“Max,” The Super Lure

One lure that has consistently tricked Trout & Bass into biting is the Kastmaster. It has a wonderful swimming action, which seldom twists your line. It is now available in a number of colors, but the only option was chrome or gold when I discovered the lure. It’s a great lure to have in everyone’s tackle box.

But that’s not what this article is about. It about one of those days you dream of, where everything is going right. I was on a beautiful mountain lake with a soft breeze kissing my face. The warn sun was on my back and Osprey were soaring overhead. They were easy to locate as they cried, calling others to come feed on the nice fat trout below. I tied a Kastmaster lure to my line and cast it into the emerald green water. It was attacked by a nice two-pound trout, which was struggling to be free, as three or four of his friends followed him to the boat. Yes that was a glorious day, that is, until a tree reached out and grabbed my favorite lure.

With malice and forethought, it reach out from the banks of the lake and snatched my lure out of the sky with a death grip, wrapping line around its limb and embedding the treble into the wood. At first I wasn’t concerned. This lure has escaped the clutches of snags in the water ripping the limbs from the water. Not even submerged boulders we able to steel “Max, the super lure” from me. We had been together for so long, it just seemed appropriate to name it. No this tree chose the wrong lure to mess with.

Being in my boat, I thought the rescue would be easy and it should have been. The lure was just a little too hi to reach it, while standing in my little aluminum boat. So I tossed a rope around the limb and lowered it to retrieve my friend. Just as I touched my prized possession, the end of the limb broke causing two things to happen simultaneously. The limb shot towards the sky like a rocket, embedding two of the three hooks into my hand. I reacted by falling out of the boat and breaking the limb a little further up the tree. Being focused on the pain of the hooks in my hand, I had not noticed as that evil limb struck a hornet’s nest.

When I surfaced, the air around me hummed like a blender with a bad motor bearing. I immediately retreated underwater, where I discovered that I had also capsized my boat. After what seemed like hours under my capsized boat, a rescue party pulled me from the lake, but accidentally sunk my boat.

The doctor at the emergency room had great difficulty removing the hooks because he was laughing and crying too hard as I explained what happened. Finally as the hooks were removed and my hand was sewn up, they left me alone for a moment with the remnants or Max. I knew he would be restored with a new split ring and treble hook. It would be like old times.

As I hobbled to the pay phone, to call my wife, I was trying to decide how I could explain this, because I had told her I was in Seattle on a business meeting. I hope I can get the boat out.

See you at the dock!

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

During the warm summer months both fishermen and other water sport enthusiasts share the same water, but sometimes with conflicts. These conflicts occur because of violating ones space.

Skiers love to go fast and blast loud music. This tends to eliminate a tranquil time on the water. Rather it causes a wake the size of an ocean wave. Bald Eagles, Osprey and Blue Heron, must not enjoy rap or rock-n-roll played so loud that it shakes the leaves off the trees. When you have enough boats going fast and playing loud music, it’s like being inside a washing machine filled with rocks. Everything is being rocked back and forth like there is an earthquake on the water.

This can really anger some fishermen who are out to be one with nature and catch a few fish. You see some fishing boats are smaller then a bathtub. When you add someone with “dun lap disease” (you know, their tummy, dun lapped over their belt) and 4” of clearance between the water and the top of the boat, a 6” wave can be quite scary. Especially when the music is so loud that it causes your aluminum boat to act like a tuning fork. It’s not that the fishermen are afraid of sinking the boat. It’s just difficult to hold your fishing rod, run the motor and bail out the boat at the same time. This is especially hard if you have a fish on. That’s why smart fishermen have rod holders and sump pumps on board.

And why do fishermen want to stand up in a small boat? Have they been out in the sun too long? These brave acrobats are seldom wearing a life jacket. These must be the descendants of bull riders. You know, it’s the sport where you wrap a rope around a bull. Then you sit on the bull, and wrap that same rope around your hand until all feeling is lost. You wear gloves so you don’t see your fingers explode. But the real excitement starts once the pen gate opens and someone chinches another rope around the bull’s gonads. The bull’s eyes bulge from their sockets as he leaps for joy, trying to get the fool off his back; and then stomp him into the ground. I guess that does make standing up in a small boat seem reasonable.

So the next time you are out on the water, please be considerate of one another.

Fishermen: don’t try to hook the skier as they pass by. You probably won’t be able to stop the skier, but they may run over your boat and cut it in half.

Skiers: please turn down the XX?!!!XX music before someone shoots you, thinking you are an elk on skies. Well, that’s what they are going to tell the police.

See You At The Dock,

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

Many people envy my being able to work as a fishing guide. Being on the water, catching all those fish. But it’s not all fun. Sometimes it’s work.

