New Parents and Still Fishing

The best way to get your kids into fishing, start'em early!

In the Ditch from Chris Eaton on Vimeo.

Flyfish Gaunaja Honduras

Fishing with Kids

Summer time!

Story by Jon Tapper

It was early-August and the steelhead numbers had just gone richter at Bonneville, but like a giant wave of biomass that pushes and crests up the Columbia every year, their time would come.  The fleeting summer days of childhood have to be savored...to step away from work, disconnect the devices, and share with your kids the kind of Mom and Dad time that makes those "lifetime" memories they can tell their kids about.

So how about some black rockfish on the fly?

The camper was packed.  Batteries charged.  Time for the annual family trip to coastal Oregon, even brought the cat.  …can't tell ya where, exactly, but you know how that goes.

First order of business, unadulterated beach time, then there was a bit of pulling pots for crab.  Can't say enough about the delicious spiders of the sea...and while not the 25 crab haul we got last year, the 6 keepers provided just as much fun.  Busting around the bay on the boat, haulin' traps, drinking kid pops and Dad pops while munchin' fritos and corn nuts in the sun...now that's some livin' right there.

After a few days more of whale watching from our campsite and beachcombing, it was time to crown it all off with a new  family tradition.

Our friend Jack has been pushing the envelope on fly fishing the coast via dory, and if it wasn't for Jay Nicholas' blog posts, I wouldn't have even known it existed.  While the charters for tuna run up and down the coast, we wanted something a bit more intimate and accessible to do with the kids.  With the swell up in the early part of the week, our friend Jack suggested we head up on Friday to take a look and give it a shot.

Bent!

Early wake-ups during vacation aren't the usual state of affairs, but at the same time, they do let you know that you're gonna be getting after it.  Travelling up the coast with my son Forest, my friend Jeff, and his son Axel, the heavy drizzle of an Oregon coastal morning had us feeling tentative about the weather.  Jack met us in the parking lot and wasted no time in having us jump in his truck, to drive down to the beach.

Forest almost had the rod pulled out of his hands a few times.  

 In his marine sea pants and jacket, he's like the grandpa we all wish we had...patient and relaxed and simply happy to be connecting with the ocean life at his door with the fly.  15 minutes and we were in his zone.  He said that the fishing has been good this year.  The sonar agreed.

Delicious

9 foot  7- and 8- weight rods with lead core shooting heads are handed out, and we drifted over the school.  Tension cast it back, let it sink, and strip it back in 3-4 inch pulls.  My son connects on his first cast. Then Jeff connects, then I do.  It's a triple hook-up and we've only been out 5 minutes.  It's gonna be that kind of day...In fact, things were so hot, drifting over huge feeding schools, that we limited out by noon.  The captain let Axel try his hand at piloting the dory, and I don't think you could have wiped the smile off his face for the rest of the day.  After cleaning and packing our ocean bounty, we all headed out to a little family style lunch before driving back south to camp.

Back at camp, filet's were grilled, fish tacos, smores constructed, and laughter abounds. A great ending to the summer.




   

Tenkara, Simple with Yvon Chouinard

Yvon Chouinard has a different approach to get women and children in the sport of fly fishing. It's simple.

Tenkara.

Morgan gets one!
"Modern day fly fishing, like much in life has become exceedingly complex, with high tech gear, a confusing array of flies and terminal tackle and accompanied by high priced guides."Yvon Chouinard

Look for his book "Simple Fly Fishing" Techniques for Tenkara and Rod and Reel on Patagonia Books early next year.

Kids Fly Fishing Day at the Royal Treatment Fly Shop

 Saturday July 20th at the Royal Treatment Fly Shop in West Linn 

 from 10:00 to 3:00. 

Fly Casting, Fly Tying, Knots and the Bug Pond. 

Volunteers are most welcome. Call Joel

Members of the Clackamas Fly Fishers will be volunteering and providing BBQ'd brats and other refreshments.  

Jeff Price of TV TU is attempting to capture bugs and other aquatic creatures for the Bug Pond. Extra help would be nice in the capture and care of these critters.

Chris Foster is dropping off ODFW kid outfits, but will be unable to be here for the event. 

Bruce Harang has volunteered to help with the casting, but we could use a few more casting experts.

There will be a Wooley Bugger table set up where kids can tye their own flies. . Any materials anyone wishes to add to the collection is greatly appreciated.

Life Savers a Hole Lot of Fun

The American iconic brand Life Saver, 5 flavors melted into one in 102 degree heat. 

Gooey and chewy

And the consensus is, it still taste like cherry!

