We’ve got some awesome new shop T-shirts in brown and dark blue colors. We’ve also got the new Oregon Trout shirts as well in Green and Blue in a variety of sizes. T-shirts are $25 each. Trust me, these Tees are all the rage in Europe right now.
Oregon Trout
Shop Tees
Get them while they’re here and represent your local fly shop!
Monday, August 11th, Rogue Ales Public House (lower level), 844 Olive St, Eugene.
The Redsides Chapter meetings will now take place on the second Monday of each month. The board meeting is at 6:00PM and all members are welcome to attend. The general meeting starts at 7:00PM.
There is a parking garage in the 900 block of Charnelton that is free after 6:00PM. It’s an easy 2-block walk to Rogue.
This month’s presentation will be given by Abel Kloster, project manager for the Coast Fork Watershed Council.
Don’t forget, if you’re planning on attending the picnic (Sunday, 1:00PM at Hendricks Bridge County Park), please let us know by replying to this email so we have an idea of food needs. It’s a pot luck, but we’ll provide hot dogs and burgers and some drinks.
Thanks,
Jack Wheeler
Secretary, The Redsides, TU Chapter 678
Once in a while, if we are really lucky, it all comes together. Today was one of those miracle days. I’m too tired to write much, and that’s probably a relief for a lot of our readers. Just imagine what goes on when three guys hook up on hot ocean silvers within about fifteen seconds. I’ll let these photos speak for the action, and simply say that it was hot fun.
Ok, details.
The water was 48.
The rods we fished included ECHO ION, ECHO PRIME, and SAGE ONE; equipped with RIO Outbound, RIO Striper, and AIRFLO Sniper lines; loaded on ECHO ION, Hatch, and Nautilus reels; with leaders tipped with tube bucktails and clousers trolled behind the dory.
Most of the fish were hooked on the troll, but several were hooked as follows – after one guy hooked up, we cut the motor, and the other guys retrieved, hooking fish on an erratic retrieve to the boat. We have also been hooking a few fish letting the dory drift with the wind and current, casting and strip-retrieving when we think there are fish around.
Nap time. If you have a chance to get out in the ocean with a fly rod, you never know what you may discover, but i doubt that you could be disappointed unless your expectations are set too high. On several of our trips this season we never touched a silver; on another trip we only brought one fish to net, so don’t expect this sort of multi-salmon theatrics every time out – but when it happens, it’s pay-off for the searching and patience.
Jay Nicholas, August 5 2014
PS: always check the regulations before you go.
Despite continued hot weather throughout the state of Oregon, fishing opportunities abound.
We have been focusing our guided trips on the upper most section of the Mckenzie River a bit more this season. The upper river is colder and has been fishing best from early a.m to around 2pm, then in the evening from 7pm until dark. Our best fly patterns remain hopper dropper rigs, Chubby Chernobyl’s with Jigged Possie Buggers and Jigged Prince Nymphs below them. On the rare day when you do get a few clouds in the a.m Parachute Adams, Parachute Purple Rooster, and small Elk Hair Caddis in brown or tan have been effective on the surface.
The Willamette River from Dexter Dam down to “town” continues to produce steelhead. The steelhead numbers are good this year, eclipsing last years run considerably. Despite pretty hot weather mornings have been best. Smaller patterns with 8lbs tippet and a clear intermediate sink tip are a good place to start in terms of tactics. It’s a great time to try skating a dry fly as well.
Other highlights around the state include the Umpqua River system. The main-stem Umpqua has been great for smallmouth bass and the North Umpqua has been decent for Summer Steelhead. For bass best patterns have been crayfish imitations, heavy rubber legged nymphs and crystal buggers in brown. For the North Umpqua skating dry flies has been good when a burst of fish moves through the system.
The upper reaches of the McKenzie and Willamette drainage’s are good calls for “beat the heat” wet wading afternoons. It’s hopper season on the upper Middle Fork of the Willamette above Hills Creek Reservoir. Foam Parachute Hoppers, Dave’s Hoppers and Half-down Golden Stones are good patterns. The South Fork of the McKenzie above Cougar is another fun drainage to explore. Beautiful wild rainbows and the occasional Bull Trout attack can be a blast.
