Posted by: Scott Peters in Music, Fishing on
Jul 26, 2010
What do fly fishing and chamber music have in common? If you are in Walla Walla in June, the answer is Tim Christie, Founder and Director of the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival. I was fortunate enough to meet Tim in 2009 and discovered that we both share a passion for chasing trout with a fly rod. I also thoroughly enjoy the beautiful Chamber Music that Tim has brought to Walla Walla. We agreed that when Tim was back in Walla Walla this year we'd make time to visit the water and commune with the fish.
Unfortunately Mother Nature wasn't cooperating with our plans to visit the Walla Walla River in mid-June; heavy rains had theriver hig h, muddy and un-fishable. Luckily Walla Walla is a supportive community and a friend, Max, offered to share his private pond just south of town with us. Max has a beautiful home on five acres including this great little pond that he stocks with trout. (Being a superb host Max even suggested the right flies.) You know it's going to be a good day on the water when your first casts resulted in a both Tim and I hooking-up with nice trout. The fishing was so good that before long Max decided to get his rod and join us; we all caught fish into the early afternoon. Max even demonstrated a new technique for us - catch & release dry fly fishing for Bull Frogs - impressive!
So, if you live here, or are just visiting Walla Walla in June, remember that you can choose both, fly fishing and world class chamber music. That is if incredible wine, delicious food, sweet onions, exciting baseball, and scenic biking isn't enough for you....
Posted by: Scott Peters in Fishing on
Jun 07, 2010
Fly fishing, fly tying and good wine . . . a few of my favorite things in life! It's not often that I can combine all three at once. Now, toss in good friends, some great food out of a Dutch oven and "Wow!" - we've got an event that you can only find in Walla Walla. The Walla² Fly Fishers just held their 2nd Annual Fly Fishing Fair at Waterbrook Winery, and now that it's over I can't wait for next year's. Really, in a community named for its many waters and now known for its wine, doesn't it make sense that we are finally putting these two things together?
If you weren't one of the almost two hundred people lucky enough to enjoy the event in person, let me tell you about it so that you can put it on the calendar for next year. We started-off with expert fly tyers demonstrating their skills, added a few incredible fly casting instructors sharing their knowledge, and staged it all in a beautiful setting, including a pond stocked with fish (at least purportedly). Did I mention that this was also a family event? The fly tyers gave away their flies and there were casting games with prizes for kids and Waterbrook wine for the adults.
So, that's how we put it all together this year and had a great day for all involved. As it turns out, I'm not the only person who enjoys my favorite things. . .
Find more details about Walla² Fly Fishers and our events at - http://wallawallaflyfishers.blogspot.com/2010/05/fly-fishing-fair-2010-at-waterbrook.html
Photo courtesy Waterbrook Winery
Posted by: Scott Peters in Fishing on
Apr 26, 2010
Beautiful, at half the size. |
I’ll be honest. As a trout fisher, it was an adjustment leaving Alaska. But the Walla Walla Valley has many great things going for its fly fishing: beautiful and accessible water, a long season, and no grizzly bears wanting to take your fish. On the other hand, you don’t normally find a trout, twenty-five inches long and shaped like a football in the Touchet (did I say, Alaska is a fly fisher’s paradise?).
During my last, local fishing excursion my fishing partner and I only caught a few fish and the best trout was less than fourteen inches long; but I remember thinking as I released it ‘Wow! What a beautiful trout.’
I once read something to the effect that when you start fly fishing you just want to catch a fish, any fish. As you progress, you want to catch a lot of fish and then you want to catch a big fish. Finally you want to catch a lot of big fish. Now I think there is another stage having to do with appreciating fish on an esthetic level. I also think that Walla Walla has helped me achieve it.
