Fall Fly Fishing Recap

Lately, my life has been a bit too busy for being able to keep up with the blog postings like I would like. My apologies for you followers, but I will try to be more on it in the future. Recently, I have been doing mostly fall salmon, and it has been fair for my report. Some years, the rains seem to hit just right where the fish are coming in fresh, and they are biting hard. Other years lack the rains that raise the rivers up, and the fish tick tack in, and darken up in the tidewater reaches. This year seems to be an amplified version of the latter, and the rains finally have made some of the coastal rivers rise up to a status that would let good fish passage through.

The fishing should get good with this blast of rain, and all of the fish that have been showing up later, will be jetting up the rivers. If you have not tried to catch a chinook on your 10wt, then I highly recommend you try it.

Huge dark mature salmon that ran well over 40 pounds & battled this angler's daylights out

Some of the days we were picking up fish at a slow rate of one every few hours; while one day recently we saw fish everywhere, and the best and brightest fish were hanging out in the deepest holes. Coho just seemed to really show up in large numbers at one of the systems, and they are stirring up the pools with catapulting airs and lots of rolling around in the larger smooth pools. They can take your fly incidentally while Chinook fishing, and they can offer a great battle with lots of airs and line ripping runs.

Chrome Coho Salmon Fresh the Salt

Some days there can be so many Coho salmon around, and it can make for a tough time trying to get through them to get to the target species the Chinook. Funny problem to have where you are catching a lot of fish, but they are not what you are looking for when you are fishing. I remember many years back; having a day where my friends and I were breaking off Cohos left and right on purpose because we wanted Chinooks, and we could not get past the thick running Cohos. This year that has not really been a problem, but the last time I was out, the Cohos were thick.

Gorgeous Chrome Bright Wild Coho Salmon Caught on a Oregon Coastal River

Soon the south coast systems will be in shape for the famous Chinook fishing, and rivers south of the Umpqua along the coast can be totally amazing if you line them up with the right conditions. It can be the best Chinook salmon fly fishing on the planet at times, and you can catch chrome bright kings with sea lice on them. Often you can be fighting a fish that is bleeding from a sea lion bight; while you see your size 8 Orange Comet pinned in the corner of its mouth. Crazy!!! Get yourself out there and experience the intense power of a fall chinook. It is like fight a dump truck with attitude, and it is something every fly angler needs to experience.

Sixes River Chinook Salmon (taken several years back)

Another Fine Day of Trout Fishing With Steelhead Bonus!

As of yesterday, it was the 4th consecutive trout trip in a row with a steelhead incidentally caught on it. The difference of this trip was that we got the fish on within 100+ yards of the boat ramp, and it was Bruce's first fish of the day. Another funny thing about the fish was that he was fishing with a 7'6" 3wt for fun, and we joked at the boat ramp about what would happen if a steelhead decided to eat one of the wet flies on the 3wt. Well it happened to occur right away and we got that task out of the way. Bruce ended up fighting and landing the fish about as long as it would have taken on an appropriate steelhead rod.

Summer Steelhead on 3wt Rod taken on swung October Caddis Pupa Wet Fly

Rather Large Fish For Echo 3wt Fly Rod (approximate 8# Steelhead)

We hooked up with another steelhead for a couple of head shakes while actually steelheading a spot, and the fish took a purple motion prawn. We also hooked up with another steelhead fishing a 5wt rigged with a dry and dropper and the fish took the nymph (possie bugger). It was a brief encounter before the fish popped the 4X tippet and swam off with the beadhead in its possession. Trout fishing was the focus of this trip, but we brought a couple of steelhead rods for a few spots.

Foggy Morning Fly Fishing - Willamette River

The day started out cold and foggy, but bugs were abound and feeding fish were showing themselves on the surface. We saw blue winged olives, smaller caddis, pale morning duns, and some October Caddis. The big bugs were not too frequent on this day compared to the last several times I was out, and I speculated the cold weather was holding them back.

