Welcome / Introductions

[Chris Scoones]

There are quite a few new members registering daily now and many that have not posted yet. Take a second to introduce yourself here.

Fyi - This thread is for intro's only. Keep the chatter offline or on another thread.

Thanks,

Chris

[MNFLY]

Hey all. Like many others I'm new to the site. I once lived it the great NW but am now stuck in the mid-west. I've been lurking about the site a bit, longing for the days of OP chromers and warm Yakima spring days. Not much fishing going on right now out here unless you like dropping maggots down a 4" hole of ice (not my idea of fun). January is the opener of the C&R season for WI and southeast MN. Can't wait. So in the mean time I'll tie flies, clean gear, and dream of the rivers out in WA. Oh, and I'll try to post once in a while.

[AnglerOne]

Seasons Greetings, just like to take this moment to say hello and how much I enjoy coming to the site for info on the fishing, flytying and the politics. I am a transplant from CA and glad I made the move.

Thanks,
Don

[Richard Olmstead]

Hi! I've enjoyed this site and its lively banter since soon after Chris started it up, but haven't posted before (and probalby won't post much).

I lived in the Rocky Mt states before moving to Seattle about 10 years ago to take a job at UW. About the same time I traded mountain climbing for fly fishing, as the mountains seemed to keep getting higher every year. Now I find I can return to places I love and see them with new eyes (looking down instead of up).

I mostly fish the Yak in the spring and fall, mountain streams in the summer (and the Cedar the past couple of years), and practice futility a few times each winter searching for the elusive steelhead. I return to the northern Rockies for vacation every year, usually in September.

I've corresponded with Chris a couple of time and have contributed when there has been a call for support. I think it is a great site and you all deserve a lot of credit for making it so.

Cheers,
Dick Olmstead

[speyghillie]

Hi Everybody,
My name Gordon Macleod, i live in the Highlands of Scotland ,live near and work on the River Spey, i Ghillie/guide on the River Spey and have done so for more years than i care to think of.
Love the site, as i fish and spend a lot of time fishing over that side of the pond. hope to be back over in a couple of months (boss does'nt know yet).
Cheers Gordon (speyghillie).

[Minx]

Hey y'all, stumbled into the site on a web search for "stimulator dry fly". My real name is chuck, the cyber name came from my 24' Albemarle I used to fish offshore along the VA/NC coasts. Bottom line: I'd fish in a sewer with a paperclip if I thought I could catch fish. I fish flyrods in both freshwater for trout and saltwater for striped bass. I've been tying flies for about 6 or 7 years now, nothing more satisfying than having a big brown crush one of my sculpin patterns or a mess of schoolie rocks drive my latest Leftie Deceiver outta the water. I live here in VA, near Williamsburg, two hours from the mountains, 5 minutes to the Cheaspeake Bay, an hour to the Atlantic.....if it swims, I'm game ;)

[JEB]

This is a great site, I've been lurking for awhile now. I was born in The Willapa Valley and raised in Seattle, I have been around fishing and hunting my whole life. I have been doing the fly thing for about five years but I only get out two or three times a year. Since I can't get out much, this Site is a great place to visit. Most importantly I have been able to voice my opinion (through email) on a few issues I would not have know about if it wasn't for this site.

Thank you for the great site.
Jake

[CopRJohn]

:beer1: Hey all, I have just joined the forum. I look forward to chatting with you all. Hope you are all ready for this Christmas holiday. I am a full time professional fishing guide and have done so for this going to be my 16th year. When I find the time, I like to read posts that interest me. This being my slowest time of the year allows me to do so. My favorite thing to do is fly fish although I fish other ways (Have to make a living) but by far my favorite is fly fishing. A toast for fly fisherman everywere!

