Caddis Fly Shop: Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

OPST Product Review: Olympic Peninsula Skagit Tactics, May 2015

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

OPST logo

Olympic Peninsula Skagit Tactics (OPST) is a recent addition within the Fly Fishing Military Industrial Complex (referenced in the Fly Fishing Book of Revelation) but this small company merits a close look from anglers and fly tiers who devote themselves to swinging flies. In short, this company limits its product offerings to a very narrow field: stuff that is most useful to anglers swinging flies using a “sustained anchor” form of Spey casting. The “About Us” tab on the OPST site notes that Ed Ward and Jerry French are the heart of the Expertise that stokes OPST’s innovative fire, but doesn’t quite say that these two men are principals of the company. Initially, I wondered if Jerry and Ed were hostages of some cabal of entrepreneurs who have them chained to a park bench somewhere in the Olympic Peninsula. My contacts within the Department of Homeland and Spey Fishing Security indicate (privately) that Ed and Jerry are indeed partner-owners, perhaps only occasional recipients of hypnosis or truth drugs administered to extract their Spey knowledge.

____________________________

Post Script: after drafting this post yesterday, I went fishing up the Nestucca, swinging flies on an ECHO GLASS 8 wt and a DEC HOGAN II 7 wt. I fished from about 1 PM until dark, hooking one fish briefly (pulled ten feet of line off my reel) at about 6 PM and then hooked a big buck about 7 PM that ran me across the river, jumped, ran back at my feet, ran back across the river and spit the hook.

Anyway, throughout the day, I noticed occasional glints of light reflecting off glass in the brush along the river. This seemed odd, but I’m now quite sure that these were spotting scopes. Several times I was surprised to see one of those creepy red laser dots planted dead center in the middle of my chest. I even spotted a portable satellite dish rising up out of the brush then retracting after a few minutes. These are telltale indications that someone from OPST was checking me out and deciding my fate.

Strange but true. On my porch this morning is a hand written note signed by Ed Ward and Jerry French assuring me that they are well and are principals and product design controllers for OPST and if I really care about them and the future of Skagit casting and wild fish I had best get on with my review or else they might tell the world that I’ve been seen with an ECHO PIN rod in my boat on a few occasions this winter. OK. I yield. Ed and Jerry are big honchos in OPST. This of course makes me feel like a worm because those guys have such amazing history tying and fishing Intruders and here I’m the newbie in the riffle.

End Post Script ______________________________

Here goes.

Several OPST products are high on my list of good gear, so I’ll share my thoughts on these, mention the ones I have not used yet, and let the reader take it from there.

OPST Intruder Shanks.

OPST Steelhead Shanks. These are the basic up/down eye straight shanks, available in 1″, 2″ and 3″ lengths. These are great to tie on if you want to rig your flies (Intruders or other styles) with leader strung through the hook eye and junction tubing at the rear of the fly. This style allows one to tie on a shank but rig like a tube and these OPST shanks come with smoothly rounded ends saving me the time it takes to round the ends of a hook cut off with wire cutters. I have used these shanks extensively for about 3 months now and am pleased with the results. Oh yes, I should note that these shanks are perfect for use with beads and cone heads – but can also be used with barbell/dumbell eyes too.

OPST Dumbell Eye Shanks.

OPST Dumbell Eye Shanks. While These are specifically intended for use with dumbbell eyes, I find that I like to use these on unweighted flies also, simply because I like the large size of the looped eye. These also work with beads and cones if the ID of the bead/cone is sufficient to accommodate the return of the eye, and many are. Overall, I find that these are my preferred shanks.

OPST Swing Shanks

OPST Swing Hooks. In short, these are FANTASTIC HOOKS. The points are sticky sharp, the points are slightly in-turned and offset, and the hooks are already barbless. The steel is stout but not overly stout. These are almost but not quite straight eye hooks so they are best suited to attachment with a clinch or non slip loop knot and junction tubing. Overall, these are the best new hooks I’ve seen on the Intruder scene; so my opinion aside, I urge you to take a look and see what you think.

I like the sizes too, and I’ll be using the 1/0 hooks for Chinook this season. So far, I LOVE these hooks! I’ll be tying Clousers on these in 2015, no doubt about it.

