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.

Perfect Weather. Warm Crystal Clear Water, and Lots of Smallmouth Bass!

Yesterday, I ran a trip for smallmouth bass, and the weather was absolutely perfect, the water level was right where you would have wanted it for summertime fishing, and the fishing was good. What else can you ask for besides more fish to hand, but that is just sounding greedy. Fishing was relatively good, and the average fish size was pretty nice yesterday while we were out there. We saw lots of really large fish, but they were not being hoaxed too easily to take our offerings, and we tried lots of flies. We did get some awesome looks from some fish that ran up to about 6 pounds, but they simply gave us the "fin in the long run. It is still awesome to be sitting there with several oversized fish lurking about, and presenting flies; hoping to fool one of them. We did manage to fool many fish throughout the day though, and many of the fish were very nice looking.

A nice hard bodied smallmouth bass

We did manage to land one super sized trophy smallmouth bass, and it tore Jim up nicely before he landed it. While fighting the fish, a cookie cutter same sized trophy was following his fish around, and Gary was tempting it with some nymphs before it decided to scurry off into the depths. The larger fish out there have enough power to break a stout 5 or 6 wt rod if you attempt to horse them in faster than their yielding strength. Their intense bulldog attitude is what makes these fish so special.

Stoked on the trophy smallmouth bass!

Both guys commented on how much the smallmouth bass fly fishing on the Umpqua River is similar to trout fishing. The fish really take a liking to rubber legged buggy nymphs, and the steelhead nymph called a "Vitamin D" is really a hot fly for nymphing for smallmouth bass. They seem to not be able to resist it when they are hot on the bite, and the chartreuse version really has been catching their attention the last two times I was out there.

Steelhead nymphs with rubber legs work well on smallies....

It is really funny when you see a fish or two holding on less than a foot of water exposed to all of the elements, and then you throw your rubber legged nymph to them. When the fly hits the water, the fish race frantically to it, and crush it like they are a lion in a pit getting a gladiator. Sometimes fishing can actually be easy, and catching a fish like this with a silly easy cast is what it is all about! Lots of cheers and laughs come with fishing times like this.

You should have seen the aggression from this fish when it ate the fly........

The day was literally perfect; especially since this summer has had only a handful of over 80 degree days, and this day was in the mid eighties and the water temperature was 80 degrees and crystal clear. Only a light breeze kicked in after we ate lunch, and it would cease every few minutes; enabling us to see the fish taking our flies much easier. When the winds come up, it can be tough to spot fish, and then you simply turn your tactics over to blind fishing with streamers. Unfortunately, this day the streamer fishing was very slow, and so was the surface popper fishing.

Late Summer Beauty.....

Watching the scenery and experiencing the smallmouth bass fishing on a mid August day on the Umpqua is simply awesome. Not much more can represent summertime in Oregon, and what a day to be out there. We are truly lucky to live in such an awesome land we call Oregon. Especially when there are rods folded over with tight lines throughout the day, and hollers of joy are yelling about. Good times!

Smallmouth bass fishing will slow down soon as fall encroaches, but for the next couple of weeks it should remain red hot. It is one of the best fisheries to visit when we are in the summer doldrums. Smallmouth bass shine in the sunshine and intense heat. If wet wading in a bathing suit with wading shoes and catching lots of fish with laughs, cheers, and smiles, then you should sit on the couch and watch television fishing shows.

Lot of smiles comes with smallmouth bass fly fishing.....

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

Steelhead Report - Almost a Banner Day of Catching...

This is just a quick short report from the fishing on 6-17-2011 for summer steelhead. I took out a woman who was a very good caster, and she swung many casts through probable lies. Unfortunately, the steelhead were behaving like the mythological 1000 cast fish, and they were not chasing down wet fly patterns. They were probably put down from the heat and sunshine that was on the particular river, but they were around in good numbers. We hit a pool that has been holding lots of steelhead, and they were in there again. The spot requires a dead drifted presentation, and so we rigged up with a stone and egg pattern dropped off. She hooked three fish, and they were all on the single pinkish egg pattern. One fish torched her, and lit up the water like a stick of dynamite going off. It blasted out of the pool and peeled line into the next pool down before straightening the hook. The other two were quicker battles before unlatching themselves. They were all chrome bright beauties, but some days they do not want to get landed.

Summer Steelhead Time! It's Game On!

With good numbers of summer steelhead passing over Willamette Falls, the only issue we have been facing has been the water levels. Recently the water levels have been stabilizing and dropping, and the rivers have been much more approachable for fly fishing for summer steelhead. Recently, on a day off, and a good friend and I decided to pursue some chrome. Luckily for us, we were rewarded with a fresh sea run turbo charged steelhead that my buddy landed, and I lost another one too. Even one of my swings went through, and there were three solid tugs before the fish decided it was not going to commit to my offerings, and it was gone. Close one though, and the one fish day could have easily been a three fish day if the planets lines up slightly differently.

McKenzie River Summer Steelhead

With the higher levels, the fish hold in different spots then they do in the lower summer level conditions, and knowing where to look is the biggest part in achieving success out there. Think like a steelhead, and know that they love water that is walking pace and from approximately 18"-5' deep, and that variable can clear out a lot of water that may seem fishy. If your normal go to spot is faster and deeper than when you slammed the fish last summer, then you may want to fish another spot. Many of my high water spots will not even hold a fish in low water; yet there may be a half of a dozen chromers sitting there waiting for you to show them something. Knowing where the fish hold in the current conditions will create your success. Fishing your standard low water spots will only make you feel bleaked out when you have thrown 1000 casts without even a tug or a sniff.

Stoked Angler with a Fresh Willamette Valley Summer Steelhead

When you are out there and fishing, think about the water levels again. You can get a fish to come up through the depths to check out your classic wet fly patterns or you can sink down to their level and you can grab their attention with a nice and bold large profiled pattern. On the flip side, don't forget that these fish can see some small things, and they will take a subtle fly pattern when the masses are bombarding them with all sorts of hardware. The other thing to think about is how the fish may respond to a dead drifted offering. When I was out with my friend, I hooked a fish on a swung fly presentation with a type II 15' sinking tip that was attached to a Skagit Head with a long "moal leech like" marabou pattern with the color combo being black, purple, and blue in the back. My friend followed me through the spot and his swings went undetected. After rowing the boat out into the pool, and with the sun behind us; we could see several steelhead holding. We tried to sight swing to the fish, but they did not move an inch.  

Super Bright McKenzie River Summer Steelhead

My friend Brian threw a few casts to a fish that I saw, and I coached him into each drift; since he could not see the fish from his vantage point. He threw a cast in, and as soon as it hit the water, I said, "that's the one....". It dead drifted down to the holding lie, and I told him "NOW!" right when the Thingamabobber probed over the sighted fish. Suddenly the Thingamabobber subtly dunked under only about 8" underwater. Brian struck hard, and the result was a surge of chrome that looked like a shiny car bumper in a river. FISH ON!!. We pulled the boat over to the bank, and Brian jumped out to enjoy the battle from the shore. After a sturdy long fight, the fish yielded to the net. We were stoked! Steelhead fly fishing takes persistence and will, but the rewards are huge. A successful day out on the water for summer steelhead makes you feel like you are on top of the world. Get out there so you can enjoy that feeling!

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