Who else is religous on Hooking a steelhead on the fly? ?

[bankwalker]

i fly fished 1 1/2 solid years for them, learned all the tips and trick possible and never even got a tug. it was really annoying when i would go nymph or swing flies through a hole and not get a bite then go back through with my float rod and nail fish out of every hole. lol

now im in a new "swing" of things with spoons. so far im 0-4...im learning the holes all over again and where the fish hit a swinging spoon and will pick up fly fishing again next spring. hopefully they will hit a swinging fly in the same general area as they do with spoons. i know they dont hit jigs or drift gear/bait in the same holes they hit spoons in.

[RightPlace-RightTime]

My sayin about flyfishing is. 

Your hands dont smell like fish unless you catch one!

[groundhog]

Jackalope,
You are right. I wouldn't call him a purist either. I misspoke on that sentence. In fact I can't believe I said purist and Teeny in the same sentence. I have flyfished for over thirty years but am not a purist. Not even close. Personally I don't see any difference between throwing a weighted line and throwing split shot. Another problem with the heavily weighted lines is that they snag a lot of fish.

Teeny is about promoting his products so he only fishes his lines, flies and products. I can't blame him from a business perspective but personally I think it really limits the amount of fun he can have. He is extremely effective at catching salmon but he has fished with us in Alaska for 25 years and he has yet to catch a rainbow on a mouse pattern.
 Too each his own. One minute I might be skating dries and the next I will be chucking split shot. I think as long as we are on the river having fun it is all good.

[Intruder]

While I wouldn't call Jim Teeny a purist I don't think that you automatically qualify for the bait chuckers club just because you throw a sinktip line.  If you look at the guys who developed the Skagit Spey casting techniques, they all throw sinktips and weighted flys.  They're about as hard core as it gets w/ a fly rod.  They are some of the best tiers, line builders, rod designers, and casting innovators in the world.     

[groundhog]

Intruder ,
I agree. Sink tip lines have their purpose and Jim Teeny is one of the foremost innovators of sink tips. When I think of a purist I think of someone that uses no weighted lines, lead, or weighted flies what so ever. A true purist is someone that knows they can catch more fish using other techniques but chooses to flyfish in what they believe is the purist form.
Personally, I just like to catch fish. I have spent many days skating dries for Steelhead but only when it was productive. Don't get me started on spey rods because you probably won't like my (single handed) old school opinion.

[jackelope]

i throw a 2 hander with a skagit line...although i suck at it. i'm not a purist at all...i love moal leeches.
 
i love to catch fish but the challenge is what gets me...if there is nothing to catch with a flyrod however, i will be the first to put it down and grab a gear rod if need be.  i respect mr teeny fully by the way....i don't think any less of him because of his tactics. he is a steward for a sport we all love...more power to him.

[huntnphool]

One of my all time favorite books is One Mans Steelhead Shangri-La well worth the read if you are into catching steelhead in Washington on the fly. Its not a how to book but rather memoirs of Ralph E. Wahl

Here is a little about this NW fisherman

http://www.acadweb.wwu.edu/cpnws/wahl/Wahlhist.htm

[jackelope]

dec hogan's passion for steelhead is a great book. he's a skagit legend.
http://www.flyfishusa.com/newsletter/102206/

[tlbradford]

http://www.amazon.com/Steelhead-Fishing-Flies-Trey-Combs/dp/093660803X

This is still my all time favorite.  It gives about a 100 patterns with a little history behind each one.  It highlights some of the founding fathers of Washington Flyfishing too.

I love flyfishing, but not when I am casting sinking lines or splitshot.  It takes some of the joy out of it for me.

I love to catch heads on the fly rod. Its just not the way to play the numbers game. When Heads come back to the river they are obviously not feeding so your looking for a agression or instinct bite.

The smmer steelhead runs will actively feed.  They take their time coming up the river and it isn;t the mad rush like the winter runs.

[Intruder]

dec hogan's passion for steelhead is a great book. he's a skagit legend.
http://www.flyfishusa.com/newsletter/102206/

Dec and I used to be pretty good friends.... fished w/ him on the Sky and Skagit a number of times.  He ended up getting divorced and kinda got out of fishing scene a couple years later.  Last time I talked to him he was down in like Salt Lake City working as an EMT or Fireman or sumthin like that.  Took me a while to track him down.  I haven't talked w/ him in years now.

If you want to learn some good info on Spey casting try and get into one of Ed Ward's clinics.  Ed is a great caster and fisherman.  He's a super cool guy too.   

[RightPlace-RightTime]

I have fished with these guys and become buds with his son.  They are a great service and know a ton.  Take a look at this site.  I would recommend these guys to anyone. 

www.flyfishsteelhead.com   Dennis is the dad,  Mike is the son.  Great people.  Cool website

[RightPlace-RightTime]

Anyone want to go with me. Possibly split gas, but im heading over to fish one of my hatchery steelhead rivers on Christmas Eve day, im leaving the DesMoines area around 4 am.  Fish till noon then head back home. Be home around 330ish pm.  If anyone is intersted let me know.  Its a really good day to fish.  Less people and the fish are in.

[jackelope]

If you want to learn some good info on Spey casting try and get into one of Ed Ward's clinics.  Ed is a great caster and fisherman.  He's a super cool guy too.   

aaron from river run anglers in carnation holds  a free spey casting clinic in fall city or in carnation on a regular basis...like once a month or something along those lines. not sure if it happens during the winter, but a lot during the summer.http://www.speyshop.com/


i heard the same stories about dec hogan...i never fished with him but my stepdad has...mike kinney is also part of those classes, and he's also a local legend...you probably know of kinney as well.

dennis dickson is also another guy who knows his stuff...nobody probably knows the stilly system better than dickson.

speydays NW 2009 has moved from the sky to the skagit FYI...i've been once as it was held just a few miles up the road from my house...it is fun:
http://www.speydaysnw.com/

[RightPlace-RightTime]

I work with Aarron.  He is my lead at work, IM a mechanic for alaska airlines.  He has taught me alot and hooked me up with gear and such.  He is a good guy.  Small world.  His shop and business he does on the side.

[Intruder]

[ i heard the same stories about dec hogan...i never fished with him but my stepdad has...mike kinney is also part of those classes, and he's also a local legend...you probably know of kinney as well.

dennis dickson is also another guy who knows his stuff...nobody probably knows the stilly system better than dickson.

I've met Mike and Dennis but don't know them well.  John Farrar is another one of those guys that fishes the Skagit.  I've talked him a bunch on the river but again, don't really know him that well.  My buddy Ed knows John and Mike real well though.