ODFW plans to begin restoring Lahontan cutthroat trout to the McDermitt creek basin, according to a recent press release.
On Aug. 27 and 28, Upper McDermitt, North Fork McDermitt and tributaries will be treated with rotenone, a naturally occurring fish toxicant. This is the second year of a three-year plan to remove non-native trout from the watershed. In September 2007 nearby Indian and Cottonwood creeks were similarly treated. Once treated, the streams will be stocked with native Lahontans.
From ODFW: Lahontan trout were once common in lake and streams throughout southeast Oregon, Nevada and much of California. Their populations have declined primarily due to loss of habitat, hybridization with introduced rainbow trout, and competition from other introduced trout species.
We spent the day fly fishing Crane Prairie Monday this week with Caddis Fly employee Ty Holloway. Ty is recovering from a recent shoulder surgery and spends his days floating the stillwater until he’s recovered. But his sling didn’t stop him from outcasting and outfishing me one-handed, which was pretty embarrassing.
Blazing sun and little wind concentrated fish in the channels, but we couldn’t get them interested. Ty caught a Kokanee on a chironomid pattern below a thingamabobber indicator. I caught the smallest trout in Crane (certainly not one of the Cranebows from last week). It’s a tough fishery, but one hog trout could make your whole day. One of the guys on Westfly compared it to steelhead fishing.
The place was pretty packed for a weekday, but only a couple boats were landing any fish. -MS
Caddis Fly customer Tim Finlayson had a hell of a day on the Row River last week. After a slow day fishing the North Fork of the Middle Fork Willamette River, Finlayson headed back to Cottage Grove and fished in the campground area below the dam on the Row River. From Finlayson’s email:
I caught 4 decent cuts in about 20 minutes. I saw a good fish surface but couldn’t hook in, looked like a big Steelhead. I went back the next day below the bridge and hooked some small trout. On my fourth cast hooked this 30″ Steelhead ” pic attached” I was fishing a Z axis 3wt with 5X which was amazing. I actually caught this hen on the gold bead head you sold me, fishing it under an indicator. I’m glad I had my camera to get some pics before releasing her. I was wondering if this might be some type of record. It took me 45 minutes to land. I estimated it at 11 lbs.
This wild (notice the adipose fin) Willamette Drainage Summer Steelhead took Finlayson well into the backing 4 times and he cut his knee on a sharp rock, trying to get a handle on the fish. You can see the blood spilling into the water in the second photo. A great and rare catch, despite getting bruised and battered. Congratulations Tim! Send us your Oregon fly fishing photos and stories.
EUGENE, OR – The first annual McKenzie River Two-Fly Tournament will take place October 3-4, 2008 on the McKenzie River. Organized by The Caddis Fly Angling Shop and Trout Unlimited Chapter 678 (McKenzie River, Upper Willamette Chapter), proceeds from this inaugural event will fund restoration projects on the McKenzie River.
The tournament organizers have partnered with the Eugene based McKenzie River Trust to allocate funds toward native salmonid habitat enhancement. The Trust is a local grassroots organization working to protect special lands in Lane and Douglas county Oregon for their fish and wildlife habitat, water quality and scenic values. The Trust has been recognized by its partners for being creative with its projects, professional in its work with landowners, and committed to the community. “The McKenzie River Trust welcomes the continued loyal support of anglers,” said Joe Moll, Executive Director.
The tournament will take place October 3-4, 2008. Festivities begin Friday evening with a pre-tournament reception and raffle; the competition begins the following morning. The entry fee is $300 per person, two anglers per boat. Entry fee includes one day guided float trip on the McKenzie River, festivities, and door prizes.
“This tournament is a great way for anglers to give back to the resource that gives them so much,” said Karl Mueller, Conservation Officer for TU Chapter 678. “We can’t control ocean conditions but we can do everything in our power to ensure that salmon have the in-stream habitat necessary to thrive in the McKenzie River, which is one of the last strongholds for Willamette River spring Chinook salmon.”
