Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Easter on the Crooked

Gorgeous views while fishing on the Crooked River.....
Fish were rising on midges along the banks when the air was starting to warm up....
Small wild rainbows like this get no respect; yet they will hoop your 4wt or 5wt over.
Targeting rising fish that were keyed into surface midges can be challenging.....
A good old Griffith's Gnat often does the trick when fish are feeding on surface midges.
Nikki liked the challenge presenting the fly to the spooky fish feeding on the surface.....
The view is truly spectacular on the Crooked, and I feel like only anglers and bikers know that.
The standard average cookie cutter rainbow on the Crooked River. They are scrappy and fight well!
Nikki getting artsy on the camera. Cool effects and the pretty view. Where's the angler.....?
 This scrappy rainbow trout with a nice paint job took a Zebra Midge - Crooked River
A little scenic relaxation after fishing before cruising back to Portland.
Mt Hood was rather looming on the ride home. What a view! I never can get used to it!
This Easter, Nikki and I headed to the Crooked to catch some fish and see some canyon views. We knocked out both goals, with views that were amazing, and fishing that was fair to start, and really good for the rest of the day. Fishing was challenging at first with fish rising to midges in slow water, and most of the fish were keyed into that. After a while as the day warmed up, the fish were rising in faster water, and some Blue Winged Olives came off. The hot ticket was fishing a parachute pattern representing the BWO, and then to have a black Zebra Midge dropped off of it by about 2 1/2'. With that combination the fishing was crazy good, and the action was so hot and heavy that we stopped fishing around 3:30, and chilled for a little before driving back home. The whole drive home was filled with dazzling views, and it was a day well spent with my lovely wife!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Recent Fishing Pics - PDX Fly Fishing and Surrounding Area

Lots of action on Clouser Minnows and large white rabbit leeches.....
Stripping baskets prevent the line from getting sucked and wedged into the rocks....
Rockfish are the "Darth Vader" fish of the "Bass" world.....
Carp in battle mode....
Carp admiration......
Two handed casting stroke.....
The ammunition and fire power for fly fishing with two handed rods....
Bombs away! Letting a two handed cast rip!
Prime winter steelhead water.....
A little coastal chromer.....
Covering the water on a coastal river.....

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Orvis Portland Spring Orvis Days - April 13th Don't Miss Out!!!

Once again I copy and pasted from the Orvis News, but I am sure they won't mind me trying to send more people to the store. Check out this great event, and there are some serious good deals going on as well! Don't miss this opportunity to score on some equipment!!
Receive 20% off full-price items – offer good this ONE DAY IN THE SHOP only. 20% off valid at Orvis Portland retail store only. Valid on full-priced items only. Offer not valid on purchase of merchandise at orvis.com, or through the outlet stores, sale events, or catalogs. Not valid with any other promotional offer. Limit one offer per customer. No cash value. Offer valid on merchandise purchases only. Offer not valid on previous purchases. Not valid on sale items.

9-11am: Fly Fishing 101. Learn the fly-fishing basics.
12-1pm: Carp fly-fishing expert John Montana from Carp on the Fly.
12-2pm: Food by Pine Shed Ribs!
1-2pm: Bea Armstrong of Deschutes River Conservancy discusses their ongoing projects in the Deschutes River and its tributaries
2-3pm: Cullen Weisenhunt from Deep Canyon Outfitters explores fishing the upcoming Salmonfly hatch.

Questons? Contact Orvis Portland at (503) 598-7680.

Orvis Retail Store – Portland, OR
Bridgeport Village
7495 SW Bridgeport Road
Tigard, OR 97224

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Bitterroot Fishing While At The OGR14 / Fishing Manager Meeting

Orvis just had our fishing manager meeting along with the OGR14 (Orvis Guide Rendezvous 2014) at Missoula, Montana. We had lots of training, seminars, interaction with the ELOGs, and a whole lot more. We were so lucky as fishing managers to be able to fish for one of the days on the itinerary of the trip, and the group of four I was part of, chose to fish a braided stretch of the Bitterroot River.  The fishing was not as good as the reports we heard from the previous days, but we manged to tap into some of the fine specimens the river has to offer. The weather was awesome, and the scenery was stunning.
Lee fishing a nice run
Lee probing the fly in a likely bucket
Casting away....
That famous "Big Sky" Montana scenery
The scenery was a wide low gradient valley surrounded by snow capped peaks
We witnessed a controlled field burn, & it was rather cool to see how dialed in the operation was
A nice rainbow fell to the restless stone tied in Skawala colors
The Restless Stone pinned in this bow's grill....
Lunch time after a long haul up and down the river with Brian, Lee, and Dave....
This nice Brown fell to the Royal Chubby fished on a current's edge....
Time to head back and man the Pro Shop at the OGR14.....
Some of the Bitterroot Mountains on the ride back....