Sometimes running around on the boat, attending to customers, untangling lines and trying to keep the boat in a somewhat straight line and off the rocks has it’s own stress. But I always try to keep things light and cheery. It helps having wonderful clients who are having fun and catching lots of fish.

But other times trout are finicky eaters. The fish finder is beeping and marking large schools of fish, but they simply won’t bite. It’s like they are laughing at me. That’s when I want to toss a quarter stick of dynamite into the water, tell my passengers to hold on, and wait for the boom! They wouldn’t be laughing then! No they would be floating to the surface where I could scoop them up in the net. I could then stand on the bough of the boat and proclaim, “I am the king of the world.” But that could be a little scary for my clients.

I know, when the fish start to resist the exotic presentations of a night crawler tipped spinner, trolled after flashers at the perfect speed; I could rip off my clothes, dive into the water and grab those tasty trout with my bare hands. But I am concerned about the reaction of my passengers seeing a 300 pound man surfacing and displaying the catch in a Speedo. It simply could be too much for some of them. I am also concerned about Captain Ahab thrusting a harpoon into my back, claiming he finally got the great white whale.

No, I will simply do my best to trick the fish into attacking my client’s lines. Tell a few jokes, enjoy the beautiful scenery and watch the Osprey dive into the water to pluck out it’s dinner. But that dynamite thing sounds like fun!

See You at the dock.

Ken Bear Cole

Fishing with Bear LLC

I have a friend who has caught the fishing bug. He is really enjoying the sport and is always hungry for a new experience. He asked me to accompany him to the local tackle shop a few weeks ago, to purchase a rod and reel for Salmon and Steelhead. He already had a good Trout setup. After discovering his budget, we selected some good equipment.

Fishermen are like children with a new favorite toy. We just can’t wait to put it to use. He had the new line on the reel and was ready to go. So we set a date and were off to baptize the new gear.

Last week I introduced him to drift fishing on a river. He picked it up quickly. At first he was getting bites, but no fish, so I had him sharpen the hook with a file. Soon he was back fishing.

It didn’t take long for him to announce with excitement, that he had a fish. He hooked a Pike Minnow. These are fish, which eat Salmon and Steelhead roe or eggs. I unhooked it and tossed it up on the bank for birds or a raccoon to eat. I try not to release these fish back into the water. I much prefer Salmon or Steelhead.

My friend was pumped full of anticipation and excitement as he returned to fishing. He knew that stretch of the Clackamas River also held Salmon and Steelhead along with Trout. He was ready to catch more fish!

We modified the rig a few times to see what would work best that day. After an hour or so, there was that smile again. He had another fish. It was a nice trout. It looked like it was in the 1-2 pound range. I never got a chance to weigh the fish or examine it closely, because he was so excited about catching it, he did not pull it completely on shore. With a little slack in the line it was gone, but my buddy still has that memory securely tucked away in his heart.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

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 and high limit. 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. Oh Yah!

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. I 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 suddenly 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 these $350 waders are breathable, then why didn’t they spit out all of the water that was rushing inside? I must have looked like a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I now know what a Turtle experiences, when they are placed 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 my $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 All rights reserved
Fishing with Bear LLC

I was on a boat in the ocean, fishing for Tuna and we were into a large school of fish. The deck hands were continuing to throw live Anchovies into the water to hold the fish by the boat. Birds were circling overhead and there were hook-ups all over the boat. I had just lost a fish when it happened. I re-baited with a nice fat Anchovy. As I cast the bait, the mother of all Pelicans grabbed it before it hit the water. This bird had the wingspan of a small airplane. It was peeling line like a tuna, but none of it was in the water. It’s like I had a turbo-charged kite. I tightened my drag and decided I should be able to get the bird close enough to release it unharmed, but that was MUCH easier said then done. It seemed the bird was flying in several different directions at the same time. The closer it came, the more angry and excited it got. It did not help that I had an 11′ fishing rod. With a rod that long it was difficult to get the pelican close enough to free it.

By this time most of the other passengers had reeled in their fish and the school was gone. We needed to relocate and find another school of fish. After all, we are supposed to be catching tuna, NOT PELICANS! I didn’t know so many people had caught pelican before, or so it seemed by all of the advice I was receiving. The calls were everything from, “shoot the bird” to “just cut it loose.” That is when I heard a distinct voice. It was rather high pitched and piercing. “No! You can’t hurt the bird. It’s protected!!!” As luck would have it, we had the International Queen of the Audubon Society on board. She claimed to be friends with, Senators, Congressmen and possibility The President of the United States. There would be no killing of this bird! In the meantime, I have this bird about 20′ away, which is franticly flying around like a car on a rollercoaster. I had no idea pelicans were so athletic and talented. It seemed to have the strength of a bull with the endurance of a marathon runner.