Possie Bugger Nymph in this Cutthroat Trout's Grill

We got into some nice cutthroats throughout the day, and many of the larger ones were taking the dry and dropper presentations. The wet flies got a lot of attention throughout the day, and the fish were paying attention to everything we threw to them from blue winged olive softhackles, yellow softhackles, October Caddis pupa patterns, and some other softhackles too. We had moments where the fish were really into what you threw to them, and some lulls in action also. The weather went from cold and windy to cold and windier.

Trout Splashing Down - Willamette River

We did have times where the wind would calm down, and we would feel a bit warmer, and the trout action would keep us entertained. A lot of fish on the ends of the fly lines, and they were fighting very well. We expected a afternoon bug hatch with fish all over the surface, but it never seemed to pan out. We saw some bugs come off and fish started to look up, but then it ceased when you thought it would get going.

Trout on! Oregon's Willamette River

We fished until the evening started to set in, and then we called it a day. Plenty of fish caught, and plenty of consistent action throughout the day. Fall fishing remains hot with plenty of trout and steelhead action. Who knows how long the weather will hold out until the winter rains crush our fall fun. I know I have certainly been enjoying the fun fall fishing we have been having. I hope you are getting out there too!

October Caddis Pupa Wet Fly

Standard Nice Willamette River Cutthroat Trout

Fall Trout Fishing Was Totally On Fire!!! - Along with Steelhead Bonus!

Yesterday I ran a fall trout trip for two regulars, and we completely got into them BIG TIME! The fishing was off the hook, and I mean the best day you could possibly have out there. We even lucked out with an incidentally caught steelhead on a 8.5' five weight rod on a #10 orange softhackle. We almost had a huge steelhead eat a 9" fat rainbow when Rose was about to land it. I saw the fish slash at the trout like a shark, and Dave and I yelled to leave the trout hanging out there to see if the fish would wolf it down. It slashed on the surface with a toilet flushing boil, but it never quite committed to the swirling trout. I even had Dave swing a leech to the fish, and it slashed at the offering two times before disappearing out of the picture. That is the third time in my life that I have witnessed a steelhead trying to go after a fish being reeled in. At first I thought bull trout, and then you can see the colors of a large male steelhead. Craziness!

Bald Eagle Perched Above Willamette River

The first hot line ripping fin clipped "half pounder" like steelhead of the day

Besides catching lots and lots of rainbows and cutthroats, we had several fish that were hot as a rocket with airs and line ripping runs. They turned out to be immature steelhead that were fin-clipped and they had an ocean freshness look about them. I decided to clean one, and gutted it to see that it had orange sea run flesh to it. We'll see how it tastes tonight when I try it out. How strange that the Willamette River has a little surge of strange little "half pounder" steelhead that have come up it. We happened to hooked into about four or five of them, and they were hot fish that perplexed me for why they were there. Just shows what you see when you are out there all of the time.....

This Fall Caddis Pupa Pattern Swung Down & Across Was A Hot Ticket

Swinging wet flies was super productive, and we took fish on a #18 blue winged olive softhackle, a #14 yellow softhackle, a #10 orange softhackle, and a #10 October Caddis Pupa. Never had to change the flies all day from what I had showed up with from the start of the trip.

 Admiring the Hot Powerful Willamette River Immature Half Pounder Type Steelhead

  Fishing with a foam bodied fall caddis dry fly with a possie bugger nymph in a #10 was also super productive. We caught fish all day long on that set up from the start to the end, and the fish were eating the nymph with a little bit more frequency throughout the day, but the dry fly had plenty of attention, and some of the biggest trout of the day were on the dry fly.

One of Several Doubles Where Two Fish Took Each of the Two Flies

Doubles happened several times, and they seemed to occur when the "bite" was really on fire. It would be so good where I would have them bringing the lines back in to go on to the next spot, and a double would happen when trying to have that be the "last cast" in the spot. Then we would get another double on the next "last cast". It was like you practically couldn't keep them off the end of your line.

Rose Showing Off Another Fine Willamette River Double Catch on One Cast

Just when you thought things couldn't get any better; then whammo!    Steelhead On!! The fish was hot as a rocket, with so many line ripping runs on the 5wt. We had it in a great spot to fight it, and Rose battled the fish until it yielded to the net. We were all so STOKED!! What a day to have experienced!

