Winter Steelhead Update & Video - Winter Steelhead Fly Fishing Clips: 2012 Season

One of many possible winter steelhead streams in the Oregon coast mountain range

Recently with all of the rains and swollen rivers, I know I have come down with a case of cabin fever. I have been working too much inside, and fishing too little. The days I have been out fishing have not been as good as they could be; since I have not been lining up being there at the best of conditions. Now I have two days off in a row, and the rivers are swelling up as I write this entry. Fish counts are good for the hatchery runs so far (higher numbers than last year at one hatchery when I asked), and wild fish have been recorded upstream in fish traps that separate native stocks to run up farther while weeding out the genetically contaminating hatchery stocks. Winter steelhead season is here, and it is in full swing now, but we have to wait for the weather part of the equation to cooperate now. Whatever you choose to fish, whether it be the Clackamas, the Sandy, The Wilson, North Fork Nehalem, The Nestucca, North Fork Alsea, Gnat Creek, Siletz, etc, you can count on healthy numbers of winter steelhead being throughout the systems. Now it is just being at the right place at the right time in order to increase your odds of having good success out there for these fresh running winter steelhead.

Click on video window below to watch winter steelheading clips from 2012:

Most of the above video is filmed on coastal streams west of Portland Oregon. Most of the steelhead are wild in this video, and they were treated with the utmost respect. All of the wild fish were released completely unharmed, while hatchery fish may have been treated otherwise. There are a few hatchery winter steelhead in this video, but you will mainly see nice fish with adipose fins that are intact. For the most part this is video shows you some of the best wild steelhead moments that happened to be on video for the season. Fishing in this video is everything from fun fishing with friends to clips of clients getting in on the action with chrome bright winter steelhead while on guided trips. Be in store for some epic winter steelheading! This video will make you drool on the rainy days when you cannot get out and go fishing.

Tight Lines!

Another Winter Steelhead Class Date Being Offered By Popular Demand

With two classes filled up, and people emailing me and asking me about spots being open; I am going to offer one more date. This February 3, 2012 there will be another WINTER STEELHEAD FLY FISHING CLASS. The backup date will be one week later on 2/10/12 in case it rains too much, and water levels rise up too high for the class.

Landing a nice chrome bright salty fresh winter steelhead

 The class will be exactly the same format as the two class dates (Jan 5th or Jan 6th) listed previously on the blog. For more detailed information click here to learn more about the WINTER STEELHEAD FLY FISHING CLASS. 

Four people will be allowed in the class, and one person is signed up already; so three spots are left. Sign up now! A wonderful holiday gift idea if you have a fly fisher to shop for!!

Orvis Helios 2 - 9' 8wt Tip Flex 4PC - Product Review

Recently some hot new rods have come out in the fly fishing market, and after several years of providing the industry standard with the Helios; Orvis has come out with another masterpiece of a fly rod. The HELIOS2 is the answer to the newest, latest, and greatest in the fly fishing industry, and it is something everyone needs to cast to feel how ridiculously awesome it is. This review is going to go over the 9' 8wt Tip Flex 4pc, and I am going to go over the review with the rod being cast with the Orvis Hydros All Rounder Saltwater Fly Line; so other lines can obviously influence the action of the rod making it load less aggressively or more aggressively.

Orvis Helios 2 9' 8wt Tip Flex 4 PC Fly Rod

When casting rods, I like to start out ultra short, and then work out intervals of fly line; so you can test out the action at different lengths. Many people often blast out as much line as they can, but in real life fishing situations with an 8wt; you are often fishing from 15' to around 70'. When starting out short the rod loads wonderfully with a foot or two of line out and just a tapered leader. It is about as accurate as an 8wt could be when loading a couple feet of fly line, and it worked well into the wind and with the wind at my back.

A few more strips of line, and I was casting again with complete accuracy both into the wind and with the wind at many different angles. Real life saltwater fishing, and open water casting involves wind, and often it is blowing. I was picking targets and landing right on the money each time more or less, and the rods was throwing with straight line precision accuracy. I was only under 40 feet, and the rod felt like a super accurate trout rod chucking dry flies. I was ready to feel how much line this beauty could throw when applying some force to it.

I stripped off line so my cast was getting to be in the over 50' mark, and the first forward stroke came by my head with lightning speed, and as the loop completed in front of me the line yerked out of the reel with the drag making a purr, and the reel revolved practically a full rotation. I thought, "WOW.....some serious power on this rod.....!" I pulled off more line, and noticed the rod can easily pick up the whole fly line belly with ease and some running line as well. One back haul, and one front stroke and the line laser beamed out again! This H2 is a beast! It can throw line like you can't imagine!! I then kept on pulling line out to do the macho bomb make yourself feel good stroke, and the rod pushed out line like nobody's business. This rod works from super short to super long, and it feel like a charm in and out of the wind. The rod also held its accuracy with distance involved, and it also did not buckle when you tried too hard to punch the cast.

The rod really works well with anglers of all casting types too. I have noticed that novices along with experienced casters seem to really groove with the action of this fly rod. I have seen people who claim to be less experienced casters have really nice casts shoot through the guides of this wonderfully powerful fly rod. I have also seen some mind bending casts zing through the guides with some "heavy hitter" casters; so whatever your ability is, this rod will work for your casting stroke. My favorite is how you can strip back to the running line/rear taper portion of the fly line with this rod, and you can back cast shooting line out hard, and then haul it into the forward stroke and the line shoots like a cannon causing the reel to spin into an outward rotation. You know the rod is loading hard when that happens!

I know when I am ready to get my next fly rod, it is going to be a 9' 8wt HELIOS2 Tip Flex 4pc. Although, I feel that way about the whole series of H2's, but this one is only the first one that I am reviewing so far for the blog.....

You can swing by one of your local Orvis shops to try one of these fine fly rods out. This 9' 8wt fly rod is the most enjoyable single handed 9' 8wt fly rod I have ever tried out so far! If you are in Portland Oregon, stop by the Portland Orvis to get yourself outfitted with one of these amazing H2 fly rods!

http://www.orvis.com/intro.aspx?subject=10438
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