Book Your Fall Coho Trip Now!! It Is Right Around The Corner....

Coho Caught Incidentally While Pursuing Fall Chinook

This year coho fishing is actually legal on many of the rivers in Oregon. Previously, you could only target cohos on several rivers in Oregon with hatchery coho runs, and often you would catch armloads of wild cohos while attempting to catch a fall chinook on the rivers that you were not allowed fish for coho salmon. It turns out the ODFW has finally looked at this situation, and they have opened up a bunch of rivers to coho fishing. I know it is going to create a lot of arguments one way or the other, but fact of the matter is that the last bunch of years you can catch like 20+ cohos in a day incidentally while you are trying to catch a legal fall chinook. It was insane the think how the fisheries were closed to coho fishing and opened to chinook fishing when you are catching so many cohos. Now ODFW has limited openings on several rivers for wild cohos until quotas limits are hit, or the season ends. A bunch of the rivers I fish and guide at are opened with these quota limits for wild cohos; so this creates a wonderful angling opportunity. If you are interested in booking a trip on a coastal river for wild cohos then email or call me, or if you are interested in taking hatchery run cohos on the systems that stock them at (Sandy River, Eagle Creek, Etc), the contact me as well.

Coastal Coho Caught Just Above Tidewater

You can fish catch and release for the wild cohos, even though it is open for a one fish limit for retention of a wild coho, or you can decide to take one fish. If you go on a trip, it is your decision to do what you want with the fish, but I always advocate catch and release. ZERO LIMIT with Catch and Release!!! On the flip side, one can argue that we fish for food, and you can also argue that it is less harmless to kill one fish then it would be to catch and release over 10 fish. Probably true! We can argue all we want about catch and release and catching wild cohos and the rivers being opened for them, but I know I am going to go fishing this fall on many of the rivers that are opened fall wild cohos. I will practice catch and release, and I may keep a chrome bright male that is deeply hooked and bleeding from the gills. Why not.... Anyhow, this is a blog entry to let those anadramous fish heads that there are rivers open for coho fishing this fall. Why not enjoy feeling one of them pull on your 8 or 9 wt rod, if we have such a wonderful angling opportunity that has not been opened in years.

Umpqua and Winchester Bay Mini Vacation Fun Times - Smallmouth Bass and Dungeness Crabs Galore

From last Thursday through Saturday, I had a mini vacation with Nikki and we took Filbert along. We hit the mainstem Umpqua River for smallmouth bass and the fishing was pretty good out there. We took a lot of fish sight nymphing on a smaller sized "steelhead nymph" called a Vitamin-D (chartreuse). It was the very best fly throughout the day, taking the most bass.

Filbert was getting in on the action with the Umpqua River Smallmouth Bass

We caught fish mostly with the method of sight nymphing using the Vitamin D fly, and occasionally we used a larger heavier fly called "Mr. Wiggles", which is a peacock dubbed body and has a hot salmon pink colored beadhead with a bunch of white rubber legs tied like a hula skirt behind the bead. It is easy to tie, and fishes well, but this day it was the ticket in the deeper drop off spots only. The water was very warm and felt perfect for swimming in between catching bunches of fish and needing cool down breaks.

Super warm wet wading and perfect weather with nobody out except for us

We were lucky too, with the average fish being very nice in size, and we ended up catching a few of this size.....

One of several very nice smallmouth bass caught on the Umpqua River

We then drove to Winchester Bay and wanted to clam, crab, and hopefully fish off the jetties (wind pending). The wind ended up being a total bust for throwing shooting heads and large flies off of the sketchy jetty rocks; so we decided crabbing would be a safer call. It turns out that it was a stellar plan. We ended up scoring in a wonderful way with dungeness crabs.

After a while, this was an average crab pot; with some being stuffed full.

We would pull up the pot, and each time there was a better catch than the previous crab pot! We had a few pots that were so stuffed full; where we would see a crab hanging from the outside, and the pot couldn't fit anymore crabs in it! It was really a blast seeing the bounty of the ocean, and doing very well out there crabbing for dungeness. It was cold and windy, but a totally awesome, and a wonderful way to spend an afternoon being restricted from tossing our flies in the water for rockfish.

Bundled up with too layers for summer; while pulling a trap full of dungeness crab

We ended up clamming afterward for some purple varnish clams, and we scored again. We collected enough for a dinner along with the crab, and we headed off to prepare our bounty. We had a wonderful time away from the city, and going to the part of the state that many Portlanders do not visit too often. When we got back, we had to prepare our bounty; cooking up the crabs and   steaming the clams. We pulled it off, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner. Oh, and this night that I am writing this entry, I just ate some homemade crab cakes that were totally amazing. Hope you are out enjoying the summer!!

Fresh purple varnish clams and dungeness crab from the harvested bounty

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.......

