Fishing For Your Sanity

With Oregon’s unemployment rate at 12.1%, many people are over stressed! Fishing is a good way to unwind. Many of my customers are just happy to be away from their cell phones and Email alerts. They love to watch the birds and enjoy the peacefulness of being on the water.

This weekend we are suppose to have temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s. It’s been a while since you have been able to feel the heat on you back as you pull in some nice fish.

**Special Pricing**

The first two people who respond to this posting, will receive:

• $100 savings on an all day trip (minimum 4 people)

• $60 savings on a ½ day trip (minimum 4 people)

E-mail me / or call 503-702-0930

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

It was a cold March

APRIL’S NEWSLETTER

Trout:
The water has been cold at Hagg Lake. The lake temperature has not gotten out of the 40 degree range. Trout like 55 degrees. When the water is colder, the smaller fish are much less active. The larger fish have more body mass, so they can handle the colder temps better, but they are slow movers. I wish I could report a great time of catching last month, but it was hard fishing. I postponed a number of trips due to the cold water. We should see the lake hit the 50 degree mark soon and then we will be back catching limits.

The lake will be stocked again this week. That will cause the catch rate to increase also.

This month the Lake Stop Grocery has weighed in some nice fish. The largest weighing 13 pounds. Many anglers only caught one or two fish.

Bass:
The bass will not start actively feeding until the lake hit 55-58 degrees. It could take until May or early June for the bass to move into the flats for their annual spawn.

Sturgeon:
My friend Charlie Foster of Northwest Sturgeon Adventures has been doing well with Sturgeon in the Willamette River.

My Boat:
I have just finished remodeling the boat to accept wheelchair passengers. To my knowledge, no other guide in the Portland area provides this service. I have also replaced the seats and added a BBQ so we can enjoy a lunch of the catch of the day!

Ken Bear Cole

Fishing with Bear LLC

Salmon Fever?

I just drove by Chinook Landing, a local boat launch area for the Columbia River. The parking lot is completely full! Almost 200 trucks with trailers are in the lot. But where is the Salmon? Well, they aren’t quite here yet. The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife monitors the catch rate on the rivers. Last Saturday there were 3248 boats on the river. Only 209 salmon were caught. Bonneville Damn fish ladder has counted less then 700 salmon this month. It’s just too early to be salmon fishing! Monitor the fish counts at Bonneville. When the daily counts reach the 500 mark, it’s time to go.

So why are so many people Salmon fishing? Most are afraid they will miss the season. Last year the river was shut down mid-run, because the catch rate was so high. I believe that many are fearful of something similar happening this year.

That’s why I don’t guide for Salmon. I want my clients to have the best opportunity to catch fish.

Ken Bear Cole

Fishing with Bear LLC

Let’s Go Fishing

It’s time to dust off your fishing gear! The opening of Henry Hagg lake is March 7th. This lake is home to some of the largest Trout in Oregon. It is a common sight to see an 8-15 pound Rainbow Trout being weighed at the Lake Stop Grocery, just down the road from the lake.

Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) is scheduled to stock the lake with 18,000 Trout a week prior to the opening. The lake receives more then 70,000 Trout throughout the year. There are also thousands of fish, which are holdovers from the previous years. These fish have not seen any bait or lures since Thanksgiving last year, so they should be ready to attack your line and give you a good fight.

The lake is also home to State Record Smallmouth Bass. The best time to catch one of these beauties is Mid April to the first week of June while they are in the flats during the spawn.

You can also see Bald Eagles and Osprey feeding on the fish in the lake.

The lake is located in Scroggins Valley, just south of Forest Grove, Oregon and off highway 47.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

And The Winner Is:

I want to thank everyone who visited my booth at the Pacific Northwest Sportsman’s Show. I had a wonderful response with almost 300 visitors registering to will a free guided trip. Warren R. of Wilsonville, Or. was this year’s winner. He plans to take 3 of his friends with him as we will be fishing for both Trout and Bass at Henry Hagg Lake outside of Forest Grove, Or.

Ken Bear Cole

Fishing with Bear LLC

Is Fly Fishing Covered By Insurance?

We have all seen the photos of someone standing knee deep in a stream while fly-fishing. It looks so peaceful, out in nature, enjoying God’s creation and pulling in huge trout. Well it seldom starts out that way! Fly-fishing is an art form. It takes practice and patience. For some, it’s almost a Zen thing. “You must be one with the elements”. Well for me, I also needed a credit card with a low balance. Gone are the days of digging up some worms, fishing with a tree limb and a line thicker then a shoelace. Fish are much smarter these days. We live in the times of Hi-Tech fishing. Millions of dollars are spent in researching and understanding fish habitat, and then developing new products to catch these smart fish. The tree branch rods have been replaced with co-polymer, laminated, graphite, wiz-bang rods with titanium guides, which come in various weights, lengths and colors. Reels that cost more then them my laptop, and lines, which sink, float, fast or slow taper, tipper, leader and knots, which use a nail! I just want to catch a fish!!!

