Where: The Beach
When: This past weekend
Conditions: Chilly, calm, partly sunny
Flies used: Clousers
Species pursued: Sea-run cutthroat, resident silvers

Song of the day: "Creep," Stone Temple Pilots

"The beaches have been good for cutthroat lately."

"That's what I've been hearing. Sounds like I need to break away from my attempts to find a steelhead and head back to the salt."

Over the next few days, I contemplated that idea. And by mid-week, the insane workload cresting over my cubicle walls turned contemplation into decision.

I picked up the phone and a familiar voice answered.

"So I've been thinking about what we talked about."

He laughed.

A few minutes later, I had a general plan laid out.

It was time to head back to the beach.

The first beach, an unlikely spot to find cutthroat, was surprisingly productive. Too bad my ability to keep them buttoned failed miserably.

Figuring I'd outworn my welcome, I moved to my list of usual suspects.

I didn't find any giants, but what I did find was a familiar sense of satisfaction. For whatever reason, cutthroat caught in the fall seem to be much more vibrant than those caught during any other time of the year and landing some this weekend reminded me of why I look forward to this season.

One of the few things that make the rain and cold bearable!

They may lack size, but they make up for it in beauty!

A sign of things to come...

It never ceases to amaze me how many of these critters cling to cutthroat.

A reward for making one more cast. :)

Where: The River
When: The past two weekends
Conditions: Cold, calm
Flies used: Various spey flies
Species pursued: Steelhead

Song of the day: "Everybody's Fool," Evanescence

I wish I had something good to write about, but for me, steelheading is a less than productive pursuit, at least in terms of steelhead. :)

If anything, I would say "low" is a good word to use in describing how the past few weekends have been

Low numbers of steelhead.

Low, clear water.

Low temperatures.

Ironically, motivation and determination are the only things that aren't on the low side. :)

So Don and I have been plying the usual runs, trying to sneak our flies past the hordes of zombie pinks choking the river.

Here are a few pics summing up how that's been going:

The swimming dead.

End of the road.

Our first official taste of fall.

Almost time...

Good layering and a quick smoke will do wonders when temps get down to freezing.

And when that fails, the Colonel's got your back!

With any luck, the past few days' rain will raise most of those aforementioned lows. :)