Well, the big snows are here! We have a few inches of freshies out there and more coming. The pass has been closed since last night and looks to be closed for the rest of the day. Our snowpack is over 100%, and January has just started! I can smell the trootiness in the air anglers. I can smeeelllll it!

The holidays are over. I hunkered down with my girlfriend, and we celebrated with my kids. Drove down to Idaho and back twice in the past 10 days. The heater went out in the car, so that was fun, and it took 2 hrs to get over the Blue Mountains coming back due to craptastic conditions. But the guide rig handled it just fine. Got home safe just before this shitshow of a storm rolled up and shut the inlands down again. Wooo. Shenanigans.

Now, it’s time to get ready for the season. These snows may seem like they ain’t fishy, but the extended forecast for this month calls for some super winter fishy days. Any day I see sunshine and 30 degrees, it’s fishy. Snow, don’t matter to troots. We wade a lot in January. Only have about 4 hrs of fishy time anyway. By the end of the month, we will get more hrs, and by February, we are rolling.

I have never guided this early, but what the hell? Most of us out here are still in recovery mode, and my only solution to what the past 2 years have caused is to be more aggressive and work harder. Coming into 2022 just feels like the energy has to come up. Gotta compensate for the past 2 seasons. 2020 just did a number on me. 2021 was amazing and busy. Summer got wonky with smoke and heat, and July and August can always be busier. But the fall came in heavy. But I’m still hungry. I still want more. More days, more trout, more handshakes, and damp 20s. That drive is heavier in my mind this season. Clamoring and climbing out of the shit show of 2020 still.

I’ve only got maybe 5 to 8 days available in January. I don’t want too many days and have weather sour things up too much. February is wide open, which is odd? Skwallas start in Febs, and things will start to thaw by the 10th to 15th. Then, we are in early spring fishing conditions. Turds and worms, skwalla dries, and big sparkly streamers. March has dates booked, as does April. I’m 8 years into guiding. 2020 almost knocked me out of the game. 2021 made me realize I could overcome it. 2022 is kind of a make it or break it kind of year for me.

There are days when it’s hard to find the motivation. Shit is still tough, and the offseason always has its own set of challenges. I just want to get back to work.

I’ve got 2 months of tying left before I shut that down for clients and only tie for guiding. So get your orders in asap. I can only take on so much, and it’s a first come, first served kind of deal.

There are only 12 days left to get that 15% off discount. You can reserve a trip for any date in the 2022 season and get 15% off your final balance. The quicker my calendar fills up, the better. I want to be busy AF. 4 to 7 trips a week, 10 to 20 trips in a row before a break…ya…all season long…bring it. I want and need it.

The fish are going to be waking up after this bitch ass cold leaves. These single digit, below 20 days of frigid, Hoth like hellscapes are about done. 30 degrees and sunshine with snow here, and there is on its way. The ice will come off the river, and the fish will be on the hunt for food as they slowly wake up and prepare for spawning over the next 2 months.

There is a shit ton of fish in the river anglers. We are about at capacity for fishy river dwellers. And we had a lot of those 12 to 14-inch fish last season that aren’t so dinky anymore. Like a lot of juvenile fish that are just coming into their trooty selves this spring. I expect a lot of new spawners this spring which means a lot of troots looking to eat the next 2 months. Awwww ya. Stoke is high anglers. Tis high.

So book a trip, order some flies, and make plans for this summer, or fall with fish in them. I’m running overnight trips again. We have bass we can chase, the Yakima, of course, and I have 2 lakes I will be adding to the roster this season. Once they open in the spring. So, there are plenty of options.

The Trout Spey/Skwalla Special is running into March. $325 for 2 anglers. 5 hrs with a quick, hot lunch. Chasing the big boys. Book it before the 15th and really save. Or lock in those prime dares now. Remember, once we get to Mother’s Day, the river is consistent, and I book up quickly once things really get rolling.

I’ll be riverside this weekend as things warm up, and the snow settles. I’m sure we will have more snowfall, but at this point, it’s just water for the summer in my mind. Fish gotta eat, and they start in January. I’m done sitting around. I have only hit the river twice since the 1st week of November. It’s time to chase troot. Who’s coming?

See ya riverside anglers.

Tamarack