OPST Swing Hooks

OPST Swing Hooks sizes 1/0, 1, and 2.

OPST Lazar LIne #30 Lb. spool.

OPST Lazar Running Line. This is very good running line (shooting line if you insist) for use behind all of our Spey fly line heads. The mono is as memory free as any I’ve ever used, does a decent job of floating (not perfect just good), and I like the wide range of sizes available. I have used the sizes between #25 and #50 lbs depending on the Skagit head, and like them all. I suggest the #40 and #50 if you are fishing heavy tippets, just to be sure you save your head if you get hung on a mid river rock. Very nice stuff and worth a closer look.

OPST Dubbing Spinner.

OPST Dubbing Spinner. At first glance, this seemed just an ordinary dubbing spinner and I have used many, including a Sheppard’s hook and the Stonefo Elite Dubbing Spinner that I recently reviewed. A closer look at the OPST spinner gave me pause. First thing I noticed was that it didn’t roll off my fly bench like many spinners with round weighted bodies do. That’s nice. Second thing I noticed was that it is heavier than the various dubbing spinners I’ve been using. I found that this extra weight has been a distinct asset when I’m spinning a lot of materials in a single loop. For these “composite” loops, I use Danvilles 210D waxed thread because it is strong and tacky. I’ll include Marble Fox, Ostrich, Lady Amherst Pheasant tail, and flashabou with Ice Dub and twirl up an amazing concoction. The added weight and easy to insert hook on the OPST Dubbing Spinner – together – made my spinning more certain and less likely to fumble in the middle of the process. Oh well, we fly tiers do live for specialty tools for specialized applications, and this is a fun little discovery.

OPST Ostrich Drabs.

OPST Barred Ostrich Drabs (Plumes). Excellent pair of plumes with one larger and one smaller plume per pack. I have not found a better fluffy Ostrich with as nice a set of black bars as these.

Hands down, I want these plumes on my bench when I’m tying Intruders. The practice of bundling a larger feather with a smaller feather is standard in the fly materials industry (as you will see when you purchase a pair of Peacock eyed tail feathers). I’ve been through many packs of the OPST Ostrich plumes and always get one great plume, sometimes get two great plumes, and sometimes one plume is considerably smaller than the other. I have found that that smaller plume in the pack is usually perfect for dressing butts on my Intruders, so there is no waste if I’m smart about using the proper length herl on the proper size fly. The smaller plumes are also perfect for my Micro Intruders.

Other OPST Products. These include trailer hook wire, Junction Tubing, Dotted Ostrich Drabs, Skagit lines, and a variety of SIMMS gear with the OPST logo imprinted on it. I have not used any of these but judging by the quality of the products I have first hand experience with assure me that these will be first rate gear as well.

The Caddis Fly Shop makes regular orders from OPST, so if you want some of their products as part of your regular order, please call or shoot us a note or comment on your ask if we can fill your OPST shopping list. We appreciate people like Ed Ward, and Jerry French (and Benjamin Paull ha ha!) who are supporting our fly tying and fishing passion, striving to keep our product line current and innovative, recognizing that there are many existing as well as new gizmos that are fun and effective to tie with.

Jay Nicholas – May 2015

Posted in Fly Fishing Gear Review, Fly Tying, Fly Tying Materials and Supplies, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Lower Mckenzie Report Spring 2015

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

The Lower Mckenzie continues to fish well as April comes to a close. As is the case during Spring, the fishing is quite dependent on the weather. Cloudy days with intermittent showers have been the best because its when we’re seeing the most insect activity. On Friday, the March Browns were out in full force between 11am-5pm. There were also plenty of tan caddis, blue winged olives, and a few McKenzie green caddis as well.

For most of the day the most productive method was swinging march brown soft hackles, but when the rain began to fall the March Browns began to flurry and thats what the fish were waiting for. Even though the times where the fish were keyed on the dry fly was short-lived, it was incredible to see so many fish looking up at once. The catch was a mixed bag between rainbows, cutthroats, and eager smolts that were recently dumped into the river. In the end, we were fortunate enough to come in contact with a few quality Mckenzie redsides on Friday, and its those fish that make the Spring fishing days really special. There is still some great Spring fishing to be had on the lower McKenzie. Cloudy days are when you really want to be out there, but sunnier days have still produced decent fishing particularly on nymphs. With the upper river now open, we are entering that time of the year where our angling options become overwhelming–a good problem to have if you ask me.