Sunday evening I opted to take it easy and fish the Mckenzie on foot rather than by boat. The fishing was good pretty good, I caught north of twenty fish in about three hours. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the big redside that I was after. The first fish was a feisty wild fish that ate a #12 Possie Bugger:
In the hours that followed planters ate my offerings like it was their job scarfing up the Possie Bugger, #12 Parachute Adams, #16 Light Cahill Wet and #8 Golden Stone (Stimulator). All of the planters were healthy and spirited and fought like they understood the gravity of their predictament. When the hatch came off the river didn’t erupt with bugs like it did on the lower section a couple days ago, rather the hatch was fairly modest. There were a few caddis coming off sporadically and an adult laying eggs now and again. There were also a few golden stones around. The hatch was enough though to get the fish looking up and this native redside approached what I was after:
I know that hole harbors larger trout. I’ve caught them there every year and catch at least one decent native almost every time I fish there. Once you’ve found a productive piece of water, provided a high water event doesn’t change the structure of a piece of river having favorable habitat conditions you can know that spot will continue to crank out nice rainbows.–KM
Seventy two degrees seems hot but bass on the mainstem of the Umpqua and the John Day River are right at home. The John Day is a haul for most of us, but is a great multi-day family fish and swim float trip. Hot days, great scenery and active smallmouth bass make fly fishing the John Day a blast.
The Umpqua is much closer and access around the town of Elkton and Umpqua is pretty good both for floating and bank angling. For both the John Day and the Umpqua use floating lines and poppers under low light conditions. As things warm up fish rubber legged stonefly nymphs, skinny water clousers, Thin Mints, Mega Princes and Crayfish imitations. On the Umpqua the past few years I have been messing around with droppers, fishing two nymphs at the same time. More drab offerings, big hares ears, possie buggers and Thin Mints fished about 36 inches apart can yield two at a time bass masters action.-CD
On Friday evening I met up with Matt and Mark for a quick post work float from Deerhorn to Hendricks Bridge. Granted, I’d prefer to fish higher in the watershed but short on time we stayed low and caught a mix of natives and planters–the first fish was a pretty 12″ native. Fish ate #12 Possie Buggers on the dead drift and the swing as well as a #10 Prince Nymph and a halfback golden stone. When the hatch came off, there were a lot of little yellow stones, some yellow caddis and a few bigger golden stones. In addition to the trout, Mark also caught a “nice” whitefish:
You have to love that face at least a little!
This was Mark’s first trip on the Mckenzie and hopefully I got him warmed up for the nice float he is taking with Chris from Paradise to Silver Creek today.–KM
The Editor by Mike Brooks is an Atlantic Salmon fly, but it is also a good summer steelhead fly pattern in low, clear water. It literally glows. Tie this fly sparse.
The Editor
Hook: Size 6 Tiemco up-eye salmon hook
Thread: 6/0 BlueTail: Golden pheasant breast feather
Body: Fluorescent white floss
Rib: Pearl mylar tinsel and fluorescent green mono
Wing: Fluorescent green and black arctic fox, crystal flash
Hackle: Black hen neck
Overwing: Gray Fox
Jerry Lorang of the Tualatin Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited is spearheading Project Healing Waters in Oregon. Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc. is dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active duty military personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying education and outings. In this video, Lorang outlines some of the projects the organization has going on in Oregon.
For more info or to get involved with Project Healing Waters in Oregon, contact Jerry.
Caddis fly employee Ty Holloway spent yesterday at Crane. Despite recent shoulder surgery his hunt for big fish could not be disuaded.
He used Ice Cream Cone chironomids black with red rib size #10 under a small Thingamabobber indicator. Ty’s rig was a 9ft 3x full flourocarbon tapered leader plus 3ft of 3x flouro tippet to his first fly. Another 3ft of tippet off the bend of that fly to another chironomid of another color or size.
Fish were caught in the channels. Channel depth maxed out at 16ft, with channel edges being around 11 feet. Water temps in the deeper portions of the channels made the difference. Position yourself to fish the deeper sections.-CD
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