After visiting and fishing in Canadian National Parks, we left for US. Our next destination was
North Cascades National Park, Washington.
Diablo Lake and Cascade Range in North Cascades National Park.
Skagit River, North Cascades National Park.
We fished at a spot where a small stream merged into Skagit River. We caught many rainbows with tenkara rods. They were about 12", and put up a good fight. To live in Skagit River's powerful current, a fish has to be strong.
A mule deer came out from the wood to watch us fishing.
When we were on the road, we always stopped by Cabela's, a chain of hunting, fishing, outdoor sporting goods stores. Most of the stores have displays of American and African wildlife, aquariums and trout ponds. It is a good place to take a break after a long driving and enjoy the exhibits.
Another river we fished in the Northwest was North Umpqua River in Oregon, which was the last river we fished in this cross countries driving trip. North Umpqua River is famous of steelhead fishing. Its upstream is a good trout stream. We took a campsite by the river and planned to fish for three days.
This lovely bear bench is by the bank of North Umpqua River on the campground access road.
We fished steelhead with our salmon fishing tackles in the rapid.
We know fishing steelhead is difficult, especially for newbies like us. We just hoped for a slight chance of hooking one. We didn't even get a bite. However, I did catch an 18" rainbow in the morning and an 8" in the evening with the same 4" muddler minnow fly. Surely this fly pattern is very effective in North Umpqua. Even a small 8" chased after this fly half of its size.
During the day when no shadows cast on the water, one can see hundreds of steelhead in
Big Bend Pool of Steamboat Creek, which is a tributary of North Umpqua River.
Fishing is prohibited, but the pool is opened for public viewing. One will be amazed at seeing hundreds of steelhead gathering in this pool. The day we were there, we saw only about 60.
Still it was a sight that filled us with awe.
Lee, living in this silver trailer by the Big Bend Pool, is the "fish keeper".
He watches over the steelhead and learns everything about them to share with visitors.
There are not many good tenkara fishing spots in North Umpqua River.
We managed to catch a few small trouts.
Copeland Creek, a tributary of North Umpqua River, is the only water
we could find for tenkara fishing.
We enjoyed tenkara fishing with dry fly in Copeland Creek, though all the trout were small.
Our campsite in Umpqua National Forest was one of the best in our trip. It was clean and quiet. As it was by the river, we could fish until dark. It was also surrounded by big tall trees providing shades and coolness. A good place to fish and a good place to rest, what else could we ask for?
After leaving Oregon, we continued driving south. We still had more than a month of our trip to go, but we didn't get any chance to fish again.
Some of the Pictures That We Like.
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| A Squirrel on Top of Prickly Pear Cactus, Desert Garden, Balboa Park, San Diego, California |
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| Crater Lake, Crater Lake National Park, Oregon |
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| Cholla Cactus Garden, Joshua Tree National Park, California |
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| Art Village, Balboa Park, San Diego, California |
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| Eating Fried Indian Bread in Front of Mission San Xavier Del Bac, Tucson, Arizona |
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| Boquillas Canyon, Big Bend National Park, Texas |
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| Saguaro in Tucson Mountain Park. Arizonia |
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| Lava Tube, Mojave National Preserve, California |
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| White Sands National Monument. New Mexico |
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| Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, Louisville, Kentucky |
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| Cattle Drive, Dog Canyon Road, Texas |
This is the end of the 4-part series.
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