Andy Archer

Posted in McKenzie River | 1 Comment

Rio Knot Video Worth a Look

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Rio Products created this excellent video demonstrating how to tie, why to tie and how strong each of these very useful fly fishing knots.

Seven knots for attaching a fly to leader/tippet material, and how to tie them from RIO Products on Vimeo.

Posted in Oregon Fly Fishing Tips | Leave a comment

New location, Jeff Ziller for TU on Monday, May 4

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Please join us Monday, May 4th at McMenamins North Bank, 22 Club Rd. in Eugene
‘
The general meeting will start at 7:00PM and the public is welcome. The board meeting will follow directly after the general meeting and TU members are welcome to attend.

Presentation:
We welcome Jeff Ziller, Head District Biologist for ODFW. Jeff will be giving a presentation on the Colorado River.

Summer break:
We will not be holding general chapter meetings in June, July, August and September. We will hold regular monthly board meetings during this time, and any news of outings, events, volunteer opportunities and meeting minutes will be reported here.

See you Monday!

Posted in Oregon Fly Fishing Clubs and Events | Leave a comment

Fly Fishing Film Fest Reminder April 30

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

The International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4) is coming to Eugene

Wildish Community Theater | April 30, 2015
Doors open at 6:15 PM. Film begins AT 7:00 PM.
Hosted By: True West Custom Fly Rods, Caddis Fly Shop and Homewaters Fly Shop

Part of the fund raising efforts include some super cool gear that will be auctioned and raffled at the event. Items include:

Custom Sage Method
2 Echo Rods
Several Airflo lines
Custom Steelhead pattern rod tube
Patagonia Fishing sling
$500 Tying Vise and tying package
Guided Fly Fishing Trips

Funds raised from this event will benefit Fly Fishing Colloborative.

Tickets are on sale here, and will also be available for $15.00 at the Caddis Fly Shop and if available, for $18.00 at the door on the day of the event.

For more information, please contact event organizer at info@flyfilmfest.com

Posted in Oregon Fly Fishing Clubs and Events | Leave a comment

Best Local Flies Spring 2015

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

It’s the general trout season opener this weekend. While many folks have been enjoying some fine fishing on the lower McKenzie everything else opens up Saturday morning!

The following is a list of fly patterns that have been effective this spring and will continue to fool fish throughout April and May.

The Purple Parachute has worked well during March Brown and Blue Winged Olive hatches. It’s also been a solid searching pattern(good general dry fly) much like a parachute Adams.

The Glitter Soft Hackle has been deadly during cloudy and rainy conditions, imitating emerging mayflies and caddis flies. Fish this fly on the swing.

On warmer days Golden Stones have been present and fishing the Golden Rollin Stone alone or as a dry to hold up a dropper nymph is an excellent tactic.

The Foam Elk Hair Caddis is a solid performer from April through July. One of the best all around dry fly patterns to have in your box.

The Soft Hackle Hare’s Ear is another solid down and across swing fly. Great for those cloudy and rainy days. This one can be fished behind a dry fly as well.

The Tungsten Trout Retriever will help you get down near the bottom in some of the faster runs on the McKenzie, Willamette and Deschutes. It will help drag down a smaller dropper nymph as well.

Swung, dead drift or just flopped out in the flow, the Mega Prince just works!

“Hall of Famer” Again swing it hang it under a dry, drag it etc.. The Possie Bugger catches fish on 6 of 7 continents.

Let’s not forget a classic dry fly. The Parachute Adams in a variety of sizes needs to be in your fly box. With the incredibly low water we are having you might see Green Drakes in April. The Parachute Adams in various sizes will cover you.

The Green McKenzie Caddis emergence is developing and should blossom in next weeks heat. Actively “jig” “twitch” “skitter” this pattern while on the swing and look for smashing takes.

The Jigged Prince has been deadly under a dry or with a larger Golden Stone nymph. It’s quick decent and “hook point up” during the drift keep it close to the bottom but not hung up.

Our new favorite. A variation on the old faithful Hare’s Ear. Fish it under a Green Caddis or Golden Stone pattern.

