Twinkie and Chubby

1930-2012   rip

Remember were you where when the crowds smashed down the doors to buy the last of the Twinkie supply when Hostess announced they were going to stop production?  

Idylwilde 1999-????

Remember were you where when the crowds smashed down the doors to buy the last of Idyl's Chubby when Production supply in the Phillippines came to a halt?

Darcy Bacha was putting them in Deschutes Redsides mouths! Here to report that the trout have not taken notice and they still work REALLY well! For what its worth I stopped in a fly shop yesterday and they had about 20 dozen left...

Buck's Bug Atlantic Salmon Fly

You know all the fishing trips you dream of going. For years you plan and think about those places..saving, wishing and dreaming... One of those such places for me is the Miramichi River to fish for the mighty Atlantic Salmon and this September, Marty and I will check it off our bucket list.

Its not just about catching a salmon but the process and the history of fishing for these incredible fish.  It's about standing in new water, fishing pools that anglers such as George Routledge and Ted Williams have fished. It's about floating lines and dead drifting dry flies with new friends. 

One of the top priority preparing for the trip is having the right flies. Recently, Marty and I where at the North Idaho Fly Tying Expo and, one of the fly tyers there was Dave Clark. When I was outbid on his box of bomber's I had to ask him if he didn't mind tying a couple for me in exchange for a few of my flies. Dave kindly accepted in exchange for a box of Alec Jackson hooks instead.

When the fly's arrived I was ecstatic to hold a box of all variations of the Buck's Bug Atlantic Salmon Fly. The trip was starting to come alive.  Dave wrote, "There are two expert steel headers I know that do not use anything else for the fall summer runs we get here.  One of them hooked 10 steelhead in one morning at the confluence of the Grand Ronde and the Snake.  If you get on line and google in Buck's Bug, you will see this fly is and has been a big producer for years.  The most popular version by far is the black one.  Some people use the fly as a locator- others just fish it hard.  The one tip is that they do not treat it with a floatant.  Often the takes happen just under the surface and wow! what a tremendous sight.  I had a small fish hit one of these and knock it up in the air and catch it before it hit the water." Thank you Dave, can't wait to fish'em.

A Glimmer of Hope

River of Hope "The Wild Reverence Sessions" from North Fork Studios on Vimeo.

Author and Oregon fishing guide John Larison takes us to his special river sanctuary he has been enjoying since childhood. 

Caddis Hatch with Alice Owsley

photo by Christopher Daniel

A few weeks ago I had the good fortune to fish with Alice Owsley, currently the only women outfitter in Montana running Riverside Anglers.  Last year when Marty returned from IceOut, he talked about some of the highlight but the only person he raved about was Alice and said, “You gotta meet Alice, she’s fun, hard core and genuine.”

I called Alice when we landed in Montanathis year for the Simms IceOut, the next day we were on the water, rigging up rods and taking turns rowing.  Alice started guiding 14 years ago after deciding she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life indoors looking under microscopes. The river is her playground.  I watched her on the Gallatin River turning over rocks to match the hatch and changing flies till a willing trout would slurp one from the surface.  Patience’s is a virtue. Not only is she a successful trout fisherman and guide, she can back a boat trailer better than most guys and cast a rod like a champion. She is also passionate and dedicated to conserving the natural resources, a supporter of Trout Unlimited and advocate of getting more women into the sport of fly-fishing. If you’re heading to Montana to fish the Madison, Yellowstone, Big Hole or Beaverhead Rivers I can guarantee you will have a fabulous time with Alice.

photo courtesy of Alice

This week you talked about your dad and how he introduced you to fishing. How old where you when you started fishing? 

My Dad learned to fly fish when I was young; he thought it was a great sport for the whole family. I picked it up before my eighth birthday.

What is your most memorable experience on the water with your dad? 

I have a hard time pinning down one experience of fishing with my Dad. We spent a lot of time practicing casting in the yard when I was a kid. I have also been able to travel and fish with him. Trading off big trout targets in New Zealand was fun, as was the little competition we had for the biggest bonefish one day in the Bahamas, he won. . I’ve really enjoyed fishing with my family over the years.

After college you decided to start guiding, why did you make that chose and how long have you being guiding?

I love being outside. I was looking at the prospects of staring into a microscope and working in a lab and couldn’t picture the long term outcome of working inside. I was always itching to get outside. I helped out with some Women’s fly fishing classes, met some great gals and really liked the fly fishing industry. My first full time guide job was in 1999 in King Salmon, AK, chasing salmon and big rainbows. I have been guiding in the Yellowstone area since 2001. The in between years were working in fly shops in the area.

You’re one of the only women outfitters in Montana how is it competing with the big boys?

I always knew I wanted to run my own business. I enjoy guiding and sharing my passion for fly fishing with people. I was recently told I have a niche in the local fly fishing businesses, being the only woman, hopefully that will pay off for my business. In the end I just want to be the best guide I can be on the water.

Do you have a favorite hatch?

The caddis hatches on the Madison. I love that time of year. Usually the water is a great level and you can find fish hanging right where they are supposed to be living. Not only are there risers, but caddis really bring out the stalking of trout. The right fly, a good drift in that one bubble line and a beautiful slurp, hard to beat.

 Outside of Montana, where will your next fishing trip be?

 Probably… my honeymoon. To a beautiful saltwater destination, in the Pacific with hungry bonefish.

Next

Sea-Swallow'd

sea-swallow'd from

ryan peterson
on Vimeo.

You can help give voice to Bristol Bay by submitting a comment in support of the EPA's Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment. Give them and President Obama the courage they need to stop this mine before damage is done. You will be heard. Public comments open through May 31. Go here: ow.ly/kAsdF.

