Family, Surf and Welding Loops

Posted on May 17, 2012 by

It’s the time of year I dread the most; hot, dry and no steelhead left to chase.  I used to feel this way years ago, when the snow melted in late spring and I had to forget about powder runs and building booters.  At least there’s a beautiful ocean close to home and good waves to ride.

It’s time to record music, work, surf and spend as much time with my family and friends as possible.

Kiene's staff testing a welded loops strength!

Here’s something interesting our friends at Kiene’s Fly Shop in Sacramento have added to their shop, the first Airflo loop welding center!  Now you can slice, splice and loop any line (for a small fee) and create the perfect head or line that fits your rod and casting style.

Head down to Kiene’s and start splicing!

Posted in Spey Fishing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Ecology, Life and Future of the Eel River

Posted on April 5, 2012 by

The Friends Of The Eel River presents the Eel River Symposium on April 14, in Fortuna.

The event will be held at the Fortuna River Lodge at 1800 S. 12th St. Fortuna, CA and will feature presentations by Mary Power PhD, Bill Dietrich PhD, Bill Trush PhD, Brian Cluer PhD and a slew of other Ph-Dites.  The keynote speaker is Brock Dolman of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center.

I’m looking forward to this event a lot, because it kicks off a season of hard lining ecology and conservation issues for us at Weight Forward Films.  And, what better way than to support the Eel River and all of its’ friends.

You can register at http://www.eelriver.org  Please make a donation and I hope to see you there.

Posted in Conservation, Dam Removal, Eel River, Fly Fishing, North Coast Rivers, Salmon, Spey Fishing, Steelhead, Steelhead Fishing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

March Storms, Mud and A Glimmer of Hope

Posted on March 29, 2012 by

The last two weeks have been plagued with a slew of storms that have punished Northern California for its’ mild winter.  Every river is high, muddy and unfishable.  This event, and the quickly approaching March 31 closure, is spelling D-O-O-M for this steelheader.  It’s almost time to put away the two-handers, Skagit heads and winter fly boxes and pull the surfboards out of their bags.   Or, is it…

A glimmer of hope on the horizon.

The majority of the north coast rivers will close at the end of the month, save two.  Sections of the mainstem Eel River are open, but the Eel usually takes a dry week or two to drop into shape.  The one last glimmer of hope on the horizon, California’s hold-out river in more ways than one, is the mighty Smith.  The Smith runs emerald green most of the time.  It’s really a matter of the river dropping to a level that’s fishable with a fly.  In the Smith, we have the possibility of the one last fix, before the long, hot doldrums of summer.

A wild steelhead to hand is an occasion to rejoice and a welcome interlude to the long wait ahead.


Posted in Fly Fishing, Northcoast Rivers, Spey Fishing, Steelhead, Steelhead Fishing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Elwha River Running Naturally for the First Time in a Century

Posted on March 23, 2012 by

We’ve been posting news of the Elwha River in Washington state a lot lately, because there’s a lot happening.  The deconstruction of two dams on the Elwha, began in September and is way ahead of schedule.  Within the next few weeks, Lake Aldwell, the reservoir behind Elwha dam, will be drawn down and eliminated.

The Elwha River.

This Summer, the anadromous fish of the Elwha, will gain another eight river miles of prime spawning water.  Deconstruction will cease when the fabled fall Chinook salmon enter the river in July.

When both dams are removed, a total of seventy river miles will be available to spawning fish, for the first time since the river was impounded in 1910.  Over eighty percent of this water, is permanently protected within the Olympic National Park boundaries, and can never be developed.

The mouth of the Lower Elwha where it enters the Pacific.

This is a momentous victory for the anadromous fish of the Olympic peninsula and for Salmon and Steelhead conservation everywhere.

Posted in Conservation, Dam Removal, Fly Fishing, Salmon, Spey Fishing, Steelhead | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Elwha River Chinook Salmon Photograph

Posted on March 16, 2012 by

This antiquated photograph popped up on the Wild Steelhead Coalition’s page today. This is evidence of how large the salmon, that once ascended the Elwha, were.  There are records of 100 pound Chinook Salmon that swam those waters, before the dams went in.

Posted in Conservation, Dam Removal, Fly Fishing, Photography, Salmon | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Amazing photos from Beyond Searsville Dam

Posted on March 1, 2012 by

These photographs were posted today by the Wild Steelhead Coalition from their friends at Beyond Searsville Dam.  I’m not sure who the photographer was, otherwise I would definitely give him credit.

Steelhead in very skinny water.

These fish ascended San Fransquito Creek in Palo Alto, in the bay area.  It’s been a  very dry winter this year and the lower creek had completely dried up.  Northern California finally received some much needed rain in the last 24 hours.  Let’s hope it was enough to keep San Fransquito Creek alive for another few weeks.

This fish didn't make it back to the Pacific.

Hopefully this fish will be pushed to the sea by the rain.

Steelhead are truly remarkable, resilient creatures, in desperate need of help.  I believe that they will flourish, given the opportunity to ascend their natal streams to spawn, without competition from hatchery fish and impeded by obstructions, like the Searsville Dam.  They only need to be given the chance.

