Fishing Has Random Good Things That Happen - Spring Chinook While Rockfishing

Nikki and I decided to go target rockfish and lingcod off of a jetty this past Sunday. Luck does happen once in a while, as Nikki's very first cast of the day proved. Shooting heads can be a nightmare to cast for some fly fishers; so Nikki opts for a spinning rod in those situations to avoid the "Huck and Duck" casts that can prove to be dangerous. She was fishing with a spinning rod rigged with a jig head and a white rubber worm with a curly tail (what I attempt to imitate with my white conehead bunny leeches). Normally with rockfish, you can cast out and let it sink, and then jig it back to you while doing a very slow retrieve. Well, Nikki's first cast ended up with a rod folded over, and I was fired up. I was thinking that something good was on the end of the line by the way the rod was bent and the line was ripping out of the reel. My assumption was lingcod, but I was wrong when something silvery thrashed on the surface for a moment. It did not reveal itself long enough though; so I though it may have been some kind of a random ocean fish. Instead, the fish materialized again, and I noticed it was a salmon. "Holy cow, %$^X&@#?+* honey, you have a springer!!!!," is what I yelled. It was one of those special moments in fishing.   

This Spring Chinook Salmon decided a rockfish/lingcod jig was too hard to resist

There were guides in their bay boats trolling all sorts of random hardware (like planers, divers, etc), and then two people walk on the jetty and throw something not even for salmon out; only to drill a chromer! Nikki worked the fish in with ultra efficiency, and we wondered how we were going to land it. Luckily we had some seriously stout leader on (25# test), and so I grabbed the leader and tailed the beautiful chromer on my first try. Lucky!!! We were stoked! The only bummer was that the fish was what I would call a mis-clip, meaning that it was fin clipped, but appeared to have an adipose fin like a wild fish. If you even look at the picture you can notice the adipose fin is intact, but not with the appearance of a wild fish. The top of the adipose fin has a strange look to it that wild fish do not portray (downward concave). We even had a guide in his boat telling us that a group of volunteer kids did the fin clipping of the fish, and many of the fish had their adipose fins cut improperly; so many of the fish are mis-clipped. The fin was not worth the judgement of the game police though; so we let the beauty go free back on its way to the fresh water river it was headed to. No fish is worth a ticket; no matter how mis-clipped it is. It was a pretty awesome experience to see my sweetheart catch that random salmon off of the jetty, and I really loved every moment of watching her simple rig pull in such a quality fish.

Spring Chinook caught off of a jetty while rockfishing

Times like this one prove that random things happen in fishing when you least expect them to. White is maybe a much more important salmon fishing color than we maybe are aware of (I did catch one a few weeks back on a white bunny leech). We also do not know as much as we think we know about fishing and specific fisheries; otherwise we would have it all figured out, and these crazy random fishing acts would not happen the way that they do. Maybe people could be catching springers off of jetties, and it is not as random as everyone thought it was. You never know.....That is what keeps us coming back for more!!!

Rockfishing - Fly Anglers Can Offer Sound Advice to Conventional Anglers

This past Tuesday, I went to the coast to attempt some jetty fly fishing. I was out to target both pacific rockfish and lingcod. The day ended up being pretty nice; considering that it was supposed to be raining hard and semi windy over there. Instead it was relatively calm in regards to the winds, and the weather was between sunny and showers. The showers were short lived and the sunshine was warm and pleasant. The fishing was so so, and by that I mean that at times I was catching them on every cast, and at times I went a while between a grab. All in all it was a pleasant day of fishing, and it was worth the trip. It was especially fun having several guys conventionally fishing asking me what I was doing and what I was using. They saw me catching fish more consistently than anyone else out there; so they were prying me for information. That was a good feeling to have the fly guy being the source of how to get into the rockfish while fishing the jetty. Especially the fly guy from the city giving passing on information on how to be a more successful salty dog!

