He’ll guide
you to the fish
By JIM LARSEN
News-Times editor
If a getaway in the North Cascades where you can fly-fish for trout in cool mountain streams sounds enticing, there’s a man in Oak Harbor who can arrange it.
Ken Eppard is open for business with North Cascades Fly Fishing Adventures. It’s a division of Pasayten Mountain Sports, which also offers gold panning. Eppard has been guiding fishing trips for years, but now has added a storefront office on Mobius Loop, a short road off Industrial Drive in the Goldie Road area. Wooden trout-shaped signs point the way.
His store space is small, but it’s packed with items of high interest to the growing legion of fly-fishing enthusiasts. Two display cases are filled with antique fly-fishing gear, including reels, line, various flies, English-made Wheatly fly boxes, knives, and other paraphernalia of the hobby. A shelf of books serves as a lending library for fly fishers, old bamboo rods are displayed in a case, and Eppard’s own antler-handled trout nets, which sell well at Ace Hardware, decorate the wall.
Some of the items are for sale, but Eppard’s main interest is in taking people fishing. He’s been doing that through the Navy’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs, but now he’s available to the general public as well.
It’s about a 3 1/2 hour drive along the North Cascades Highway to the Mazama Mountain area where Eppard’s camp is located.
Like any expert fisherman, Eppard is imprecise about the exact location of his favorite fishing holes. He describes them as “private water,” which offer feisty rainbow and Dolly varden trout. “These native wild rainbow have never seen an artificial fly,” he said of one of his favorite places.
Eppard learned fly fishing as a boy from his dad, also named Ken, who was raised in Colorado. In this state he took his boys fishing every available opportunity. “He was a fly fishing purist,” Eppard said. “He’d stand in mountain streams all day long in cutoffs and tennis shoes.” Today’s anglers are more likely to invest in a pair of waders.
After graduating from Oak Harbor High School in 1973 Eppard went into the glass business, but he never gave up the hobby his father taught him. “I’ve always guided on the side,” he said.
Eppard particularly enjoys introducing children and women to the sport, which he describes as “the fastest growing sport in the U.S.” He has no problem teaching women and girls the skills needed to fly fish successfully. “Females catch on quicker and are more precise in their casting,” he said.
Many of his Navy customers are from other states and are new to the sport, and Eppard said they all marvel at the beauty of the North Cascades and the thrill of fishing the streams.
At present he’s charging $150 per day, which includes all meals, fishing gear and guided trips. “Everything’s provided except your bed roll,” he said.
Mountain fish aren’t known for being lunkers, but Epping said fish in the 14 to 16 inch range can be coaxed from the water. “But you’ve got to know what you’re doing,” he said. Novice fly fishers often attract only the little nibblers. “You want the 16-inch grandpas,” he said. The streams are small, so there’s no danger of kids being swept away.
Eppard said people always enjoy the mountain trips whether or not they catch any fish. “They feel so much more alive and healthier,” he said. “It’s a self-satisfying experience.”
For more information
North Cascades Fly Fishing Adventures is located at 682-B Mobius Loop, Oak Harbor, off Goldie Road. Free casting lessons are offered for newcomers. Call 675-0475, e-mail rainbowtrout@pioneernet.net