Learn more: savebristolbay.org

The Gift of Giving

photo by Andy Wood

Everyone has the gift to give back. This year my chance was under sunny skies and a calm morning, the flags lining the ponds didn't flinch, ideally, it was a perfect morning to cast. I drew the number four stick and hoped a little breeze would pick up before I stepped into the ponds. Nothing beats a tail wind however the breeze didn't pick up till later that morning. This year my goal at Spey-O-Rama was to cast to my potential and make a long cast for Casting for Recovery and Casting 4A Cure.  I was in the zone and the fly went on top of the wall three times, hitting 144. This was the third year too have raised awareness and money for a non-profit at SOR and I'm honored to do so, giving is not an obligation but an opportunity to give someone a chance. 

I'm grateful for all the support and donations that came in this year. Thank you to: William, Bryan, Terri, Kathleen, Ken, Tim, Jim, Larry, Rob, Paul, Jill, Carolyn, Kevin, Joel & Kellie, Dorothy, Doug & Katy, Eric, Glen, Jan, Steve, Christopher, Bill, Anne, Jeff, Poppy & Linda, Amanda, Ian, Mary, Mark, and Victor

The donations raised for CRF and Casting4ACure are being made in honor of Emilee Cummins, Wheeler who has Retts Syndrome. Emilee is Poppy and Linda's granddaughter from The Redshed Fly Shop .Rett Syndrome is a neurodevelopment disorder found almost exclusively in young girls.The symptoms are almost always apparent by age 2 and are similar to Cerebral Palsy. Researchers have yet to discover the exact gene responsible for Rett Syndrome. Casting4A Cure raises money for research. 

Thank you Simms for donating a fly box and sweatshirt to give away to two donors.  Tim K. will receive the fly box and Steve E. will receive the sweatshirt.

Barton LTD

The Genius himself

Bart Mills AKA "the Jeweler", who also runs Barton LTD not only has the skills to be a super accomplished big game hunter, spey swinger, and upland master but also the eye of a fine jeweler to accomplish engravings on many fly anglers favorite toys.

Jeff Hickmans Flask

Many anglers have pulled the lid off Jeff's flask, seeing Bartons skills, after landing  a steelhead. 

Jacob Lund just got his fish scales ring. Sorry ladies. He's taken.

Bart recently took on a project for me. this is the backside of my Saracione S handle.

Frontside of the S handle ready to go.

Next stop? Chrome....
Thank You Bart!

What's your Favorite Gear

This is some of my favorite gear over this last year and I would not want to do without any of it. Having success stream side we rely on well built quality equipment. I could do a post like this every week highlighting the stuff we use, abuse, and utilize to make our life easier, funner, and productive:

Farlex reel. Simply love it.

ACR. Purely sweet!

My wall tent and Durango cooker. Lost in the cold without them!

Airflow lines, Sarcione Reel and Mia-photo by Brian Grossenbacher

Simms Waders and Cold Weather shirt. Must have!

Clacka Max, Idylwilde Flies and Harding and Sons cases hugely add to our success as a guide.


We have so many more products that enhance our life on the river. Would you like to see more of the gadgets and gear we love? Let us know in the comments if you would like to see a weekly post like this or let us know what piece of equipment you just cant leave home without...

Comment to the EPA for Bristol Bay by May 31st

The EPA's Assessment finds that even without a catastrophe or series of harmful spills, up to 87 miles of salmon streams and up to 4,300 acres of salmon habitat will be destroyed by mining the deposit. That alone should be enough to stop this project, but add in the unsupportable notion that up to 10 billion tons of toxic mine waste will be stored, treated and monitored "in perpetuity," and it becomes clear that action is required to protect Bristol Bay now.

Take Action

And be entered in a drawing for a trip to Bristol Bay, it will only take a moment of your time.

ICE OUT Highlights

We traveled to Bozeman Montana for the Simms Guide event "ICE OUT" this last week.

Please enjoy some of our highlights: 

Day 1: Straight to the water! Big Thanks to Nick, Alice, Whitey, Eric and Ty  for getting at least 10 of us clueless travels organized enough to do a day float. Really fun day day of fishing!

Day 2: Factory tour. To see the process of the best waders in the world being made by hand in the good ol' USA makes us proud be be a part of this team!

After getting through with Product development sessions with Simms we snuck away to wet a line!

Day 3: We played tourist and went to Yellowstone National Park. It was great. The wildlife is outstanding! 

Every corner had an amazing viewing opportunity. The fishing in the park was closed until May 25th but with all the great scenery and wildlife we hardly had the desire to wet a line.

Day 4: Fishing with Alice, Mike and the dogs was great. We met a ton of fantastic people in Montana and sharing time on the water with some of the best folks in the world was truly amazing! Brian Silvey joined us this day on a small mountain stream. We all caught fish...but Brian caught a silly amount! He was in the zone.

Day 4: Brian Grossenbacher captures the Guide Olympics.

Cooler drag

TJ Dawson goes for broke as Brian snaps away. No one ever takes photos of the photographer so I was trying to spy on Grossenbachers camera settings.

Hank Patterson gives Camille casting advice (like she needs it) during the casting competition.She dang near took out all the guys with a second place finish... 

We vote for Clay Krull as Simms employee of the year! A outstanding human being, super fishy dude, and has one of the most skilled jobs you could imagine at Simms. He showed us big Brown trout, that eat mice on the surface, in an absolutely beautiful boat! You rule brother!

Missing Montana already.

Pacific Northwest meets Montana

Big mountains, endless blue sky and wildlife waking up from winter hibernation. With spring in the air life is good.

Brian Silvey with a Brown.

Beautiful Cuttroat

Alice Owsley guiding me into a brown.

We Have Lift Off!