Deschutes Stonefly/Salmonfly Hatch - Fishing Report 5/29 - 6/1

Picture Perfect Deschutes River Rainbow Trout - Stonefly/Salmonfly Hatch Time

Let's be simple and say it was totally awesome! Fishing was nothing short of good for the four days that I was out there. Dry fly action was really good, and the fish were totally keyed into adult golden stone fly patterns. I did catch two fish on a salmonfly pattern (Morrish's Still Stone), but the Clark's Stone was the ticket by far. I did catch fish on Chubby Chernobyl Norms, but they did not receive the action that they saw last year. The water last year was 7000CFS approximately, compared to the approximate 5000CFS reading this year when I was out there for the big bug hatch. High water seemed to make those big foam bugs work a little better last year and the year before, but this year seemed to favor more traditional patterns like the Clark's Stone and the Norm Woods Special. The Clark's Stone literally was getting destroyed; while the bigger foam patterns got lots of refusals and quick looks. I would imagine if I used those big foam bugs in the choppy buckets, they would have gotten pounded. Instead I just kept the Clark's Stone on, and got fish after fish to attack it.

Deschutes River Rainbow Trout Stonefly Hatch - Clark's Stone Fly

 Nymph fishing was really good when you were wanting a change of pace; which is funny to think you would want to catch them subsurface after witnessing such radical hits on your dry. Somehow your angling brain wonders what is under the surface though, and so you decide to probe the depths to see who lives there. Between fishing the Jimmy Legs in Coffee & Brown and a fly called a Hot Bead Head G-Spot (which was a pattern I used to sell when I had my fly shop in Walterville, OR); we hooked lots of fish in spots where they were too weary to come up for a stonefly surface offering. At first the stonefly nymph was getting more action, but as we drifted farther downriver the smaller PMD nymph (Hot Bead Head G-Spot) was taking over in the attention it was getting from the rainbows. The takes were savage and the strike indicator was plunging with consistency when we decided to nymph. I managed to get a nice bull trout as my second caught nymph fish of the trip and it made several line ripping long runs. We even caught some whitefish that were scrappy, and I was surprised at the tussle some of them gave; since I have not offered any valid respect for them in the past. Maybe I should from here on out, or at least ones on the Deschutes during the 2012 stonefly hatch (you can tell I don't want to respect them). They are a native fish though, and they do eat more or less the same stuff that trout eat. Often catching them can mean you are not fishing the right water; since they like water that often has no boulders to give relief from the currents that rainbows like. Their bodies are designed to be pressed downward from the river's currents; while rainbows and other trout have to find relief from the currents behind rocks or in current edges. If you catch whitey after whitey then move on; unless you want to catch them. We never even changed our nymphing rigs the entire trip; since there was no need to. If your flies are catching them with consistency, then why mess with success.....

Jimmy Legs Stonefly Nymph took this Deschutes River Rainbow

This Deschutes River Bull Trout Feasted on this Golden Stone Rubber Legs Nymph

There were definitely times when the fishing was slower and tougher, but that is the reality of fishing for trout and the reality of any famous fly hatch. The slower times seemed to be either due to fishing spots that were the wrong ones for the stonefly hatch (caddis and mayfly spots), and speculating they would be good. A lot of these are spots that fish well at times, but not when we fished them on this trip. Also, there is definitely the variable of getting into a spot that someone just fished 15 minutes before and you have no idea of that; since the other anglers may be just around the next bend of the river. I witnessed a spot where we caught several fish right away, and then bailed only to see the next boat pull into it. They did not realize we just hammered nice bows from it; while they may have had the impression the fishing was slow at that moment. Cover the water and if nothing happens rather quickly, then move on. You are not going to beat them into biting.

This Deschutes Rainbow Trout fell for the "Hot Bead Head G-Spot" Nymph pattern

 The hatch is in "full throttle" mode currently, and there are heavy amounts of bugs all the way from Maupin to the top of the lower river. Fishing is hot throughout the wild and scenic section, and you should get out there to experience the big bug hatch if you have not yet. Nothing is better than seeing your huge dry fly get pounded by a hungry rainbow trout. This is the time when the fish are really keyed into the surface patterns, and the trick is to fish the right water. Focus close to the banks near over hanging trees and where the tall grass has good depth and current speeds. Stay away from the traditional spots you fish caddis and mayflies at, and focus on the banks. If you see the currents falling toward the bank you are fishing, and the water is over 2 feet deep with overhanging trees; you can assume there is a rainbow trout waiting to ambush the next vulnerable golden stone landing on the water. If you fish a spot and do not get a take in a few casts, then you are probably fishing somewhere that has been fished already or it is not holding fish that are ready to pounce your offering. Many of the standard caddis/mayfly spots will produce fish, but you also should adjust your tactics to where the fish are going to be looking for stoneflies. 

