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.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Sauk it to me!


After spending most of the winter steelhead season on the Nooksack, it is a pleasure to lay my eyes on the beauty of the Sauk River. All morning long on my last two floats the male ruffed grouse drum quietly in the nearby forest. It is a low and progressively faster thudding noise that sounds like an old tractor starting up in the distance. Your ears aren't sure what or if they are hearing the sound at first. The other birds that remind me of spring on this river are the winter wrens. This tiny song bird belts out a melodious trill that warbles up and down echoing through the river bed. White Horse mountain pokes through the clouds and reveals its snow covered rocky crags. Sauk mountain lays low to the north covered in a down blanket of fluff.

What more can you ask for when your fishing? This is the reminder, the reason we fish for this elusive streak of silver. A tug would make my toes warm you say.....

..... on Wednesday Jason and his son Nick got seven tugs, six fish on and four dollies landed. Just dollies you say? That's awesome I say! I love dolly varden, they are so special and so beautiful. I can't believe they used to throw them up on the bank. Ever thought about hooking one of those 15-20lb. Skagit dollies? Would you turn up your nose at that? That would make my year, my fishing career maybe.

The Sauk was busy from the 530 bridge to the Government bridge. We lay back and targeted the "lesser" water letting other boats race ahead to grab the big runs. The water was so low and clear fish had to be hiding in the ripple water. That is what we fished, rocks and faster water that was 2-3 feet deep. No chrome, but they might have been there.

Nick, who is nine, did great. He rowed us down through the "rapids" as he called them with all the muscle he could find. His dad Jason took a fun video of this "guide in training". You can watch both videos here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ2g3lDf3VE

Nick and Jason made the day a great one, thanks to both of you. I can't wait to get back to that river again. It is too bad everyone else is missing out. Oh....what fly were we using? It's a secret! Whoops...you can see it.
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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!