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

Steelhead don't bite in clear water! Bah humbug!

I got a bit more sleep than I normally do before a trip because I had been out that day and was pretty much ready. The day felt good from the get go and the sun didn't take long to start warming us up and tanning our faces. Randy and Kenn were game for a split tactic of hard nymph drifting and swinging. My plan was to lose flies by getting tight into rip-wrap and log structure and maybe we could pull out a steelhead. There was one guy at the Mosquito Lake launch floating in his pontoon and then we didn't see another boat until almost 2pm. I kept asking myself where all the people were but then I got my answer after talking to some gear fishermen. "You can't catch steelhead when it's this clear." Ah I see, all the boats are down on the main stem where the South Fork is coloring up the clear water some.

I gave Randy a black and olive moal leech I tied with a chartreuse conehead. Kenn had on a black and purple marabou. Nothing going on the first run we hit except a couple of dead chickens in the middle of the river. Free tying material! Free chicken dinner (couldn't find the spot on my catch record card and they looked like they might wild Nooksack chickens!).

The next run we hit was in beautiful shape and I was pretty sure it would have been overlooked by the previous floater (no offense Tyler). Kenn took the top half and Randy started in on the lower half. About half way down to the tail out I heard a yelp from Randy and he was hooked up strong. She was a fighter! Made several great runs but really had nowhere to go, in fact there couldn't be a much better hole to land a steelhead on as far as being worry free of snags. I was so psyched! Randy played her well and I tailed her. We kept the beautiful chrome wild fish under the water and got a measurement of 27 inches. With the formula (girth of around 14 inches) this fish comes out between 6 and 7 pounds. Thanks Randy for making my day! The rest of the day for Randy was just icing on the cake. Who says steelhead don't bite in clear water?

We worked hard to get Kenn a fish as well. There were a few fishermen at the Eagle Park and down river but not what I expected for a Saturday. The sun was super hot and I was definitely over-dressed for the first day all winter. Chrome on a summer day in February, what more can you ask for? Great job Randy. Kenn will be out with me a couple more times this season so there is still hope for him. Great float with great people!

I still have two spots for Wednesday, come on now, it is time to call in sick to work! This is the last week on the Nooksack. Don't you want your own picture like this? I was wishing to float the South Fork this week but I really think it is done for the year. Some huge chunk of clay must have fallen in the river upstream of Skookum because it is way too off color for the flow levels it is at. Sad state of affairs and I think I am going to take a hike in March and figure out why this is happening.

Well, I suppose if nobody wants to go out Wednesday, I will just have to go catch one myself and maybe on a fly rod instead of a kid's rod.
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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!