Enjoy Your Summer Fishing!
Native Fish Society is hosting snorkel outings for River Stewards throughout the summer in Oregon. River snorkeling opens participants up to an underwater world that few have fully imagined. Swimming along from pool to pool is a terrific way to experience a river like a fish and personally understand the cold, clean water and habitats essential to the survival of wild, native fish.
River Snorkeling from Native Fish Society on Vimeo.
NFS’s next snorkel is going to be on the South Fork McKenzie on Saturday, August 16. Email Kyle for details: kms2159@gmail.com
ACTION ALERT
The native, ESA-listed salmon and steelhead of the drought-stricken Gualala River, in California, need your help. Thanks in large part to the pressure that we put on the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) a year ago, the CDFW is finally taking action to fix the critically flawed low-flow closure system on the North Central-Coast of California.
Currently, the North Central-Coast Low-Flow Closure is triggered by a gauge on the Russian River, whose flows are highly regulated by dams. The last three years have each had extended droughts in the middle of the winter steelhead season. Each year, the coastal streams have dropped down to mere trickles, yet have remained open to fishing because dam releases keep the Russian up above the low-flow trigger. The ESA-listed fish are forced to congregate into a handful of shrinking holes below restricted passage areas, and then subject to increased angling pressure. It also makes poaching enforcement more difficult when the fish are most vulnerable.
CDFW is preparing regulatory changes to move the trigger for North Central-Coast streams to one or more gauges on rivers that are more representative of the region’s small, undammed coastal streams, like the Gualala. Key issues will be which gauge(s) and low-flow triggers to use, how often CDFW will update its closure status.
The brief comment period ends August 7, 2014, so now is the time to voice our support for an appropriate low-flow closure trigger to protect these ESA-listed winter steelhead and coho from increased angling pressure (and poaching) during the extreme low-water conditions that have become the norm in this part of the state.
Send your message here.
Sunny skies greeted a nice turn out for the Caddis Fly Shop Gloomis Demo Day Saturday. An excellent time was had by all and we all learned a bunch about the new Gloomis NRX and Pro 4x rods.
Best rod of the day was the “short stixs“. A very innovative and most interesting idea in rod design. They cast very well and I look forward to testing one on a fine tarpon. Also, the new PRO 4X Switch Rod 10′ 6″ 5 weight was something special with a scandi line. The best rod by far, the NRX 5 weight!
The casting contest brought out the best in casting for Joe Palanuk winner of a NRX 5 weight. A couple of anglers took advantage of the free Gloomis duffle bag and free line to purchase a new Gloomis rod. “But wait”, Chris says he will still offer up a free line for any purchase of a NRX Gloomis rod.
We had one of the youngest anglers by far to attend our demo day. Dad is casting while the child is checking out his casting stroke. Starting this young this guy will be an awesome angler! Come on down to the shop and cast some of the new rods from Gloomis!
The Caddis Fly is thrilled to be one of the sponsors of the Fifth Annual Sunset Bay Angler of the Day (a kayak-only fishing tournament) next month at Sunset Bay State Park in Coos Bay, OR.
You can check out the Facebook page for the tournament here. The other official page is here.
Tournament Description:
This is a points per inch based contest. Points are assigned to each of the available species that can be caught in the area. The angler with the highest point total at the end of the contest will be declared the winner and receive the Hobie Outback Mirage Drive Kayak.
Species List:
1. Lingcod 4.5 points per inch
2. Rockfish 7 points per inch
3. Greenling 9 points per inch
4. Cabezon 8 points per inch
5. Surf Perch 11 points per inch
6. Halibut 3.5 points per inch
7. Flounder 7 points per inch
8. Chinook 4 points per inch
9. Coho 5 points per inch
Rules and Regulations:
–Check in begins at 5:30 AM–
–Cut off time to measure your fish will be 2:00 pm, no entries will be allowed after that time–
–Waiver must be signed prior to launching. If you fail to sign the waiver, you will be disqualified from contest–
–Abide by all ODFW fishing laws and regulations–
–Have a valid Oregon fishing license–
–Have a valid Oregon Invasive Species Permit–
–Catch and release will be allowed with clear picture on a measuring device, mouth closed, and must include verification item to be given to each angler before launching. No extra points awarded for C&R–
–Wear appropriate immersion gear for Oregon coast water temperatures!–
–Must fly a safety flag–
–Must carry a signaling device (whistle, horn etc.)–
–Northern boundary is the north side of Baltimore Rock–
–Southern boundary is the south side of Simpson Reef–
Back Up Plan:
If the ocean is too rough to go out we will change the competition to a Salmon Derby. We will fish the Bay so bring your trolling gear. The angler with the single heaviest fish will be declared the winner. One way or another we will fish!