[solduc]

the little box at the top of the page says i've never posted and now would be a good time. so be it. i have enjoyed the banter here for a couple of seasons. with the likes of salmo g., gordon and uncle jimmy telling it like it is, how it should be, and how it was up around the bend, well, this cracker doesn't have much to add. all of that plus limited communication and computer skills make posting a painful process for me. oh well, a short fishing report from today.

the home water was well up in to the trees and and all the local big rivers were out also, so when my fishing partner showed up this morning in a driving rain it was hard to generate much enthusiasm for fishing. good day for a drive, check out the coast and just maybe find a fishable creek and forget for a while the mean season upon us. crossed several severely muddy streams and expected the same for brush creek. looked off the bridge and surprise, low and clear compared to the other half dozen streams we had visited. pulled in to the empty parking area and put our fishing costumes on. toasted our recently departed friend ernie with a "petri heil" and hit the trail with a growing sense of excitement. creek is now exhibiting some color and a little debris floating down, a fish rolls, first cast is made and "fish on", steelhead fresh from the sea. ultimately the fish fell off the hook and the creek turned to mud. not the most productive day, but not a total loss, bent rod, pounding surf, watched a snowy owl in flight and a peregrine diving on a shore bird. not bad at all considering the experts and the instincts said it would have been a good day to stay at home.
anyways, hello to the group, perhaps we'll cross paths along the stream someday,
juwels werm

[Charapa]

Greetings to all,
The name is Raúl Hirsch, been around the NW since ’78 & probably my ashes will be spread around here when all is said & done. Always will feel like a ‘newbie’ in anything I do & hit w/ gusto anything I like (fly-fishing/Alfa Romeos/art/Architecture/women/travel/kayaks in no particular order). Thank you for letting me participate (when I can).
Chao.
Raúl
‘Charapa’ is NE (Amazon rain forest) Peruvian Spanish slang for ‘turtle’ where I was born way too long ago.

[Lugan]

Shoot, Chris caught me. I have been stalking the site for a long time, but have never posted before today. I don't do chat rooms, blogs, etc. as a rule. Plus, you guys argue so much that I'm afraid I'd offend with some of my own highly opinionated commentary.

Anyway, I'm Tom and I've lived in Seattle for 6 years. I grew up gear fishing (a lot) with my dad and friends in the Midwest. I worshipped Al Lindner throughout my youth, but I'm over that now. I've flyfished for ~15 years now and I can't remember touching the gear since then - not that there's anything wrong with gear. IMO, it's not the type of fishing you do that matters, it's how you understand and respect nature that matters. Jeez, 6 years in Seattle and I sound like a hippie. I'll stop now...

- Tom the Lugan

[speyghillie]

Hi James,
Yes its me on the other site as well, like the look of this one better since i came across it, with it had a Spey forum, maybe it has, i also have worked and taught at a trout fishery for 20yrs, so like fishing fly double or single handed, this site helps me cause i'm over in Washington in a couple of months to meet up with a couple of guy's, little bit of testing rods, and a beer or three.
Will try not and post the same things,don't want to bore everybody to death, about Speycasting and the history of, will stick to the single hander and listen and learn.
Hope every body has a great xmas and new year.
Gordon.(speyghillie).:beer2:

[David Butterfield]

I have been looking around this site for a long time and finally I guess it is time to post. This is my only kind of fishing that I get to look at. Between school and work I don't get much time to fishing. I have only been fly fishing for a couple of years. I look forward to gaining the knowledge and insight of the fellow members of this site. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

[CopRJohn]

How does a registered user, put his information on the members list? Thanks for your time in telling me how to.

CopRJohn

(chris : By posting a few times. Otherwise, it just gets cluttered with those who drop by only to use the classifieds once.)

[Settembrini]

Greetings from Vancouver. My name is Bob, and my wife and I relocated from the bay area when I (sorta) retired. In my youth I fished in the Sierras (dry flies with my Dad), and in the delta for panfish (worms with my grandpa). Up here I resisted the steelhead idea for about six months, but finally broke down when someone told me there were no trout in the EFL below Lewisville park. So I'm now trying my luck with 8 wt. single-handed rods (St. Croix Imperial and Fenwick 858) and tying some steelhead flies. So far I've been out about 12 times and really enjoying the scenery. Fish may eventually come in the picture :o I'm hoping my cousin will come to visit. If he does, then we'll schedule a guide for the day on the EFL. I could always use a little coaching with casting and reading the water.

