the mellow, the chill, the crazy and loud. All of them out here…connecting in some way. I feel like everyone else is missing out. Like they are racing around and just need to take the exit and get out of it for a bit. Facilitate that connection somehow.

All the driving around and camping, putting the boat in and out, walking and snorkeling the rivers…I do notice a lot of people in a hurry. To get to that spot, get to that campground, be first up the mountain, first to the next Trout filled spot. I get passed a lot, honked at…even flipped off by the occasional person…(they typically have a large jacked up truck with a certain bumper sticker on the back). I ain’t in a hurry…they are. I always hope that someone stuck behind me on one of these roads actually looks out the window and enjoys the drive a bit. I mean damn…you’ll be in traffic soon enough. And you can be first to the run…Trout will be there tomorrow and the next day…and there is another spot just yonder. I can chill and watch the birds and the trees for a spell…what’s 15 more minutes.

I even have to remind clients to look around, enjoy the birds, the trees, that big ass owl over there, the swallows picking bugs out of the air, the eagle swooping in, the otter along the bank…that fish…eating your fly! As a guide I’m constantly trying to improve on that, and remind myself and clients…it’s not just about the fishing.

Even now…the campground is quiet…dead quiet and it’s 10 pm. Earliest it’s been quiet all week. Thankfully I can’t hear the airplanes leaving Sea Tac in the Teanaway. Just the occasional fire helicopter or plane. I assume because of the large pillar of smoke to the south I saw when I drove down from the highlands this evening. I hear a car door every so often.

But the chatter, chirping, clicking, and buzzing of insects among the trees drowns it out. There is a good breeze…10-15 mph I would say and it’s still warm…65-70 degrees. I can hear the tops of the trees creak as they bend and sway in the wind. That low soft hush they make as they whisper amongst themselves. I have the lights out…so it’s dark…save for the glow of this screen. If I look up and let my eyes adjust the stars are bright…I can make out the band of the Milky Way, and Cassiopeia is winking at me through the branches. The trees are black against the deep dark blue sky…silhouetted behemoths, towering over me.

I enjoy the quiet. And the solitude. I’m not lonely, quite the contrary. I miss my family, and I’ll see them soon. And they will join me in my adventures in the times to come. But this whole endeavor, this constant connection, being here, in it all, enjoying it, seeing it, smelling it, tasting it, listening and hearing it…it’s been a goal of mine for some time now. I’m loud, and excited, talk a lot, and am with people most of the day for work. So the time solo is cherished and selfishly indulged upon. I get offers to fish with others or hang out…I typically don’t respond…I find it’s easier than saying…”I’d rather fish on my own.” It’s not that I don’t like people…it’s just…well…I’m not much of a people person. Guiding and fishing are two different things. And there are plenty of days I just don’t wish to be bothered while I’m connecting. I don’t like interference…and when I’m guiding I’m the one trying to plug people in so it’s different.

This is the time of year I work…and I play…hard. I don’t sit still except at camp. And even then it’s excruciating to be bored so I’m always finding something to do. Seeing all these people, and seeing the race they run…reminds me to slow down some more…take it all in…there are no rules about how long or how deeply you can connect to things out here.

Tamarack