Another killer nymph to fish either with a larger bug off an indicator or under a dry.

Missing Link Caddis fishes well during caddis hatches and is a solid all around dry fly when you have picky fish rising anytime.

The Half Down Golden is a great Stonefly dry to hold up the nymphs I mention above. It’s also a winner on the Deschutes during the Stonefly Hatch.

The Green McKenzie Caddis or locally know as the McKenzie Special is one of the best flies on the McKenzie and Willamette during the months of April and May.

Posted in Fishing Reports, Lower Willamette, McKenzie River, Middle Fork Willamette River fishing, Oregon Fly Fishing Tips | 3 Comments

Middle Fork of the Willamette River Report April 2015

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

We floated from Greenwaters Park on the East side of the Oakridge township down to Black Canyon campground this past Tuesday. Fishing was fair. Using hopper dropper rigs with Golden Stone adult patterns and HDA Fav Variant Jigged Nymphs we caught fish on the surface and deep. We had success using indicator nymph rigs and caught fish on Golden Stone nymph patterns and Jigged Pheasant Tail nymphs as well.

I knew the water would be low but my goodness! Not only is there very little water being released out of Hills Creek Dam (approx 340 CFS) but tributaries like Salt and Salmon Creek are very very low. Overall the flow on the Middle Fork of the Willamette near Oakridge is well below what we might expect in late July.

On the plus side wading anglers have innumerable gravel bars to easily access the waters of the Middle Fork and this is not likely to change in the next 4 months. If you want to have a nice walk and wade fishing day give the middle fork a shot.

Here are just a few ideas for anglers looking to wade the middle fork.

1. Park at Black Canyon Campground and start fishing upstream. It’s so low you will easily cross the river to the large island at the upstream end of the campground.

2. Turn hard left after you pass the green metal bridge about 1 mile prior to Oarkridge “Ferrin” boat launch. Fish upstream from this local.

3. From Greenwaters park walk down the true right bank and fish all the water downstream from the conflueence of Salmon Creek.

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

Return to Malhuer 2015

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Lou Verdugo

Headed out to Eastern Oregon this past week with binoculars and my fly rod. My wife and I joined a hearty group of bird watchers for our third year at the Malheur Field Station.

We saw many Sand Hill Cranes this trip. Probably the most we have seen over the past years. This one was an easy picture; he walked across the road in front of our car!

The volume of birds was less than previous years, but we did come much earlier than the past years.

Another issue this year impacting not only the birds, is a severe Eastern Oregon drought. Governor Kate Brown has declared a drought emergency in Malheur and Lake counties due to dry conditions, low snowpack, and lack of precipitation.

From the Governors declaration: “Projected forecasts for Malheur and Lake counties look bleak, meaning these rural communities will continue to experience severe drought conditions,” Governor Brown said. “In addition to creating an increased wildfire risk, this drought presents hardships to crops, agriculture, communities, recreation, and wildlife, all of which rely on Oregon’s water resources. I will continue working with federal, state, and local partners to help Oregonians in this part of the state through this challenging situation.”

Last year, water was very apparent. This year, we had to go looking for water. The only good news, less water equaled more birds in one place.

Even with dry conditions, the great basin serves as a good place to find Golden Eagles. We were very fortunate to have been shown an eagle nest, said to have been used for many, many, years hidden away on a remote cliff side.

From the ODFW Blitzen River report:

” The Blitzen River has been flowing between 90 and 100 cfs with water temperatures around 8oC. Recent precipitation in the Steens Mountain area has caused the river to rise and become slightly murky at times.

Recent reports indicate that fishing around the Page Springs Campground has been productive and fish have been taking dry flies when a mid-day hatch is present. Anglers have also had some success swinging weighted streamers. The Blitzen River around Page Springs is a good year-round trout fishery, offering amazing scenery and the chance to catch redband trout up to 20 inches.

The East Canal, Bridge Creek, main stem Blitzen above Bridge Creek and the Little Blitzen River are open for catch-and-release fishing for trout. Anglers willing to hike/bike the 3 miles into Bridge Creek have reported good success near the lower canyon. The South Loop Road is still closed for the winter (generally opens near the end of April), which limits access to the upper portions of the Blitzen.”

The Blitzen River never got to see my fly rod this trip. But, fishing was not the priority. Family, Friends, Nature, and the good earth are the priority.

Posted in Central Oregon Fishing Report, Eastern Oregon | Leave a comment

McKenzie River Wooden Boat Festival This Saturday

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Celebrating the history, the form and the function of the wooden white water boat that was invented here on McKenzie River.

Held on the lawns of Eagle Rock Lodge from 10am until 5pm in the afternoon. View over fifty wooden white water boats designed for the McKenzie River and now used on white water rivers all over the world.

Admission is free. Lunch concessions are on site with proceeds going to the McKenzie River Guides Association.

49198 McKenzie Highway, Milepost 34.5

Posted in McKenzie River, Oregon Fly Fishing Clubs and Events, Oregon fly fishing links | Leave a comment

North Oregon Coast Saltwater Fishing Report April 2015

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

I’m going to keep this post short, and let the fun featured in the short movie speak for itself. These scenes were shot over a consecutive period of two days by John or Jack Harrell, while they were hosting me in John’s dory Gold comet, launched from the beach into the surf at Pacific City in mid April.

On the first day we had only one popper rod, Jack’s, and he graciously caught one black sea bass and asked if I would like to fish his rod while he filmed. Yes I would thank you very much. I had the good fortune to be on the ocean three days straight, two in Gold Comet and one in Ed and Kevin’s dory (as yet unnamed).

First day saw the bass gorging on crab spawn and a fair number taking the poppers; each crushing take was glorious.

Days two and three saw the bass taking both crab spawn and big anchovies (5-6”) so they were far more receptive to the Popper and Gurgler than when they only had the crab spawn to eat.

Day two was the best of the three with an extended period when John and I hooked roughly two dozen nice black rockfish on Poppers and Gurglers. There was no objective measurable or anecdotal difference in the bass’ receptivity to John’s Popper versus my Gurgler, but I am convinced that my fly is the better of the two (ha ha).

On Day three – Ed, Rob, and I went a little farther north of Haystack Rock (one of several in Oregon) to fish for lingcod after the bass ceased taking poppers and we found lings just over thirty inches willing to take our flies. To be clear, not all the lingcod were in the 30” size class, because several were rather small but still feisty.

Fly rod Lingcod comes to the dory.

At one point during the morning, I was having fun slowly lowering my Clouser down into the water beside the boat and watching black rockfish flash on the fly just as it was going out of sight, perhaps at 8-10 ft deep. One flash was a much larger fish and I felt the heavy pull of a lingcod and saw it do a slow back and forth shake before it spit my hook.

Ed Bowles and Jay Nicholas with fly rod lingcod.

We fished rods in weights from 5 (Poppers) to 10 (lingcod).

Fly lines are crucial in these situations. Very good fly lines to fish Poppers include the RIO Outbound Short Floater; the Airflo Sniper Floater, and the Wulff Ambush floater. A short aggressive front head with slim running line characterizes all of these lines. These lines are great to get the Popper or Gurgler out to the bass with only one or two back casts, so you maximize fishing time.

Leaders? Maxima Ultragreen is a dependable standby. I am a fan of RIO Alloy Hard tippet material because it is super abrasion resistant. The material is stiffer than the Maxima and has a larger diameter for each line class, but I have found it a dependable performer for rockfish and lingcod and it stands up to the abrasive teeth better than any leader in its strength rating. Do NOT use tapered trout leaders for this fishing!. I tried and believe me that a sea bass will cut you off using OX trout leader about as fast as you can say oooops!

At present I’m waiting for the surf to lay down so we can get off the beach and fish again. Meanwhile, there is still a little late winter steelhead and early spring Chinook action in north coast rivers and that is keeping me quite occupied, along with an occasional trip up to the town lake.

I hope you enjoyed the movie, and thanks to Chris for his editing.

John and Jack Harrell of Pacific City Fly Fishing.

John Harrell will be booking charters specializing in fly fishing in the ocean at Pacific City Fly Fishing.