[snowninja]

Hi my name is Tim, I recently bought property in Sultan and have lived here since August. I moved to Seattle in '98 from UT where I learned to fly fish on the Green River in the Flaming Gorge area. From the moment I hooked my first Brown I was addicted to the sport. I fished several different rivers in UT including the Provo, Big Cottonwoord and others. Since moving to WA I have hiked my tube into mtn lakes in search of the natives. I have been on the stilli a couple times as well as the snoqualmie but haven't really spent much time on the sky or the sultan. Now that I am within minutes of access I plan to get to know these rivers alot better. Great to be here!! Happy Holidays!

-Tim

[E'Burg Flyguy]

Greetings and salutations, my name is Brandon, and while I've been visiting the site for a couple years, I've finally just registered as a user. I'm a lifelong resident of our great Evergreen State, and recently relocated from the Snohomish area to Ellensburg. While it was an easy sell to the wife to relocate on the grounds of slower pace of life, affordable property, smaller class sizes for our son ect., it just so happens to put me right next to my favorite water. Yeah, sure, no coincedence there! Anyways, just a short post to say hi, look forward to exchanging ideas, fly patterns, and fish porn with y'all. Merry Christmas and tight lines to ya'.

-E'Burg flyguy

[CopRJohn]

:thumb: Chris,

Thanks for letting me know. Plan to be around for awhile. Good idea though to keep it from getting gummed up. Thanks again.

CopRJohn

[LimitKiller]

Hi! I live in the Fraser Valley in BC. Never caught a steelhead on the fly before but for some reason I have an overwhelming obsession that has come over me to do just that this year. When the magical day comes that I do get one on the fly, you'll sure hear about it!

[Fshn4x4]

Greetings and Happy Holidays!

My name is Mark, and I grew up here in Vancouver, WA. I have always loved fishing, but my family are certainly not fishermen and they knew very little about fishing. So from probably when I was 7 or 8 I have been learning about fishing on my own. I spent a lot of my high school years with a topo map, losing myself on forest service roads all over Skamania and Lewis Counties. After graduation I attended the Air Force Academy for 2 1/2 years in Colorado Springs, where I picked up fly fishing to distract me from the..."pleasantries" of cadet life haha. As I am sure you all know, something happens when you first have a fish smack a dry fly. You never want to do anything else, or at least I don't! So anyhow, spent some time on Colorado's famous rivers like the South Platte, the Arkansas and the Frying Pan, learning to throw a line, and occassionally, fool a trout. Now, after a few years at the Academy I made the decision that the style of life an Officer leads is not what I want, and now I am waiting at home here in Vancouver until the Air Force reassigns me for an enlistment. I just personally find the enlisted attitude and lifestyle more in parallel with how I like to live.

That's me, anyone want to go fishing? :thumb:

[Rick Newcomb]

Hi my name is Rick, I just got back into flyfishing. I grew up in Montana and spent every day as a kid fishing. I have lived here in WA for 15 years. I have not gotten into steely/salmon fishing yet but I am sure that will come. Found the site while looking around for Wa stuff. Am looking forward to getting out more this summer. :thumb:

[flyfisher5]

Greetings from whidbey island Name is jim ,ret navy long time ago,lost fishing pal looking for new one

[s/s chaser]

Hello to all, my name is Keith and I have been lurking around the site for about a month now. Like some of ther others I have yet to catch a salmon or steelhead on a fly and it has now become an obsession. I enjoy all that this site has to offer.

