Catch and Release?

Editors Note:  I've broached the subject of catch and release above a certain size as a possible means of enabling the wild Ross Lake Rainbows to flourish and create a trophy fishery.  Amongst fly fishermen catch and release is a common practice.

Congrats to those of you that caught these big fish.  Remember how just a few years ago we were scratching our heads hoping to catch a 13 incher?  So we would really like some feedback from many of you about implementing a voluntary program next season?

Would you provide feedback please.  We want to keep this as totally transparent as possible with all of you Sportsmen getting involved with your ideas.

thanks - Paul

From Josh Runestadt

Hey Paul,

I agree with your sentiment about Ross Lake being a special place! My family used to make trips yearly when I was younger and have only just started returning (this being the second year in a row).

I am a flyfishing junkie and fish catch and release always unless I catch a hatchery Salmon or Steelhead. I would totally support Ross Lake being Catch and Release. Ross Lake could probably turn into a real trophy fishery.

I do understand campers wanting to keep a fish for the fry pan, but I do cringe a little when I hear people talking about how big and how many of those recovering wild rainbows they caught and brought home.

Josh

25 1/4" Wild Ross Lake Rainbow

Photo courtesy Ross Lake Resort

Congrats to Fred Smith what a beaut.

High Dynamic Range Photo of Ross Lake

©Paul Anderson

Sustainability of Large Wild Ross Lake Rainbows

I don't know quite how to broach this subject because I don't want to upset anyone, but I know that the people that come up and stay at Ross Lake Resort year after year after year do so because they love this resort, love the lake and love the surrounding mountains, so  I will bring this to a discussion level that anyone may want to participate in.

This year has been an incredible year for fishermen on Ross Lake - everyone seems to be very happy.

Wild Ross Lake Rainbows over the last 5 years have grown from an average size of 12 -13 inches to 14 to an average now of 15 or more inches.

Many large fish have been caught.  Including a 25"+.  I saw and photographed some beauts.  I applauded and celebrated with you for catching those trophy Wild Ross Lake Rainbows because I know that you have fished here for a number of years when it was lean.

But you still came back because of your love for Ross Lake, the Resort, and the North Cascades.

No one knows - the best fishermen, scientists, Fish & Game, National Park Service, and most certainly not me - what the sustainability of these large Wild Ross Lake Rainbows is going to be if we continue to harvest them in the years ahead.

So I throw out to you - the Ross Lake Fishing Community:  Should we as a fishing community, friends who have been coming here year after year through good fishing and lean years, open the discussion and look at a voluntary program of catch and release on these large Wild Ross Lake Rainbows?

Before it becomes a sustainability issue.

Before scientists make a recommendation.

Before Fish and Game or any agency feels it is necessary to regulate further?

I think as Sportsmen we all know what that answer is or should be.

I think it is a golden opportunity to do something special for an area we love so much. a payback for what was given to us.

Again I applaud each of us that have hooked or netted these beautiful large Wild Ross Lake Rainbows.

Maybe if we do this small but significant gesture, Ross Lake will become known for the large Wild Ross Lake Rainbows for years to come.

I look forward to a discussion with anyone that has an opinion, trollers, fly fishermen, die-hards, professionals, once a year people.

Send your feedback to Paulinbham@gmail.com

News Flash-News Flash-News Flash-News Flash

A huge wild Ross Lake Rainbow was caught this week.

25 inch +!

More info with photo soon.

North Seattle, Bothell, Kenmore, Shoreline and Issaquah!

The guys from North Seattle have been coming to Ross Lake for 23 years now and enjoy each others company, catching the Wild Ross Lake Rainbows, eating fine meals and relaxing under the high peaks of the North Cascades.

Mike Pearce on left, and Paul Olson on right display a couple of their cleaned Wild Ross Lake Rainbows just before heading over to the their groups Salmon BBQ.

Salmon marinated in garlic infused teriyaki and cooked on a cedar plank was on the menu prepared by Eric Lindstrom and Greg Fink. Notice how the smoke from the coals and the cedar plank waft around the salmon and permeates flavor deep into the flesh.

