Home Waters

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

Diane that was a wonderful post. You maybe should have sent it in to the Publishers of FAOL for the Readers Casts forum it certainly is good enough.

The rivers and streams around my hometown were all crystal clear as I grew up. On Skaha lake at the south end of town the water was so clear you could throw a quarter off the High diving board and see it sitting on the bottom 32 feet deep. The lakes and streams had good sized runs of all 5 types of pacific salmon each fall. When I was 8 or 9 in 1953 they put in a bunch of dams for flood control and irrigation. Some are up here in Canada and some are downstream in Washington state. Enough obstructions were put in their paths that salmon that plied the waters of my home turf can no longer make the journey north. I matters not that the water is still relatively clean if the fish cannot reach it anymore. There is more to pollution than just industrial waste. It is commendable of you to have brought these problems our notice once again and I thank you for that. My home waters are the Okanagan River drainage system.

Ps. brookid That is indeed a nice creek.

[Heritage Angler]

First wet a line in this stream 40 years ago. I'm happy to say it is in better shape today and fishes better than it ever did. One of the lucky ones...

[Lew]

My home water is the South Fork of the Snake. I went for years as a bait/spin fisherman, having little success, never realizing that I was standing in some of the best fly water in the country. I came to it slowly, thanks to an older friend and mentor. Nobody in my family fished or hunted. He started me out fishing Sandy Mite wet flies that he tied from horse hair, appropriated from the neighborhood equines. He fished only Sandy Mites, and did so with good success. He didn't realize the resource that was there either, but it started me down the road. I still have the old 7wt. Fenwick glass rod from back in that day, and it still works well,when I want to chuck streamers for the big browns that live in those holes, riffles, and runs. This picture was taken last Saturday. The beautiful fall colors of a month ago are gone, and we're winding down to winter. I've turned into somewhat of a fair weather fisherman in my "reclining" years, and I don't crawl up and down the steep banks like I used to, but I still love visiting the South Fork, even if fishing is harder for me now. The fellow in the picture is the result of the "monster" I created 25+ years ago, when I introduced him to fly fishing. Now he's taking me, and teaching me new wrinkles. Pay it foreward folks.

[analogbob]

A few small freestone streams in the western reaches of Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains.

Bob

[Diane]

New Theory: you can not post a thread about home waters without some lucky son-of-a-gun posting a photo of either the Snake, Ausable, Beaverkill, Yellowstone, or one of what seems like a hundred beautiful streams in central Pennsylvania.

Beautiful, Lew.

[MarkKillam]

I guess I first learned to fish on the South Branch of the Raritan River in NJ (lived in Flemington for 18 years). It was five minutes from my house and I used to go there as much as possible, which was almost daily while working third shift. I regret that I didnt flyfish until recently and I missed out on some fun times on that river for sur. Every now and then have the urge to go back there and give it a whirl (as well as the Delware River Water Gap).

[Jonezee]

Lew. The photo is fantastic....did you enter the water from the right side (of the photo) and walk down the gravel bar? Did you start to cast as you entered tha bar and work your way down to where you are in the photo? It is fun to read your water and guess your method. Did you entice a cutthroat? Thanks for a geat post and photo, Jonezee

[newsman]

Mine is the famous Thompson (BC). I live 1.5 hours out of Vancouver BC and while enjoy some great rivers, lakes and saltwater opportunits right in my back yard; I just can't stop dreaming about the Summer Salmonfly hatch and those big wild Thompson Bows hitting size 4 2xlong dries. One day I am going to retire in a small town along that river and write books till I die.

[Lew]

Hey Jonzee!
As stated before, it's my friend who's fishing and I stayed on the bank and took pics. He entered from the right side, and fished his way down to the bottom of the riffle. He caught about eight small cuttroats and one rainbow, until he got to the slow water, where he started picking up whitefish. Griffith gnat, and a small bwo emerger did the trick. This is a small channel off the main river which is behind, and to the left. The picture was take with a digital camera through the polarized lens of my sunglasses. I was on a bank about 20 feet above the water, sitting beside my pick-up.

[Lew]

Hi Diane,
Sorry I kinda hijacked the idea of your post. It was late at night, and I wasn't firing on all cylinders. I wish that everyone had the beautiful lakes and streams that we have around here. We have our share of problems, with agricultural run-off, overdevelopment, bank erosion from grazing cattle etc. It amazes me that we're supposed to be smart, but can't seem to keep from fouling our own nests. The Teton River, in Teton Basin is a good example of all three problems mentioned above. http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m220 ... roat-1.jpg
The silt along the banks in this area is so deep, you can barely fight your way through it to gravel bottom. "If I were the King of the World, 'tell you what I'd do". You KNOW what I'd do!