How to Row a Boat Like a Pro

Tegan's in charge

Kids are like running, babbling brooks that never stop moving, the continual trickle of curiosity, flows.

From crawling to walking, to listening to her pronounce her first word, "mama" to completing a full sentence a couple years later,  "why can't a fish breath out of water?" Reminds me of my own curiosity as a child.

My mom was single most of my childhood, she worked hard to give us those simple pleasures such as a piece of candy or a new pair of shoes or playing hop scotch with us after work.  She also made sure weekends where dedicated to spending time outdoors, forgetting about the dishes that needed to be done or the bills that needed paid.

At that time, youth and ignorance was bliss.  I adore those attributes in Tegan and want nothing more then to give Tegan the simple pleasure I had growing up.

Tegan has been going on river trips with us since she was six months of age. She has grown to love the water, smell the sage, observe and respect all the critters around from the smallest tree ant to the largest mule deer. Watching her mind full of curiosity reminds me of my weekends as a child, spent in the Great Smoky Mountains with my mom and sisters. I would turn over rocks in a river looking for bugs, listen to the tranquil sound of the water and ask why, a hundred thousand times.

Its no surprise when I see her pick up a fly rod or when she wants to row a boat that she just does it, naturally.  

Being with Tegan rewards me on a daily base. Though I miss going on hardcore fishing trips where I can fish 8 hours straight without the interruption of a little voice saying; "I'm hungry" or "I have to pee."  Watching her grow into a little girl full of curiosity and confidence and row a boat like she's a seasoned pro makes me giggle.

Notice the relaxed guide look. 

I got this mom!

How to row a boat like a pro:
Row away from the bank
Keep it steady
Don't over work your self

Making a Differance, One Little Step at a Time

I was lucky to have a camera on me today to capture this beautiful moment with a father and his two sons. 

 It’s our livelihood, our passion, and our focus to make a difference in the world through our observations of what we see and what we teach our children. Kindness, respect, honestly. We can have such an impact on kids, way more than we think we can and just teaching our children to respect what’s around them is going reflect on future generations to come.

Catching a Fish is just the Bonus

Play like kids again.

The photos says it all.

The hands that have touched a lot of Steelhead flies.

Josh takes driving lessons from Tegan.

Tegan, what are those boys saying??

Bump

This just simply needed to have a post of its own instead of being at the bottom of the entry below:

This is how my dad and I did it when I was Tegans age. Always remembering these monumental moments. He would hook them and let me fight them. I had so much fun exploring the surroundings as Tegan is having now. Checking out bugs and plants. Finding really neat rocks. There are so many lessons that happen in these situations that are being passed on to our next generation.

 Growing up a fisherman made me a better person. It has taken me to places I would have never seen otherwise. Being a fisherman has made me appreciate our rivers and life inside of them and around them. Mia grew up doing the same things with the same perspectives. We are a fortunate family and very thankful to have this atmosphere in our region of the world to introduce our daughter to this lifestyle as well. 

Largely thanks to this blog and readers like you, our little girl has people recognizing her on the rivers we frequent. On this particular trip 3 different groups stopped and said "is that Tegan?" Like us, she is flattered. She is friends with everyone she comes across. Instant friends. It is not our intention to make our little critter "famous."  but to be a role model on experiencing life outdoors. We  enjoy sharing our adventures with you. In a way, you become a part of that experience and it becomes reality when you go out of your way to say hi on the river. Thank you for being a part of that.

John Day Fun

River Feet.

Dads are silly too!

Last nights talent show, playing drums on a bucket.

What's that refection?

FUN!

Oysters Anyone!!!

Caption Sapo shucks oysters.. 

Tegan investigates the catch of the day, and yes she did try a piece.

Lime, picante, and oysters, delicious!!!! 

Huskey, Space Invaders, and Salmo trutta

Day one of brown trout fishing is now under our belts. Day two is already started as Mia is on the water with our friend Bryan and Tegan is still asleep. 

Mia casts to a riser as Bryan works the pool below.

Neither Mia or I had ever caught a Brown Trout and we made the trek across Oregon to do just that. Thankfully we arranged to connect with our friend, filmmaker, and guide Bryan Huskey. Looking around the Owyhee you will see many trout sipping midges in the slow calm waters. You will also see people casting their size 22 midges in these spots. According to Bryan there are many successful ways to approach these big trout, and have success, but Bryan prefers to temp these spotted beauties with a faster paced tempo that is seriously fun and productive. Withing 5 minutes of day one, we had tied on a Space Invader streamer, turned our backs on the sipping midge buffet, and ripped a big fish out of a pocket of water. 

Brown Trout have some of the best smashing takes!