HEEEY!! Whaddchaw Catch Those Fish With Buddy, U Can Tell Me!

Odin Barnett, son of Allison and Jerry Barnett, spent the summer on the boat dock cleaning, fueling, running canoes and boats up lake and learning the resort business from one of the best in the industry - his cousin Tom Barnett.

All these lures were left in the boats and fell out when Odin cleaned them. So, what are people using for lures?  Well, this is an unscientific sampling but it includes Bingo Bugs, Dick Nites, Needlefish, Rapalas, Buzz Bombs, Tomics and several other varieties.

All of you have kept Odin and his 11 year old brother Bode stocked with lures.  Thanks!

Bode is a fishing machine and has recently started using a fly rod!

I asked Odin if he had any tips for the guests?  "Nah, everyone is really cool. I guess if there was one thing I would say is that when they start up lake on that 1st boat ride they look out at those walls and just let their stress ooze away."


"They are on a vacation in a really beautiful and special place here on Ross Lake and in the North Cascades."

A Guys Guy - Doug Horton

all photos this post © Paul K. Anderson

Doug is a Ross Lake friend I enjoy seeing every September.  Excellent fly fisherman, fly-tier, flyfishing model, superb cook.

Doug comes up for a week and when he isn't out stalking the Wild Ross Lake Rainbow or tying his latest steelhead pattern preparing for his trip to B.C. you may find him cooking for Tom, Carol and the staff.

This night it was pot roast marinated in red wine and secret spices, seared with his special coating of flour and secret spices and then slow cooked in a mirepoix with tomatoes, the red wine marinade, garlic, pepper, some more red wine and maybe some red wine.

I heard a noise, looked and saw the mayor and his councilmen pressing their quivering noses against the window, standing in the rain holding up their Wild Ross Lake Rainbows and a bottle of red wine as an offering for a slice of the pot roast. (1 councilman even held up a sorry looking can of Bud Lite - ---    pffffttttt!) alright I used a little literary freedom here I guess  - but it could have happened!

Geeze guys cmon - show some dignity- try bribing with a bottle of single malt and maybe a bottle of truffle oil, or a thick slab of foie gras - Hey for that I'll at least introduce you to Doug and let the rest be up to you!

As Doug put the lid back on the dutch oven he looked over and said "Paul, you should have been there for the mayors party - it was a blast......"

Doh!

Ruby Creek Art

Andy Goldsworthy is one of my favorite artists.  His works are created from the natural materials found in the immediate environment.  Many of his outdoor installations are fleeting -  lasting until the turn of the tide, the next gust of wind, spring floods, or until the relentless, inevitable pull of gravity takes over and reconfigures the work.

We visited the area where many artists before have stacked the river rock into their own installations.

The base of a large cairn that the teenagers assembled last year was still intact.

Here is a link to an incredible artist.  His books can be purchased at Village Books in Bellingham - my local and favorite bookstore.

http://www.rwc.uc.edu/artcomm/web/w2005_2006/maria_Goldsworthy/TEST/index.html

http://villagebooks.com/

Support your local artists, support your local bookstores.

All photos this post ©Paul K. Anderson

Meet Andy and Tamara Bennett

Every time I visit Ross Lake Resort I meet interesting and really nice people. I suppose it is normal that people on vacation are relaxed and friendly but there is something about this resort that generates a sense relaxation or peace that I don't find other places.

Maybe it is the uniqueness and history of the floating cabins, or sitting in the middle of the North Cascades, or knowing so many of the guests that keep coming back year after year.  Maybe it's the adventure of getting here - not all that difficult but certainly a different experience - being so close to the metro areas of Seattle and Vancouver B.C.

This trip is no different.  Strolling down the dock I met Tamara and Andy Bennett from Seattle.  They were sitting out in front of their cabin enjoying their time together sitting in the adirondack chairs reading by candlelight in the deep, deep twilight of this North Cascades evening.

We started talking and I discovered that Andy is a blogger on several sites of his own.

Andy owns and operates 4 fishing lodges in Alaska, British Columbia, the Bahamas and Chili through his company Deneki Outdoors

Check out his website and blog on www.deneki.com he has a good blog going and also is an excellent photographer.