This Willamette River Steelhead Was Taken on a #10 Orange Softhackle on a 8.5' 5wt Fly Rod

How can you beat being all alone on a river, with fish biting on everything you are giving to them throughout the entire day from start to finish. All sizes of trout from small to as nice as they come on the Willamette River, and filled with Cutthroats, Rainbows, and a Steelhead to put the icing on the cake. Fall is so awesome!!

One of the Many Gorgeous Coastal Cutthroats - Willamette River

As long as the weather holds up, we will have wonderful fishing opportunities abound. Don't miss the best fishing of the 2011 calender year. This fall is proving to have the best fishing of the year!!

Dave checking out another fin-clipped half pounder type immature steelhead

Fall Trout Fishing Report - More Bows and Cutts

This past Friday, I ran a trip for two wonderful clients for trout on the McKenzie River. Last year they did a fall steelhead trip; so they decided to try out some fall trout action. Unfortunately, the fish were not wanting to feed with reckless gluttony, but we worked at it with persistence. By day's end, we managed to rack up enough trout with significant shoulders to rate it a good day of fall trout fishing. We did not even get any fish on dries; with the exception of one fish that was a legitimate "cuttbow". It had red fins with white tips like a rainbow trout, but it had a cutthroat paint job, and had the scales of a cutty also. The fish fought with a rainbow's attitude, but crushed the fly like a silly cutthroat. It was a very unique looking specimen for that part of the river.

October Caddis Dry Fly Took This Beautiful Cuttbow Trout - Rainbow/Cutthroat Hybrid

We fished with a dry and dropper nymph, and the nymph took some nice fish here and there. The most productive method was swinging softhackled wet flies on a 45 degree down and across swing. We caught fish on size 18 blue winged olive softhackles, size 14 yellow softhackles, size 10 orange softhackles, and surface october caddis pupas. The smaller softhackles took most of the fish, but the larger ones worked well at times.

McKenzie River Rainbow Trout - Taken on Possie Bugger Nymph

We managed to hook up with a steelhead on a size 14 yellow softhackle, but the 4X tippet was no match for the fish. The powerful fish was on briefly before it decided to pop the tippet like it was a spider web. That was the second consecutive trout trip with an incidental steelhead hooked up. Makes you wonder how many fish are still headed up the Willamette Valley tributaries....

As long as the weather holds up, the fishing will remain good!

McKenzie River Slam While Trout Fishing

This past Thursday, we floated the McKenzie for trout, and ended up having a wonderful day out there. The day had a pleasant surprise that ended up making it a totally memorable one. We were swinging wet flies under the surface film, and the trout were responding quite well to the presentations. We caught rainbows consistently throughout the day, and there was not much of a bug hatch while we were out on the water. We also fished with a large October Caddis dry fly and a Possie Bugger nymph dropped off of it, and that was not the best producer this day, but it usually works very well throughout the fall.

A nice 15" Coastal Cutthroat taken on a yellow softhackle in the Surface Film

 The first fish to make the "slam" criteria was a fine 15" coastal cutthroat that tore up a yellow softhackle pattern swung down and across in the surface film. The McKenzie River cutts do not get much bigger than 15"; so I was totally stoked to see that gorgeous fish. It was quite the scrapper too, making a few little runs and jumping clear out of the water several times.

 Hot Turbo Charge McKenzie River Rainbow Trout Taken on a October Caddis Pupa

 The next fish to count towards the "slam" was a fine 15" rainbow that hit a swung October Caddis pupa pattern in the surface film. The fish ripped Lance up nicely, as he commented on the fish's strength and long battle that would not cease. We admired the hard bodied rainbow before releasing it back to continue its piscatorial pursuits. Little did we know that the fishing would yield a super awesome bonus that would make the day one hard for Lance to forget.