Warm Water Fishing - Now That it Actually Feels Like Summer Out!

Well the weather this week is actually feeling like it's summer in Oregon, and so I have had to get my fill of warm water fly fishing. The other day, I had a few hours; so I took a ride up the Columbia with my wonderful girlfriend, and tried wetting a line for a carp. I succeeded with a fish that was rooting around in the weeds, and it was with the replaced 6wt rod that had been blown up a couple of weeks back on a huge smallmouth bass. The fish tore me up, and it was on the smaller side for a big Columbia carp. I was just dinking around in my flip flops when I hooked it; so it qualified as my flip flop fish for 2011. I always love to land something like a steelhead in flip flops; so this is at least a flip flop fish, and we will see if I can get a more glamorous species before the summer ends.

A nice little Columbia River Carp

I am about to take off for a few days to catch some smallmouth on the Umpqua River, and then I am heading towards the coast to target rockfish, lingcod, cabezon, etc. Hopefully, we can score some heavenly saltwater fish to pull on our lines. On the way back, we are going to harvest some clams (hopefully several types) to bring back to feast upon. It is time to enjoy the summer!

Lots to Do and Time is Running Out - Be Ready For It To All Melt Down!

This is the time of the year when you can get overwhelmed with what to fish for. You can go to the lower Deschutes and swing for steelhead. You can swing for steelhead in the McKenzie, Willamette, Clackamas, Santiams, Etc. You can smallmouth bass fish on the Umpqua or John Day. Sea Run Cutts are starting to make their way into coastal streams, and they create a fun opportunity to test your 5wt. Large mouth bass in the ponds and lakes are in prime shape now too, and throw some bluegills in the mix. Carp on the Columbia River shorelines can make for some fun and technical spot fishing. How about saltwater silvers or rockfishing by the rocks. Surf perch on the calmer swelled ocean days. Hmmmm......These are just some of the more obvious opportunities that we have, and mix in the trout fishing all over that I did not really throw into the mix. We have a lot of fly fishing to be had before the fall and winter roll around; making salmon and steelhead the obvious choice of angling fare.

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.....

Umpqua River Smallmouth Bass Video

This video has been a total dilemma to get online. I had it up on YouTube and it would not display due to copyright issues with the music I downloaded with it. The solution I ended up coming up with was to download it to YouTube in a Part I and Part II version, and I ended up downloading the free YouTube music; so I could avoid copyright issues again. This way I can share the fun outing my friend Brian and I had on July 25th. It is kind of old news now, and I like to report the most up to date fishing reports. This is simply going to be a watch and enjoy video. Check it out hooked up to the big screen and sit back on the couch. The combined time of the two videos (which combined makes the entire video) is over 24 minutes. Enjoy!

It has been a cooler summer, but we will have a heat spell sometime (I assume); so if you would like to go on a smallmouth bass fly fishing guided trip, then call me at (541)-232-6360 or email me at fish@mckenzieangler.com.

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!

Summer Steelhead Report and Video

Last week I was busy guiding; so I did not have much time to post entries onto the blog, but now I am playing catch up. This past Wednesday and Thursday, I guided two awesome regular clients who are also avid steelheaders. We had good fishing on both days, and one days had multiple hookups; while the other day was gifted with a huge fish that battled like you think a steelhead should. We took fish on black and purple moal leeches, pink and purple moal leeches, and a ostrich pattern that closely looks like a black and blue moal leech, but it was weightless. We fished fly lines ranging from full floating to type V, depending on the spot we were fishing, and the sunlight conditions. The fish have been hot as rockets when you get hooked up, and there have been some nice large fish this season. Below is a video from a couple of fish from last weeks fishing. Enjoy!

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.......

Orvis Customer Appreciation Day This Saturday - Come By the Portland Orvis Store

This coming Saturday July 23rd, there will be a customer appreciation day at the Portland Orvis store in Bridgeport Village. There will be presentations, beer tasting, sliders, and a store wide sale too. We are going to have a fun fly casting setup too for playing around in the parking lot. Below is a invitation; so print it out and come by to participate in this fun event.

Nice Deschutes Fish!

Lower Deschutes River Slab of a Rainbow

My friends went to the Deschutes this past weekend, and I was not able to make it out. The fish in the pic is a reminder of that I missed out on. Sunny weather and fat rainbows is always a pleasure to take part in. Way to go Mr. B! Nice rainbow!

Fun Fly Fishing Day In The Oregon Summer Rain - Video From Last Sunday

Willamette Valley Coastal Cutthroat Trout 

Well the weather recently has been a nightmare for a tourist visiting possibly, but heaven for a fly fisher. Rain and clouds always seems to pick up the action when you are out seeking trout and steelhead. This past Sunday was no exception, as we had steady trout action all day, and we had fair action for steelhead too. If we had hooked up with all the steelhead that took our fly, we could have had four. Instead I hooked two brief enough to have the fly line get pulled and both fish boiled up, while Nikki had one swing get yanked tight only to get right off as it happened. She did land her first summer fish (as I mentioned on yesterday's post about the same day). Below is a video of some of the fishing from the day; so you can see more than the steelhead which I posted a video about yesterday. Enjoy the video!

Willamette Valley Hatchery Summer Steelhead

If you would like to go out on a guided trip for fishing like this then email me at fish@mckenzieangler.com or call me at (541)-232-6360.

Check Out the Latest Issue of Northwest Sportsman Magazine

July Northwest Sportsman Magazine

This month in Northwest Sportsman, there is article featuring an interview with me about fly fishing for carp around the Portland, Oregon area. It is written very well, and is worth picking up. I was interviewed by Terry Otto, and he puts his spin onto the article through the interview, and I can say that I enjoyed reading it. Many times in the past, when I have been interviewed, the articles or stories, got twisted to a point where it seems like nothing that I ever said. As an example, I can say that I do not think carp fight like bonefish, but they are something that a flats fly fisher could really enjoy if they live in Portland. In this article, Terry wrote a lot of what I said, and made his points clear. We have a fishery out there that not many people take advantage of. I can say that I am really into carp fly fishing, and it is something I look forward to doing. I would take a day of good carp fishing over a marginal day of steelheading anytime, but I do not want to fish for carp over everything. I just loving fishing for all sorts of fish species. The article makes a wonderful point, in the case of this past spring. When everyone was hunkered down with high water complaining about high water, I was out enjoying banner days of carp fly fishing. We have a wonderful unexploited fishery that is fun, challenging, and super enjoyable. Why not take advantage of something that can provide you with giant grins and laughs.

Portland Area Carp Flats Fly Fishing

Sauvie Island Carp Near Portland Oregon

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

Friday Carp Fishing Report

This past Friday, I drove up the Columbia River Gorge in search of the big ones. I popped by one of the spots I can usually get into some larger carp at, and they were there. I fished to them, and at first it was tough to get them interested, but after a while I figured out the presentation they were looking for. Then after that I started to fish into the weeds, and the fish were grabbing the flies, and fighting them was quite the challenge. You would have to put steady pressure on them, and had to essentially have your tippet cut through the weeds in order to land the beasts.

Check out the video clip; so you can see some of the action that I encountered out there. I spent a lot of the day exploring new spots; so my fishing was semi brief, but filled with action.

Fun Two Handed Casting Strokes on a Switch Rod

Check out this short clip of two handed fishing on a switch rod. My friend Clay and I went fishing on Monday, and I filmed him casting on his switch rod. The rods are fun; since you can apply two handed or single handed techniques to them. This is some NW two handed style fishing displayed in the video clip.
For those of you who do not own a switch rod; I highly recommend getting one. It is an awesome piece of equipment to use, and to have in your arsenal. Both Clay and I were saying how you can get a switch rod as your primary steelhead fly fishing rod, and it would be a wonderful choice. Many people think a two handed/spey rod is all you need nowadays, but with a switch rod; you still have many properties of a single hander. You can do what a spey rod does and also what a single handed rod will do, and all in one rod. Hard to find a rod that will do everything, but you can really do a lot of fly fishing applications with a switch rod.

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.

Late Lava Lake Fly Fishing Report

This is a report from last week, but I wanted to let you know about it regardless. We went up to Lava Lake for a little while, and got to wet a line for some trout. We started out going deeper with a bugger pattern, and a nymph dropped off of it, and had some follows, but it was not the ticket to catch fish when we were out there. I then started to throw a double wet fly rig towards the bank, and I stripped the flies back with quick finger retrieves. Right away a very nice rainbow came up from the depths and crushed the fly. Basically we were stripping damsel like nymph patterns and the fish were keyed on that.

Lava Lake

We caught a several fish, and enjoyed our short float while visiting Lava Lake. The best ticket for the day was stripping the flies shallow in the water column, and it was interesting that the fish took the damsel pattern every time. When you cut off the other fly, the presentation was ignored, but with two flies on the action was consistent.  The average fish were decent in size, and had very nice body shape and coloration, and they were very healthy fish. A fun way to spend a lazy afternoon!

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

Washington County Fly Fishers - Guest Speaker Presentation

Washington County Fly Fishers Meeting
Brian Marz - Guest Speaker  

This evening from 7:30 to 8:30, I will be doing a presentation for the Washington County Fly Fishers on the McKenzie River and Fly Fishing Opportunities Within Driving Distance of Portland Oregon. Click here to see more.....

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

Steelhead Reports Looking Up...

One of my friends who knows steelhead really well has reported to me two really good days of steelheading in the Willamette Valley. One day he landed 4 fish within an hour, and all of the fish were on a swung blue and black motion prawn. The day before he hooked and landed two fish on the same fly. Water levels are going down and down, and the fish are coming in more and more. We have had the highest water spring possible, but now we are going to get rewarded with some wonderful summer fly fly fishing.

Too many people think the water is ridiculously high, but levels are wonderful across the board. Normally rivers are too low at many locations, and this year we have plenty of water at places that are normally too low for fishing or running boats. Good fishing possibilities are here, and you can only have a good day of fishing if you get out there and experience it. I have talked to too many people who have not been out in months or weeks; complaining of too much water, and all the time has passed with no fishing tales to pass on. I know that I have experienced some amazing times in recent weeks and months, but it has required adaptation.   Between carp, trout, and steelhead, there have been some serious hoots and cheers of joy. Get out and enjoy fly fishing! Get out and seek some chrome! It's time!

Summer Steelhead Time......

Fishing Report 6/21/2011 - Carping and Columbia Warmwater Fly Fishing

On solstice day, I decided to go drive east up the Columbia in search of those elusive and spooky carp. Without planning it, I ended up having a super fun warmwater day of fly fishing. I pulled up to a pond on the side of the river and looked down only to see a lurking largemouth bass in search of food. It turns out that I could not persuade that lunker into biting, but I did notice the sunfish that the bass was cruising by. I tempted the little sunfish with a small panfish popper, and they were all over it. 

Bluegill on mini popper

I ended up catching a couple of different species of sunfish, and the colors were really pretty on a few of them. It would be hard top paint a fish and have it end up looking like this one....

Nice Paint job on this sunfish....

After a bunch of those sunfish satisfied my topwater needs, I decided to move onto larger quarry. I wanted to catch a large Columbia basin carp, and I had to start looking for them. I got high up on the railroad tracks and immediately noticed some huge bombs cruising around. I started to feel my hands shake as I was attempting to tie on my fly. I slid down towards water levels and presented my fly to lots of fish, but they were being tough. I stuck one huge fish, but the hook pulled free on the first run. I was wild though, because you could see the fish gain interest in your fly, and then they would tip down to munch it off of the bottom. The tough part was seeing that part happen since they were a little deeper than I like for tailing fish. I noticed a pack of otters, and the action seized right away. It was time to move on to another spot.....

Carp taken while sight fishing with small wetfly

Luckily, I had a pond in mind that I saw some monster sized carp at on an earlier outing; so I was determined to find them again. It wasn't more than 30 seconds before I could see tons of fish cruising around at the next location, and they were blatantly feeding, and feeding hard too! I was stoked to present my fly to there fish. I walked down to water level and stuck a beast right away literally from dapping my fly in front of the face of a fish huddled in the grass. It torched me, and I did not even stand a chance, but what a thrill it was. I then managed to stick and land two more fish in the grass with the same technique. Fishing was hot!!

I moved down the pond and saw a ton of fish feeding on vegetation on the surface. It was wild to see, and they were gulping away gluttonously, and you could hear going on also. I would sit and watch fish come out of the weeds and I would then throw my fly right at the fish anticipating where it was headed. I would keep the fly in front of the fish for a few feet and then drop it through the water column, and they would plunge down to inhale the offering. It was totally insane fly fishing!!! I was hookup up like I was trout fishing, and they were actually sort of easy to get to take your fly. Fish on constantly and one after another. Like anything though, it had to wind down after a while. I managed to hook up with more fish than I have ever hooked in one outing. I managed to hook several huge fish that whooped me silly, and I lost many flies on many fish. There were many blown shots, and many quick hookups with long distance releases too. It was a day of carp fly fishing I will never forget. Go figure that I was all alone, and got to experience such a day by myself. That is the beauty of Carp Fly Fishing; it is totally untapped more or less. I love the fact that so many people do not even attempt it. After dealing with early wake ups, the intensity of andramous fishing, and crowds; it is nice to have a fishery to go to that has nobody out there......

In Pursuit of Those Giant Carp.....

Carp Caught Just Outside Of Portland City Limits

I am off to check out those massive sized carp that reside east of Portland. When I first saw those giant carp of the Columbia, I was practically trembling. Time to bust out the larger rod with a fighting butt; since these fish can breach the 20 pound mark quite often. The Columbia carp are a whole other ballgame compared to the carp that are just outside of the city limits where you can manage them on a 4-6 wt rod. The water is more clear east of Portland for the carp fishing, and the fish run bigger more or less every time you run across one. The caveat is that you have to drive a ways to get to them, but any fish over 20 pounds that will rip your fly line in a super sturdy fashion is well worth it. Also when you are getting multiple shots at 20+ pound fish, then drive is no big deal. Especially when the fights top most gamefish of the lower 48, when you feel some serious authority when they want to take off on you. Lets hope I can post something impressive after this outing. We'll see......

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.