Check out the Wild Steelhead Coalition at www.wildsteelheadcoalition.org and become a member.  You can learn more about San Fransquito Creek and the Searsville Dam at http://www.beyondsearsvilledam.org.

Steelhead truly need our help.

Posted in Conservation, Dam Removal, General, Northcoast Rivers, Steelhead | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Klamath Dam Removal Determination Delayed

Posted on February 28, 2012 by

From the Times-Standard, February 28, 2012.

Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, announced today that he is not making a decision on the Klamath Dam removal, by the March 31 deadline, because of a lack of action in Congress.

According to Salazar’s office, Congress has not enacted the legislation necessary to authorize a secretarial determination, under the terms of the Klamath dam agreements. Salazar was expected to decide, whether or not the removal of four dams on the Klamath River, would be in the public’s interest and advance the restoration of salmon and steelhead fisheries in the Klamath Basin.

JC Boyle dam in the Klamath Basin in Southern Oregon.

“The department of the Interior, working with our partners at NOAA and the U.S. Forest Service, has upheld our commitments in these agreements that are so important to strengthening the health and prosperity of those that depend on the Klamath River for their way of life,” Salazar said in the release.  ”I am proud of the work of our team of experts who have completed more than fifty new studies and reports, that are providing significant new information on the potential effects of Klamath River dam removal as part of a transparent, science-based process.”

Iron Gate dam in Northern California.

The U.S. Department of the Interior has been completing peer reviewed scientific and technical studies, and an environmental analysis in the past year to inform Salazar for the determination, a condition of the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement and the Klamath River Restoration Agreement.

Craig Tucker, a spokesman for the Karuk tribe, one of the parties to the agreement, said this will not deter the parties or delay the dam removal.  ”This is a bump in the road.  All the parties remain committed to seeing this through,” said Tucker.

The removal of the four dams is scheduled for 2020.

Posted in Conservation, Dam Removal, Klamath River, Salmon, Steelhead | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Heading North

Posted on February 21, 2012 by

I put the new Gopro to use this week on our way up to fish for the movie.  Check it out!

Posted in Fly Fishing, General, Spey Fishing, Steelhead, Steelhead Fishing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Suit Filed to Block Elwha River Hatchery Program in Washington State

Posted on February 11, 2012 by

The pristine Elwha River

Conservation groups filed suit this week, against Olympic National Park, NOAA Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and representatives of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, for violating the Endangered Species Act.  The Wild Fish Conservancy, The Conservation Angler, the Federation of Fly Fishers Steelhead Committee, and the Wild Steelhead Coalition are charging federal agencies and representatives of the Lower Elwha Klallum Tribe with ignoring the best available scientific data and threatening the recovery of Chinook salmon and native steelhead by funding and operating fish hatchery programs on the Elwha.

Dam removal on the Elwha

The federal government is spending nearly $325 million for the dam removal project on the Elwha, which will open up ninety miles of pristine river habitat in the Olympic National Park.  Rather than allowing wild salmonids to naturally repopulate, federal agencies and the Elwha Tribe are proceeding with a plan to release approximately four million juvenile hatchery salmonids annually.  The hatchery releases will be conducted by a new fish hatchery built with $16.4 million of Stimulus Act funds.

Olympic National Park, Elwha River

State and federal agency scientists point out, that the current plan gives no measureable goals for wild fish recovery, provides no timetable for ceasing hatchery production, and that ultimately, wild fish recovery will be hampered by the hatchery program.  Scientific data confirms that hatchery fish compete with wild salmonid populations for food, spawning grounds and detrimentally effect the wild fish gene pool.  A five year sport fishing moratorium has been placed on the Elwha, giving hatchery produced salmonids plenty of time to effect the recovery of wild fish.  A review released this week by the independent Hatchery Scientific Review Group (HSRG), which was organized and funded by Congress, has echoed these concerns.

“While the Tribe played an essential role in removing the dams,” said Kurt Beardslee, Executive Director of Wild Fish Conservancy, “their intent to now plant millions of hatchery fish in disregard of the scientific evidence undermines salmon recovery in the Northwest and the goals of the ESA.   However you look at it, it’s a horrible precedent if left to stand.”

To read the entire article, go to:  http://wildsteelheadcoalition.org/2012/02/suit-filed-to-block-elwha-hatchery-programs/

Posted in Conservation, Dam Removal, Fly Fishing, Salmon, Spey Fishing, Steelhead, Steelhead Fishing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

City Boy Lost on the North Coast

Posted on February 4, 2012 by

I dragged my good friend and cameraman, Ed Blair, out of the city and up to the North Coast last week to shoot the first winter segment for the movie.  The fishing was tough to say the least.  The Steelhead were just not moving to the fly, despite doing two passes through many of the best runs and fishing a variety of fly sizes and color combinations.

Ed was a fish out of water, having spent little time out of the bustling city.  Check out this video and if you run into us on the river, try not to be too hard on him.  Enjoy!

Posted in Fly Fishing, General, Northcoast Rivers, Photography, Spey Fishing, Steelhead, Steelhead Fishing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment