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Note: Check fishing regulations as many watersheds are closing March 31st.
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The river turned brown Monday
April 8th, as heavy rain and hail unloaded the North Coast.
The gauge however is holding steady at around 5.5. The river
should turn back to green come Friday.
Majority of the winter Steelhead have some river color, but there’s still a few on the bright side. Fishing should remain good to the end of April for catch and release natives, and fin clipped brood stock fish.
Seek fish higher up in the system and bring out your largest and least favorite flies to cast. We're talking big, blue, black or purple intruder-style flies fished slowly on T-14 or fast sinking tips. Despite less swinging water from Siskeyville upstream, you will still find plenty of good holding water for this method. The smaller micro runs and tailouts will hold fish.
The float from Siskeyville (mile post 11) to Mills (mile post 8.6) will offer good swinging runs, but keeping the "bobber-stick" (easy now...Bobber-stick = indicator-stick) handy should be part of your arsenal of rods as inside corners/elbows and micro pockets are optimal places to pick up fish on glo-bugs. Siskeyville to Mills is a short float, so take your time between runs, or simply float it twice!
Again, we recommend your big leeches in black, purple or blue. Your low-water soldiers such as pink or light orange should be put on "injured reserve" until the water turns "light green" again. Get your T-14, T-11 and T-8 tips custom cut to your desired length at our shop. If you're curious about specific flies we're using, ask!
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The river blew
out Sunday and continues to run off colored. Weather and water
forecast looks promising for this weekend, although lots of
snow pack in the coast range could change the river from one
day to the other. Call the shops for last minute reports.
With gear guys dreaming of Spring Chinook, the drift boat launches
should clear and become more of a stress free float as well.
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The Nestucca
is fishing well and fishing should remain good through April.
A late burst of chrome Brood stock fish showed up last week.
Summers will start to show anytime as well. Most fish are higher
in the system, but be cautious when floating. Pontoons or rafts
are recommended.
Techniques are similar to the Wilson River listed above. Fish
big "bait" lower on the river and small "bait"
up high. The river is closed above Blaine. |
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The Poor rating is simply
due to poor water conditions today. The gauge reading is at
7 feet, not bad looking from afar, but the water color is that
of diluted Bailey's Irish Cream. Call the shop and ask for Jad
or Jakob for updates. Even with the gauge on the decline, I
think it might be a tad too dark.
Native Steelhead... big I might add... will continue to trickle
in the river system through April but the fishing is over by
May. Please note that the bridge crossing the Salmonberry is
completely gone making the Lower Nehalem Rd a dead-end street
(from either direction!)
Again, X-Large Black, Purple and Blue Intruders on T-14 will
be your bread and butter.
Guide Info: Jad Donaldson. Call us at 503-639-6400 to book your
trip. |
Sunday morning
kicked out great numbers for fly anglers on the Siletz for late
winter fish, but the hot fishing stopped Sunday afternoon when
a front unloaded millions of gallons of cold aqua from above.
The last few days have come to a standstill but reading NOAA's
forecast, fishing should be back to good starting Friday.
These huge natives are easily the life of the party as most
hatchery fish have been caught or disposed of by now. Moonshine
Park to Sams Creek makes a great float this time of year, and
access above or below Moonshine for the Walk & Wade angler
is good to great as well.
See the Wilson River Report above for tactics. |
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Winter fish are up higher in the system and most of the fish
are getting dark. Summers are starting to show downstream. With
warm weather predicted on the mountain this weekend, expect
lots of milky runoff. Hit the Clack' instead.
The removal of Marmot Dam has changed most of your favorite
runs throughout the river. We recommend hiring a guide for the
day to get familiar with the new "surroundings".
Guide Info: Jad Donaldson. Call us at 503-639-6400 to book your
trip. |
The water is looking great today with a nice dark green color.
The gauge is holding steady at around 12.5. With that said,
the fishing has been slow this past week. Most fish are getting
dark. It still a bit early for Summers, but a few more weeks
and we should start to see the 1st signs.
Be careful when checking the Estacada gauge! There's a large
difference between in CFS flows between 12.5 feet (great!) and
14.5 feet (go home!) We like the gauge between 11.5 ~ 12.8.