Last week, I got to see my buddy Julian off in style, with an Oregon fishing bachelor party.
We started out on the Upper McKenzie — fishing on foot on our first evening.
We headed to the river at near dark – late, too late to see the bottom of the river as we stumbled over the rocks. The trout rising in faster, choppy waves. There were stoneflies and caddis rising in fluttery gorgeousness. Trout started rising. And we pulled out our half-down golden stonefly dries, our chubby Chernobyl ants — anything big enough to be able to see the bug on the water in the dying light.
The wet wading was more difficult than I remembered. And colder. Mentally, I knew how hard it is to wade without wading boots on slimy rocks and fast currents, and I remembered how cold the water is. But somehow I didn’t believe it. Living in the East for two years had made me dumb and soft.
Nonetheless, we caught a handful of respectable redsides in the last light.
The next day, we fished with Chris on the uppermost section of the McKenzie River, and caught a billion trout on hopper dropper rigs. It was awesome. I’m definitely sold on the new “jig” style on the bead-head nymphs — somehow that little shift in angle of the hook eye puts those bugs in the zone really fast, which matters a lot when your average drift lasts just a few seconds.
Horsetail ferns lined the banks, salal berries starting to ripen. I looked up at the giant trees, cedars and firs. Big leaf maples, leaves as big as plates. Oregon grape in the understory. Fish rising, splashing the surface in frenzied leaps.
On the Upper McKenzie, the drift boat floats downstream at a breakneck pace. Daughters pulls the oars to keep us in the fish as long as he can, but the experience is like trying to walk backwards up an escalator going down.
The day after that, we headed to the Upper Willamette, again on foot, and rekindled our appreciation of luxuries like drift boats, waders and most importantly, guides.
After a few days trout fishing, the bachelor party grew to a six-pack and we headed out to the Oregon Coast, specifically Astoria to fish with Bob Rees. Bob is one of the best gear guides in the business, and a conservation minded-dude and all around great guy. We headed out that day for a combo trip, trolling for hatchery salmon in the open ocean, followed by catch-and-release for sturgeon.
The rigs were surprisingly simple – fresh anchovies, rigged to hang on the hook in a C-shaped curve, producing a spinning motion. I’d always fished herring, so watching these silvery baitfish whirl just off the back of the boat was cool. The silver fishing wasn’t super hot, but we caught enough and headed into the estuary to chase my dream fish — sturgeon.
For most of my life I’ve been an elitist fly fisherman, you know — $600 fishing poles and trout daintily sipping hooks decorated with wispy feathers. But there is something decadent, luxuriously inevitable about fishing with bait – life wants life. And out there cruising in the depths are unthinkable animals the size and shape of a grown man, ready to consume the living offering. I feel like I’m in the movie King Kong, and I’m on skull island, with a piece of meat lashed to the gates. And waiting. The anchovy pierced, bleeding on the bottom, waiting for some whiskered giant to whisk it away. The sturgeon is like a half-stegosaurus, half-shark, with a pale belly that looks and feels like a drowned corpse.
We caught a half dozen, all doubles, in the period of about an hour and then it was over. The tides changed and we couldn’t buy a fish the rest of the day. But the fight and the jumps were amazing. All of the fish we’d caught were “keepers” in a normal year. ODFW had closed the season to protect the fishery. But a return of the smelt to the Lower Columbia had brought droves of them back into the estuary.
I love to eat sturgeon, but I was glad it closed. Without a lot of protection, these fish are vulnerable. And catch and release is pretty clean. Barbless hooks, big tough fish, no blood to speak of.
