Today, as you’re reading this, I’m stuck at work. No, I’m not fishing, but I am likely cutting fish. Dozens of other kayak anglers, however, are busy on the Willamette River this weekend competing for the Willamette River Slam–Salmon, Sturgeon and Bass. It’s a weekend long tournament being held by Next Adventure. Some how I didn’t manage to find out about it until yesterday, so It was much to late for me to even try to get the time off of work to compete.

That’s the problem with typing up a blog post ahead of time and then scheduling the time for it to go live. Things change. For instance, yesterday my blog tried to go live before I had the video attached. No bueno. Then, I learn that the Next Adventure Willamette River Slam was cancelled. Lame. Lack of interest they say. In fishing? Lack of interest in fishing?? I think not. The Willamette spring chinook run is in its peak right now. Waters are warming ever so slowly and the smallmouth bass are waking up. Unfortunately, I don’t think Next Adventure talked up this event. I only heard about it from one person, and heard nothing about it from their prostaff. Nothing on Facebook. Nothing on YouTube. Nothing in their newsletter even. I know they had ample opportunity. Perhaps they were too busy fishing?

I dunno, but I”m going off topic again…

So, no, I’m not fishing this weekend. But I will be soon.

I really need to put together some dates for the Deschutes. I also have two brand new kayaks that I need to go pick up. I haven’t spent a single day springer fishing this year. What is wrong? I need to go fishing… i’m getting lost…

It’s been weeks since I’ve done any tying. All of my gear has over at Green Tackle where we’ve finally finished tying bucktail onto hundreds of shad darts. With the Salmonfly hatch coming soon, it is definitely time to get ready.

Yes, the Deschutes River salmonfly hatch is coming. In fact I got a report this week that adult salmonflies have been spotted on the Deschutes around Maupin. While nothing in large numbers, it’s enough to get the heart pumping. This hatch is the stuff of legends. Big giant topwater bugs. Big giant trout waiting to slurp them down. There are a lot of great salmonfly imitations out there–Chubby Chernobyl, Rogue Stone, Madam X, Stimulater, Clark’s Stone, Thingamastone, Norm Woods and many many more.

I tie up something of my own.

It’s a lil bit of everything I suppose. A lot of foam, some dubbing, some bucktail, some biots, some antron, some krystal flash, all tied onto a 3x long size 6.

Here’s a video I whipped up for ya

I think it’s alright considering I’ve only been tying a few months…

This fly floats awesomely, and you’ll have no problem with a large size 8 stonefly nymph hanging off the back of this one.

After the Salmonfly hatch is a Golden stonefly hatch that is almost just as epic. It’s worth the time to tie this up in yellows and keep going on the D.

Excellent topic of today. Current. As in what the water is doing? Perhaps. But, rather, how about an update about me? I know I haven’t really talked about myself all that much on this blog. So, now is as good as time as any to catch up with what is current in my world.

Currently, I don’t know. That is all. All I know is that I don’t know… wait, sorry, song stuck in my head…

Those of you that have been to my blog before might have noticed the new link on the right column to NRS. I just signed on with Northwest River Supply as a Team NRS Ambassador. They are AWESOME. Their dry gear (pants, tops, and suits) are killer, their layering supreme, and, well, I just can’t say enough about how great all their gear is. Their PFDs are the most comfortable that I’ve ever worn, and if you’re looking for a new fishing kayak, you NEED to add the Pike to the list. Yes, it’s an inflatable. No, you won’t pop it. Yes, you can install a fish finder.

I am also working on a deal with a kayak manufacturer. That is about as specific as I can get at the time of this writing, but I will be out on the water with their boats again to make sure that they have a product that I can fully endorse and use.

I had a pretty “sporty” weekend on the water last week. I took the recently repaired Trident out to Pacific City for a spin. It held out water just fine (as the water test suggest it would) and I picked up some fishing before the swell picked up to 6′ @ 6sec and packed 25mph winds along with it. The landing on the beach wasn’t easy, but the trip was a lot of fun. The next day I head inland and hit up the Hood River with John and Derek of Kayak Shed and Drew Gregory of Jackson Kayaks. We found ourselves at the top of a 60′ basalt cliff, fishy water at the bottom and carried kayaks and gear like mountain goats to the bottom. It was, without a doubt, and epic trip. Sadly my Playsport is dead and they are the only ones with photos and video.

I think that is about all that is current with me! How about you?

I know this spot. I’ve fished it many times before. I’ve caught sturgeon here. I’ve caught bass here. My friend’s dock is just out of range of the camera. The first time I ended up off my kayak and in the water is far camera left.

This video should never have happened.

WTF is wrong with people. This is a VERY popular kayak fishing spot. I, personally, have grown old of it, but it is still a place that dozens of kayak anglers have first paddled their kayaks, first caught fish, first learned how to anchor and, like me, first ended up in the water. The boat was essentially making a blind turn in an area where the river is well over 150 yards wide. There is no reason to hug the cliffside of the east bank with all the docks, traffic and lack of view.

Not to mention, this video is evident of a felony. The boat operator never offered aide or transferred information. He hit and ran.

Michael, I’m glad you came out relatively unscathed, despite the endorphin rush. BTW, how come you don’t call me to fish any more?

I can vaguely remember my last “May Day”. Of course, there have been at least a score of May Day’s since then, but I can vaguely remember taking flowers to the neighbor’s door. That was back in the 80s. I lived in a house that looked like a barn. No, really, it does. Even now, without the barn red paint and the white trim of old, it still looks like a barn.

But I digress.

There was a time when people knew their neighbors. I don’t know the name of the neighbors in my backyard. I can tell you the name of only the woman next door, not her husbands name or their kids. I can tell you the name of only one of the two people that live in the other half of my duplex. The neighbors in the house on the otheside? I can recognize their cars but I wouldn’t know them if I ran them over with my own…

That’s sad.

But, here’s the other thing that’s odd. More than likely, if I run into someone on the water here in Portland, I likely know them or we have a mutual friend. No, really. It has happened, more than once. I’m out in my kayak, fishing, enjoying whatever weather we might be experiencing, content in my little piece of solitude, when I come across someone in a boat, on the bank or even on a kayak that knows who I am, has seen me on the water before or something to that effect. No, I’m not the only guy in town that fishes from a kayak. There are dozens of us. So far as I recall, though, I’m the only one with a 15+ foot long orange kayak. It kinda sticks out. Even my kayak fishing friends have told me ‘so-and-so says hi. you know, the guy in the boat with the first aid kit” (before I made my own).

It’s kinda crazy.

How is it that it seems that I know more about my neighbors on the water more than my neighbors just on the other side of the wall or hedge? What happened?

Every May Day I at least think about delivering flowers to the doorsteps of my neighbors. Yet, it has still never happened. Do other people even think about the May Day Tradition? I don’t know. I have never received flowers at my door.

Anyways… for the rest of you. Here’s something of a flower, a steelhead jig. I tied up a few of these this year, and even picked up a steelhead on one that I tied up on a Green Tackle lead-free jighead.