It's Time For Fall Salmon Fly Fishing!

During the heat of battle.....

Catching a big bay chrome bright Chinook is a pinnacle for one's bucket list...

Oregon Fall Chinook Salmon Fly Fishing Pictures

The arsenal of equipment that we decided to fish with for tide-runner fall Chinook salmon 

Orvis Helios2 10wt with Mirage reel armed and ready for fall Chinook salmon in Oregon

Scenery is never lacking when you are on a fishing adventure in Oregon

Steve displaying an awesome fly box he prepared for fall Salmon fly fishing

Your fly box should look like this when targeting fall Chinook right from the ocean in Oregon

Prospecting the water for fall salmon.....

Some awesome looking water holding lots of fall Chinook salmon....

The first landed specimen of the trip! Woo Hoo ! Success with a chrome bright fall Chinook!

What a paddle on this fish! When we spread it out, it was twice as wide!

Enjoying the moment.....perfect fall weather, calm winds, and a chromer with sea lice.....

Fall Salmon swinging/stripping flies in progress.....ready for that big grab at any moment......

Stoked with a limit of fresh fall Chinook in a short time of fishing

The result after a seriously hard long fight with a strong fall Chinook

Under battle with a heavy sturdy hard fighting fresh fall Chinook

A nice hefty deep bodied fall Chinook Salmon fresh from the salt

Admiring this gorgeous Chinook before sending it back to head upstream

Steve texted me this pic showing his catch before driving home.

Who Says Chinook Salmon Won't Take Flies?

My apologies to everyone of you who follows my blog for my lack of entries recently. I have been working way too much, building my new watercraft, and fishing when I have the moment to get out. Fishing has been pretty good lately; while everyone is complaining of having no water flowing in the rivers. We have had the lowest December flows since 1977, but the fish still have to make their runs no matter what. Crowds are down, and fishers using conventional tackle are not catching fish using their standard practices; while stealthy fly presentations can really shine during times like this.

A Chrome Bright Chinook Salmon Fresh From the Salt

Two weeks ago, I had a few days to fish for fun with a couple of good friends. We fished for Chinook Salmon, and conditions for getting into fresh "tide-runner" salmon were just right. We were using 10wt single handed rods with heavy duty reels matched up with very serious drag systems. The fly lines we had on were shooting heads with intermediate running lines, and the shooting heads we used were either a Clear Intermediate or a Type II (both 28' long). We had on leaders that were 12' long made of fluorocarbon with a tippet strength of 20 pounds. You have to be ready to put the screws to these fish; since they want to charge directly for any woody structure in the pools; so heavy duty equipment is a must.

Black & Chartreuse Size 6 Clouser Minnow in the Grill

The rivers have been so low; to the point where the salmon coming in have nowhere to go but the deepest "pond-like" holes. You have to present your fly in the fish's holding depth in those holes, and you have to have your fly down and parallel to the bottom during the entire retrieve or swing. The fish are not on the bottom, and they are more likely to be about 1/3 from the bottom according to the depth of the water (they are 4' off the bottom in 12' deep water). In the pools with little or no current, you must retrieve your fly, but not like stripping flies for brown trout. The strip is very slowwwwww and steady, with really long gradual pulls on the line. You are more or less causing the fly to swing; since the current can be so slow, where your fly will sink to the bottom unless you keep tension on it. Think of your presentation as soaking the fly, and not stripping it back in a jerky motion, but pulling it back to you over a long slow retrieval.

The Name "Spot Backs" is very appropriate for Chinook

Most of the grabs I had were in between strips when the fly was simply sitting out there soaking in front of a willing Chinook's face. The grabs were rather awesome; as you would feel a mushy hard pull that instantly converted into throbbing big head shakes. There was no doubt when you got into one, and then it was game on for a while. The 10wts folded over like a steelhead on a 4wt; which is something every fly angler has to feel. The drags on the reels are set where it is painful on your hands to strip the line out of the reel; yet when you have one of these salmon run, your reel peels line out like a drag racing car. Serious POWER!!!

This fish was abused by Sea Lions while crossing the bar......

It was slightly painful watching the guys dunking bait off of their bobbers staring at us hopelessly while our tackle was being battle tested. Not one bobber dunk either day for any of them. Our equipment is relatively simple, and the things that the fish are biting on are even more simple. A #6 fly at the end of a fly line is much more simple than a 6" bobber off of a slider, with swivels, shrimp cocktails, lots of lead weight, and level line reels. Two days in a row, we were the "Top Boat" coming into the takeout. The guys using conventional tackle were not catching anything; while we experienced some of the best Chinook Salmon fly fishing possible.

Size 6 Chartreuse & White Clouser Minnow in this Chinook's mouth

The best highlight of the two day trip was Alia's first Chinook Salmon that she ever wrestled with. She fought the fish as Ethan and I coached her frantically. She had an agonizing battle, and was abused by this beastly tide runner, but eventually the fish yielded. She was so stoked on the fish, as we all celebrated with yells of joy and stoked feelings. Ethan and I took lots of great trophy shots of her beastly fish, before rowing back into the honey hole to get into some more fish.

Picture Perfect first fly caught Chinook Salmon - What a Catch!!!

We had a truly amazing time out there, and times like that remind me of how fortunate we are to live at such a special place called Oregon. Most people travel and spend a ton of money to fish for salmon in Alaska; while there are times when places in Oregon can offer the best fly fishing for salmon possible.

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)

It's Salmon Time!

With the last few days of rains, river levels on the coast have spiked up, and are on the drop now. The first major salmon fishing in the fresh water reaches of the coastal rivers should be in full effect.

Nice Chrome Bright Ocean Fresh Coho Salmon caught while dead drifting a slot

Fishing for Chinook and Coho Salmon will be good on many of the coastal rivers for the next several weeks, and it is all about being at the right place at the right time. You have to find a spot that concentrates the fish through bottle necks in the river, or pools that the fish accumulate and rest in. Once you find the spot, it is better to stick there and fish until waves of fish pass through. You will have red hot action for minutes, and then it will cease for minutes again until the next slug of fish pass through. Many days, your rod is folded over with a fish on more than you are actually fishing. What a dilemma to have......fighting fish and having fish on for large portions of the fishing session.

Chrome Bright Chinook Salmon Fresh From the Salt taken on a swung and retrieved wet fly

Fishing methods for river salmon range from swinging small sparse wet flies, retrieving sparse wet flies, or dead drifting slots and bottle necks with egg pattens and heavier wet flies. Fishing techniques are best dictated by the type of water that you are fishing in, and also to some extent how far up the river you are fishing. Conversely, you do not want to fish too far up many of the rivers; since the fish turn fast in the fall into their spawning mode. They should be left alone to take care of their business once they are higher up in the rivers. Most of the rivers have regulations set up where they are open only where the fish will be in their prime, and they are closed above those stretches for the fish to be able to reproduce successfully without any angling pressure.

Chrome Bright Fall Chinook Salmon Taken on a egg pattern on a central coast river

Fall salmon fly fishing is a super enjoyable way to spend a day before the nasty winter weather really kicks in. It is all about timing and being at the right place at the right time, but when you line up those conditions, you will experience some amazing power of fish right out of the Pacific Ocean. Get yourself out there!!