Deschutes River Salmonfly

Salmonfly Dry Fly Took this rainbow - Morrish's Still Stone

I would say that this year seems to be a very good stonefly year on the Deschutes, and it should be really good for a couple more weeks easily (although right now it is really GOOD!). Get out there and experience the big bugs! Don't worry about the people and what everyone wants to speculate about the hatch fading out or the fishing being slow or too crowded. The hatch is not over by any means, and fishing has been red hot! It is time for you to get out and fish the stonefly hatch! If you are lacking hot patterns; stop by the Portland Orvis shop where we have some of the hottest pattens to fish with on the Deschutes. Portland Orvis does not carry the Clark's Stone, but I tie my own; so that is how I get them. Otherwise you can get all of the patterns you will need for the hatch over there. I caught a lot of fish on the Norm Woods Special and they stock that fly, along with the Chubbies and many of the popular greats.

The view from our second night's camp on the Deschutes River

Rainbow catching some serious air - Deschutes River

Deschutes River Salmonfly Hatch! Here I come!

The next several day, I am fortunate enough to be able to get over to the Deschutes to fish the famous golden stone & salmonfly hatch. I am totally fired up to fish; since the reports over the last few days have been really good (several anglers reported the best they ever scored it in their lives). Everyone I have talked with who was recently over there said it was totally going off for epic fishing.

Norm Woods Special in the corner of the mouth - Deschutes River

I will be gone through Friday; so if you email me or call me up regarding anything with fishing, it will have to wait.

Tight Lines! Hopefully some awesome pics and video footage coming up....

McKenzie Trout Eat Flies Even When the Water is High for Humans

This spring can go down with the last few seasons as "high water" springs, and this one seems to win the prize for having the most consistent high water conditions. Right when John and Lauren showed up at Oregon, the rains hammered the river levels back up to bloated from the few days of low water we briefly had. Water clarity was really good though; since the McKenzie can really take a lot of abuse before its color gets affected. Luckily at this time of the year, the fish are looking up, and the famous McKenzie Green Caddis have been coming off in good enough numbers to become the target of many "hit and runs" for the river's trout. They really love eating those big green awkward bugs that bounce and skitter on the water. The wet fly swing really gets some serious tight line grabs this time of the year, and the fish are well fed and fight with serious attitude lately. 

This turbo charged powerful McKenzie River Rainbow really hit a green caddis wet hard!

With the water rising up on Thursday night, it seemed to really damper the "human hatch" where we luckily only saw a few boats out there all day. The fishing was fare to good at times yesterday, and we got into some nice powerful feisty fish. Most of the fish were taking swung wets, and a few took the nymph on a dry fly and dropper rig. The weather was wonderful, and it started out cloudy and calm and slowly dissipated off into "sunny with a cloud here and there" type of a day. The winds stayed calm to light, and that seemed to be a key factor in our success out there. Any time the sun shined bright and the wind would blow slightly; causing the fishing to slow down, and when the sun was hidden behind clouds we got hits from all of the spot that they should have came from.

Two Species caught on one cast - Cutthroat and Rainbow trout on each wet fly

If you have not fished the McKenzie River when the green caddis are coming off; you need to get out there and experience it. Normally these large green bugs start to come off hard in early May, but this season they have literally just gotten going. They should come off for the next few weeks, and it is a time when you can really get into some of the nicest fish the McKenzie has to offer. The fish have just finished spawning, and now they are fattening back up on these big green bugs. Get yourself out there to experience it!

