Thanks to all my supporters

Dear Friends and Anglers,

I have officially shut down all aspects of my fly fishing business. This blog will remain up as an archive and for when I feel inspired to discuss fishing and fishing related issues. I want to thank everyone who has supported me through this adventure. My clients are incredible people that I really enjoyed spending time with over the years, dating all the way back to 1994 in Colorado. I hope to see many of you out on the river. Feel free to email or drop me a line anytime!

Jason Cross

For local guiding and lessons, please contact my good friend Ed Megill @ cascadesfly.com.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Portaging the North Fork

Well, I guess the word never really got to me about the trees below the hatchery. Now that I mention it to my friends, they say, "Oh, you haven't floated that section in a while." Yeah, it was early December when I last put in at the hatchery. I drove my rig up instead of down to Kendall Creek. That was my first mistake.
Or was it......we landed 4 beautiful 17 inch dolly varden. Everyone else seemed to have had less fish that day so maybe we payed our dues. Jim got his Grandson Jake a trip for Christmas. Now this kid can fish! He is 9 years old and casting a fly rod better than most 11 or 12 year olds. He had the biggest fish and biggest smile. Nice 17 and a half inch dolly varden Jake. It was great to run into a pod of char after not seeing that many all winter. Thanks Jim and Jake for a great day and sorry about those portages!It is truly amazing how much this river can change. More swinging water is available on this upper section now but a lot of it is shallow and fast. The lower part of this float spreads out and gets really flat and braided. An exploration on foot would be good in this section. I couldn't even find the area where I landed a 12 lb native last season. The hatchery area is still the most crowded with people, but once you get around the s turn big rock bend you at least have the right bank to yourself. What a beautiful float with interesting geological features. When you get a beautiful day out there it rejuvenates your sole. What a gem this river is, lets keep it this way.

What I am talking about here is the amount of fishing line I pulled off the bank and trees. Now, I have nothing against gear fishing, but everything I found was from gear setups. Check out the picture below. I have seen plenty of fly fishermen clipping line and letting it drop in the river or on the ground. I have dropped a few pieces of mono, but I try not to. What is so hard about putting all your clippings in your pockets and picking up your line mess off the shore? Just do it. Nobody wants it there, think about it, not even the guys who drop it like seeing it there later. Those who litter must not care about their river. This picture is just a tiny portion of what is out there. Enough about this trash, lets just clean it up, I will. Jake, the nine year old, asked me "Why do people leave their line out here?" I said, "I just don't know Jake, but we won't leave it here."
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Local Information

Nooksack River

The Nooksack is our most Northern Puget Sound river. From the flanks of beautiful Mt. Baker and the Mt. Baker Wilderness the Nooksack River travels 75 miles to Bellingham Bay through diverse terrain. Three forks make up the main stem that locals say starts in the town of Deming. The North Fork provides most of the water in the drainage right off the northern side of Mt. Baker and parallels the Mt. Baker Highway often unseen. The Middle Fork is smaller and faster tributary with a steeper gradient and deep plunge pools. The South Fork, although some 50 miles long that stretches into Skagit County, is only fishable for 14 river miles before it closes to protect endangered Chinook spawning grounds.

The North Fork Kendall Creek hatchery provides a decent fishery for winter steelhead and October salmon fishing. Chinook and coho hatchery returns are mainly from the Native hatchery on the South Fork at Skookum Creek. Salmon fishing opens on the Main Stem in early September and stays good through a healthy chum run well into December. Both forks open in October for salmon but can be fished for sea-run cutthroat trout in September. Thanksgiving brings about hatchery steelhead season which carries through into January. Wild steelhead start trickling into the system in December and really show up in good numbers in January and February. Sadly for the fishermen the river closes in the end of February.

The main stem is a true spey rod river with some beautiful classic steelhead runs that will remind you of other nice places you have fished. The forks are smaller and lend themselves more to the single handed rod or a switch rod. The North Fork Nooksack is a wild and scenic river and boasts an incredible population of bald eagles. The river shifts quite frequently throughout the vast channel as the waters rise and fall with rain. Tree roots and log jams make up much of the excellent fish habitat on this fork. The south and middle forks are more defined channels and runs and holes remain more consistent. Wherever you are on this river the backdrop is spectacular. Around one bend you will look back and see The Sisters and the next bend will offer a pristine view of towering Mt. Baker.

Resident trout and anadromous dolly varden are found throughout the system in small numbers with the latter being off limits to target. The North Fork Nooksack above the 100 foot Nooksack Falls can be fun summer trout fishing with light weight rods and surface flies. Some open tributaries such as Canyon Creek can be great fun on the dry fly in July through September for small to medium sized trout. These tributaries of crystal clear cascading water sooth the sole and bring you smiling back to the roots of fly fishing.

Puget Sound Beaches are fun relief from the river and Stillwater settings. Sea-run cutthroat are available for the catching along several nice cobblestone reaches. The shelter of bull kelp beds provide a great feeding grounds for this fun anadramous salmonid. Late summer sees the arrival of solid hatchery coho fishery easily within reach of shore.

Come on up and get away from the crowds. You wont believe how beautiful it is and you won’t regret it. And, oh yeah, you might catch some nice fish!