Keith

[crazysalmon]

:thumb:

Hi there! My name is Dan and I live in the Bellingham area. Have been a Washington state resident all my life. Spent six summers in SE Alaska commercial, and sport fishing. Always come back home. I have always trolled, and spin cast for salmon. Did some SRC fishing around here when I was younger.
I recently(2004) got into fly fishing for salmon. Took me two summers, but finally left my spinning rod in the truck, and forced myself to use the fly rod. Foggy days were best so nobody could see my antics. I didn't know what I was missing. I'm 36 and wished I would have started about 30 years ago. Better late than never.
I bought a TFO ticr 6 wt. to use for light salmon and SRC fishing. I did a search for WA SRC fishing. That is how I found your community. I love those hard fighting fish, and here they take a fly well. Look forward to listening and learning. Thanks for the time Dan L

[Pat Jenkins]

Hello all! Originally from interior Alaska - moved to Seattle 5 years ago, been fly fishing for approximately 15 years now, never going back! Much like some other new folks I have been visiting this site for nearly a year and enjoy the wealth of information & thought provoking banter.
Still in search of the ever elusive steelhead to hand here in WA - but every journey has been worth it. Look forward to posts and hopefully getting to know some of you and some other waters a bit better.

Cheers

Pat

[chadk]

This is great. Welcome new guys!

You've found a great fly fishing site, a great resource, and a great community.

:beer2: :thumb:

[Mike Johnson]

Hello just joining the post today thought I would say hello to all of you out there.

[Jeff D]

I love reading your BB Chris and those hats are too cool. I'm afraid if I order one I won't have the cast to back it up however. Maybe by the end of spring!

I grew up in near the mouth of Chimacum creek and now at 35, have made it all they way to the S. end of Whidbey Island! I love fishing the salt and look forward using my fly rod more in 2006! Just purchased a Weldcraft that's perfect for the sound, so I plan on a year full of fishing.

Happy New Year!
Jeff Dodd
Whidbey

[Denny Wagenman]

My name is Denny. I live in the Renton area. I met some of you at the Cedar River cleanup day. Was born and raised in the town of Okanogan. Moved to the West side in the 60's. Hunted and fished since I was a young boy. Started flyfishing 20 years ago. Made some of my own rods, tie some of my flies, the ones I can still see to tie. Love nothing better than fishing on top. Do most of my fishing in the dessert lakes and rivers in Idaho and Montana. This site has been a great resource for me for many things. Someday, perhaps I can contribute something of value

[Coupevillain]

Hi All. I've been reading the threads for some time and finally decided to jump in with both waders. I'm not much of an angler right now, though I spent 25 years in Alaska and flogged a lot of those waters. My main interest in the forum is learning all I can about Natural History stuff. I can't imagine folks more attuned to fish, insects, and other wild things than flyfishers.
I have a couple of questions for everyone: What topics are to be avoided? I know enough not to ask where to fish. What else will get me zapped? Do you mind if I occasionaly have a question about a mayfly I find,etc?
I live on Whidbey Island and spend as much time outdoors as possible. I look forward to someone answering my 2 questions
----Steve E.

[Don Stracener]

Hello,

New on the site! Looks like a lot of good people and information. Look forward to being a part of the forum.

Live in Southern Oregon next to the Rogue River, which is in flood stage today. :beathead:

Threader

[fishingd0]

Greetings all.:beer2:

Just joined the forum today and thought I would introduce myself. I live in the Inverness (North Scotland) and work as a ghillie on the river Ness. I am mainly into salmon fishing/speycasting and have been doing so for the last 15-16 years.

I have never been over to BC, but am hoping to come over next October some time.

Gordon Armstrong

[Mike Kibbee]

My name is Mike, and it has been 6 1/2 hours since I last lurked.
I, like MNfly, am a Northwesterner trapped in the frozen tundra of Mintasoda.
I spent many years in Seattle as a kid, and many more years in Oregon (Portland and Corvallis. Go Beavers!) I married a wonderful woman from Seattle named Lora, and made the ultimate sacrifice by moving to Minneapolis to be closer to her family six years ago. I flyfish for trout and bass here and in Wisconsin, and am a sporadic intermediate tyer (my 2 1/2 year daughter and 10 month old son seem to have slowed my production down a bit). My entire family lives in Seattle and LaConner WA, so I am out there at least three times a year.
So after a few discussion with my wife following the lines of "wouldn't it be nice to have my family closer by with the two kids and all", it would seem we are targeting a move sometime in the spring or summer job permitting.
As for Wff, I have spent many a work hour dreaming of being in a drift boat because of this site. What a great community and great people!