McKenzie Green Caddis started to hatch later this year (Late May 2012)

While Visiting Oregon: Goal Accomplished of First Steelhead Caught

I had a client John come from Texas, and he was determined to get a steelhead, and I was determined to get him into one. Two days ago conditions were spot on for steelheading on several rivers, and numbers for the 2012 summer run going over Willamette Falls have been good. Today when we got out there it was a downpour, and we were already dealing with changes in the plan with rising water levels causing us to fish a different river from the original plan. It was supposed to possibly shower on this day, and it ended up being a deluge all day long. John had an awesome attitude about the weather, and the day, and I was really hoping that a chromer would decide to drill his offerings. He fished hard, and fished well, but for the first several spots, we did not have a tug or any sign of a steelhead. We had a funny false alarm when he literally landed the probable state record whitefish that was looking like it was 4-5 pounds. After we fished a bunch of spots, we came upon a dark slot in a patch of heavy water, and John felt chrome life on the end of his line when his fly ran through the spot. The fight was long and arduous, but eventually the chrome bright 10 pounder yeilded to the net. John was stoked! I was stoked! His first summer run of his life, and his first steelhead period (on his first time out trying for them). We accomplished his goal!

Springtime Summer Run Steelhead fresh from the salt....

By the time we took out the river was on the rise in a noticeable way. It was still pounding down with heavy soaking rain, but we were fired up from that beautiful fish John caught. Just proves that you have to be out there to catch them, and even when the conditions are totally against you; good things can happen.

Regulations on Limiting Bait on McKenzie River - Check it Out!!

A wonderful victory for the wild trout on the McKenzie River!!!!

Thanks to the hard work of concerned anglers!! I remember when I lived in Eugene and I was part of the local TU chapter. During meetings, I mentioned how the wild trout, hatchery trout stocking, and bait fishing needed to be addressed. Luckily a lot of others also had the same thoughts, and people got together, and coordinated efforts to take on the issues with the McKenzie's wild trout populations. It has been since August of 2009 since I have lived in Eugene, and it is totally awesome to see how much has been done for the McKenzie's wild trout since then. Thank you to all of you devoted people for taking your time to help out a cause that should have been addressed a long time ago. Maybe some day the McKenzie can be managed like the Deschutes, but at least steps are being taken to make it the fishery it can potentially be. Hard to imagine a river managed for wild fish, but you can bait fish for stocked fish in it at the same time.....(you cannot prevent a big rainbow from munching down a ball of "power bait" to get really deeply hooked in the gullet). That is the way it has been for a long time on the McKenzie River.

Native Wild McKenzie River Rainbow Trout

Trout Fishing With a Little Steelhead Fishing in the Mix Report

I love this time of the year because fish start to become aggressive and they will eat fun presentations you dream about fishing during the cold months. You can fish all sorts of presentations too, and many days lots of them will work. The nice thing is that you can pick and choose your methods too, and lately I have been sick of staring at Thingamabobbers drifting down probable feeding lies; so I opted not to have my clients Dave and Rose throw any full throttle nymph rigs on their day out. The only way I was going to set up a nymphing rig was if it was absolutely going to be needed, and if we were not producing fish on any of the methods we chose to fish. Luckily, the nymphing rig was not needed whatsoever, and the fishing was quite good at times.

Royal Coachman Wet Fly Stuck in the Corner of this Coastal Cutthroat's Mouth

We had a Chubby Chernobyl Norm with a nymph dropped off, and the nymphs we used were Possie Buggers, Prince's, and Zug Bugs. They all worked, including the dry fly; although the nymphs got way more attention. The biggest "catching" contributors of the day were the Muddler Minnow fished on a super fast sink poly leader stripped back in on a down and across wet fly swing. Swinging soft hackled wet flies and also the Royal Coachman wet fly on a floating line were a hot producers as well. We had times when the "bite" was ultra consistent, and other times when it was a fish here and there. The slow times correlated with the sunshine being bright and the cloud cover lacking. When the fishing was hot and fast, it was overcast, and cooler out. The weather shifted back and forth a couple of times, and it was interesting to see the fishing productivity relate to the weather that was happening at the given time.

Muddler Minnow Stripped on a Fast Sink Poly leader took this nice Upper Willamette Trout

We dabbled in a little steelhead wet fly swinging, and Dave had two close ones. The first fish was a few casts into a small short tailout feature, and as the purple and pink Extractor was followed and Dave saw the chromer attack the offering. Unfortunately the fish was practically at the end of the swing; so it was short lived and not much more than a hard grab and line tightening up, to then loosen up again. The second grab was in a super sweet productive steelhead run, and the same fly pattern was intercepted again to see the line tighten up like a clothesline; only to then slacken again. Sometimes the grabs are so close to being the chrome glory, but that is what keeps us coming back for more....

