stlhdh2o
05-29-2002, 01:30 PM
Ten years now I've been exploring the rivers of the Northwest, especially those West of the Cascades. Here is a list of the rivers West of the Cascades I haven't fished yet...Nisqually, Coweeman, Hamma Hamma, Skokomish, Elwha, Chehalis, Wishkah, Hoquiam. Am I missing anything here or can I just continue skipping them? Careful, if you are too insistent I may get the idea you are hiding something.
Recently I have been asking for alot of help from my fellow cyberfishermen, just general info., directions and timing information. This a terrific help for those fisheries that are far away from home. Being a little older I have acquired some additional responsibilities that make my time even more valuable, no more long vacations where I can afford to spend three or four days exploring a system. Those of you that understand this I appreciate your willingness to Email general information, even if it is a "zipper". You know who you are....
Anyway the reason I started this thread is to explain what I miss about the 'old' days, when I didn't know squat about squat all. Yeah, alot of times ignorance is bliss. I have walked the length of the Hoh river from the park to the mouth, except for a very small portion of the canyon I still haven't figured out how to get to. Why? Because I didn't know any better...
I found a little road upriver that leads to my favorite spot on the Earth, I remember everything about the day I found it. For awhile I was the only vehicle that would dare to venture down the closed in, overgrown road so the hole was basically my own for five years. I felt like Meriweather Lewis the day I found it. I miss that damnit! I've gone and learned the whole thing...good news is I picked a home river that changes every high water so the learning process will never end.
There just aren't a whole lot of places close by you can go anymore that don't already have footprints and bait containers. The ones that do remain are remote enough to keep the average weekend warrior at home. The closest I have come to recapturing that feeling of discovery is the trip I took to Vancouver Island four years ago. A plethora of rivers to choose from and an island population that has grown accustom to having great fishing right in their own backyard. This keeps most guys close to home and the more remote rivers mostly untouched. I found a river way up on the northern tip that flowed through 9 miles of virgin temperate rainforest and hadn't seen a fisherman or vehicle in a long time. For four days my buddy and I had the entire river to ourselves...the fishing wasn't spectacular, we caught ten fish total. I could have gone other places and caught more fish but that experience was irreplacable and I wouldn't trade it for the world. In fact it illustrates clearly my fishing mentality. I have decided to forego the Blue Creeks, the Reiters, and the Meat Hole's of the world in favor of relative solitude, even if it means catching fewer fish.
Why wasn't I born 50 years ago??
Sorry for rambling...
Recently I have been asking for alot of help from my fellow cyberfishermen, just general info., directions and timing information. This a terrific help for those fisheries that are far away from home. Being a little older I have acquired some additional responsibilities that make my time even more valuable, no more long vacations where I can afford to spend three or four days exploring a system. Those of you that understand this I appreciate your willingness to Email general information, even if it is a "zipper". You know who you are....
Anyway the reason I started this thread is to explain what I miss about the 'old' days, when I didn't know squat about squat all. Yeah, alot of times ignorance is bliss. I have walked the length of the Hoh river from the park to the mouth, except for a very small portion of the canyon I still haven't figured out how to get to. Why? Because I didn't know any better...
I found a little road upriver that leads to my favorite spot on the Earth, I remember everything about the day I found it. For awhile I was the only vehicle that would dare to venture down the closed in, overgrown road so the hole was basically my own for five years. I felt like Meriweather Lewis the day I found it. I miss that damnit! I've gone and learned the whole thing...good news is I picked a home river that changes every high water so the learning process will never end.
There just aren't a whole lot of places close by you can go anymore that don't already have footprints and bait containers. The ones that do remain are remote enough to keep the average weekend warrior at home. The closest I have come to recapturing that feeling of discovery is the trip I took to Vancouver Island four years ago. A plethora of rivers to choose from and an island population that has grown accustom to having great fishing right in their own backyard. This keeps most guys close to home and the more remote rivers mostly untouched. I found a river way up on the northern tip that flowed through 9 miles of virgin temperate rainforest and hadn't seen a fisherman or vehicle in a long time. For four days my buddy and I had the entire river to ourselves...the fishing wasn't spectacular, we caught ten fish total. I could have gone other places and caught more fish but that experience was irreplacable and I wouldn't trade it for the world. In fact it illustrates clearly my fishing mentality. I have decided to forego the Blue Creeks, the Reiters, and the Meat Hole's of the world in favor of relative solitude, even if it means catching fewer fish.
Why wasn't I born 50 years ago??
Sorry for rambling...