This one took a dead drifted Skwala.

Huskey nets a dandy.

Fishing different water than the local Owhyee anglers fish, we were able to land many Brown's on Skwala dries, streamers, and midges in places often overlooked by the average angler. What a fun day it was!

It's snowing back home. Tegan enjoying some t-shirt weather here!

Day two coming next:

Summer Time and the Living is Easy

What a Melon!

The last few weeks have been a whirl wind, or I should say a tornado, returned from Baja on May 30^th, rented our home for 6 months, packed out bags, and headed to Condon to live in the Garage Mahel for the summer, and Bass it up.

Sometimes I wonder how sane I am to live this vagabond life style with a 3-½ year old, a dog (looking at getting a second pointer for bird hunting) and fishing bum husband. Guess I can manage because I’m a fishing bum too.

Mom, I want to row!

I dream of a normal 9-5 job at times and then wonder, if I get that job, how will I go on that spontaneous fishing excursion for summer Steelhead or take the next trip to the bucket list of places to fish someday. If I have that 9-5 job will I lose precious moments watching Tegan grow? So I keep dreaming.

Within the whirlwind of going from place to place we are so lucky that Tegan just goes with the flow, adjusting to every new location we encounter.

Lets Play!

The last month, she has spent 12 days on the river with us. Having the opportunity to take her on river trips, watching her play in dirt, catch her first fish, and pick up skink bugs, is worth every minute. When she’s in the boat she pleads to take the oars; saying, “I want to be the guide.” She is so much fun to be around I can’t imagine it any other way!

Wheeeee!

Bass it up!

Tegan casting from marty sheppard on Vimeo.

A Mother's Adventure

Fishing the Deschutes, Tegan about 7 months.

Some of the most memorable moments as a child growing up in Tennesse, are the times, my mom would take us to the Smoky Mountains for the weekend. Vivid memories stand out, such as the time my sister spotted a baby bear in a tree, while hiking a trail, thank goodness the sow wasn't anywhere to be seen. Or, soaking up the sun on the river banks, and coming home with the lingering smell of camp fire on our clothes. Growing up exposed to the outdoors, it only seemed appropriate that I would raise a child the same way.

Me and Tegan on the Kispiox, Tegan is two.

When we had Tegan my value of raising a child didn't change my schedule of outdoor fun. Yes, some trips became limiting but it opened the door to other outdoor adventures. Some people ask, "how do you travel with a kid?" I must say, one is easier then two but having a dog counts as a half, right.

Tegan warming her hands on the Bulkley River.

When Tegan was born, up to the age of 10 months, I could carry her on my back, in the Ergo backpack. Wading a run was easy this way. As she got bigger, I realized keeping her on the bank wasn't going to work so Marty and I would take turns fishing, and thank goodness for great

Grandparents,friends, and day cares. Day cares are in every state.

The last three years have become the best years of my life, having Tegan is the adventure. She shows me all the little details that I miss seeing, because I forget to look at the little things in life, such as a bug on a rock, or how fun it is to skip rocks in the river, or run from the incoming ocean tide. I feel like a kid again.

A warm camp fire.

Tegan has been on multi day floats on the Deschutes and John Day, traveled to the Clearwater and the Bulkley and here in a few weeks will be on the beach's of Baja. I'm really thankful to be a mom and encourage every mom out there to have an adventure with there children, whether it's setting up a tenting in your back yard or floating the river, the adventure is for you too!

Happy Mother's Day

Winners!

How often do you get lucky and win something. Most people start off trying to win Oregon Lotto, or vacations to Baja. I thought trying to win an Olive the Woolly Bugger hat for Tegan was a great place to start.

Last month at the Jimmy Green Fly fishing Expo. Kirk Werner, author of Olive the Woolly Bugger books had a drawing for a book or hat. I wrote Tegan's name on a piece a paper, gave it the crumble fold, and placed it in the glass bowl, just in the nick of time.

We hadn't even walked one booth away, because Tegan was entertained giving high fives and curtsey's to everyone. I hear Tegans name called. The crumbled piece of paper, was picked!

Tegan already owned the book "Olive and the Big Stream" so we went with the hat. Even though the hat was a bit big for her it sure came in handy on the John Day this summer for Tegan and me.

If you haven't checked out an Olive book, the books are a fantastic read to add to your kids collection of books. Also check out Kirks blog "The Accomplished Angler."

Tegan on a Recent Bass Trip

Photo by Russell Schnitzer



To see more photos bu Russell check out: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.schnitzerphoto.com%2F&h=e9e36f9lHp2gOSh3l0-1-uFG7xA