A nice deep bodied upper Willamette Cutthroat Trout during battle

Trout Fishing should remain strong for the next several weeks as long as conditions stay consistent and we do not get any events that will blow the rivers out. Steelhead fishing will continue to get better and better as more fish fill into the Willamette Valley rivers as the summer run continues to show good numbers going over Willamette Falls.

On tight while stripping a Muddler Minnow

Late spring fly fishing is a wonderful time of the year to get out there to enjoy trout fishing. Lots of good fly fishing opportunities of are abound this time of the year; so get yourself out there to enjoy it! When it is raining hard and cold in the winter, we are dreaming of this time of the year; so get yourself out there....

Muddle Minnow stuck in this cutty's grill

Quick McKenzie Trout Report

I have been out guiding the past few days, and the fishing actually got better yesterday with the hot weather and sunshine. The key is the wind, and by that I mean that if it is windy, the fishing trends towards slower and tough. When the wind is light or non-existent, the fishing is steady to good. Yesterday, the fishing was very consistent at times, and fish were caught on swung wet flies, nymphing, and also with a dry fly and nymph dropper. The dry fly action has not really been good for the last few trips that I ran, but the hatches were also rather light. Yesterday, we saw a decent March Brown hatch, and it caused the fish to have interest in the surface for a short while. Water levels are looking really good lately, and hopefully they will stay at these nice levels for the remainder of the spring. Get yourself out there, and enjoy some trout fishing!
Tight Lines!!

McKenzie River Trout Report 5-9-2012

Releasing a nice McKenzie River "Redside"

Windy was the report!!! The day was filled with some serious winds! It seemed that the winds were sustained at about 20-25 knots all day long, and the biggest breaks we were getting were bends in the river that were blocked from the brute force winds. Every time we got into a spot, and the wind was calm we had take downs on the strike indicator, or lines tightening up on wet fly swings. When we fished in the spots where the wind was howling, we lacked action. It was an interesting direct correlation with wind and fish action; where the spots that we had good action lacked wind, and the spots where we lacked action were windier than you could imagine.

Bruce on tight with a large rainbow trout - Lower McKenzie River

Fish were caught nymphing on golden stones, mega princes, and possie buggers, and it seemed that the nicest fish were eating nymphs. Swinging wets shined at times, and we did get into the nicest McKenzie Redside of the day on a swung McKenzie green caddis wet fly that I tie for my clients to use on my trips. While swinging wets, we also caught fish on Red Butted Peacock Softhackled wet flies . The Chernobyl Chubby Norm did get some surface attention while fishing a dry fly and dropper nymph, but not enough to warrant using it more than a trial run in a spot or two. The McKenzie green caddis was not out hatching, but we did catch a few fish on the wet fly imitations; so it seemed like the fish have been seeing some of them out by the way that they took the pattens with authority.

Below is a short video from a few of the fish we got into on 5/9/2012:




Fishing will only improve as long as weather and water levels cooperate. The best fishing for trout on the lower McKenzie is from here through the next several weeks; so book yourself a trout guided trip to experience the McKenzie's famous "redsides".

McKenzie Rainbow Trout Catching Air

Tight Lines!!!

Oregon Coast Fly Fishing 5/3/2012

 Yesterday, I headed to the coast for some different fly fishing than the norm for your typical Oregonian. Although what is "normal" fly fishing anyway? I know I love my carp fly fishing, and now that is almost considered "normal", but not quite yet.....

I was going for bottom fishing for species like rockfish, cabezon, and lingcod, and hopefully the conditions would produce some fish. The first spot I hit was Netarts Bay, and I was trying off of the rocks for a good while before I decided that the tidal movement felt too intense to get a decent presentation to actually catch a fish. On the walk back to my car, I decided to wade out into a sandy flat to literally just bomb out a few casts. It was not really something that I actually was thinking would produce a fish, and I wanted to more or less cast out a few huge bombs just for fun and casting practice. It turned out that on the second cast, when I was stripping my huge two tailed conehead saltwater white bunny leech (for Rockfish, Cabezon, & Lingcod), I got a crushing take. The line had a fast hard radical pull, and I wondered what I had on. It was no bottom fish, nor was it a surf perch (which I knew swam in the exact area), and it was fast and pulling hard; swimming like a salmonid. The glimpses I had of the fish seemed to be anything from a steelhead, a huge sea run cutt, or a salmon. Finally the fish tired enough to reveal that it was a salmon in its saltwater oceanic part of its life cycle. It was so chrome bright, where it was practically transparent, and had a holographic shimmer to it fins. It was humbling; since it made me realize how random things in fishing happen even when you think you have a grasp on what is going on. Surprises happen, and that is another reason why we fish!

