Barrett’s prescription for blown out rivers: Get organized

The rivers are blown out, 300% of typical snowpack in Oregon’s Coast Range melting and sliding into the ocean. Our rivers needed the flush to get the winter steelhead season started, but the weather has left a lot anglers twiddling our thumbs. While there are a lot of more productive things you could be doing with your time — banking quality time at home, repairing your gutters, etc. — if you’re reading this, you’re thinking fish. Barrett’s got a laundry list of things to do between now and the next shot at fishable water in this new Oregon Fly Fishing Podcast.

If you want to be doing something productive, fish related this week:
-Get stacked up with the important spring patterns — March Browns, Pheasant Tails, Possie Buggers.
–Mend waders and boots.
-Organize your steelhead box!
-Get tying on some bass bugs for May on Davis Lake. Tie up some of this time-consuming patterns, like Barrett’s Cascade Bass Killer.

Me? I usually go a little less practical come dead winter: dark beers and big streamers. I’ll be on a Quixotic lingcod fly-rod quest come Feb-March and I’m getting excited about some of the new fly tying materials from Hareline like Senyo’s laser dub and BaitFish Emulator. Check ’em out:

I’ll be experimenting with Icelandic Sheep, Larva Lace, Glow-in-the-dark Flashabou and a bunch of other stuff and put out a post once I’ve got the perfect blend for a ling-cod-killer.
-MS