Now we come to the flies. I never knew there were so many different types of bugs. Some of these flies are tied on a hook so small, I would need two pairs of reading glasses to even see them, while others are the size of a small bird. I am told I need a wide variety because I need to “match the hatch”, which is code for find the fly that looks like that bug, which just bit you. Don’t worry about that red welt which is growing to the size of your eyeball. You are doing this to relax and have fun.

I soon learned it’s not ok to wade in the stream with cut-offs and sneakers. NOOOOOOO! You need breathable lightweight waders with wading boots and a fishing vest. I guess I should have checked the dress code. Ok, there is another $350. Again, I just want to catch some fish.

I should have been suspicious when my wife didn’t complain about me spending all of this money on fly-fishing. I just thought she was being supportive and rewarding me for working all of those long hard hours at work. I think I discovered her evil plot on one of my first trips.

I am now set. I have my $600 fly rod with my $400 reel. My $350 waders and boots, $50 hat, $150 prescription polarized sunglasses and $300 worth of flies and assorted tackle. As I start to enter the river I thought, “there better be some damn fish in here”! I carefully waded out to what I thought was a good spot. After just a few casts, I decided it would be better to stand on a nearby rock. It was a pretty rock. It had a lovely green color to it. As soon as my foot touched that rock, I understood my college physics class. When a 300-pound body is in motion, and steps on a slimy green rock, the laws of thermal dynamics will prevent my foot from stopping. It appears that the green ooze on the rock, is much like spraying silicone on the break pads of your car. I was not aware that my legs could spread that far! I guess it helped that my other foot became lodged between two other rocks. It would have helped if my knee had not struck that green rock, as I fell into the water. If my waders were breathable, they should have spit out all of the water that was rushing inside. I must have looked like a float in the Macy’s day parade. I now know what a Turtle experiences, when we place then on their backs. With my $50 hat and $150 prescription sunglasses gone, I struggled to get to my feet. Since my waders were now full of water I must have weighed somewhere around the 500 pound mark. All this time, I am thinking, “It’s fine, I am just a little wet. The worst is over”.  At least I had my fly rod and all of the gear. That is until I again slipped and fell on the rod snapping it like a tooth pick.

At this point, the thought of catching a fish has left my mind. I just wanted to get out of these water logged waders and clothes. My knee was swelling and my ankle was starting to throb. Since I was in a rather secluded portion of the river with no one was around, I decided to strip naked and wring out my clothes. All I could think of is “how am I going to keep these wet clothes off my leather car seats?” I CERTAINLY did not want to stain those lovely seats. I just bought the car a few months ago.

As luck has it, it was a warm summer day. I laid my clothes on the near by bushes to dry.  As I lay down to rest for a while, I must have fallen asleep. I was having such a wonderful dream of catching fish with my new fly rod, when I felt something poking me. When I opened my eyes, I discovered that a small crowd had assembled. It seems a family was floating down the river and reported a dead body on the beach. They said, “He must be dead because his stomach is bloated.” Well, I wasn’t dead, but I was a little sunburned. It’s interesting that the portions of our bodies, which seldom see the sun, burn sooner then, let’s say our arms. Oh yah! I was on a rocky beach, buck naked with a swollen knee, throbbing ankle, and burned gonads! I didn’t need to worry about staining my lovely leather car seats, because that nice police officer with the nightstick, gave me a ride to the jail. My clothes were dry once my wife came down and bailed me out. The police were so nice to tow my car for safe keeping while I was staying in their care and it only cost me $500 to get it back. I am no longer interested in learning how to fly fish. I now hire a guide, so if anything breaks, or I get arrested, I will have someone to sue!

Ken Bear Cole

Fishing with Bear LLC

Pacific Northwest Sportman’s Show

In just a few weeks I will be at the Pacific Northwest Sportman’s Show. Check the link for date, times and fees. The show usually has over 60,000 people walk through the doors. I hope to see many of you there. I will be offering a drawing for a free guide trip for 4 people. I will be located by the TROUT POND, where kids up to 12 can catch a nice trout for dinner. I will also be across from a concessions stand.

I anticipate 2009 will be a good year for my guide business. Most everyone will need an escape from the pressures this year will bring. What better way to relax then go fishing. I hope you are all enjoying my blogs. I am amazed at the number of people who read my blog on a weekly basis. Thank you for being a loyal reader.

Please drop me a line to let me know what you would like to know about. Do you want more techniques? More of my crazy & silly fishing stories, or do you want something more?

Ken bear Cole

FishingwithBear LLC

It’s time to save some fish!