Good writing, good photography, good fishing advice and tips!  Can't get much better than that.

Glad to meet you Tamara and Andy!

I plan on reading your blog regularly.

Meet Andy Cassady

Want to meet a good fisherman?  Meet Andy!

Andy is a commercial fisherman I posted about when he was visiting Ross Lake Resort this past July.

He fishes in Alaskan waters commercially for salmon and off of the coast of California for squid.

On his time off he visits Ross and catches huge Wild Ross Lake Rainbows.

Andy fly fishes his own flies - a simulation of the red sided shiner.  He trolls them in shallow water very close to shore with line stripped almost all the way out.

He reminds me a bit of the character Gus Orviston in David James Duncan's book The River Why.

Andy's a guy I would like my 16 year old who is just learning to fish to follow for a day to pick up some of his skills but more importantly his passion for this wonderful sport of Angling.

photos this post courtesy of Ross Lake Resort

A Small Visit to Ruby Arm

click photos to enlarge  all photos this post © Paul K Anderson

Skagit River near NCNP Visitor's Center in Newhalem

click photo to enlarge - all photos this post © Paul K. Anderson

Rockfall on Highway 20

A Penguin walks into a Bar and the Chimpanzee Says...........

We arrived Thursday afternoon and it was beautiful.  Recent rains had waterfalls at levels suggestive of spring, not the banal trickles of late summer.  Mosses and lichens on the hillsides were green instead of the brown, desiccated look of the typical late summer.

After greeting all the friends/guests from years past in nearby cabins we began to hear talk.

Stories!

Rumors!

Innuendos!

The self proclaimed mayor of Ross Lake and his crew counsel had hosted an evening, the night before, for all guests of the resort and staff to meet at an appointed hour and eat red meat (or wild Ross Lake Rainbows if you chose), drink, tell lies, occasionally swear, and generally let their collective hairs down.

As I walked past cabin after cabin everyone who was a guest on Wednesday came out, greeted me and then said "Paul! You have got to go down to the counsel chambers and meet the mayor!"

This from people I've know to be stoic, normal, tea totalers!

So! I did.  Sort of.

First I had to meet the deputy mayor pictured above on the right.  He then tested me to see if I was mayor worthy.

I was tested with a taste of 18 year old Irish Whiskey, then ordered to come up with a joke to tell - I did - the one about a penguin who is driving across the desert and his car breaks down...........

I passed with flying colors and was escorted into the bunkhouse inner chambers to meet the mayor.

Cameras were not allowed in counsel chambers.

But soon the mayor invited me back outside on a political junket and showed me what they had just gotten back from doing.

As I stood there admiring their catch the guests from the bunkhouse next to counsel chambers stepped out, greeted me and said "Paul you should have been here last night!"

Doh!

Here was a group of Cougars who obviously were straight laced and would never have been caught dead at the Coug at Pullman telling me I missed something special. Hearing their recollections from the the night before, the evening

was obviously an amalgamation for these Coug's of "The Big Chill" and possibly "Summer Vacation with the Griswolds"!  

The mayor stood guard in the background. Ensuring no obvious fabrications of the truth or for the matter the truth itself was released for public consumption.

All I can say is that I had an excellent time meeting politicians and Coug's.  And before we headed back to our cabin the mayor threw his arms around us and said "same time next year."

I walked back by the office and saw Tom sitting outside and sat down with him. Hoping to discuss some photo projects he would like to see. Tom pondered the question for a moment and replied "Man Paul, you should have been here last night - the mayor hosted a party..............

Doh!

I walked back to my cabin and the resort seemed to be listing a bit.

It was a long, lonely walk.  No one was out in the adirondack chairs to greet me. To guide me.

They had all gone to bed early.

And that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Oh, and did you hear the one about the Husky and Coug who ran head on into each other on Snoqualmie Pass and the Coug says to the Husky..........................

my view after meeting the mayor

another view after meeting the mayor - he bought my vote!