Chrome bright 33" steelhead taken on a 8'6" 5wt fly rod on a swung October Caddis pupa

We were coming through a nice run/flat and the swung October Caddis pupa came tight with a solid grab. I commented that the fish was probably the best of the day, when suddenly the water erupted with a chrome bright steelhead. I freaked out with stoked excitement! We fought the fish for a couple of hundred yards to luckily come upon a nice gravel bar beach to be able to finish the battle off. The fish eventually yielded to a long battle filled with several hard runs. It was a 33" chromer that was on its way up the river and Lance's fly happened to intercept its coarse up the river. What a bonus!


It is awesome how you see pleasant surprises on the river, and fall can fill you with many good times while fly fishing in Oregon. Tight Lines!!!

The Moving Has Taken Its Toll On the Blog - More Posting Soon!!

Recently, I have been moving from one part of the city to another part; just several minutes away. Between guiding, working part time at the Orvis Shop, and the moving, I have had little time to post how the fishing has been. Soon that will all end, as the move is pretty much complete. Yesterday, I was out guiding on the upper Willamette Valley, and the fishing was really good for trout. We caught a lot of fish, and the size range was from small 6" rainbows and cutts to about 15" on the upper end of things. The guys totally hammered fish for several hours, and we took fish on dry and droppers and swung softhackled wet flies. I will post a more detailed report later, but I wanted to put the word out about the hot fall trout fishing being here; despite the unseasonably warm weather we are having.

Fall is Time For Cutthroats on the Coastal Rivers

Coastal Cutthroat Taken on a Turk's Tarantula

Fall is starting on the 23rd of September, and that means it is time for cutthroat fishing on Oregon's coastal streams. The north coast streams received the first small fall freshet, and that signifies time to go for sea run cutthroat trout. It also mean that some fresh salmon should have squeaked into some of the systems also. The cutty's are elusive and the biggest challenge is finding them. You can be in a spot one day and they can be all over the place, and then they are devoid the very next day.

Fall can off lot of cutthroats like this one on Oregon's coastal streams.....

Fishing for sea run cutts also can be challenging because sometimes they are in fast riffle water that is broken with boulders and other times they are in the foamy slow "frog water" that has a one inch foam line above it. Some days they want dead drifted dries, and other times they want the fly stripped back like a mini bass popper. Subsurface streamers work very well for them, and sometimes the Spruce fly is all you need, and other times it will not take a fish no matter how hard you work it through the likely spots.

Fishing for sea runs is very fun, and can be super rewarding when you time it right. The only way that you can experience the thrill of a fresh sea run cutthroat is to get out there. Take a trip to a coastal river, and see if you can lock into a mini chromer. When you get into a sea run cutthroat that is 14 inches or larger; you will be hooked on angling for them. A sea run on a 4-6 weight fly rod is a very fun game fish to feel on the end of your line, and you will be one of the few people out there fishing for them. Enjoy the wonderful fishing opportunities that we have in Oregon!

Smallmouth Bass Fly Fishing Video - Two Part Video - Check it Out!

Last week I ran a trip for smallmouth bass on the Umpqua River. The day was gorgeous, and the water was absolutely perfect for wet wading and catching lots of fish. This is a two part video from the day for you to watch. With all of the warm weather, it is a great time for smallmouth bass fly fishing. The best fishing for the summer doldrums is fly fishing in a bathing suit and getting lots of aggressive fish. Enjoy the video!

Here is Part I

and here is Part II.......

Check Out This Smallmouth Bass!

Yesterday, after I finished working for the day, I decided to take a run up the Columbia to target some carp, and I happened to stumble upon this by accident....

Columbia River smallmouth bass taken on a carp fly

I was shocked when it hit because I made the cast like I would to a carp, and I saw that the cast was placed a little off of where I wanted it to be. I took the rod tip and raised it to move the fly a few inches to a better place before it descended through the water column, but while I was doing so the fish came up and clobbered the fly and took off; so I set the hook. The result was a super fast take off into a areal, while the line seized tight from me, and the rod blew up right above the butt of cork.I saw the rod slide down the line and land in the ground just shy of the water; so I reached down and grabbed it and held it tight to the stub of rod that I still had. The fish thrashed about, and I managed to land it. A nice woman with her family ended up taking pics of my super smallmouth bass. I was stoked on the fish, and bummed on the rod. Luckily, the rods are fixed under the warranty; so no biggie!