Finally a deckhand grabbed my line with gloved hands and tried to wrestle the bird closer. All the while this prehistoric Pelican is snapping its bill like a punch press. He was able to retrieve the bird and it was released unharmed.

As I turned to consume sustenance and drink from the boat’s galley, I was faced with an angry mob. I had fears of a swashbuckling encounter ending with my walking the plank. You see. I had interrupted fishing, a crime worthy of death, on the high seas. I am sure my demise would have been sudden if the boat’s captain had not stumbled out of the wheelhouse holding his sides, while laughing hysterically.

“That was the funniest thing I have ever seen”, he exclaimed. He said he had the whole thing on video and was planning on winning $100,000 on America’s Funniest Home Videos.

I eventually got some food and returned to fishing. I ended up with two Tuna, which are resting peacefully in my freezer. It was a great trip, but I hope I never hook another Pelican.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

© Ken bear Cole All rights reserved

School is out for the summer, so I decided to take my son fishing. It’s time he learned how to catch those wiggly Trout and Bass, which hang out at our local rivers, lakes and ponds. I figured it would keep him busy and out of trouble this summer.

I soon discovered that those days of cutting off a tree branch, adding a string, hook and a worm are over. To catch fish today we needed better equipment like Graphite rods with Titanium guides and multi-ball bearing reels. Or at least that is what the guy at the tackle shop said.

We needed to decide whether to use monofilament, braided or fluorocarbon fishing line. I didn’t know there were so many choices. And have you seen all of the different lures, weights, hooks and baits? I was starting to cry until this nice man at the store said there are classes to learn how to catch fish. I fell at his feet and wept.

I asked where to find the classes. He said he wasn’t sure. I jumped to my feet, grabbed him by the shirt and shouted, “I need classes!!!” I was sure he was like a drug dealer, getting you hooked, then making you suffer.

He said, “don’t worry. I am sure there are classes on the Internet or Craig’s List.” I felt the blood starting to flow through my brain again. “Maybe I won’t need to kill him after all”, I thought.

So upon returning home, I scoured the Internet and Craig’s List. I was in luck. I found this older fishing guide who taught classes on how to catch fish. My son and I signed up and learned together.

Thank God for the Internet and “Classes”.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

It seems that fishermen like shinny things. The fishing lures need to be bright and sparkly. Bass Boats are the only boats on the water with a glitter finish.

Yes it is true that the refracted light from an underwater lure will attract more fish.

But the lure action when trolled too fast, wiggles more then my cousin Jimmy, when he snorted a line of table salt. Jimmy never was too smart. He wiggling and bounced all over the floor with his eyes bugged out.

I think if I were a fish, I would run from the yellow and red wiggling alien with eyes the size of dimes. But Mr. Super Bass jumps on that thing like an action hero. He will save the others by sacrificing himself. They must have a plaque underwater somewhere, where they place a star to represent those sacrificial heroes.

A swimming type fishing lure, should have a nice side-to-side action. It should go in a straight line rather then looking like defective fireworks on the 4th of July. It should not look like Aunt Bertha that time a bat got caught in her hair.

Spinners must move through the water with enough speed to cause the blade to spin around the body, but not so fast that it actually heats the water. It will produce a hypnotic sound, which will
cause Trout to follow and attack. It’s like your friend Mary’s brother, whom is drawn to the sound of a beer being opened. It won’t take long until he shows up.

It’s a good idea to keep your fishing lures away from you wife and kids. Otherwise you may find them dangling from their ears, nose or other scary parts of their body. My neighbor Henry lost half his tackle box to his teenage nephew Bobby. This boy had so many holes in his body, that it looked like he lost a fight with a sewing machine. My wife said he kinda sounds like a wind chime as he walks through the house. She likes it!

Remember to eat a night crawler a day. It will stiffen your rod.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

It’s Important To Wear A Life Jacket.

With the warm weather and cold rivers, water safety should be on everyone’s mind. A twenty something young man, drowned this past weekend in the Sandy River, Oregon. The air temp was 88 degrees, but the water temp was only 46 degrees. Please be careful around the water. Yes life jackets do save lives. Here is an example of when a life jacket saved my life!

Detroit Lake is a wonderful place to fish during the fall and winter. The water level is down almost 100′  and the trout are much more condensed; which is good considering that the lake is usually over five miles long. Now it’s only 4 ¾ miles long.

Before I had my 22′ pontoon boat, I had a Port-a-boat. This is a lovely 12′ boat, which can fold down to resemble a surfboard. When fully assembled, it is a stable boat, which cannot sink. This is extremely important news when you are trying to persuade your wife to let you go fishing in the winter.