At 12.5 feet the CFS is usually around 2700 CFS!
At 14.5 feet the CFS is usually around 6800 CFS!
Get it?
Large Intruder Style flies in Purple, Blue, Orange, Pink and
Black are always solid producers, with fire engine Red being
a sleeper color. With water temps in the 40's, you should slow
down your swing as much as possible. T-14 custom mini tips and
sink tips in type 2 thru 6 should be in your tip wallet mix.
Daylight is growing, skip work early and get your big 14 foot
swinging stick ready!
Trout fishing is closed and will be open again in May 2008.
Guide Info: Jad Donaldson. Call us at 503-639-6400 to book your
trip. |
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A slow year on the Hood this year, but fish has finally been
showing up in the trap the last 3 weeks. Fish the Hood in the
early am for late Steelhead, then hit Maupin on the nearby Deschutes
for the BWO hatch in the pm.
Swingin' with Purple A' leeches on a floating line or type 3
will do for the swing guys.
Dead drifting a Glo-Bug such as BH Lifter's and Lifter's will
be the bread and butter for the "drift" fisherman.
The access on the Hood' is limited to only 4 miles (below the
Hood River Dam), and should the North coast rivers be blown
out expect East Side Metro anglers to be seen on the Hood.
We only have a few more years before the removal of the Hood
River Dam. (2010) It could take years after the removal before
fishing resumes, so until then learn this river as it's only
an hour from Portland. |
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If you want to enjoy the Oregon outdoors in a t-shirt and beach-hat,
look no further than Maupin, Oregon! Sunshine and air temps
predicted to be in the mid to high 70's for this upcoming
weekend. After months of rain and droopy gray skies, taking
your spouse to a warm and happy place is now within reach.
Fishing however could be on the slow side if the sun gets too
bright. Morning fishing will prove to be best, and don't
expect too much activity on top. The 11:30 ~ 3:00 game should
be played with 3 or 4 weights, long leaders and a dozen BWO
patterns. Water and flows are and have been great all year.
If you are getting tired of chasing winter steel or need a break
from the crowds, the Big D' should be the "numero-uno"
spot on your trout "billboard top 10." It's not even
close!
BWO's in size 18-22 should be favored for fishing on top. Small
soft hackles are great if fishing back eddies. Cast upstream
and let the micro-bathtub-swirls suck down your offering...
follow with your rod tip.....hold tight...and BANG!, the takes
are hard! Midge patterns will produce here as well, keep them
just below the film. We carry over 22 different BWO dry and
emerger patterns in the shop. Buy a bakers dozen BWO patterns
for only $16.99! (mix and match) If buying Online or buying
via phone-order we will ship for free.
March Browns are out in few numbers, but with sun Saturday and
overcast/rainy Sunday, I think Sundays outing should be great
fishing on top with size 12 Western March Brown. Come spinner
fall, use a CDC Parachute Spinner size 12-14.
Fat Skwalla's or Black Winter Stones in size 8-12 will pick
up trout all day. Also, these meaty treats are great for your
buddy that's "just getting into the sport" and doesn't
know about drag-free drift eddy-fishing with size 20 BWO's.
A 9 foot 3X leader, size 10 Bullet head Skwalla with a size
12 FB PT 20 inch dropper outta' do great!
A Kaufmann's Stone and a San Juan worm will fish well for the
next 4 months. Nymphing should be a morning and late afternoon
gig. Small Flashback PT's in 16-20, Baetis Nymph size 18, BH
Bubble Back size 16-18 work wonders. Don't be afraid of beefing
up your tippet size when nymphing. 2X is about right above your
tool fly, and 4X is plenty small for a size 16-18 dropper. Small
Glo-bugs are also another great "fly". Yellow or peach
are good colors.
Going over the mountain on HWY 26 in the winter can be a mess.
We recommend taking HWY 84 to HWY 197 instead. This can also
serve as a great combo trip between the Hood River and the Deschutes
River. Head east on HWY 84 and fish the Hood River for Chrome
Winter Steelhead in the early am, then continue on 197 and hit
Maupin fishing with BWO's in the Backeddies for Redsides! NOTE:
check out Hood River report for update.
Remember trout fishing is only open here from the Northern boundary
of the reservation downstream to the mouth, at least till the
26th. |
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The fabled McKenzie March Brown hatch is on. Fishing has varied
as usual, but the hatches are happening daily in droves. The
fish appear to be on or off the feed depending on the ambient
temperature. As the weather warms this weekend fishing should
be much more reliable. If runoff becomes an issue, check the
flows from Leaburg Dam in order to figure if the river is off
color or not. Now is the time to fish this river early season
if you want a fix of dry fly fishing for trout before opening
day.
If you want to win the battle on the McKenzie, this is a must-have
list for flies and tactics. Carry an assortment of March Brown
duns. Try the Western March Brown or American March Brown, otherwise
use a sparkle or compara dun in sizes 12 - 14. 10's may work
as well. Intermingled amongst the big mayflies, you'll see hatches
of BWO's (18) and dark caddis in grey or olive (16 - 18). A
sleeper can be running a larger tan caddis (14) to break up
the hatch. Subsurface, use possie buggers, larger mayfly nymphs
(10 - 14) and caddis emergers. A soft hackle will pick up fish.
This is a good time of year to run dries with a dropper effectively.
Way out on the fringe, there is some golden stone activity here
and the nymphs will be active in the river. Primary hours for
dry fly activity will be 11:30am - 3:30 pm. Expect this to err
on the late side.
A couple words on access and regulations. The McKenzie is a
boat fishery primarily. Private property makes walk and wade
fishing outside of Armitage Park and various launch points somewhat
troublesome. If you can't find a boat, expect crowds in the
aforementioned spots. Don't sweat it, you can find some room,
get creative. If you have a boat, you're in luck, this river
has a lot of fun water to drift and casting from the boat is
always a good time. Water is relatively non-technical, but there
are a few trouble spots. As usual, be careful. If you need advice
on what drifts to do, stop by or call the shop and we'll
be glad to help you out. All tribs and forks to the McKenzie
are closed until April 26 when most of the statewide trout waters
open.
One final note...summer steelhead are in the McKenzie. Not in
droves, but its beginning to happen. I'll say no more for the
time being. |
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With the weather beginning to warm statewide, the Metolius spring
season is on. There's a lot of variety to what's happening here
at this stage of the game. As usual, if you're headed down,
feel free to call and we can help in more depth.
Blue Winged Olive's will continue to be a strong hatch through
April. I would consider this my A#1 focus. Carry duns, emergers,
and nymphs. You cannot go wrong working subsurface using a heavy
golden stone and a small olive PT or hare's ear now. Following
that train of thought, golden stone activity is increasing here.
There will be nothing on the surface for some time, but the
nymphs are on the move. In addition, there are a few types of
caddis about and they will be a factor as well. Use larval patterns
as well as emergers. Experiment with running red as a larva.
There is a strange phenomena here with a relative of the October
caddis hatching here this time of year. If you seem fish up
on the adult, by all means get after it. If not, try a pupal
pattern when you see them out. March Browns will be out if the
mild weather holds (or comes as expected).
Pay special attention to what you see fish eating here. You
can spend a lot of time trying stuff while seeing rises, but
the fish are picky on the surface. Often breaking the hatch
will help you. This time of year I would definitely run emergent
patterns of some sort behind the dry. If you're running caddis,
try using a baetis emerger in tandem...moral of the story -
cover your bases.
I always keep midges in mind here both subsurface and on top.
Also, green drakes are around the corner, you should know this
if you happen to read this report 3 weeks from now. I almost
forgot, there is a red quill hatch here in the early parts of
the month...use a cream dun in about a 12.
Bull trout are present as usual. Heavy baitfish imitations or
buggers will get the job done.
The Metolius is closed upstream from Allingham Bridge to the
source till May 25th and you must use barbless hooks and fly
methods only above the 99 Bridge. Pinch 'em down, folks.
This is a beautiful place, enjoy the time here and expect it
to be a challenge. |
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Spring is coming but things take a little longer to get rocking
on the Fall. Baetis and Midges are the main menu entree's at
this point. If you're fishing dry, go light tippet, downstream
drifts and carry some diversity to your offerings. If you get
totally frustrated and decide to go below....small nymphs will
work well. If you have few scruples like me, try running a San
Juan worm. It's always fun to experiment, you might be surprised
with the results.
The river below the falls doesn't open until May 24th. Otherwise,
enjoy the scenery and this gorgeous clear river. |
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The Crooked is still suffering from the effects of a mysterious
fish kill in 2005. However, it seems redband trout populations
are on the rebound. If you head over to the river, keep eyes
peeled for radio tagged trout that are part of the fish survey
monitoring the repopulation of the river.
The scenic Crooked offers solitude for anglers and a plethora
of dry fly fishing for opportunistic fish. Surface fishing may
cut down on the undoubtedly epic day of whitefishing you will
have incidentally.
If you head out anytime soon, check your gauges. You want to
see an outflow from Bowman Dam with less than 300 cfs. If the
dam flow has spiked recently, wait a couple days. The Crooked
is a river used for irrigation and it will soon be in that stage.
Carry baetis, caddis and midge patterns for surface fishing.
Ordinary patterns - parachutes, griffith's and elk
hairs should be just fine. Fishing subsurface, stay basic with
PT's, hare's ears, caddis larva (especially cased
caddis) and scuds. |
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Chickahominy Reservoir - Fishing, but there
are clarity issues with muddy water from the creek.
Davis Lake - Lake is open. Some nice trout
here. Some really nice bass, actually not some but a lot.
Cascade Lakes & Mt. Hood Lakes - So much
snow....June is optimistic for access.
High Desert Lakes - We have some nice private
water. Contact Jerry Swanson @ 503.639.6400 if you'd like to
get towed around the pond by a bow. This is a great time of
year for it.
Coastal Lakes - Check ODFW stocking schedules.
Seriously if you want to take a kid fishing, some of these lakes
get upwards of 500 adult steelhead planted. You'll hook 'em
for life. |
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Ouch. The Hoh's been shut down due to escapement concerns.
The river was getting natives early (like everywhere else),
but they sort of petered out. Again, ouch.
Fortunately, while they've also slowed a bit, the Quil
system (Sol Duc, Calawah, Bogie) is still open thru April 30.
As long as things don't blow-out, definitely worth a trip
out here. After all, June 1st is not guaranteed to be a fishable
point in time, this year. No time like the present! |
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Not only have we continued to avert significant warming and
subsequent run-off, it's been cooollld this past week. Consequently,
the river remains low and clear and easily wadeable for the
time being. This week's warming trend could bump flows a bit,
but shouldn't put it out (although those days are coming...).
If anything, it'll get water temps back up - good for the trout
and the mayfly hatches.
The Skwalas have began to wane in numbers and importance, with
the BWO's and March Browns taking center stage now during
their respective emergences. Pre and Post mayfly hatch wouldn't
be a bad time to run a big Skwala dry with mayfly nymph dropper,
at least over the coming week. Don't be surprised if the
nymph gets most of the action, though, as the Skwala's
days are winding down.
Before long, epic run-off will set in. Hopefully there will
be some cooler spells to normalize things and provide us windows,
once this gets going. Shoot, we could get an epic cool spring
and early summer and dodge the whole mess, for that matter.
Whatever our fate, the Yakima is in great shape and should only
get better as long as these milder temps pervade (too warm =
not good). And if the clouds look like they're going to
follow you over to 'that side', stock up on the
mayflies! Blizzard hatches do happen here... |
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Ahhh, April on the 'Ford. If you forgot what a nice 70 degree
day chasing trout goes like, this is a good place to start.
If you can't quite remember how one hatch after the other goes,
ditto again.
Midges: A staple on this creek, midges can demand matching even
in the summer. Hatches will materialize, and fish will take
full advantage. In the spring, waves of emerging chironomids
(midges, #18-#26) can appear throughout the day. Unlike winter,
though, there's a couple other hatches that will come
along and steal the midges' collective thunder right now.
BWO's: These tiny little mayflies (as big as a #16 in
the spring, though normally #18), like all mayflies, prefer
to emerge under cool, cloudy, moist conditions. On bright, sunny
days, the hatches will typically be shorter and more sporadic.