This smallmouth bass shattered the bottom section of this 6wt fly rod.....

It was lucky for me that the fish managed to stay on the end of the line while I was reaching down to grab the broken piece of rod. It would have been a total bummer to loose the fish and to break the rod, but a fish like that was worth the rod shattering. I also managed to get into two carp before that incident, and one was nice and large and the other was about 4-5 pounds. A good afternoon spent after a hard morning working!

Steelheading Has Been Consistant and Steady

Angler With Nice Willamette Valley Summer Steelhead

This is only going to be a brief quick report, and I will have to put a more detailed report up in a couple of days when I have a break from guiding and working at the Orvis Shop. Recently, I have been out guiding a lot, and the fishing has been very steady for summer steelhead. We have been getting fish just about every time out now, and some days are multiple hookup days, and other days are good for one fish. Some of the days, I have been out guiding for both trout and steelhead, and on those days the trout action has been pretty good. Lots of fish are being caught (troutwise), and the average is on the smaller side, but by days end typically there have been several nice trout landed, and the smaller fish are making the catch numbers higher. I will be out on the river, and when I get a break, I will be posting some videos, and I will put up a much more detailed report of the last week's fishing.
Tight Lines!!!!

Umpqua Bass Report

Sight Fished Bass Caught on Mr. Wiggles

This past Monday, my friend Brian and I went to the Umpqua for some smallmouth bass action. The weather was cool as can be, and it was cloudy; so it was not the weather I choose for my warm water action. That is mainly because I like to wet wade and get some sunshine while pursuing bass, but I was stoked to be out there. Fishing was slower than normal, but still red hot compared to most smallmouth fisheries. We caught about 80 plus fish each, and many of the fish were on the smaller side. I could tell that the action was off; since you can catch over 100 fish each, and many times you end up catching several trophies over 3 pounds. We did get some nice fish, but most of them were on the smaller side compared to the hot and sunny days; which seem to warm up the water more, and make the fish more aggressive.

Mr. Wiggles pinned in this smallies grill.......

We caught fish on stripped poppers and clouser minnows, and we sight nymphed to many fish also. Sight nymphing was the best for catching the better fish, and the popper action was good, but mainly caught the attention of the smaller fish. It was hard to sight fish; since it was cloudy, but the sun breaks made it easier at times. The wind was blowing on and off, and when the water had some texture; it was much harder to spot the fish for sight fishing.

A nice handsome smallmouth bass......

I am going to be out of town guiding for the next three days, but I am making a video of this wonderful day of bass'n. Keep posted and be patient and I will have it up maybe next Sunday or Monday.
Tight lines!!

Smallmouth bass like steelhead nymphs.......

First Summer Steelhead

Summer Steelhead Taken on Switch Rod

This past Sunday Nikki and I went out fishing for fun in the Willamette Valley. We fished for both trout and steelhead, but the main focus was to get Nikki into her first summer steelhead. We have gotten out together once before for summer fish, and I hooked one, and she never got a pull that day. This time however, the planets lined up, and her swing's call was answered by the steelhead phone. She was fishing a switch rod (and doing an awesome job on it - might I say), and a heavy poly leader with a marabou string leech that was purple with pink. The fish took the fly and went nuts jumping and tearing line off the reel, but I did not get that part on video. I ended up filming the final portion of the battle, but it was an awesome moment to see her first steelhead. Luckily it was a chrome hatchery fish too; so we took it home to enjoy this evening.

We ended up having a wonderful day out there; despite the rain and cool weather that should not be hitting us this time of the year. Cutthroats were all over stripped muddler minnows, and the dry fly and dropper nymph was also very productive out there. I hooked up with two steelhead in one spot, but the battles were short lived. I did get to see both of the fish boil up while they were tearing line, but then they unbuttoned. Nikki had one other quick hookup as well, but the fish did not lock onto the end of the line the way that it needed to in order to stick. 