Coming home to Oregon felt like seeing an old girlfriend. Remembering all the good things – forgetting the tired, mundane moments. Unfortunately, there really weren’t that many times I wished I didn’t live here. In fact, I can’t think of any.
-MS
Flash Back Hare’s Ear Nymph—Olive
Hook: TMC 3761 10-18
Bead: Gold Cyclops
Thread: Veevus 16/0 Olive
Tail: Olive Hare’ Ear Mask
Rib: Gold Ultra Wire
Abdomen: Hareline’s Olive Hare’s Ear Dubbin #34
Wing case: Hareline Flashback Sheeting
Thorax: Hareline’s Olive Hare’s Ear Dubbin #34
Wing case finish: Clear Cure Goo Thin, then CCG Hydro.
The Hare’s Ear Nymph is truly one of the quintessential flies of fly-fishing. A fly that has saved so many trips for me over the years that I don’t leave home without it. The history of the fly seems a bit clouded, but we know that the fly dates back to at least the 1880’s and possibly beyond.
The fly has been credited to a Victorian tyer, Mr. James Ogden many times, but there are many other references that credit or question the originator. I still carry many of the old standard Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymphs in my box, but why not give the classic Hare’s Ear a little “face lift”?
Hareline’s Flash Back Sheeting seemed to be the place to start. I added a little Clear Cure Goo to bring the sheeting to life…and protect the wing case from those pesky trout teeth. There are many old patterns out there that can be “tweaked”, to meet the demands of your fishing conditions.
We truly are in the “Golden Age of Fly Tying”, with so many new materials to make your offering more enticing!
Disclaimer: This was to be the test run for the next batch of videos, and it’s a little rough.
TT
My dad and I putting in at Warm Springs for trip #1!
It’s wildfire season in Central Oregon. It came fast and hard, knocking firefighters on their heels with winds and high temperatures. Despite this, I got out to do some fishing last week on the Deschutes, Lake Simtustus, and the Metolius.
My dad and I did a Tuesday-Wednesday float trip from Warms Springs to Trout Creek. It was hot, but thankfully we both had a pair of Simms Guard Socks for wet wading, which saved our butts. The fishing was good despite the 95+ degree weather. X-Caddis was still a hot fly on the surface, while Sparkle Pupas, nest building caddis, and emerging caddis nymphs down low also produced.
Wednesday night my uncle from Washington arrived at the Lake Simtustus RV Park, which acted as our base camp, and the next day we put in at Warm Springs for Thursday-Friday float trip. This trip met us with cooler temperatures, and even cooler fishing. An X-Caddis pattern worked early, but once the wind picked up the bugs and the fish sulked. Despite this I managed fish on Sparkle Pupas below a heavily weighted Mega Prince.
One of my dads fish caught on a #16 olive X-Caddis
I targeted the rocky banks with my tandem nymph rig and went about 4-5 feet below my indicator to my anchor fly. I hooked into two monsters that both broke me off thanks to a too-hardy drag setting, ugh. The next day was even cooler, but less wind, and even though there were bugs on the surface the fish didn’t seem to go for them. I kept with the same nymphing rig and managed to hook into a few.
Saturday I woke up back at the Lake Simtustus RV Park. Check out was at 1pm, so I only had a few hours to explore. I’d heard the lake has hearty populations of Rainbows, Browns, Kokanee, and Smallmouth Bass. I went with an olive/black Woolly Bugger and started banging the banks next to low hanging trees in the shady spots. One of my first casts produced a nice 12-inch smallmouth, my first on the fly.
My dad, my uncle, and me looking like dorks at the Warm Springs put in for trip #2
I caught two more, and had two more bites, but then I noticed fish rising towards the middle part of the east arm I was on. I began trolling with that same Woolly Bugger, but got nothing. Maybe I wasn’t deep enough, or maybe they were just focused on surface flies, who knows!? The sun was getting higher, and the wind was picking up, so I started casting perpendicular to the bank about two/three feet out, letting it sink a little deeper and did a slow retrieve around jetties and rock outcroppings. On my second cast I hooked into something monstrous. It shook its head a few times, but then I felt the sinking feeling of a slack line. He’d broken me off and stolen my last tungsten-weighted Woolly Bugger.