While casting into a large sandy saltwater flat, this salmon intercepted this Rockfish fly

After that, I drove to the Tillamook Bay in hopes of better bottom fishing, and the tide was drawing to a near slack "low" time. The currents would not be as fast near the slack tide; so I figured I would be able to get a better presentation to the fish I was targeting. It turns out that I made the right decision, as the fishing was consistent and action packed for about 2 hours. I was throwing a shooting head system with an intermediate sinking running line with a type II 28 foot sinking shooting head. The leader was a short hand tied three piece configuration of 18 inches of 30# butt section to 9 inches of 25# to 2 feet of 20# tippet. The flies I used were both 2/0 in hook size, and one was a synthetic clouser with chartruese and white; while the other was a conehead two tailed white bunny leech.  

This black rockfish took this large two tailed white conehead bunny leech

All in all it was a fun day of fishing between the incidental salmon and the rockfish I got into. I also briefly hook up with a larger fish that was either a cabezon or a lingcod, but it was a short lived hookup. I did see the fish eat my fly and had it on long enough to bend the rod over hard. Just then, it was off....

Fly fishing for bottom fish off of jetties in Oregon requires a shooting head line system

  Once the tide turned around and started to slowing become "incoming", the fishing seemed to shut off like a light switch. How strange; since the reputation is better for good fishing at incoming tide. Who knows.... that is why we call it fishing and not catching I guess....

Below is a short video of some of the action from the day. I was not filming too much; so I missed the best fish, and it seemed like when I was filming it was jinxing the action. Nonetheless, you can see what some of the fishing was like out in the inshore Oregon saltwater.....

Fundamentals of Successful Nymphing Seminar at Portland Orvis 4/28/12 10AM

This Saturday April 28th at 10am I will be doing a seminar at the Portland Orvis Store on Fundamentals for Successful Nymphing. 

The seminar will be part of the Spring Orvis Days 2012, and there will be lots of other things going on as well. 

Golden Stonefly Nymph caught the attention of this fine rainbow trout....

 My seminar will cover how to cover a variety of nymphing situations to enable you to fly fish subsurface more successfully. I will have nymph rigs to show, and also I will explain the types of water to be fishing them in. This is mainly a seminar on techniques that "I use" for nymphing on rivers and stillwater for fish species. There are many forms of nymphing people use, but I am going to show the techniques that I have experience in. I do not want to preach about the success of something if I have no experience ever doing it. An example of this would be that I have no experience on Czech Nymphing; so I will not be talking about it. Nor will I be covering wind drifting chironomids in lakes for trout, because I have no experience doing it ever. On the flip-side, I will be talking about nymphing a river like the McKenzie for trout, and then how to nymph fish the Crooked river when the trout holding water may be under 14" deep. Something else would be to discuss how to nymph for a species like smallmouth bass; since most people think of stripping streamers for them, but they do require a different form of nymphing compared to trout fishing in most situations. I hope to see people looking to learn about how to improve their "Nymphing Game" here on the Oregon local waters. 

Come by and check out the Portland Orvis Store this weekend for some great events!

Portland Area Carp Fishing Report - Sunday 4/22/12 Fishing Was Good Out There!

Yesterday, I was able to get out for my first carp flats fishing of the 2012 calendar year. The weather was perfect, the wind was calm, the sun was beaming, and the fish were out and about. I ran into probably the best carp fly fisherman in the state of Oregon, John Montana and another friend Mark out there. John maintains an awesome blog called Carp on the Fly that anyone who is wanting to be serious about carp should bookmark. Both John and Mark had reported good fishing, and they were winding down their session; while Nikki and I were just getting out there. They suggested a flat that they fished at, and had caught a bunch of fish at between the two of them; so Nikki and I opted to check it out.



