Kalama River Therapy

The coffee kept me awake this morning as I drove South. Jack (my Toyota) knows the way so I just listen to the radio and my ipod once I'm too far away for the tuner to work. Timing is everything and I want to be on the water at morning twilight. I'm glad to see it rained a little bit today. After a couple of warm days the clouds hold the heat in so the rain will warm up the rivers and wake the fish up a bit.

Past the Skook, running chocolate milk brown, and stop at the HW12 exit for fresh sand shrimp and eggs. Then it's back on the road to run past Kelso and Longview. I remember my Grandpa telling me about he and my Dad driving down there for work. Grandpa once verified that Dad drove it while not quite awake. I guess Dad's truck knew the way too.

The Kalama is a many storied river named after a Hawaiian who married a Nisqually woman, moved to the river and took his last name from a village there. John Kalama sounds like a real character. The pools have names here. The Beginners Hole and the Red Barn Hole. Modrow and "up in the Canyon". Take the exit and pass Mahaferty's, looking into the water at the Beginners Hole and see that it's a beautiful emerald green. Clear enough to fly fish (although I left Patience and Athena at home) but not so crystal clear as to make the fish spooky. I drive on up to the Red Barn Hole and find myself alone there. That never happens so it's with much anticipation that I tie on a fresh leader and sand shrimp.

I wade into the pool and toss my rig upstream a little and start to sing to myself...

"Make me down a pallet on your floor"
"Make me down a pallet on your floor"
"I'm going up the country, cold ice and snow"
"I'm going up the country, forty miles or more"
"No telling, how much further I may go"

I work the pool from top to bottom. A few other fishermen stop by and look but nobody gets out. The pool remains mine for a short period of time. I watched a kingfisher chatter up and down stream twice and saw a bald eagle wheel high above. I started back up at the top of the run again and let a fresh shrimp drift through and at the end of the drift. The tap tap tap of my lead bouncing against the bottom was interrupted by a solid pull and I set the hook. For a split second my hook hung on something that pulled back, but only for a split second and I reeled in the now slack line. The fish took my shrimp. I was glad to touch him at least.

Later I would work back up into the run and hook a trout. No challenge for my drift rig but it was the first wild fish I'd caught in a long long time. Later I would check in at Prichards and Mahafferty's and hear that it's been off and on with the fish spread out and not stacked up anyplace in particular. I'd drift the Beginners Hole a little bit and watch two big fish roll and hear another fisherman talk of catching and releasing a five pounder.

At home I would staple the chicken wire to the frames of our chicken coop. I'm bushed, want a beer and best of all no longer have a head full of never ending cluttered thoughts. Peace...

From Drop Box

Preparation

Tonight I finally prepared for a winter steelhead expedition. The flooding and work have made it a rough year. My favorite rivers are blown or slow so I'll drive south tomorrow. It's been a long time so there were things to do.

1. My drift rig needed new line so I spooled it up.
2. I needed fresh leaders so I tied up six of them and stored them in a new "Pip's Leader" box. All with just the right amount of orange yarn.
3. I dug up my waders and boots and threw them in the truck.
4. I found my fleece jacket.
5. I got my travel cup together next to the coffee machine.

Chelle tells me that there is nothing about which I'm more meticulous or detail oriented than fishing. That may be true. It's from fishing that I really learned the value of being prepared. Tying leaders on the river take time away from fishing. Old line breaks right before you tail a big Chinook. Boots get left behind when you are stumbling around for them at 5:00 AM and coffee keeps you off of the road if the cup isn't ready.

When you're prepared you get on the river and FISH right away. Then, even if you don't catch something you end the trip bushed and satisfied that you fished the water well. Sometimes really well. Besides, it's no surprise that every steelhead I've caught followed an evening of tying leaders, flies and putting the coffee cup out the night before.