So there I was, cruising on Detroit Lake, headed to a location where I have caught lots of fish before. It was a great day! It was cold with the temp in the high 30′s, but the sky was clear with no rain in sight. I was catching trout one after the other. And I really enjoyed the new sliding seat I had just installed non the boat. It was much more comfortable then the bench seat, which caused my legs to feel like they had been amputated. You must understand. If my butt were a muffin, some would call it extra-grand.

Modifications to anything may need additional adjustment. I had decided my new sliding seat needed stops installed so I did not slide all the way to the gunwale (that’s mariner talk for side of the boat). But that modification needed to wait until I got home.

After fishing, I was returning to the launch ramp. I noticed that the wind had picked up and was causing foot high wind waves. Not a problem. I am in an unsinkable boat. It was actually fun to crash into the waves. The spray would fly and the bow (you know, it’s that pointy end of the boat) would rise.

This was great until the bow rose out of the water and the wind caught it, which caused the boat to lean. That would have been fine if my new sliding seat had not slid to the gunwale, causing me to lean backward over the water.

The principals of thermal dynamics are amazing. Apparently when an over weight man leans backward, causing his rain jacket to touch the water, this causes drag and friction. If the drag becomes great enough, it can actually pull the chubby fisherman out of the boat and into the water. This even works when the water is 42 degrees. This positioning caused me to grasp the throttle of my outboard motor extremely tight, since it was my only connection to the boat. The problem was that my new position caused me to turn the throttle wide open. I was being drug behind the boat like an inter-tube. All I could think was, SHUT IT DOWN, SHUT IT DOWN, SHUT IT DOWN, SHUT IT DOWN!!!!!!!!!!

As the ride came to a stop, I still had all of my arms and legs. By the grace of God Almighty, I had not been cut by the outboard prop. I wear my life jacket under my rain gear, so it can’t fall off. I ended up swimming the boat the hundred yards or so to shore. There I was able to bail out the boat, start the motor and safely return to the launch area. My additional pounds and adrenaline, helped prevent hypothermia from setting in, but that lady seemed rather surprised when I striped butt naked by my van. I had to get out of those cold, wet clothes. And yes, I had some spare sweats in the van. How your mind wanders!

I knew I would be late getting home, so I called my wife and said, “Honey, I want you to know that I am alright”…

Yes, life jackets do save lives. It saved mine that wintry day in Detroit Lake!

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

With the nice weather we have been having, you may be thinking about going trout fishing. Yes it’s time to get the rods out of the basement and make sure they are in good working order. It’s wise to replace the line at the beginning of the season. You don’t want the line to break when you hook the big one.

Also check out your tackle box. Those nice fresh salmon eggs you purchased two years ago may have turned into little red rocks. Hopefully you did not leave the left over night crawlers in the box. You will know the moment you open the lid. If you have the urge to burn your tackle box, they are there, or at least the aroma of death they left behind.

You may have some work ahead of you if you own your own boat. Ah yes, that is a flat tire on your trailer. Make sure the registration is current of you may have trouble when visited by the State Police on the water. Charge the battery. Replace the old fuel or the motor may not start. Where are those life jackets?

If the boat has been covered and stored outside, you may discover that mold has taken up residence in your boat. Beware of your new friends the spiders. They grew quite well under the tarp. Some may be the size of a Silver Dollar! Since they run fast, they are good for raising your heart rate (Oh My God!). Yah that’s the one!

So you have checked out the motor and it runs ok in the driveway. They always run ok in the driveway, but will it run WELL at the lake?

Hook up the lights to make sure the neighborhood cats have not eaten the wiring. If they have, you won’t be going out this weekend. No, you will be re-wiring the trailer!

Remember you are doing all of this to relax. Work has been very stressful with the cutbacks and all. You still have your job, but you need to also do the work of the other two people they laid off in your department.

With all of that accomplished, you head out to the lake to join the other ten thousand who also thought it would be nice to go fishing. If you are fishing from shore, you may need to bring your own rock to stand on, because it is combat fishing. It’s so much fun rubbing shoulders with your neighbor and untangling all those lines.

If you brought your boat, you may encounter a psychopath who thinks everyone should let him launch his boat first. And then there is always the new boater who skipped the “backing the trailer” class. It seems he can’t move the boat more then 10′ without making five corrections. Hopefully he will be finished before the sun goes down.

You can go through all of this OR you can meet me at the dock. I will have the boat launched, all necessary safety equipment, bait, fishing gear and a warm smile. I know the lake, since I have been fishing there 2-4 times each week, for two months.

Call me, if you truly want to relax.

See you at the dock!

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC