We’re heading down to Puyallup for the weekend, excited about what we’ve packed! Fetha Styx will occupy booth 763 at the 2012 Washington Sportsmen’s Show from Wednesday through Sunday.

We have our brand new Pacific Northwest-inspired Chrome series fishing rods — that you named — with us, as well as our Homewater series and some super show-only specials. Yippee!

The Washington Sportsmen’s Show runs from today (January 25) through Sunday (January 29) at the Puyallup Fair and Events Center.

The show is open from noon-8pm Wed-Fri, 10am-8pm Saturday and 10am-4pm Sunday. Entrance fees are $12 for adults, $5 for juniors (6-16) and free for those under five. The Outdoor Line offers a $2 off coupon to the show here.

Make sure to come introduce yourself and get a first glimpse at our brand new Chrome rods! Hope to see you there!

After a lot of internal debate over all the incredible submissions (There are some very creative people in the Fetha Styx family), we decided on one name:

CHROME

We feel it represents us and our Pacific Northwest anglers the best.  We’d like to thank everyone for submitting and participating in this fun contest, it was a blast for us!

This is my kind of rod! Not only is it pink in so many different places, but Nick Frye with Fetha Styx rod company did an amazing job in their custom shop to build this rod with me in mind. When I first read reviews on Fetha Styx rods, I knew this was going to be my next rod. I checked out their custom shop and when I saw the work that they do, I had to have one for myself. I wasn’t thinking too over-the-top, maybe just some colored wraps with my name on it, but when I got to their shop to pick out my specs, I felt like I was in the Toys-R-Us for fishermen.

They had so many options to choose from and had so many great ideas themselves that it made it a great experience! Both Bill Boyce and Nick were there to answer all my questions and help me create this masterpeice. But the creation didn’t stop when I left the shop: they would update me as new parts came in and as they thought of more ideas. It was great to see that they were constantly thinking of my rod and for me to be able to be a part of the entire process.

I ended up with a 10’6″, 8-12 lb rainshadow casting blank. When I initially picked out my blank, I was torn between a 10-20 lb because I wanted this rod for salmon, and the 8-12 lb blank. The 8-12 lb was exactly what I was looking for in a sense that it had an incredible backbone, but the taper and tip of the rod were ultra-sensative and I knew it was also going to be great for the fish on the smaller end.

I also had the option of choosing how many guides I wanted, what type of guides to add, and where I wanted them placed. I was trying to keep it simple so I stuck with the original number of guides and placement, but ended up with double-footed guides through the first half and single-footed guides at the tip for a sleeker look and less weight at the top.

When choosing the colors to wrap the rod with, the options were absolutely endless and Nick wrapped a few different options for me so I could see what the final look would be. I got a carbon fiber butt in a dark grey and pink, marbled reel seat. This reel seat wasn’t designed for the rod I chose, but they even custom altered this so that I could have this on my rod. The thing that amazed me the most was that they actually sized the end of the rod to fit my arm and where I hold the rod when fighting fish. I had no idea it could get THAT custom! It’s about 3″ shorter than the original size so I don’t have the extra weight or length of the butt in my way.

I couldn’t wait to get this rod on the water and get into some fish so I could see how this beautiful masterpeice handled. I was steelheading on the coast and originally had it rigged for drift fishing. I couldn’t believe all that I could feel through this rod. It truly was amazing the sensitivity it had. I felt every little tick and bump including the tiny little trout that decided to test my bait. Float fishing is really my specialty and what I had in mind when designing this rod, but I wanted to really be able to feel the sensitivity.

I switched my reels, put on my braid, and rigged up my float gear. I instantly saw how much that extra few inches off the back and the lighter tip was so important. The last thing I want when float fishing is a heavy, top heavy rod that makes my arm tired of mending after about five minutes. The entire day that I fished this rod, my arm felt no pressure while fishing and this rod was virtually weightless, but it was still long enough to make my mends smooth.

It was a slow morning, so I was elated to watch my float go under and get to put this baby to the test. I quickly set and instantly felt the throb of the steelhead. Now this was no trout and I wasn’t exactly in the best spot to land a fish. I had to do some maneuvering and walking down river in order to land this fish. The action on this rod was unbelievable! As I tried to steer this fish down river and handle it while it took its screaming runs, I could feel every move the fish made and was able to muscle it to me.

I was astonished that Fetha Styx was able to create a rod that looked like this, was built just with me in mind, and yet was obviously created to handle fish. There was no doubt in my mind that the most important thing to Fetha Styx was to make sure this rod was going to handle well.

This is my first Fetha Styx and it will not be my last. From their amazing customer service, to the tiny details that they paid attention to, and to the most amazing rod I’ve ever fished, Fetha Styx blew me away. This rod truly is an all-in-one package and Fetha Styx took pride in every little step.

Visit the Fetha Styx Custom Rod shop for more information on our custom fishing rods.

Well, it has been a while since my last blog and report — sorry about that, but we have just been fishing everyday as the weather, the fish, and river conditions have created the perfect storm of steelhead catching! We can’t miss a day as you never know when it will change. You can always “like” our Facebook page for more information also.

Right now, the weather is chilly in the mornings, but warming up and sunny in the afternoons and the fishing and river pressure are great as well! We have been spending most of our days floating the Wenatchee River in our raft with an occasional day or two on the Methow River also, as both are fishing very well as we are averaging four to eight fish a day.

We are using mostly jigs right now in blacks and pinks and some oranges under a bobber (or float for some of you guys) to get some bright nice fish that are hanging out for the catching. We have many days open if you are interested in catching some of these prized fish and also we have gift certificates available on our website for all of your Christmas shopping needs! Lets go fish!

Brad Wagner
Bobber Down Guide Service
509 670 3095
email Brad

Originally published on Brad’s Fish Wenatchee blog — check it out for his latest updates.

We need your help naming our upcoming 2012 fishing rod line.

These rods are specifically designed for the Pacific Northwest angler with a focus on salmon and steelhead. There will be 14 models of rods in this line, including a couple of fly rods. These will be entry-level rods assembled in Washington and will be well built, performance rods for the everyday angler.

With that said, we’ll give the first rod off the factory floor of your choice — Fishing Rod Serial Number #0001 — to the person who comes up with the name we like the most.

Use the form to enter your email address and name idea below. Enter by January 1st and we’ll pick a winner by January 5th, 2012, so stay tuned to our Facebook page for updates and winners.

Entries are closed.

I’m Baaaaaaaacck…! I just arrived back home on 11/1/11 from my month-long guiding adventure at Heller Bar, WA on the Snake River. I was able to guide 27 of those 30 days with some great people on my boat. The scenery was epic and the weather, except for three rainy days, was fabulous. Summer-run steelhead were the fish of choice, but we caught many Chinook adults and jacks, plus catfish, squaw fish, white fish, sturgeon, bass, and suckers — all side-drifting good eggs. The Snake is a very healthy river system to say the least.

If you missed this fishery in 2011, not to worry: I am already working on my 2012 season on the Snake River at Heller Bar, WA. I will start around 9/15/2012 and finish up around 10/10/2012. I would recommend two days on the water, if at all possible. This year was wall tent central and I’m looking to rent a house next year. If nothing is available, I will run my trips through the Red Lion in Lewiston, ID which is 45 minutes from the boat launch and is surrounded by restaurants and stores for your convenience. Otherwise, you’re more than welcome to camp out at Heller Bar right at the mouth of the Grande Ronde River with me. Fish, big horn sheep, turkeys, chukar, deer, fires, glo corkies and spinners from the bank, drinks, and that day’s fish stories are all a part of the Heller Bar experience.

I was looking over my fish log for the month of October and my boat landed over 250 steelhead, not including king salmon and jacks! You can expect double-digit fish days on this river. We did have a couple of slower days where we caught 5-8 steelhead and kings. But, again, only a couple of slow days. The water was at a 20-year high for that time of year, which definitely changed the fish holding locations a bit … it took me a day to re-figure it out. But after that day it was on. Our best days were 25-30 hook-ups on salmon and steelhead — NO joke! Below are some of the fish that we caught. FYI those un-clipped fish (you will see in the pictures below) are legal to pull out of the Water with an Idaho fishing license. Get a hold of me with any questions regarding my favorite Jet Sled steelhead fishery, hands down!

I am now booking winter-run steelhead trips on the Cowlitz, Skykomish and Snoqualmie Rivers starting 11/29/11 through 12/30/11. Get your date before you’re too late! Fish ON! and see you on the water.

Bonner’s FishON! Guide Service
Website bonnerfishon.com
Cell 425-281-8772
Email bonnerdaniels@live.com

Also, don’t forget to check out Steelhead University’s fishing report as I put up a fresh weekly report there, you can go directly there through the links section on my website’s home page. Mention Salmon/Steelhead University and take 10% off of your next fully guided trip from now through December!

Nick Frye JUST walked out of the custom shop with the rods Team Fetha Styx will be using in the Washington Tuna Classic.  They look killer!  We have a bunch of pictures and their descriptions below, but stay tuned to the blog for updates from the Washington Tuna Classic.  Also, get the latest scoop on the Fetha Styx Custom Shop.

Albacore Spinning Rod:

We decided to build an Ultra Light spinning rod in split grip configuration.  We used a Rainshadow RCLB70XL, 7’ 0”, 1 PC, 10-25lbs, 3/8-1 ½ oz, X-Fast, UL. The exciting thing about this spinning blank is wt is 4.70 oz and the total rod wt is 12.5 oz!! It has a solid E-Glass tip to about a 1/3 of the rod and the rest is RX6 graphite. We paired the blank with an Alps Central -Lock# 18 spin reel-seat that has two double locking nuts and is CNC machined from marine grade aluminum. In between the split grip on the rear handle we overwrapped the exposed blank section with a piece of sharkskin.  The spinning guides are double footed to the tip for added strength and wrapped in black with red collars. Since the spinning reel has come along way in terms of line capacity and drag. You can use this rod for live bait, tossing iron, or jigging underwater structure.

Albacore Casting Rod:

The trolling rod is a Rainshadow RCJB78MH, 6’ 6”, 1 PC, 20-40lbs, 2-6 oz, Fast, MH all purpose saltwater rod.  It has an 8” tapered EVA fore-grip and a 12” straight EVA rear grip. We decided to go with EVA since it is easy on your hands and tends not get slick when there’s blood on the decks. It has Alps XN frames doubled footed and ready for either braid or mono line application. Like the spinning rod it has a Central –Lock #18 spin reel-seat that can accommodate larger reel foot prints. This rod can be used for a variety of saltwater game fish. Live bait mackerel for fishing yellow tail our NW albacore or too sea bass on the east coast.

For more information on the Washington Tuna Classic.

To Learn more about of Customs Shop.

The Jones group showing off the results of an excellent day of fishing with guide Kurt Ferse, including the largest Yellow Eye caught this season at just over 24lbs.

Though they were plentiful, big kings were harder to come by this season. Finally, in late July and early August we saw a push of trophy kings, with several in the fifties, and King of Year coming in on August 5th at 60.2 lbs

After a relatively late arrival, silver fishing turned on in the second week of July, and limits of silvers were had nearly every day through early August. By mid-August they had largely moved out of the area, but fortunately there were enough kings to chase around that everybody stayed busy.

King of Kings Derby Hostess Rachel Egger shows off the King of the year caught by Joseph Kinder on August 5th. It tipped the scales at an impressive 60.2lbs.

We were blessed with relatively light winds and stable weather systems throughout the season, which provided for some excellent opportunities for bottom fishing offshore for halibut, lingcod, and rockfish.

Anticipation and excitement is already building for the 2012 season as hopes that the big numbers of kings will continue, and the vast quantity of feeder kings will return bigger and stronger.