Me fishing near Grassy Camp under a smoke-tinted sunset.
After that the sun was too high, the fish too low, and the wind too strong. Over the few days and nights I spent there I was impressed with the size and number of fish in Lake Simtustus, and would recommend anyone who hasn’t fished it to go there and check it out. It’s also a great base camp for doing day or overnight trips on the Deschutes, which is only 15 minutes away.
Seems like mornings and evenings are best at Lake Simtustus, and a boat is a must because the bank is steep and inundated with bushes that make casting a pain. There’s also a small creek feeding the lake near the RV Park on the east arm that holds many small trout. Pheasant tails and Parachute Adams both worked there, and targeting the deeper pools below cascades was successful.
Finally, Sunday brought with it cooler temperatures and cloudy skies. I sped over to the Metolius and was met with larger crowds than usual. Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery and below was closed to fishing and visitors due to the fire, so everybody moved upriver to fish the Camp Sherman to Gorge stretch. Still, most of my favorite holes and runs were open when I got to them, and luckily the fishing was hot. I caught two rainbows, one of which was about 15”, and one large white fish all on a Yellow Sally nymph. The Golden Stones are late this year like most of the hatches due to high water and weird weather. Anyways, the Golden Stoneflies are migrating to the shore to hatch, and the trout are keyed in on them. So if you’re heading there, make sure to pack your Beldar Stones and Yellow Sally nymphs.
Overlooking Lake Simtustus RV Park. Image thanks to lakesimtustusresort.com
As for dries there wasn’t much action on top. However, around mid afternoon at Allingham hole a group of kids started throwing Cheetos into the river just below where I was fishing. I hadn’t seen a fish rise all day, and was convinced they’d fled or weren’t eating just to spite me.
“Watch the Cheeto,” one of them said.
As I did a massive redside crashed the surface and took the Cheeto with him. I looked at the guy fishing the other shore.
“Did you see that?” I asked him. “Do it again,” I said to the kids.
Sure enough every Cheeto they tossed into the water was met with a voracious rise from another rainbow. I tried everything, even an orange and brown stimulator I though looked like a Cheeto, but couldn’t get a fish to rise.
After another half an hour of unsuccessful attempts I looked at the other guy who was equally frustrated.
“Typical Metolius,” I said before setting off downstream.
Even though I didn’t get a fish on the dry that day, the fishing was still hot, and seeing those fish rise to Cheetos was a kick too. All in all it was a great week of fishing and I can’t wait to do it again soon!
Deschutes: X-Caddis, Missing Link Caddis, and Parachute Adams in size 16 worked well early, late, and during breaks in the wind. Sparkle Pupas, Mega Prices, emerging caddis patterns, and Nest Building Caddis worked well all day along seams and rocky banks.
Lake Simtustus: Woolly Bugger early in the morning along jetties and rocky shorelines below trees produced Smallmouth. Cast close to shore and wait for your fly to get low then do a slow 6-inch retrieve. Pheasant Tails and Parachute Adams worked on Willow Creek on the east arm below cascades and in deeper pools.
Metolius: Yellow Sally nymphs were the hot fly on the Camp Sherman to Gorge stretch. Below Wizard Falls was closed to fishing and visitors due to the nearby fire. Bring some stone fly nymphs and adult dries as the Golden Stone hatch is coming off a bit later this year due to high water and weird weather.
Bryan T. Robinson
Just a quick reminder G-Loomis will be at Alton Baker, July 26, 2-5pm, at the ponds. To gain your attendance, our G-Loomis host, Josh Linn has sweeten the opportunities with the following offers: aanyone who buys a rod will have the receive a free G-Loomis Fly Duffel Bag ($80 value) included at no charge!
Also, for the angler who can cast the furthest, Josh will be giving away a FREE NRX 590-4LP. The rod will be shipped to the lucky winner at the conclusion of the event.
If you have not had the opportunity to cast a NRX GLoomis rod, Spey or single handed,….this is the time!
LV
Tokyo Harbor
Customer and avid angler Michael Beech sent us this photo from a recent business trip to Tokyo
He writes:
All on the surface. They call them sea bass. Found in schools feeding on bait fish. Exciting fishing in the early morning. Interesting landscape. Start at 4am back in the hotel by 11.
