Introducing the Sage Spectrum LT Reel with George Cook

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

George Cook graced Caddis Fly Shop with his presence and in doing so, showed off the new Spectrum LT reel from Sage.

The spectrum LT is the perfect companion to all water rods, fresh and light salt water applications. Sealed carbon style drag, five different colors and sizes and while it looks great on all rods, new silver pine color pairs well with the new R8.

The Spectrum LT has features and componentry that are top of the line currently in the world of fly fishing reels. The super-durable Spectrum LT is constructed with 6061-T6 aerospace grade aluminum and use of this high-grade aluminum makes this reel very lightweight. It is also built on a lightweight rigid frame, and this reduction of materials cuts weight as well. The aluminum is cold forged and tempered for immense strength and rigidity. The Spectrum LT is also hard anodized for surface protection and corrosion resistance. The Spectrum is finished off with a machined and anodized aluminum ergonomic handle.

The durable materials and sturdy frame house Sage’s tried and true SCS drag system. This drag is awesome in many ways, but the most noticeable are the smoothness and low start-up inertia. This reel has a one revolution drag knob which means you can quickly and precisely position the drag exactly where you wish.

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Posted in Fly Fishing Gear Review | Leave a comment

McKenzie River Report – Mid April 2022

Posted on April 18, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

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The McKenzie held its perfect spring flows this week and fishing remained solid. I spent an arctic Saturday and a beautiful overcast Sunday on the river this weekend.

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We knew Saturday was going to be wet, but didn’t expect it to last long. We were wrong. Sideways hail, whipping winds, and no place to hide. It was flat out nasty. Between the rain and hail we did find some nice fish. Nymphing with a double rig of a black stonefly nymph on the bottom and a PCP nymph up from it about 18 inches.

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Around 3pm we found some fish eating March Browns on the surface enjoyed some good dry fly fishing with Sparkle Dun March Brown patterns.

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Sunday was much more pleasant, light winds, overcast and perfect water conditions. Again nymphing was a solid tactic, swinging wets was also productive. The dry fly fishing excellent with a 2 plus hour period of fish looking up. Fish were still rising as we took out at around 5pm. Best patterns were March Brown Parachutes, Purple Haze, Purple Rooster and Purple Poly Post.

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This coming week looks wet again. As soon as water levels stabilize look for fine spring fishing to continue.

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Posted in Fishing Reports, McKenzie River | Leave a comment

Native Fish Society Chapter Meeting April 27th, 2022

Posted on April 16, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

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Where: Ninkasi Brewing’s Better Living Room, 155 Blair Blvd, Eugene, OR
When: Wednesday, April 27th at 5:30pm

Please note that we will actually be meeting on the last WEDNESDAY of the month, rather than Tuesday. This allows us to meet at Ninkasi. In case you missed it, here’s a link to the new NFS Chapter Manual. In it, you’ll find some ideas for Chapter activities, as well as some more background about NFS and our goals for NFS Chapters. So on April 27th, bring your idea for a Chapter activity you’d like to us to take on and we’ll select a couple to move forward with.

Finally, please encourage others to join us! The more, the merrier!

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me,
Liz Perkin, Northern Oregon Regional Coordinator
503-442-3985
liz@nativefishsociety.org

Posted in Oregon Conservation News | Leave a comment

Redington Trout Spey Field Kit with Jon Hazlett

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Jon Hazlett from Anglers Rendezvous in the Caddis Fly Shop, showing us what the Redington Trout Spey Field Kit has to offer. We think this makes a pretty sweet gift or simply a heck of a deal for anyone looking to get into the trout spey game.

From Redington:
The Trout Field Kit comes with a 9ft 5wt Redington 4pc rod, Redington Run Reel and a RIO Premier RIO GOLD fly line along with a 9ft 4x tapered leader.

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The New Sage Arbor XL Reel with George Cook

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

George Cook sat down and gave us the low down on this new, smooth and beautiful reel from Sage, the Arbor XL. Available in two colors, in two sizes.

The SAGE ARBOR XL ultra large arbor reel will help you quickly catch up to fish in fresh and saltwater. The super technical Abor XL feature and extra large arbor and narrow spools that makes winding effortless and speedy.

The Arbor XL features Sage’s tried and true sealed carbon system drag package tuned for optimum performance in each size class and a one revolution drag knob for reliable and repeatable pressure. The fully machined Arbor XL reel is available in two sizes and two colors, 4/5/6 6/7/8 in Frost and Slate.

Arbor XL Reels “one revolution drag knob” has 20 numbers and 40 detent settings. The spool has a concave ported arbor for greater strength and capacity. Reels have an ergo handle and can be switched from right to left with ease. Each Arbor XL reels comes with a neoprene and embroidered ballistic nylon reel case.

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Posted in Fly Fishing Gear Review | 1 Comment

Winter Storm Brings Much Needed Water to Willamette Basin

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

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The Willamette Basin and Oregon in general has had another very mild winter. Lack of snow pack and precipitation is great for early spring fishing (its been a fantastic March Brown Hatch) but late spring and summer low water increases water temps and puts added pressure on fisheries. The storm we are experiencing right now has really helped, let’s hope it continues to add snow and precipitation through April.

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The above graph is from this morning and as you can see the McKenzie is not going up super fast. I am hoping that the cooler temps in the mountains are helping to keep this precipitation in the mountains as snow.

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The predicted flows shown above are higher, but not too high to fish by any means. Additionally flows are above the historical mean which is really good for trout spawning.

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The Middle Fork of the Willamette below Hills Creek Dam has also come up but is still very fishable. It’s harder to find water in the upper reaches near Oakridge but as you get closer to Black Canyon campground the overall water level is just fine.

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While this graph shows the Middle Fork going up it’s not to high to fish. When we get to 5000-6000cfs things get way more interesting in terms of finding fish and wading is pretty much off the table in most areas.

The last couple of times I have been out on the water hatches have been excellent. March Browns, Blue Winged Olives, Grannom Caddis and even Salmon Flies. The Salmon Fly thing is really interesting. As water conditions rise, and the surface activity potentially suffers, keep in mind Salmon Fly Nymphs are heading to the short to crawl out and become adults. Using larger black stone nymphs is really effective to match this activity this time of year. The Salmon Fly and Golden Stone emergence is really interesting on the McKenzie and Willamette as it can start as early as March and continue through early July. By no means do we have the numbers of insects famed hatches on the Deschutes and Madison have but this sporadic emergence does not go unnoticed by the fish.

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The two tables above are taken from ODFW Willamette Falls Fish Counts. Many local anglers are wondering where all the hatchery summer steelhead have gone. In years past we have had much larger returns of summer steelhead to the Willamette Basin, check out 2016. Since 2016 numbers of returning hatchery steelhead have been much lower. I recently asked long time local ODFW biologist Jeff Ziller what he thought the key factors of the lower returns. Jeff indicated that the state was planting the same number of fish and the same species of fish. He suggested two significant factors in his mind that are contributing to the low returns: (1) Poor escapement due to lower spring flows (2) Poor ocean conditions. The low flows are evident and without the push of high spring water all “out-migragting” fish suffer from predation, anglers, and simply not leaving. The ocean conditions are a huge unknown.

Posted in Fishing Reports, Lower Willamette, McKenzie River, Middle Fork Willamette River fishing | Leave a comment

Native Fish Society Virtual Auction is Live

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

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There is still time to sign up and bid on NFS Homewaters: Wild is the Future Benefit Auction. Support wild fish and bid on some great items today. Auction ends this weekend.

Click this LINK to check out the virtual acution.

Posted in Oregon Conservation News | Leave a comment

Mosaic: The Salmon Wilderness of Bristol Bay

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

When imagining a future with sustainable fisheries, we need look no further than Bristol Bay, Alaska. This short film from the University of Washington’s Alaska Salmon Program, lays out the fundamental components that make the sockeye of Bristol Bay the most iconic salmon run on the planet.