Jay Nicholas
April 2015

Posted in Fishing Reports, Oregon Saltwater Fishing | 2 Comments

40th edition of Catch Magazine online, features Cedar Lodge, Pure New Zealand

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

If you haven’t checked out Catch Magazine #40, definitely go there now and subscribe. A one year subscription is $12 a year, or $2 an issue. It’s an incredible visual experience and costs less than a handful of trips to the coffee shack. Here’s a trailer for the latest video on Cedar Lodge by Todd Moen.

Also check out Catch Magazine on Instragram @catch_magazine and Facebook.

Posted in Fishing Porn | Leave a comment

Keep Nestle out of the Columbia River

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

From The Oregonian: The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has agreed to trade its water rights at Oxbow Springs to pave the way for a Nestle bottled water plant in Cascade Locks.

Cascade Locks City Administrator Gordon Zimmerman said the city and the state wildlife agency jointly submitted paperwork Friday morning to initiate a water rights cross transfer, with the state trading spring water for the city’s well water.

The Columbia River Gorge city will then pass the spring water on to Nestle, which will bottle and sell it.

Nestle’s proposal to bottle 100 million gallons of Oxbow Springs water annually for sale throughout the Northwest has been controversial, with multiple environmental organizations, public health groups and unions protesting the deal.

They’ve been working on this since 2010. Background here:

What’s the problem with this plan? Well, the bottling plant could adversely affect migratory fish. Salmon and steelhead passing through the Lower Columbia to points and tributaries upriver often have to deal with high temperatures, and Herman Creek provides a cold water thermal refuge.

Check out this page for info on how to speak up about this.

Posted in Oregon Conservation News | Leave a comment

Upper McKenzie River logging proposal: Goose Island

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

The Goose Island Timber sale is back. The plan to log more than 2000 acres (including in a large unroaded area and century-old, never-before-logged forests) was successfully challenged in court in 2013. Unfortunately, the new analysis makes few changes to address concerns about impacts to threatened northern spotted owls and other wildlife, older forests, and areas eligible for Wilderness designation.

If you think the forests of the McKenzie River watershed should be protected and restored, not further degraded by intensive logging, please take a moment to send a comment letter to the Willamette National Forest and let them know you have concerns about the Goose Timber Sale Project.

Comment period wraps up on April 20th.

Posted in McKenzie River, Oregon Conservation News | 2 Comments

Lower McKenzie River Fly Fishing Report: Spring 2015

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

It was great to get back to my home waters this past week. The McKenzie is at “early summer” water levels and fishing is full on. We put in at Hayden Bridge around 10:45am and immediately noticed mayflies on the water and in the air. The lighter colored cousin of the March Brown was something between a PMD and the larger darker classic March Browns. Fish were largely ignoring the mayflies, and I was in full exploration mode so we stuck with nymphs in the deeper runs and drop-offs.

By 12:30 we were seeing enough bugs, both mayflies and caddis to park in a bit of broken water and fish to actively rising fish. Surface activity continued on until we took out at around 5pm.

It was a bright and windy most of the day but each time the wind would lay down a bit the bugs and fish would become much more surface oriented. Although we did not catch any really big fish on the top we did have quite a bit of action. The most intense period of adult March Browns on the surface seemed to be between 2:30pm and 4pm. Fish were tuned in to both the emergent and adult forms of the March Brown during that window of time.

When we get some cloudy drizzly days in the coming days look for the hatch to be more concentrated and for larger fish to be more interested in heading to the top.

Best flies for fishing the lower McKenzie include:
Parachute Purple Rooster 12,14
Parachute Adams 14,16
March Brown Klinkhammer 12,14
Jigged Pheasant Tail 12,14
Jigged Prince 10
UV Guide Caddis 14,16
Mercer’s Missing Link Caddis 14,16

Posted in Fishing Reports, McKenzie River | 1 Comment

“Brochure” Day at Cedar Lodge New Zealand

Posted on April 12, 2015 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

This one got stuck in the OregonFlyFishingBlog.com post Que. Here we are in April already!

March can bring all types of weather to the South Island of New Zealand. As I write it’s cloudy and blowing 25 knots northwest, but every once in a while March brings you a “minter” a “cracker” of a day. A windless, clear forever day that is absolutely gorgeous. We had one of those perfect days this past Thursday and it happened to be one of those rare guides days out where those of us who have been watching and coaching all season got to make a few casts.