Hi Everyone Welcome Back to The Blog

Friends schmoozing in front of the cabins mid-Sept.
From National Geographic Adventure Magazine
Photo Copyright 2011 Paul K. Anderson

It's been an excellent 4 months here in western Washington.  The holidays were fun, guests special.

But it is time to get back to work and start talking a new season coming up for Ross Lake Resort.

I just talked with Tom and he has been out shoveling snow from the cabins and platforms so they don't get too much accumulation.  Tom has spent the past few months researching the best flies to tie and has been trying to perfect patterns for the lake.

I'm probably going to meet with Tom get some photos of the resort in late winter and try and capture a few images of Tom working hard in front of the wood burning stove.

If you are interested in seeing a few more of my images from the lower Skagit Valley and the Chuckanut Range please read the blog I also edit at the Chuckanut Conservancy.

Bald Eagle knocked off a Snow Goose carcass by a younger rival.
copyright 2011 by Paul K Anderson

Farm on Fir Island, lower Skagit Valley,
Tundra Swans head out to the Salish Sea under threatening snow clouds.
copyright 2011 by Paul K Anderson

Cheers Everyone,
Paul Anderson

Speaking of fishing we just received an excellent response from Cory Hoyt on the blog post about catch and release of the larger fish.  Please read his well thought out response.

Thanks Cory for your input!

The trout population is doing really well, and is self-sustaining. Selective gear rules and reasonable keeper limits ought to be enough to keep the population strong. The other side to this is that if there are too many fish, the maximum potential size will become stunted and we'll see more unhealthy fish plus the fish will be generally smaller.
The shiner population is going to make this a trophy fishery...it already has.
The main challenge to keeping the system viable as individuals is to keep only the fish you'll eat, and release all others. For me, that means releasing as many as 50-60 fish in the week I'm there. 
The other major problem I see every time I'm up at Ross (and I've been going to on & off for 30 years) is poaching/illegal fishing.
I'll no longer tolerate it. This year I'll be reporting all violators I see to the ranger. Last year I saw 2 boats of people pull up to May Creek and all four people in the boats started putting baitfish on their hooks and pitching 'em out towards the falls (I was further in towards the falls testing the swim patterns of my lures). They saw me and shot looks of guilt my way, but still continued to fish illegally right in front of me.
I've seen people pull fish out of the water with their rod and seen the fish flopping around in the air still attached...barbless hooks don't let you do that.
I've seen scared teenagers bring in fish so their Daddy could remove the treble from the fish they caught...which had powerbait on it!
I catch these fish using several different methods, but always legal.
If anyone needs a Ross Lake guide, I'd be happy to show you how to catch plenty of fish up there...you'd of course, have to pay for my stay and boat rental!

cheers,
Corey Hoyt