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.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Shakespear Rainbow Rod's, believe it!

The weekend started on Thursday. I took the boys, my 4 year old Addison and my 2 1/2 year olds Owen out to check the clarity on the Nooksack for Friday's float. I knew I shouldn't bring any fishing gear because that wouldn't be fun for them. They wanted to fish so I brought Addison's Zebco and Owen's Shakespear along. We showed up at the river with our picnic and hiked down to an inviting run with an easy beach for them to fish from (not necessarily where I would choose to fish from but easy walking for them).

My eldest son has become quite a fly tyer, tying big flamboyant flies that I might even consider using for steelhead. I rigged him up a float, he picked out one of his flies, and I added enough weight for him to cast. He went to work on the run, casting and swinging the setup having an absolute blast. As I watched him I thought, you know he could catch a fish with that method. For Owen I rigged up a giant washer so he wouldn't hurt himself flinging it around.

After about twenty minutes both boys decided to have lunch. I took Owen's Shakespear Rainbow and rigged up a double glow bug setup with an indicator and started casting. It's hard for a die hard fisherman to be at the water and not fish. I was looking at the run and noticed that there were quite a few rocks downstream about twenty feet and I walked down making sure the boys were happily eating lunch. I cast a few times drifting the rig through the rocks that were two to three feet down in the water. It looked like a great spot.

On the fifth cast the indicator dropped suddenly and I pulled back expecting a snag. Suddenly I had a fish tugging hard at the line. The drag was not set well and I fumbled to adjust the drag on the broken plastic housing of this blue and green close-faced spin reel. The fish ran out into the river and I yelled back at the kids, "Come on down here, I have a fish." Meanwhile, I am saying to myself, "I hope it's a dolly, I hope it's a dolly!" The fish came in easier than I thought it might, but the rod was bent to the hilt. Sure enough it was a steelhead. About a 24 inch wild hen. I only had my camera phone so I did my best to take a quick snap shot keeping it in the water and making sure the kids had a chance to see their first live steelhead. I let Addison grab the tail and slide it out into the main river. Wow! Winston BIIx $600+, Nautilus reel $400, Rio Versa-tip line $125; catching a wild steelhead on your son's Shakespear Rainbow rod, priceless!
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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!