I've been very behind/not posting trip reports at all. Mostly because I've been to busy with work/child care/fishing, etc. But my excuse the past two weeks is because I've been out camping on multiple different trips for the majority of the time (heading out for another 3 days in a couple hours on another solo trip with my kid).
One of those trips was a overnighter with our very own @Gary Knowels. Fishing/hangin' with Gary feels like it's been a couple years in the making. But between schedules and Tacoma v. Portland locations we hadn't been able to make it happen until the end of June. Gary reached out a month or two ago with some dates and one of them just so happened to fall during a week my kid had a summer camp so I had some free mid-week time.
Gary wanted to head down my way to explore some of my "home" waters and I knew the exact place to take him. Short hike in with glassy sight fishing to risers up 17", combined with some rough and tumble blue lining and if you were feeling it--some casting to lake cruisers. You really could fish all the ways in this zone.
We left my house around 8:15am after dropping the kiddo off at camp. I was worried I was talking this spot up to much to the point it was going to be a disappointment--especially considering Gary was driving down from Tacoma for this.
It wasn't.
As soon as we got to the creek, there was a massive golden stonefly, calibaetis and caddis hatch. I think we lost count of fish caught within the first hour of being on the water. It was rare to catch a "small 10 inch" fish where most fish landed were in the 12-16" class with the occasional 17". I lost one in the wood that Gary's certain was 19-20" (his words not mine ;! ). We fished all day, headed back to camp by the lake, ate dinner and tucked into our hammocks. Woke up fished a little bit in the morning, hiked out and drove home feeling pretty good.
Gary hooked up.
The type of blue lining where the odds are 50/50 between angler and fish.
One of those trips was a overnighter with our very own @Gary Knowels. Fishing/hangin' with Gary feels like it's been a couple years in the making. But between schedules and Tacoma v. Portland locations we hadn't been able to make it happen until the end of June. Gary reached out a month or two ago with some dates and one of them just so happened to fall during a week my kid had a summer camp so I had some free mid-week time.
Gary wanted to head down my way to explore some of my "home" waters and I knew the exact place to take him. Short hike in with glassy sight fishing to risers up 17", combined with some rough and tumble blue lining and if you were feeling it--some casting to lake cruisers. You really could fish all the ways in this zone.
We left my house around 8:15am after dropping the kiddo off at camp. I was worried I was talking this spot up to much to the point it was going to be a disappointment--especially considering Gary was driving down from Tacoma for this.
It wasn't.
As soon as we got to the creek, there was a massive golden stonefly, calibaetis and caddis hatch. I think we lost count of fish caught within the first hour of being on the water. It was rare to catch a "small 10 inch" fish where most fish landed were in the 12-16" class with the occasional 17". I lost one in the wood that Gary's certain was 19-20" (his words not mine ;! ). We fished all day, headed back to camp by the lake, ate dinner and tucked into our hammocks. Woke up fished a little bit in the morning, hiked out and drove home feeling pretty good.
Gary hooked up.
The type of blue lining where the odds are 50/50 between angler and fish.
Last edited:
