Steelhead Fly Fishing Class

This October 9th, 2011, I will be teaching a "On the Water" Steelhead Fly Fishing Class. It will be a class showing you the all around aspects of fly fishing for steelhead. For more information, or if you want to sign up for it,  stop by the Orvis Shop at Bridgeport Village. 

 LITTLE WILD DESCHUTES STEELHEAD TAKEN ON #14 PRINCE NYMPH

2011 Summer's Final Day - Cutty Extravaganza

A Super Spotted Coastal Cutthroat Trout

This past week, I ran a trip on the final day of the summer, and the cutthroat trout fishing was nothing short of red hot. The weather was warm too, but not after a several hour overcast spell that shaded the water and made the cutties feel fearless. It was fun out there, and you could more or less call where you were going to have your flies taken.

This Coastal Cutthroat Trout Fell To a Swung Wet Fly

At first, it was slower than it could have possibly been, but somehow the overcast settled in, and the fishing quality erupted into a fun session. Interestingly enough, after several hours, the sun burned a hole through the sky, and when it opened back up from the blanket of overcast, the fishing slowed down dramatically. Luckily, the guys had their fill of fish catching by then, and we fished our way to the takeout.

October Caddis Pupal Shucks & Golden Stone Nymph Exoskeleton

We took fish with a dry and dropper rig, and the nymph was taken more, but the attention to the dry fly was very significant. We also swung double wet fly rigs, and the fish seemed to take more or less many offerings, but larger softhackles with beadheads worked very well. Both Prince Nymphs and Possie Buggers took many fish while operating the dry and dropper rigs. The dry flies we were using were the Chubby Chernobyl and the Chubby Norm. October caddis pupal shucks are on the rocks; so I would not hesitate to throw those now, and I have seen some adults on some of the area rivers. The October Caddis will only increase in frequency and numbers out there.

One of many nice Cutthroats Caught on Summer's Last Day

Click Here For Video
We also are having some rain and that can make things really interesting out there. Between salmon runs, sea run cutthroats, waking up the summer steelhead into full force, and whatever else you can think of; fall is here. Get out and FISH!!! It is time!!!

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

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

Fall is Time For Cutthroats on the Coastal Rivers

Coastal Cutthroat Taken on a Turk's Tarantula

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

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

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

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

October Caddis Time has Begun!

October Caddis Pupal Husks - McKenzie River

 Well the first signs of fall "hatchativety" have begun on the McKenzie River. October caddis have started to hatch; which indicates the fall flies are starting up, and the trout will be keying in on them on the Willamette Valley Rivers. I have not seen any adult October caddis flying yet, but using one can be a good bet from here on out through the fall. If you would like to learn more about the life cycle of the October Caddis check out Bugwater by Arlen Thomason. It is a totally amazing book that every angler should have a copy of. Fall can be an amazing time for trout fishing in the Willamette Valley, and the trout really love to eat those large caddis on the right day when the conditions all line up. Also skating dry flies on certain spots for steelhead with a pattern resembling one of those fall big bugs can produce some awesome takes. Get ready for the fall fishing!

Fall October Caddis Slither Up On the Rocks To Hatch Out Into Adult Form

Fall is Steelhead Time!

Stoked Angler With First Caught Steelhead - McKenzie River

Now that fall is right around the corner, it is time to start thinking about fall steelheading. It can be the very best time of the year for getting into numbers, and you can have some memorable days out there. Right now, we are in a heat spell; which can slow things down dramatically. When the air gets that fall coolness to it; then it is time to get out there. The best fishing for summer steelhead is right around the corner; so don't miss out on the opportunity.

Deschutes Winds and Dust....... Chromers in Between the Wind Gusts....ASp

Spey Casting in 40+ MPH Wind Gusts during a Dust Storm on the Deschutes

 The past couple of days on the lower Deschutes was nothing short of WINDY. We got blown around, our casts were diverted to targets not planned on, and the dust filled the air at times. Was it fun.....? Somehow yes..... At times, it was downright miserable though. Try casting into the wind when it is coming at you, then coming upstream, then downstream, then behind you. Try floating your boat down in the river in it also. Try to pick up your buddy downriver from you only 15 yards, but the winds are ripping so hard where you simply can't. My arms are soar, and from just keeping the oars planted into the current to keep the boat tracking. Casting was nearly impossible at times, and it was not a matter of snap T's and double speys. It was about somehow getting it out there, and making the fly swing across the current. At times the fly would not swing because the upstream wind was so stiff where it caused the surface current to blow upstream also. We then simply put on the Thingamabobbers then; so we could get some form of a presentation.

Displaying a nice hatchery Deschutes River Steelhead

 The fishing was slow the first day for us, but I did manage to get a very memorable fish that absolutely torched me, and literally went about 150 feet into my backing on the second run. It was literally only about 4 pounds too, and wild as can be. There are lots of small wild fish out there right now, and also many fish with gill net marks on them.

Tight Line on a steelhead during the sunshine

 The second day was filled with so much wind; to the point where we fished less hard than the day before.  It was simply too annoying at times to challenge yourself to cast with the swirling extreme winds, and dust blowing around. We did run into two friends on the river, and we hung out and fished a run that produced for us very well. Between my buddies Jim and Brian, they hooked several chromers all withing a short while; indicating a slug of fish was moving through the spot. All in all a fun trip, but the wind was a horror, and I will have to get back out there to get a less windy session in.

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.....