Thought your clients might be interested any time they have a stopover in Tokyo.
Michael used Trout and King Fishing Tours as his outfitter.
New Zealand Micro Steelhead
John Taunton Clark who gave us a Newby Switch Post was back at it on the Tongariro River with some of Jay’s creations.
I’ve just got back from a few days on the Tongariro River, catching some NZ ‘micro steelhead’. In one of my orders, Caddis kindly sent me a couple of Jay Nicholas’ tube flies, which I used on my trip. The flies worked (but you knew that). The attached photos show an example of my catch with the fly visible. I was using my Dually #6, Surge reel, with the RIO Switch Chucker and ten feet of Airflo T10 CCT. All good fun. Must confess that at the start of my trip the river was low and clear, and my best fishing was using the single-hander for upstream nymphing. I got most fish on green or pink jelly caddis patterns – fitting.
Mercer’s Missing Link may have become my new favorite dry fly! While it was originally designed as a dying caddis pattern for the Sacramento River in northern California it seems to catch fish everywhere. It imitates caddisflies very well but will also imitate a Blue Winged Olive in size 16 and 18, and a Green Drake in size 12. As previously discussed in my first Summer flies post, the design attributes of this fly are critical to it’s success.
The elk hair wing of the Missing Link is visible. The hair wing is not to sparse considering it’s size, meaning it’s a very good floater. It’s tied on a strong but light wire barbless hook also contributing to it’s excellent visible floatation. The wings of the Missing Link , zlon/antron “down wings” help the fly float upright virtually every cast. It’s “parachute style” wrapped hackle also aids in the flies visible floatation. It’s thin flashabou body and peacock ice dub thorax offer just enough flash to make the Missing Link it an attractor as well as an imitator. Give the Missing Link a try on your next trout fishing trip anywhere you may be!
Fly Life Magazine, a fly fishing publication focusing on Australia and New Zealand, recently published a feature on Cedar Lodge.
The fly fishing in the region was spectacular, the scenery sublime and the lodge beautiful. The entire experience of flying in and out of remote valleys and fishing waters where there was no visible sign of human activity was overwhelming. The sense of the wildness, pristine waters and difficult trout marry into an experience that makes fly fishing here so special.
Check out a PDF of the article here:
Set aside Saturday, July 26, Alton Baker Park, 2-5pm for the Caddis Fly Shop Gloomis Demo Day. We will be hosted by Josh Linn, national flyfishing manager for Gloomis. Josh lives in Oregon and is a renowned two handed authority and instructor for single and two hand techniques. His home water is the Sandy and Deschutes where he guided for the last 10 years. His experience ranges from fishing internationally in Russia for atlantics to Central America chasing the various saltwater species available.
Accompanying Josh will be Steve Choate. Steve Choate is the first American to enter the world Spey Casting Competition at the British CLA Game Fair in 2002 where brought home the gold from the International Open Spey Casting Championship at Broadlands on the River Test. Since then he has become a highly sought after design consultant for such companies as Scientific Anglers and G. Loomis. Steve has taught and competed in spey casting events and had the pleasure of fishing anadromous fish all over the world. Steve’s home waters are Oregon’s Deschutes and Washington’s Skagit rivers. He has also fished many of the international two handed destinations of British Columbia, Chile, Argentina, Scotland, Russia, and many places in between.
Chad Normoyle our Gloomis representative will also be on hand with various raffle prizes. Chad says he is bringing the latest in Spey, Switch, and Single handed rods from Gloomis. The latest innovation in rods is the brand new NRX series. If you have a specific line you wish to try out on one of these great new rods, please either bring it down or ask us before July 25 and will arrange to have it on hand. Or, you can just bring your reel and line down and demo the rod. To help you make a buying decision after you cast a Gloomis NRX fly rod the shop will give you a FREE RIO or AIRFLO fly line to match your NRX rod!
Also, for the angler who can cast the furthest, Chad will be giving away a FREE NRX 590-4LP. The rod will be shipped to the lucky winner at the conclusion of the event.
We look forward to having you and hope you can join us on July 26 at Alton Baker, 2-5pm. We will be in the pond area of the park.
LV