Cutthroat Trout on Possie Bugger Nymph

Trout and Steelhead Action: Satisfying Day Off Playing

My friend and I fished in the upper Willamette Valley yesterday for trout and steelhead. I managed to hook up with a steelhead on a long cast with my brand new switch rod while swinging a long purple and pink marabou string leech. The fish totally crushed my daylights leaping a 3 plus foot air, and then tail walked for 30 feet, and then sprinting into the backing on one solid sturdy run. Then it came towards me full throttle, and it became unpinned while I was frantically stripping it back in; in attempts to keep up with it. Bummer!

The trout fishing was stellar, and we got into cutthroats and some rainbows while fishing a Chubby Chernobyl Norm with a size 14 possie bugger dropped off of it. A super fast sinking poly leader off of the 6wt with a muddler caught a lot of fish while short stripping it back on a broadside swing. Softhackles swinging on a downstream 45 degree down and across were the ticket in a few spots also. The dry and dropper took the most fish, and the muddler was the second best producer, and the swung wets were only good here and there. Sometimes it can be the exact opposite, but that is what makes it interesting. We caught many fish, and most were on the smaller side on this day, but we did catch several fish that were looking fat and had some shoulders on them. The nice thing was that the trout were everywhere they should have been, and they were taking the presentations that we showed to them. You cannot control whether it'll be a big fish day or a small fish day, but it still is nice to see the target species responding to what you are giving them.

Summer Steelhead Whooping! Check this out!

A few days ago, I ended up getting a call from Orvis, letting me know that if I wanted the day off, then I could go for it. I opted for it; since I had a bender of guiding and working for days on end. Nikki and I ended up going fishing late afternoon for summer steelhead on the McKenzie River. We got out there, and there were a lot of people being that it was the Saturday for the 4th of July weekend. Nonetheless, I ended up sticking a crazy steelhead in the very first spot that I decided to swing my blue and black moal leech. Unfortunately, the battle was very short lived, but it was super exciting. I got my butt kicked by that steelhead, and happened to make a little film clip of it. Somehow, Nikki caught the craziness on film, and also some foul language due to the battle going haywire. You'll notice some bleeps on the audio, and that is to make it clean. Too bad you could not hear the live version! Enjoy the video clip!

McKenzie River Fly Fishing Report 7/7/2011

The McKenzie River was pretty good yesterday, with fish taking golden stone dries occasionally and eating subsurface beadhead nymphs like a flashback pheasant tails and possie buggers. We got lots of nice fish and a several fish breached the 16 inch mark; with one fish being a real beast. The fish pictured below literally had a 6 inch trout juvenile hanging out of its mouth when we landed it. I aided the fish by pulling the fish out of its mouth, since it seemed like it was trying to get rid of it during the fight when we caught it. I though I caught the whole thing on video, but somehow I ended up not recording it. Bummer, since you never would imaging seeing such a large piece of food hanging out of  trout's mouth.

Nice Native Wild McKenzie River Rainbow Trout

Most of the fish during the day took either the flashback pheasant tail #12 or a possie bugger #12, but we did have several fish take the Chubby Chernobyl Norm, and it is always awesome seeing a trout come from the depths in the clear water to smash your dry. There were not many bugs out, but we did see some green drakes still straggling around and a few golden stones also.

McKenzie River Fly Fishing

Ideas For Holiday Weekend Fishing

Water levels are nice and stable with plenty of places to get out and fish at. You can go summer steelheading on the Clackamas, Santiams, McKenzie, or Willamette. You can trout fish anywhere on the McKenzie or upper Willamette, or upper Willamette tributaries like Salmon Creek, Salt Creek, or North Fork or the Willamette. Smallmouth Bass in the Columbia Sloughs on the side of the river, or carp in the same spots. Smallies on the main Umpqua River would be a red hot choice also. Deschutes trout fishing would be red hot, and other rivers like the Crooked or Metolius would all be worth checking out. It is prime time out there!

Have a wonderful 4th of July Weekend!!!