Posted in Fishing Porn, Fly Fishing Profiles | Leave a comment

Sage R8 Rod Intro April 2022

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Jon Hazlett from Anglers Rendezvous visited us at the shop with the new Sage R8 rods. We spent the morning casting them and picking Jon’s brain, learning what makes this rod different from the Sage X and other graphite rods on the market.

SAGE R8 Core Rods range in lengths from 8’6″ through 10’0″ with weights from 3 to 9.

Give us a call at (541) 342-7005 for any questions about the R8.

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From Sage

R8 CORE is focused on maximum versatility and applies new revolutionary material technology through our forward-thinking lens of what we’re seeing
out on the water, where one rod needs to show even greater range. At its core,
R8 CORE traces a direct lineage to Sage’s multi-application vision, one shaped by the fishing evolutions happening all around us—from habitats we stalk and waters we frequent, to the flies we fish and the diversity of species we now target.

COMPLETE CONTROL
• Effortless Energy Transfer and More Connected Feel • Maximized Versatility & Control
• Made to Fish, Not Just Cast

FEATURES
– Revolution 8 Technology
– Silver Pine blank color
– Slate primary thread wraps with graduated White and Grey trim
– Fuji ceramic stripper guides with hard chromed snake guides and tip-top – Black rod bag with new cord lock for quicker, easier, and cleaner storage – Aluminium rod tube with Sage medallion
3wt – 6wt
– Sustainable Ziricote wood insert with anodized aluminum up-locking reel seat – Premium Flor grade snub-nose half-wells cork handle
5wt – 9wt
– Corrosion resistant anodized aluminum reel seat
– Premium Flor grade full-wells cork handle with cork/EVA fighting butt

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McKenzie and Willamette Fishing Well April 1st, 2022

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

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We continue to have ideal water conditions and daily hatches on the McKenzie. Swinging wet flies, nymphing and fishing dries throughout the day are producing good results. This weekend looks perfect with a mix of clouds sun and rain. Next week we are going to see some warmer temperatures, watch for the Grannom Caddis hatch to explode.

Patterns you need to have in your box now include:
Morrish’s May Day March Brown
Soft Hackle March Browns
March Brown Wets
20 Inchers
CDC Elk Hair Caddis
Purple Haze
Parachute Adams
Peacock Caddis
Parachute Caddis
Girdle Bug
Missing Link Caddis
Superman Caddis
Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle

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Posted in Fishing Reports, McKenzie River | Leave a comment

River Blockage above Hendricks Park on the McKenzie River April 1st, 2022 Updated April 6th.

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

This blockage no longer is an issue as of April 6th 2022.

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Check out the entire river for obstructions here: https://geo.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/d9441a6be52a49ac84be01b6f2c39f96

Posted in McKenzie River | Leave a comment

ODFW Wants to Hear from You – Send the Message to Restore North Umpqua Wild Summer Steelhead

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

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From Native Fish Society March 2022

North Umpqua Summer Steelhead returns have declined significantly over the previous five years. In 2021, a record low run of only 450 wild Summer Steelhead returned to the North Umpqua basin.

This historically low return, combined with hatchery fish on the spawning grounds and recent environmental conditions affecting Summer Steelhead in the basin (wildfires, drought, low flows, high stream temperatures, ocean conditions), prompted ODFW staff to reassess the viability of the population and factors that could be limiting their abundance.

And now, ODFW wants to know what the public thinks should be done to help restore wild steelhead. The information collected in this survey will be shared with decision-makers before they convene in April to consider the future of North Umpqua wild steelhead management. Please follow the link to this survey to give your feedback on the future of North Umpqua Wild Summer Steelhead. Remember the following:

–We would like to see a pause in the summer steelhead hatchery program until wild abundance is restored.
–Multiple factors are contributing to the decline of these fish, but we need to focus on those factors we can control, hatcheries and harvest.
–A majority of the folks fishing for North Umpqua Summer Steelhead would rather fish for and restore wild summer steelhead.