This doesn't mean the trout will be skipping the BWO's
that day. It only means the trout will be more likey to move
to a well presented mayfly nymph, olive, #18. On cloudy, moist
days, expect a more prolonged, intense hatch, with naturals
struggling at the film, and trout all too comfortable to take
advantage. Think mid-day, though they've been known to
start earlier on occasion.
Callibaetis: Normally a lake mayfly, slow-moving, weedy waters
are their primary requirement, so most spring creeks host these
specimens. Rocky Ford is no different. This hatch tends to begin
a little earlier in the day than the BWO's, and the main
way to tell it's a Callibaetis is their size (#12-#14),
although closer inspection of the wing should reveal a speckled
forewing (if it's a Callibaetis). In addition to nymphs,
emergers and adults, there will at some point be real cause
for the spent spinner on this hatch - definitely.
A little later into the spring, about the time the BWO's
mostly wane (though any cool, cloudy, moist day can trigger
them to come off), look for another spring mayfly, albeit late,
the Epeorus. This is the big all-white mayfly you'll see
over there, and while they come off sporadically at best, most
the time, the trout still tend to key in on them.
Between hatches, scuds, leeches and even damsels and dragons
will all be recognized, and will net fish. Dial-in to the aforementioned
spring hatches, though, and action picks up considerably! |
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PASS LAKE:
Not in any danger of warming up too soon, this past week's
colder temps have put the 'progression of hatches'
on hold. Just as some meaningful emergences began to materialize,
they got stuck in "just getting started" mode -
meaning, nothing to write home about. Fortunately, this just
left a premium on the value of bloodworms. A bloody larvae off
the bottom is a great back-up plan in case of spotty emergences.
The return to milder temps will only help let things get going
again. In a matter of days, look for chironomid emergences to
begin increasing in duration and intensity. Very soon, if graced
with calm, late-day (low light) conditions, expect good numbers
of fish to get up and cruise the top, scarfing emergers and
ovipositing adults.
Before, after and in-between the chironomids, the usual leeches,
buggers and streamers will also yield big 'bows and the
occasional gator-brown.
LONE LAKE:
Look for Lone to warm back up a little more quickly than Pass
after this past week of "remember winter?". In fact,
apparently Lone warmed up enough before the recent cooling to
fish pretty well right through the whole frigid episode.
Chironomids are on! Still prevailingly #16-#18ish, look for
the progression into #14's (and then #12's) joining
in to begin by the end of this week, if not sooner. All this
means is having a range of sizes in the pupa, in grey/maroon
or red rib, chromies, blacks and maroons/rusty browns. Closer
observation will reveal an area where there are naturals emerging.
Match size, color if possible (try and get a shuck with the
adult still in it - vacated shucks are mostly inaccurate
for color-matching purposes), and then find depth, starting
a foot or so off the bottom.
Before, after and in-between, immature damsels and dragons,
leeches, buggers and scuds will all be opportunistically eaten.
Only going to get better! |
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Spring has been a little flaky this year, so far. First, it
was nowhere in sight. Then, it arrived, only too ditch the scene
with only so much as a "hey, I'm still right here"
from winter. Well, apparently spring has returned, now, and
the progression of hatches can resume in earnest. Fortunately,
water temps had already crept up into the mid-40's before
winter came back for a visit, so a few days of warming should
be all it takes to get these babies going again... just
in time for the weekend!
Chironomids are set to begin dominating the scene for spells,
and on some days All Day.
While still in the teeny category, count on #16's, #14's
and jumbo-bomber #12's and #10s to progressively appear
over the coming weeks.
Alternatively, immature damsels, dragons, buggers, leeches and
scuds will all yield fish. Just not so much when fish are greedily
consuming hundreds of chironomid pupa. It's often times
hard for a trout to even care about a large morsel that could
get away (if they even notice), when there's just thousands
of these chironomids barely moving at all (easy pickings!).
This changes when the damsels begin migrating, making themselves
available en masse. Trout commit only to real events. Otherwise,
they'll make do with what else they can get in their belly.
Lenice, Dusty, Beda, et al are all fishing just fine to begin
with. Forecast: gradual improvement until "bath water"
sets in. |
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