Teenager Dinking with the Old Man on Ruby Arm

'OK this trip up Ruby Arm is getting to me, I just can't sit here and do nothing on the ride back to the cabin, the girls are back at the cabin and I can't mess with them.  Dad's probably thinking about that problem for work.  How much scenery do we have to see? Is there any food left?  Bacon! Bacon I want Baaacccooonnn!!!!

"Hey look it's water, how cold is it, how wet is it, do we have any water balloons to throw at Mackenzie or Dana, can I catch a leaf, hey maybe I can catch a fish barehanded, whoa the Old Man just moved his leg! He's awake - a target"

"I feel better already - look the Old Man is bursting from ear to ear with a smile.What should I come up with to mess with those girls?"

"Food, food, I need fooooooooooood!"


"I gotta think up something - those girls have been sitting back at the cabin thinking about how they can mess with me this whole time, they don't know how smart I am. I am Austin Powers of the Ruby Arm! Girls liked him!"


"Baaaacccoooooooonnnnnnnnn......................"

A Thursday Afternoon Drive Through The Chuckanuts

The Chuckanut Range from Samish Flats

click  on any photo to enlarge

all photos this post ©Paul K. Anderson

Work has been crazy and you weren’t able to sleep so you get up at 3AM and drive the 67 miles and all day it’s been one thing after another until your shoulders are so tight that it’s starting to give you a headache and then the traffic on the 67 mile commute back home is terrible too so by the time you reach Conway you decide to go backroads but you know the wife is going to call you a hick from Iowa, “that must be all they do back there on Sundays- drive backroads”, and you resent that remark because you know that you’ve been living here in Washington for 33 years and shouldn’t be considered from Iowa any more, and then you stop at the Rexville grocery and notice a nice selection of wines, cheese, micro beers, salami’s and other items you could select if you brought the wife with and wanted a picnic together but a little further up the road you drive through Bayview and look in on the workers at the boat works and hope the recession isn’t killing them like so many other small businesses and then just ahead you can look over the apple orchard and see your Chuckanuts, you drive down the slope past thousands of acres of blueberries and potatoes and corn and even wheat and then just a little past the turnoff for Samish Island you cross the Samish River and see hundreds of fishermen and realize

the king salmon are returning and it is going to be a great year for fishermen because these fish hold such a strong emotional grip on you and the fishermen, the Lummi’s and other Native American's, and you grab the camera and walk up one of the dikes and meet guys who are from Bellingham, Seattle,

Mt.Vernon, Ancortes, Russians, Japanese, Hispanics, Pakistaniis,Vietnamese and fishermen from just about everywhere - dads, sons, young dads, old dads, young sons and old sons and all seem to have grins especially Micael the young dad who just caught a nice king and his son in the kid carrier who is looking over Dad’s shoulder to see the fish

and you remember the smell of your own dad’s neck as you hung on him piggy back style when he was carrying you down the trail when you were little and tired so later when you leave the Samish after noticing a sign that this Saturday they were going to have a smoked salmon contest in a small lot right next to the river and you think, “how cool is that”,

you drive by the Longhorn in Edison remembering the Oyster shooters you gave to your nephews from Montana last time they were visiting and they ate those Samish Bay oysters but were already plotting the next time you were visiting them in Montana they were going to make you try those Rocky Mountain Oysters not realizing how often you ate those things on Sunday nights when you were a ski bum and playing poker with the mayor, chief of police and owner of the Mucky Duck and they kept trying to convince you to buy a fly rod and try it out on some of the beaver ponds and streams just out your door, but you didn’t have time with all of the climbing, hiking, rugby and photography you were doing but now that you need to reduce stress in your life and have bought fly rods for you and your son maybe next year go visit your brother who is the best fisherman you’ve ever known and float down the Big Horn River, wonder what kind of hatch will be going on but hey why not try to spend a day or two on the Henry’s Fork, the Yellowstone, the Madison, and you remember a former girl friend whose dad lived each summer in a tiny trailer next to the Madison and that one summer when you visited him the editor of one of the big fishing magazines mentioned that her dad was one of the finest fly fishermen in America,