The spot was loaded with fish, but most of them were spawning and really churning up the water. They were thrashing around and causing a serous commotion in the pond like grassy flat. The key was to find the dormant fish laid up sunning themselves or the ultra slow cruisers that had mouths looking like food was the most important thing on their mind, and not spawning. All of this while hoping that no spawners would thrash through your area you were focusing on; scaring your targeted quarry away. Lots of grass too; so short casts or literally only the leader and a foot of line was what it took to not hook your fly onto a blade or some other floating vegetation. Fun times though and fighting big fish on a bright sunny warm day is always a bonus!

Carp Time Now That We Have Some Nice Weather

Carp time is here now that the weather is predicted to heat up over the next few days. Overhead sunshine is the best; so you can see the fish cruising around seeking out food. Be quiet, and walk super slowly and carefully; for these fish let you realize how important it is to not make a peep out there. Be slow and stealthy....

Nice Portland Area Carp Caught on a Fly

When you think you are fishing and walking slow enough, then slow down even more......

Smaller flies resembling crustaceans and bugs work well....

Pick out individual fish, and don't get caught up with the sheer numbers around you. When that fish refuses you, then pick another fish, but fish to one fish at a time.....

Smaller carp like this are really fun on a 4-6wt fly rod....

Cast as close to the fish as you can, and let the fly drop through the water column. You man see a reaction right then, and if you do then wait for the fish to eat your fly. Otherwise, when the fly lands below the fish, give it a few short strips. If nothing happens, then re-cast to the fish and repeat the presentation a few more times. Change the retrieval rate a bit, and maybe change your fly. 

Flooded fields like this often hold numbers of carp....

When they take your fly, hold on!!!

Filbert My Favorite Fishing Partner is Resting In Peace

Recently, my dog Filbert has been battling with an awful illness that was tough to diagnose. After three bouts with the mystery ailment, a specialist was able to diagnose it as Myeloid Leukemia. Unfortunately, it was too far along in its progress, and there was no treatment. On the afternoon of April 18, 2012, Filbert was pronounced dead after a treatment of euthanasia was practiced upon him. The evening before he was acting like a young champ again, but only to be followed with the most awful night Filbert could ever have. He moaned and groaned in pain and agony, and he was obviously very uncomfortable.  I decided then that I could not put him through another night like that again. He had a very nice and comfortable last day during the hours leading up to his procedure luckily, but unfortunately the cancer has taken its toll too far.

Now, for all of you who know him and have experienced his greatness, I am putting some pictures up of him, and also a video I made of his last big fishing adventure with Nikki and I. It was just two weekends ago that we took him to the Owyhee before he had his last bout with the disease. It was great that he got to have his last EPIC fly fishing trip.

Enjoy! I know Mr. Filbert would want all of us who knew him to enjoy him in the form of fond memories.....

Filbert in on the brown trout action

Every brown trout needed a thorough brown trout inspection...

Filbert was admiring the Deschutes riparian area....

Filbert was feeling relaxed on the Deschutes River.....

Filbert loved the smell of the sage laden air on the Deschutes River

Big winter steelhead really got Filbert fired up....

Filbert felt that this hatchery chromer needed to be harvested for the wild fish gene pool...

Filbert and Nikki had to take a relax break from fishing....

Filbert loved his smallmouth bass trips....

He was way into camping.....

He sure knew how to keep warm and bundled up....

This is a video of Filbert's last awesome weekend. He got to experience the big brown trout that swim in the Owyhee River. Enjoy! I know Filbert had his last epic fishing trip here! (The video has the music you are able to download on YouTube; so it fits the length of the song)

Some Photos From Last Few Day Guided Fly Fishing in Oregon

Sorry for the lack of postings in the recent days. I have been really tied up guiding, and also dealing with some "life" things, but I wanted to put up a quick posting of some pictures from recent outing. Here are a few to enjoy......

Springtime Wilson River Winter Steelhead Caught April 13, 2012

Swinging flies on the Wilson River

Angler working a run for steelhead on Oregon's Wilson River

Mega Prince pinned into the grill of this "McKenzie Redside"

McKenzie Rainbow Trout ready for release....