I had the pleasure of going a couple of years ago, just before the major flood in Sept. 2010. Lost many a fly with the freight train strikes until I finally kept my finger off the line during the swing. Remember hooking 1 to 3 per hole then foating over the spot only to see double digits laying there. Curious if the LDRL relocated or stayed after the flood? Super cool place and definately a trip of a lifetime.

Over the course of eight days, how many times did one of you look at a deep slot in that milky water and say something to the effect of "blah, blah, blah pink worm blah, blah, blah!"?

Cool pics!

Fish on...

Todd

Thanks guys for the photo essay. The anticipation of the next pic and description is killin' me.

This is a place I've always dreamed about visiting. Not just the fresh freight train fish but the beauty of the area. Wish there weren't so many "cows" though. Definitely would make for a nerve racking sleep at night!

Again, Coley always delivers. Lookin' forward to the next chapter!

Funny Danny. We spoke about your cow phobia a time or two on the trip and were wondering what your demeanor would be while stuck in a cow jam

Todd, spoons and worms were a constant topic of conversation, fortunately the tugs started picking up towards the end and we didn't have too much in the way of time between them to ponder tackle, um, deficiencies?

Multiple star possibilities...


Great report !!!

Running out of stuff to say, so...

Here is a pile of pictures with a few photos thrown in.






Wet wading for steelhead? That Stam guy has the craziest ideas.










This one treated me well. I only had two. Broke one off on a steelhead and went through great lengths to retain the second. A chinark eventually stole it.









































Bored yet?

Almost done.

Did you get any big Chinarks?

No big, even medium kings landed. We lost a few that were never seen that could have been bigger. Some a couple of magnums higher up. Getting even the small ones in on 7wt/8wt gear was quite a chore. They definitely didn't have the lively personality of the steelhead, but gol dang they were strong and just wouldn't quit.

Happy Hour!!!!!

Very, very nice.


So whats the theory, were there just more fish to be had in the lower river, or did you guys change up your techniques & get the fur & feathers in the kill zone more often?



c/22

There were WAY more fish in the lower river due to a couple reasons.

One of the important things to know about the Dean is that there is a canyon just 4 miles from the salt. This canyon is probably nothing like a typical canyon that "our" salmon and steelhead pass through. It is literally a non-stop pile of tumbling foam. Looking at it, it is almost impossible to imagine ANY fish getting through it. Once the fish do get through the canyon, they tend to rest up in the next couple of miles. Many people, in fact, do nothing other than spend their entire trip on the lowest part of the "above the canyon" water. I view that as rather boring but if all you want to do is catch fish, socialize with your group (and nearby groups), and you don't mind fishing the same water over and over then it isn't a bad plan.

With the high water this year, apparently, many of the fish couldn't/wouldn't go through the canyon until the flows actually went down. I think that we saw more fish in the lower river for this reason. The other factor is that the water was so high when we were up high that the fish that WERE there, were more difficult to target. I suspect that had we showed up a few days later, we would have found far more fish up river.

Noice,very very noice.Good luck,
SZ

Shoulda taken a few of these...

Final round.

AP and Stam should be able to fill in the gaps. I definitely missed some opportunities, good fish, and cool moments along the trip.


Met this dude in the forest and he wouldn't quit giving me the stink eye.





Couldn't find the pot of gold for the life of me, but in the right light, AP can resemble a leprechaun.





AP and I popped out of the trees just as Stam was bringing this pretty girl to the beach. She put up a memorable fight for him, but like most pretty girls he tangles with, she eventually gave in.



































I hook one now and then as well.





Signs that the trip is winding down. Out of coffee, out of booze, just about time to wrap it up I would say.





Sometimes to get a good perspective on life, you have to get high, as in 40' up an alder tree

AP and I doubled up shortly after pulling into our final stretch of camp water.






















The upper end of the Dean canyon.










Goodbye and thanks Dean.





The fish.

Dean river steelhead, let alone the coho and kings that wind up above the canyon, are special breeds. The canyon, essentially a 3km section of waterfalls, rapids, and general gnarly heinousness that defies imagination, is a mandatory screen out factor. The weak need not apply and the gene pool reflects exactly that. The fish were everything we had hoped for and then some. They attacked, they ran, they jumped, and they showed us our backing and spools too many times to count. They were more beautiful than words or pictures can describe. Flawless. It came to our lips and minds quite often with Dean steelhead in our hands. They broke our lines, they bent our hooks, they bruised our knuckles, but they warmed our souls. The Dean steelhead are immaculate. I wouldn’t add a thing to them if I could, nor would I take anything away. In a word, they are perfect.

Stunning! Amazing report Coley. Looks like you guys couldn't have timed it better!

Not much else to say.

Nice pics, Coley. I couldn't agree more about the "flawless" quality of the fish. They are truly remarkable specimens.

Tips were the norm for us but certainly not required. I fished the same chunck of T-14 tip the whole time on the spey rod and a floating line on a switch rod. My first fish of the trip was on a floating line with a barely subsurface fly. The light at the time didn't allow me to see the take though. I skated flies a couple of times, resulting in 3 "responses". I'd love to say "takes" but two of the three times, the steelhead simply boiled on the fly and certainly didn't take it. By boils, I don't mean "I think something happened." I mean a big steelhead unmistakably comes up and makes a blantant, violent move on the fly. Watching something like that will take the air out of your lungs and then force a man-growl that will send Coley and Stam running to look at absolutely nothing. The third rise to the fly briefly stuck the fish but it was over before it really began. Small, barbless hooks with their gaps stuffed with deer hair makes for a tough game. Based on my limited experience though, I can certainly see how people switch over to skating flies and never go back. Despite not even fighting a fish on a dry fly, those responses are some of the highlights of my trip.

Some other photos:


One of the lovely ladies on the trip. Plus, a nice hen.


Flyfishing is easy. Coley shows you just cast, swing, and catch steelhead:







The only handoff I've ever seen Coley take is a handoff to himself around a tree. This whole hookup and fight is one of the coolest things I've ever seen.



Sassified Stam



A proper photobombing.



Holy [Bleeeeep!]! There is a steelhead in this net. I learned that Stam HATES nets.



Giving a wave to the "River Guardians".






I think we all kind of felt like this for several days.



Just one more before dark.



Seeing things like this make it hard to sit at a desk right now.


-AP

Coli did you bring an ascot for Stam?
That was the last river on my bucket list but I don't intend to miss it. I have a call into my canadian buddy as we speak working on next year's trip to the dean.
Your pictures are awesome as usual. Thanks so much for sharing.

wow!!!