Kyle Meyer went backpacking August 20 to August 21, 2011 7 miles 500 feet gained 1 night

Siouxon Creek

2

My wife Christy and I took an easy trip out here to bask in the sun, relax, and swim. I also brought my tenkara fly fishing rod I am absolutely stoked about. I think this might have been my favorite hike of the year. Here's why:

  1. We jumped off a 10 foot rock into crystal clear green water over and over.
  2. Christy napped in our hammock while I fished.
  3. We only hiked 7 miles total.
  4. We ate trout for every meal.
  5. We weathered the beautiful night with a raging fire, wine, and whiskey.
  6. Did I mention the trout?
  7. Seriously, I caught 34 rainbow trout.

Sometimes, it's great not to post huge numbers and end a hike blistered, exhausted, and starving. We strolled out of the woods rejuvenated, happy, and the only stink we had on us was from picking apart a freshly grilled trout for breakfast.

Hiking in Lunch trout. This guy was for the… Christy kickin' it in the hammock while you crazies were out hiking on the hottest day of the year. Troutaroni! Dinner trouts. Cliff jumping Cliff jumping Fishin' Ready for the grill Breakfast trout Lookit, woods!

Trail Talk

2 people have hearted this trip.

Water (Matt) · August 26, 2011

its absolutely not about doing miles!! some of these types of trips are me and my wife's favorite as well--just can't beat the entire plushness of a great time in the woods without any kind of 'accomplishment' pressure -- the goal is being there and soaking in a great location...and that allows some of those luxuries like FISHING and beer or wine or whisky! :P

nice catch--how did you use your rod--fly rod, the one pic looks like a bamboo rod fishing at a trout pond. what were you rigged with. additionally, if i may inquire, wash fish lics? I bought one a year or so ago but at $50 a pop plus what I spent for my oregon one, I ended up using it once and meh... though there is quite a bit of water in Southern WA i want to fish (lewis river, siouxon, mt marg lakes, soda peak lake (again), etc

cheers

Kyle Meyer · August 27, 2011

It's a tenkara fly fishing pole. It's a 12' telescoping carbon fiber rod that the line is attached to the tip and allows for extremely delicate, drag-free fly presentation. They're super light weight as well—my entire fishing kit weighs 7oz. I caught the majority of the fish on a tan #12 elk hair caddis, although a #12 parachute adams caught a few as well.

I bought both the OR and WA fishing licenses. If I'm going to be eating out of streams, I want to be participating in the restoration and restocking of the areas! $50 a year is not much over the course of a year.

Eric Peterson · November 15, 2011

Hey Kyle, this was awhile ago but where were you guys jumping off from? Up closer to where Horseshoe Creek dumps into Siouxon, or near your last picture which is that rapid area?

Kyle Meyer · December 24, 2011

Eric, not sure why I didn't see this comment before. We were jumping off about a half mile up the trail from Siouxon Falls (the waterfall in the last picture). There's a bend in the river there where the summer sun tracks along the slot in the forest made by the creek, making it a perfect swimming hole because it's under direct sunlight for most of the day.

Matt Zirkle · June 14, 2019

Kyle Meyer. You should be ashamed of yourself man. The fish populations in our local streams and rivers are way down largely because of people like you. Taking 34 trout out of a creek in ONE DAY shows your complete lack of respect for nature and your fellow man. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Kyle Meyer · June 15, 2019

Hey Matt —

You’re totally right. Catching that many fish (even if most were released) is stupid, and my thoughts have evolved on this topic in the eight years (!!!) since this was posted. This trip report marks a moment in my life where I had just gotten into fishing and was stoked about it. My enthusiasm outweighed any sort of wilderness ethic I had developed in the first couple weeks I had spent fishing at this point as an adult.

That said, hey fuck you buddy. Fish counts are definitely not down “largely because of people like” me. I exclusively fish for trout on public lands and in federal wilderness. I’ve donated thousands of dollars to public land conservation advocacy, and give ODFW and WDFW hundreds of dollars each year for licenses and tags. Fish counts are down because of horrendous commercial overfishing, global warming, upstream sediment pollution from logging and industry, and dams, among other reasons. They’re not down because kids with fly fishing poles are catching 4” rainbow trout on a trail in the woods.

I’d encourage a kinder public discourse for your future comments on the internet.

❤️