Stonefish

August is a great time to visit the ONP, especially weather wise. You'll catch fish and maybe a summerrun steelhead, but August certainly doesn't offer the best fishing. If you wanted to catch salmon, August would be a decent bet for fly fishing the beach on Puget Sound. Coho will be available and since it is a odd year, so will pink salmon. I've got some possible trout options for you in August. Let me think about this a bit and I'll send you a PM. SF

August can be a tough time with fires, poor air conditions and hoot owl closures due to water temps. How many will be in your group? SF

I'm pretty lucky. I work for a company that represents several manufacturers. Every time I sell something, I claim it on their websites and they put money on a credit card they issue. It is basically fun money that I use to cover all my fishing costs over a yearly basis. I haven't spent a dime out of my regular paycheck on fishing gear in years..... SF

I've had some failures this fall, so no waiting until the new year as I fish year round. One advantage to living in a rather temperate.area. New rod Several new lines New wading boots - Oysters and barnacles did a number on the previous pair New waders I'm sure I'll buy something else though. Driving by a fly shop on my commute home every day doesn't help. Damn place is like a magnet to my car...... SF

Best fishing buddy took a trip to Montana and raved about fly fishing. This was his first experience at it. I got a outfit the next week and we went at it hard and heavy. My first fish was a Lahontan Cutthroat caught from shore on a black woolly bugger on Lake Lenore. I was wearing hip boots, I got soaked and froze my ass off but it was fun as heck. 37 years ago but it seems like yesterday. Damn time flies..... SF

Hilltop, Very unscientific outside measurements measured from the floor to the lip of the basket. Orvis is 6” tall on all sided. The Linekurv is 6” deep in the back and 5 1/2” in the front, which is the same as the old tan colored Bean basket which I also have. inside depth would be a bit less of course. Don’t have a new Bean basket to measure. Hope this helps. SF

Rainbows and cutthroat are both spring spawners, so you'll get an occasional cutbow. Native rainbows can also spawn with steelhead. Some of their offspring will become steelhead while others will never head to the salt. There is a really interesting study Oregon State University did on the relationship between rainbow trout and steelhead. Let me know if you are interested in reading it and I'll send you a link since you can't post them on here. My point about the 20+" rainbow being considered a steelhead in the regulations being BS is that there are 20" rainbows......an they aren't steelhead!!!!! SF

Cool thread and finds. Not east coast related, but my family used to do a ton of beachcombing in the winter on the west coast in the 60's and 70's. We were mainly looking looking for japanese glass fishing balls, but found a ton of different salmon plugs. I wish I now had pictures of all of them. We used a number of them to catch salmon on in Puget Sound. With the current lack of salmon and seasons, I doubt you'd find many plugs today. SF

That looks like it might have some cutthroat in it possibly, with the spots below the lateral line. Nice catch regardless and a great looking fish. I bet that was fun on a light rod. If it is 100% rainbow, you can call it a steelhead, lol. Per the WDFW regulations, any rainbow over 20" is considered a steelhead. I'm not sure why they continue to state that in the fishing regs, because it is BS..... SF

I saw someone using the new Bean basket. Didn't use it myself but it looked ok. I've used a old Bean basket and also have a Orvis and a Linekurv basket If I had to decide between the three, I'd go with the Linekurv. Lighter then the old Bean basket and more cones and wider then the Orvis. Just a personal preference. Good luck with your decision. SF

I do like the painted eyes, in particular yellow eyes with a black pupil. Just a preference thing with me. SF

Very nice. I like them all but those shrimp in the last picture are super sweet. What is the silver back and leg material? SF

Exuma for me. Did some DIY fishing as well as with a guide. Caught my personal best bonefish while fishing on my own. Pretty relaxed place and I enjoyed the people. Though not the Bahamas, did the Turks and Caicos twice as well. Did Provo DIY and So. Caicos with a guide outfit twice. Super expensive for guides in Provo. SF

I heard possibly as much as $60 mil based on the talking heads on sports radio out here. The Mariners will suck regardless of what they get in return. It was a stupid contract from the beginning. SF

Used to be a Simms guy. Either they've made the cut of their waders smaller / thinner or I've gotten fatter, they just don't fit well any longer. Probably a combo of both, but too snug for my liking. I fish year round and like to layer up and end up feeling like the Michelin Man in the newer Simms. They also seem to not like guys with big feet. I had to pay $75.00 extra to get bigger custom booties on my last pair. I've been using Redington Sonic Pros recently. I like the more relaxed fit they offer and the feet fit. About 300 days on the current pair, with 99% of that being saltwater. The zipper feature is looking more appealing the older I get..... Boots have always been Simms. Bad experience with Korkers when they were relatively new to the market. Never went back. SF