A nice hen caught on a beautiful morning at the Pineapple.

So if you missed out on this spectacular season, it’s time to start planning your trip for next year! Contact Waterfall Resort and make a request to fish with guide Kurt Ferse and you will get to fish with some of Fetha Styx finest rods in some of the most productive fishing grounds in Alaska.

Be sure to check back in this winter, as I will be posting the latest news from Southeast AK. Until later, tight lines to you all!

Kurt Ferse

The 5^th and final tournament of the Washington State walleye circuit was held on July 30^th & 31^st on Lake Roosevelt.  This year’s walleye championship was put on by the Spokane Walleye Club and sponsored by Marks Marine & Lund boats.  Team Fetha Styx along with 56 other teams showed up all trying to win the coveted title and the top prize of $10,000.

This year’s Championship was based out of Kettle Falls but the tournament boundaries left the entire Lake Roosevelt system open for fishing.  With well over 100 miles of lake open to fish, Jeff and I’s pre-fishing strategy was to cover as much water as possible to locate areas that were holding larger fish and then to concentrate on fine tuning our presentation in those areas.  Our primary tactics were bottom bouncing crawler harnesses and pulling crankbaits with Homewater Walleye 763-C rods.  We quickly found out that all of the larger fish we were catching were feeding heavily on crawdads while the smaller fish seemed to be feeding on minnows.  With this information in hand, our primary areas for the tournament were rocky underwater points and rocky shorelines.  The Homewater Walleye 763-C rods are very versatile and are extremely effective at pulling bottom bouncers as well as pulling crankbaits and planer boards.  We were able to quickly transition between these tactics using the same rods!

Day one blast off was at 6:00 am and after a 20 minute run down river, we started pulling spinners in crawdad colors with small night crawlers in 24’-28’.  We fished all 3 of our rocky underwater point areas and had caught a great 6 fish limit between 17”-20”.  We spent the rest of the day pulling crankbaits looking for a good kicker fish but unfortunately couldn’t find one.  At the end of day one, we had weighed in 11.66 lbs. and found ourselves in 9^th place.  With three teams weighing in baskets of 16 pounds, we knew that we had to have a great second day if we wanted to have a chance at winning the $10,000 top prize.

Day 2 again began at 6:00 am and we kept the exact same strategy as we did on day one.  We were quickly rewarded with better fish on this day as all three of our underwater points produced 17”-21” fish and a pair of really nice 22 ½” fish.  Having around 14 lbs. in our livewell, we decide to start pulling cranks to try and find a big kicker fish as we figured we needed to have around 20 lbs. to have a chance of winning.  At the end of the day, even though we couldn’t find a big fish, we knew that we had a quality basket of fish and were hoping for a top 5 finish.  As we were waiting to weigh our fish in, we started to hear that the leading weight was around 26 pounds.  Jeff and I started to get a little anxious as we knew that we had a weight that would put our total really close to the leaders.  After weigh-in, our day 2 weight of 14.62 lbs. gave us a two day total of 26.28 lbs. giving us the win and barely edging out the second place team of Steve and Lynzi Romig who had 26.14 lbs!

As with anything that you do, having the best tools for the job always makes a difference.  The 763-C Homewater Walleye Series rods definitely helped us catch the fish that led to our win.  This 7’6” rod is extremely light and sensitive enough to feel the slightest bite, and yet it has enough backbone to handle 2-3 oz. bouncers or even pulling cranks on a planer board.  Having a versatile rod like this in your arsenal definitely ups the odds of putting more fish in your boat.  Thanks Fetha Styx!

Jeff and I would like to thank all of the volunteers and organizations that are involved in putting these tournaments on for the Washington State Walleye Circuit.  If you would like to find out more information about entering these tournaments or about walleye fishing in Washington, go to www.northwestwalleye.com and check out the forums.  See you in May for the start of the 2012 tournament season on Potholes Reservoir!

Tight lines and good fishing!

Rod Hewitt and Jeff Dickinson