The salmon runs have been diminishing over the past 20 years on the West Coast. Southern California runs are mostly gone. Northern California runs were so bad in 08, that many of the areas were shutdown to both commercial and sport fishermen.

Here in Oregon, the Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW), are planning to shut down Salmon fishing on the Willamette River for 09. The runs were low last year and are expected to be even lower this year.

I recommend that you contact your State politicians and bend their ears. Sport fishing pumps millions of dollars into local economies. Many people fish on their vacations. They stay in hotels and lodges, eat at local restaurants, buy gas, purchase fishing gear and local licenses. Some even hire a guide. Even though I do not guide for Salmon, I am concerned about the lack of action the regulating bodies are making.

It does not take a rocket scientist to determine that a net will capture many more fish then any sport fishermen. Nets also capture and kill many other fish which are not permitted. The commercial fishermen throw these fish back, but they often die because of damage caused by the net. Other Commercial fisheries have been forced to modify their fishing techniques. Swordfish are caught on individual hooks which are attached to a long line, which can reach over a mile.

I am a member of Coastal Conservation Association (CCA). This is an organization which, has the ability to flex some political muscle. I encourage all of you to join. An annual membership is only $25. They plan to become the NRA of fishing. They have already been successful in restoring the Redfish population in the Gulf of Mexico.

Every member counts chen you are talking to politicians.

Thanks for enduring my soapbox.

And remember, fishing helps keep you stress free!

Ken Bear Cole

Fishing with Bear LLC

BALLOON FISHING

Before I had a boat, I would get frustrated when I could see the Trout jumping and feeding on the surface, but I could not cast that far. I knew if I could get my bait or fly out to the fish, I could catch them. If only I had Jesus shoes, so I could walk on water. I later discovered balloon fishing.

To make it work well, you will need the proper conditions. You will probably want the wind blowing at your back, so that it will carry the balloon further then you can cast. Next you will want a simple balloon. Nothing fancy. The cheaper, the better. I like the small round ones that you can get at the Dollar Store.

There are a couple of different strategies. If the fish are on the surface, then blow the balloon up about half to three quarters of the way full. The wind or breeze will cause your bait to cover a lot of surface area. In these cases tie the balloon to your main line about 3’ above the hook. Cast it out and let the wind do the rest. This works especially well when fishing for Brown Trout. They tend to get spooked easily. Fishing a long ways off will preventing spooking the fish. That is also why you will need a lot of line out when trolling for these beauties.

The next way is if you want to drop your bait into a deep hole far from shore. This time you could blow the balloon up full. Tie it to your line and allow the heat of the sun to continue to expand the balloon until it pops. It will then drop your bait to the bottom. It’s sometimes difficult to calculate the exact location with this method.

The most calculating method is to use a thread to tie the balloon to your line. You don’t need much. about six inches is plenty. When the balloon has reached the correct location, pull hard on you line and the thread will break. A word of caution when using this method, you will need to cast gently. Otherwise the thread will break during the cast.

So get some balloons and give it a try. Let me know how it works for you.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

A Lingcod Trip

In today’s information age, new ideas and developments are constantly emerging in all industries. Fishing is no exception. Companies continue to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on research and development of new products. I am constantly testing new techniques for catching more fish.

This past weekend I was able to treat myself to a fishing trip on the Oregon coast. I went out with Captain’s Reel Deep Sea Fishing, out of Newport, Oregon. We were bottom fishing. I have been bottom fishing in Southern California previously, but this was different. I am used to locating the fish, anchoring and jigging for the fish. The skipper of the boat located the fish, stopped the boat and then drifted over the fish. We made a number of drifts over various schools of fish. Some of the fish must have been taking an exam, because they simply were not hungry. We did not do the fast jerking I was use to, but rather we were instructed to reel slowly to the surface. If you did not catch a fish, drop it back down and do it again.

I was a little skeptical of the new method, so I decided to try my old method first. I jerked it off the bottom and bounced it on the rocks below, to no avail. After about five minuets I tried the new technique. I started to reel slowly towards the surface. It didn’t take long for a hungry Lingcod to attack my jig. It was great to see the rod bend in half as the Ling started to strip off some line. The deck hand came over and told me not to pump the fish up. Apparently Lingcod have soft mouths. If I fought it like a bass, the hook could tear through the mouth of the Ling. I just needed to keep constant pressure on the fish, while continuing to reel slowly.

It didn’t take long to see the ugly sea monster, but this one was too small. It needed to measure 28” or more. We sent this one back to grow up. I ended up keeping one Lingcod and four Sea Bass.

It was a wonderful trip. It was nice to not need to run the boat, or net the fish. I could have taken my boat out, but I don’t know the holes, or productive lures. It was much better to go on a charter with seasoned professionals. It’s always good to fish with a knowledgeable pro!

Ken Bear Cole

Fishing with Bear LLC