Jack O'Malley Interview w/ Dave Richey
Fishing seems to be a pastime where some people need a reason to go fishing. They need a jump-start, and oddly, since the birth of salmon fishing in this state, the reason many go is to catch big fish.
I've nothing against catching big fish that can stretch my line on 100-yard runs, but it's not necessary to catch a big fish every time. There is a time and place for smaller fish that provide steady action and great eating.
There were a few days during my 10-year guiding career spent chasing browns, chinook and coho salmon, and steelhead, that things just didn't work out right. I remember taking two gents out for spring steelhead, and both men limited out the first day and wanted to take on a new challenge.
Want another reason to go fishing? Take a kid with you. He can be young or old, a neophyte or an older and experienced angler. Choose what you both wish to fish for, and go out and enjoy the day and the outdoors and each other. Any fish caught would just be a bonus.
Richey caught this brown on a small fly.
The river was full of suckers. Fish to six pounds, and these guys had never caught one so I asked if they thought this species could be caught on flies.
They didn't think so, so a friendly little wager ensued, and I caught the first sucker on a fly. It was landed, and I taught both men how to roll an orange fly along bottom. The suckers were protecting their spawning redds, and the fishermen hooked one sucker after another. One man tossed a sucker 20 feet up the bank. I asked if he planned to keep that fish, and he said no. I sent him scurrying up the bank to retrieve the sucker and put it back in the river. He sulked a bit, and I got him aside, and explained that his behavior only encourages others to do the same thing. I told him those suckers hatch out, grow up, and get eaten by game fish such as bass, perch, muskies, northern pike, and all species of salmon and trout. I also told him that spring suckers from clean water make great eating when canned and then made into fish patties. He got right into that program, and although I probably cleaned two-dozen suckers for him, I was happy to do so. I didn't mind him keeping them if they would be properly used. He also apologized for his earlier actions. It's always great to make another convert.There's no excuse for bad river manners.
Do you need an excuse to go fishing? If so, here is one that will help the environment.
Walk some of the streams and try for stream trout. Perhaps you'll bump into one of the occasional Skamania steelhead that continue to pop up periodically, but use the fishing trip to wade the river and fill your landing net with worm boxes, discarded line and other stuff left behind by slobs.Fly fishing fast water in the Upper Peninsula.
I have a couple of elderly ladies that I share my catch with. If I know they want a fish, and I hadn't planned on keeping one, I will keep one for each of them. A channel catfish I caught last week went to a neighbor lady, and she was delighted with fresh fish.
I never give them more than one fish each, and sometimes I take turns giving them a fish. They know that many days I put all the fish back or keep an occasional fish for Kay and I, but this they accept because no one else is giving away fish. It's something I do that makes me feel good and makes the women feel good. Both have sons who seldom fish, and when they do they eat what they catch, so the Good Samaritan strikes again. One lady can still clean her fish but the other cannot so I fillet, bone and skin her fish. Some days, like yesterday or today, are wonderful days to hit the river. No need to worry about big fish or other anglers because most of the stream fishermen are now waiting for the fall salmon and trout runs. I like not having to share the water with others during the summer months although I readily do if I encounter another loner like myself. We chat, and invariably he is just like me — a person happy to be able to still wade a river, cast a fly or spend a few happy hours alone with the whisper of the wind, a just-right breeze and the quiet gurgle of water washing around a sweeper that sends soft and lovely river sounds my way. That is a good enough reason for me to go fishing during the hot days of June, July and August. Hope to see you on a stream.