North Umpqua Summer Steelhead are one of only three populations of wild Summer Steelhead remaining on the Oregon coast. If we don’t restore this run now, we may very well have nothing left. Let’s share our voices to restore these fish to abundance for future generations of Oregonians and anglers following in our footsteps.

Posted in North Umpqua River Fishing Reports, Oregon Conservation News | 1 Comment

Spring Break March Brown Fishing Going Strong on the Lower McKenzie

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

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It happening folks, it is time to get out trout fishing. This is absolutely my favorite time of year, and conditions are only improving. I live in downtown Eugene and can be wadered up/boat in the water in under 20 minutes and fishing for some of the most beautiful trout in the world. We are unbelievably lucky people, I think. Anyway, here’s what I’ve seen the last few days on our local trout rivers. Sunday I fished from Hendricks to Hayden, and had it stuck in my head that the first half from Hendricks to Bellinger was not going to be great since I haven’t had much luck in there recently. We caught a number of gorgeous fish in the top half, and by the time we got to Bellinger the March Browns were hatching enough to get the fish interested. I found a group of rising fish, but an hour went by along with a couple dozen trout to the boat before we had to move on. It was cold and the surface activity didn’t last long. I was out today, it got up to 70 something degrees, and the march browns were in full effect. Swinging a soft hackle in the morning was best, followed by dries from 11-noon and then back to swinging softies and nymphing in the afternoon. I was fishing a possie bugger and march brown emerger for my swing setup, purple haze for my dry and an assortment of jigs under an indicator or big dry fly. If you live in the area and love to catch trout as wild as they come, now is the time.

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Also, as an aside, there are a few tricky spots on the lower river right now. Please, if you have any hesitations or questions about a float, call us at the shop and we will give you the low down so you don’t get stuck in a sticky situation. Be safe and have fun out there!

JH

Posted in Fishing Reports, Lower Willamette, McKenzie River | Leave a comment

McKenzie River Native Fish Society River Steward Chapter Meeting

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

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Over the past year, the team at Native Fish Society (NFS) has been brainstorming ways in which we could build the groundswell of public support for wild fish throughout the Pacific Northwest. Out of this brainstorm, our team is very excited to announce we are launching a River Steward Chapter model!

We are piloting this River Steward Chapter model for all passionate river and fish advocates in the Eugene area based on the growing interest in building a community around wild native fish!

On Tuesday, March 29, 2022, at 5:30 pm, we will be hosting our first-ever chapter get-together at Hendricks Park at the FM Wilkins Shelter. Native Fish Society will bring food (pizza) but please bring a beverage of your choice!

No need to prepare or plan ahead, this meeting will be all about getting together, building community, and having fun. In the future, our goal is to put our heads together about some key conservation efforts we can tackle to help restore abundant wild fish to the McKenzie and upper Willamette Rivers.

So please hold your calendar for Tuesday, March 29! Bring a friend or two, and let’s have a great time! We are excited to meet everyone in person and continue to build a groundswell of public support to restore abundant wild fish, free-flowing rivers, and thriving local communities.

Best,
Liz Perkin, Northern Oregon Regional Coordinator

P.S. Please RSVP at this link so we know how much pizza to bring!

***This event will be based on current state guidelines for the COVID-19 pandemic. When the date gets closer we will reassess and decide if the current environment is safe enough to host the gathering. Thank you for your patience.

Posted in McKenzie River, Oregon Conservation News | 2 Comments

Sage Introduces New R8 Fly Rods

Posted on March 23, 2022 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Check out the “story behind” the new R8 Sage Rods. Inquire at the shop to cast Sage’s latest all water multi-application R8 Rod. These rods are fast action but load from tip to butt with power you can control.

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