whoa pull over and see what is on the menu at the Rhododendron Cafe this month, so you get out of the car trying to determine what this months theme is and walk up to the menu by the front door and read: Chicken Saltimbocca with fresh sage, prosciutto, provolone, marsala wine sauce; Zarzuela spanish seafood stew with brandy, sherry, olives, tomato, garlic; Couscous with Lamb and Apricots, bell peppers and Moroccan spices; Grilled petite tenderloin with gorgonzola, wild blackberry demi glace wow gotta come back for dinner - must be some kind of North African or Italian, or Spanish theme, then with so much food on your mind - crazy must be hungry and you stop at the Morgan Family Farm organic veggie stand and buy on the honor system yukon fingerlings, basil, zukes, squash, carrots, onions, leeks, fennel and maybe when you get home make a curry with major grey chutney and Indian spices but just then you see something that makes you wonder why is that pod of porta-potty’s traveling across the bridge like that - you just don't see that every day and then chuckle about the time up at the Edmonton Rugby Tourny when your buddy Ed tipped one over on a guy who was rude and cut in front of him just as he was opening the door and the hideous howls emanating from within caused everyone to casually stroll out of the immediate area and then when it was finally uprighted out popped this enraged 6'6" smurf,

but look at the marsh grasses how would Wolf Kahn paint those and what wild colors blue maybe hahaha would he use and are those pilings from an old cannery or saw mill or do they resemble headstones in a graveyard and did Edward R. Murrow play around these pilings

so you get back in the car and drive up the one lane road and turn back on Chuckanut Drive and drive through Blanchard to see if they are setting up yet at the community center for the salmon bbq and then you see a hang glider getting ready to land in the Wake family front yard so you rush over and snap a photo of a seam on it and wonder how Rothko would portrait it in one of his geometric paintings

and as you cross back over the bridge you think about those porta-pottys and wonder what kinda storyline could be developed for those travelers - a day in the life of a porta potty - and you think nah that’s too bizarre and an editor would probably assign you to do it and how would you photograph it with any dignity and what if someone did take offense, because you really don't look all that great in blue and you remember those double knit blue bell bottoms your mom bought for you and the chef at the Oyster Creek Inn waves at you when you honk on the way down to Taylor Shellfish farm but soon you are back on Chuckanut and heading up Cleator road for a view and to see all the way up to Canada and over the San Juans

and a sailboat is at anchor in Chuckanut Bay and that reminds you of the trip you made with Joe-Joe and Punjab and the old girl friend and remember how the two of you meaning you and the girl friend not Joe -Joe the dog faced boy won the dance contest in the bar at Friday Harbor going crazy to Junior Cadillac and you stop in the cool, humid, shade of the grove of Red Alder and photograph the trunks

against the maze of underbrush and young fir trees but it’s getting late and you want to stop in Fairhaven at the cheese shop to bring something home to enjoy with a glass of red wine

Quel Fromage - Old Fairhaven Pkwy at 12th St

and after you get home you grab some shavings of good cheese, crackers and a glass of wine and remember your old girlfriend died of cancer just about a year ago and sadly left a teenage son behind and you hope that doesn’t happen to you but you realize you haven’t had a headache for hours and when your wife asks what are you all going to do this weekend you say maybe you all should all drive down Chuckanut Drive to Edison and listen to a blue grass band, maybe try a few oyster shooters, maybe drink a glass of oyster or clam nectar but Ivar used to have a sign up at his restaurant that said a husband had to have a permission slip from his wife before they would serve the nectar to them and you are feeling very relaxed and your shoulders aren’t tight any more and you realize that drive thru the Chuckanuts has that same effect on you every time  but wow work well it feels like you haven’t been there for a week and you better call Jerry and finalize the arrangements because the annual September trip to Ross Lake Resort is next Thursday and this year maybe is a good time to hike up Desolation to the fire lookout where Jack Kerouac spent that summer and started writing Desolation Angels and you remember that you are gong to sleep well tonight and can’t wait to get back doing something in the Chuckanuts and your wife looks at you and smiles and you wonder if maybe there isn’t some clam nectar in the refrigerator and she says “a Sunday Drive?”

“You are such a hick........”