McKenzie Trout Fishing Was as Good As It Gets! 6/29/2011

McKenzie River Rainbow Trout - Taken on Dry and Dropper - June 2011

This past Wednesday, I was running a "Split Full Day Special", and the first part of the trip was for steelhead, and the second part of the trip was for trout.  The steelhead part of the trip was not so good, because the water was literally as crowded as it gets. There were more anglers around for the river to be able to hold. Everywhere you looked was a driftboat or a bank angler. It was a sight that would horrify those who seek solitude. Unfortunately, that is a factor that comes with good anadramous fishing. We were so frustrated with the crowd factor, and we had one brief hookup with a steelhead unbuttoning itself in a flipping cartwheeling areal. The weather was really looking promising though for the trout fishing that we planned on for the second leg of the trip.

A fine Rainbow Trout caught on the McKenzie River

It turns out that the fishing was as good as it gets for the McKenzie River. They were taking fish left and right, and one everything we tied on. The outfits we fished had either a dry and dropper or double wet flies. Both setups really crushed fish all day long, and it was literally a matter of what we decided to fish with in the given spot. The best thing about the day was how violently the fish were destroying the dries for the dry and dropper setup. One rod had a Chubby Norman with a prince nymph and the other rod had a the same dry, but with a possie bugger instead of the prince nymph. They took many fish on the dry and both the prince nymph and possie bugger cleaned the underwater area of all fish too.

The other two rods had wet flies for subsurface swinging, and that worked very well. Green caddis wets, yellow softhackles, and red butted softhackles were all taken fish with regularity. It was one of those days where I was having the best time possible as a guide watching my clients roping fish after fish with cheers of joy!

Summer Steelheading is Steady

First Steelhead on a fly rod - McKenzie River

On Monday June 27th the steelheading was what I would call steady, but solid. We had several swings with a good tug on the other end, but no fish grabbed and turned on the fly to the point where they stuck. Luckily, we were able to persuade the fish into biting dead drifted offerings under a strike indicator on a floating line. My clients were super troopers fishing hard and persistent and gaining more skills throughout the day. One of the guys (Michael) was experienced with two handed/spey casting; while Nathan was trying two handed fishing for the second time. It is always an awesome feeling to see someone accelerate so much while they are spey casting, and to see them get the "spey bug", where you can tell they are really stoked on it. 

2nd Time Out Spey Casting

We got out at sunrise, and the river was crowded with lots of spring Chinook salmon anglers, and several other boats steelheading. We were one of only a few other that were fly angling, but that is the way that it is in the early summer for anadramous fish in Oregon. Everyone was happy and courteous for the most part, and the day was gorgeous out there. Fish were rolling all over and the water conditions were the best they have been all season long. We fished really hard swinging flies with two handed rods from the bank, single handed rods from the boat, and we also probed flies off of strike indicators in probable slot type water that makes swinging flies feel out of the picture. 

Setting up the Two Handed Cast Anchor Point

  The fish we got were on dead drifted flies, and one was on a clown egg pattern in a size #10; while the other fish was on for the entire battle only to "long distance release" itself right at the approximate landing mode. I was handing the camera over to Nathan to get ready to get into "net landing mode"; when I heard Michael mutter a frustrated groan....Bummer...., but at least we had it on for a good while.

Forward Two Handed Stroke - Notice that Anchor Ripping Out....

We had a wonderful day, and I had an awesome time guiding Michael and Nathan. They were both very enthusiastic, patient, positive, appreciative, and great fisherman. Nathan was stoked on his first fly rod caught steelhead, and Michael was stoked about his first nymph hooked up steelhead. I was frustrated for them that the steelhead gods did not give them a couple of fish hooked up on the swing; especially since Nathan had three swings that came across with solid clothesline tugs, and Michael had one swing come through with the same result. It is funny how if the planets lined up a tinge differently, they could have had a couple to three fish on the swing and two nymphing. Instead we landed one, and had one on for 90% of the battle; with a couple of super close ones almost on the swing. THAT'S STEELHEADING FOR YOU!!!

Nymphing with Switch Rods takes steelhead effectively

If you are interested in booking a guided trip for steelhead, call me at (541)-232-6360 or email me at fish@mckenzieangler.com .

Spot the steelhead....... McKenzie River Summer Steelhead