I'll start chiming in when appropriate, and if anyone needs info on fishing in the Dakotas, MN, or WI, let me know.
Mike
:beer1:

Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.
- Henry David Thoreau

[Old Man]

Hi All. I've been reading the threads for some time and finally decided to jump in with both waders. I'm not much of an angler right now, though I spent 25 years in Alaska and flogged a lot of those waters. My main interest in the forum is learning all I can about Natural History stuff. I can't imagine folks more attuned to fish, insects, and other wild things than flyfishers.
I have a couple of questions for everyone: What topics are to be avoided? I know enough not to ask where to fish. What else will get me zapped? Do you mind if I occasionaly have a question about a mayfly I find,etc?
I live on Whidbey Island and spend as much time outdoors as possible. I look forward to someone answering my 2 questions
----Steve E.

Politics,Politics,politics,don't ask. Ask about all the bugs that you want to. Swearing will get your fingers slapped.

The Ancient one.

Jim

[Chris Scoones]

Mingo, Jim, others, this thread isn't for discussion but for intro's only.

[John Hicks]

Hello, my name is John and I'm a fishaholic. :D I grew up in Washington but was dragged kicking and screaming to Massachusetts and later to New Hampshire by my wife (she is from Massachusetts). Well anywho, I just recently started fly fishing this last year and have fallen head over heals for it. My wife thinks that if I spend any more time with my rod she is going to file for divorce. I have been posting on this site since june or so and have already been chastised by Chris once, put down by Jim, and gotten in a verbal brawl with nailknot. :p :p Overall I would have to say I love this site and the disfunctional family it has spawn. I would like to think of us all as a bunch of double mouth triploids. Thanks everyone for keeping me sane on these cold single digit winters in the North East.

John Hicks

[Wayne]

Hello, I'm Wayne. Not exactly a newby but sure haven't posted very much. I first picked up a flyrod some 33 years ago. My parents' neighbors all wanted to know if I was catching anything in the driveway. My first fish on the fly was a bluegill. My first fish on one of my own ties was a crappie, caught on a streamer made with white sewing thread and ostrich feathers I stole from my mom's duster. Recently I (re)discovered the joy of salt water fly fishing with SRCs and silvers, and sculpins, and flounders, and even squids. Not a purist by anymeans, but have found fly rods to be just as effective, or ineffective, as any other type of gear.

[IFLYSW]

Hi.....my name Wes, whenever I think about the beautiful state of Washington, your sight takes me home again, at least for a short time.My memories take me back to a time in the late sixties over forty years ago stationed in Puget Sound with the USN. Catching Giant Chinook salmon under the Gig Harbor bridge in Tacoma. The Stillaguamish ( Stilly ) and Fox Creek are only,a flash and wonderful memories of times taking the ferry from Bremington to Seattle in search of Washington fish.How is the Stilly doing ?????looking for some pictures to rekindle my memories.I live in the state of Rhode Island where Trout, and Stripers are some of the best fishing in New England.

[motroutbum]

My name is Randy and im a flyfishaholic....I graduated from Missouri State University this December and am moving to the Spokane area by next august. ive looked over this site for a while now. i fround it from worldanglr and am leaving in 9 days to go to patagonia till the end of march. im from missouri and regularly fish the white river system my mentor recently caught the new state record brown....27lb 10oz 38 in long....tight lines

[Keith Hixson]

I live in Ellensburg. Been fly fishing seriously since 1973. Pretty much an old school fly fisherman and fly tier. Just like to check in and see how others are enjoying this great sport.

Keith H.