Great fly fishing on the McKenzie River yesterday, despite blizzard grannom caddis hatches. Be on the look out the next few days for ridiculous numbers of tan, charcoal, and black caddisflies sizes #14-18 in huge swarms. This hatch can be frustrating. The fish aren’t hungry and you’re eating bugs all day too. But it tapers off in the next few weeks.
We convinced some native rainbow trout with big meals — golden stonefly and megaprince nymph imitations ruled the day.
FYI: For a great Mothers Day Caddis Grannom imitation, check out Barrett’s P90X Caddis.
Our local rivers are still swollen, but they are clear and in shape to fish. The lower McKenzie and Willamette Rivers are seriously rested folks, and despite the current outgoing “smolt-fest”, and blizzard Grannom Caddis emergence, there is some good fishing to be had.
Here are some of the best flies to have when you venture out on the lower McKenzie, lower Willamette or Middle Fork of the Willamette Rivers this Spring.
The Double Bead Poxy Backed Peacock Nymph in sizes #4-8 . A great nymph to use when fishing a two fly rig. Tie a smaller nymph off the eye or bend of the Double Bead Peacock and you will get down in a hurry. We run between 4-8 feet of tippet off of a Thingamabobber when fishing the double nymph set up during high Spring flows. Continue reading →
It has been a few years, maybe more than a few, since I have really focused on fishing the McKenzie. The old memory banks are full to the brim, however, with wonderful days spent fishing the Mack from Bellinger clear down into the Willamette. Never fished the full distance on one day, mind you. We took shorter daily floats to focus on different hatch conditions and fish different river levels. Some days were magic and the wild cutts and/or rainbow cooperated, even in what I considered “muddy” water downstream from the Mohawk. Some days were crazy making, with bugs popping out and trout going crazy with no love whatsoever for our best flies of the time.
Speaking of the Mohawk, ODFW has run downstream-migrant fish traps there for several years. Turns out that the Mohawk is birthing place and nursery for many, perhaps tens of thousands of wild cutthroat. The importance of the Mohawk to the wild cutthroat in the lower McKenzie and Willamette can not be overstated. As far as we know, or suspect, or guess from ODFW’s observations, McKenzie rainbow tend strongly to be mainstem spawners, but the Cutthroat seem strongly dependent on tributary spawning and early life rearing, before an almost smolt-like migration to the larger waters of the McKenzie and Willamette.
This time of year, fishing the McKenzie below the Mohawk, I remember catching wild cutts in the 9″ size range, fish that were fat and silvery. I also remember catching cutts of that size and larger, fish that were very heavily spotted and very slim. The former fish were first-time downstream migrants, probably, and sexually immature. The slim cutts were post-spawning fish, moving down from the Mohawk where they probably over-wintered, to the mainstem grocery store to bulk up during spring and summer.
McKenzie Rainbow caught at this time of the year include fat shiny immature males and females; fat (really bulging fat) females that are ripe with eggs and almost ready to spawn; females that are partially spawned; and sexually mature males that are brick red and all hook jawed. When the water is clear enough, one can see the small redds of the rainbow around gravel bars, especially around any of the few remaining river braids and islands in the lower river.
As important as the Mohawk is to the wild cutthroat, these channel braids and islands are crucially important to the health of the wild Rainbow. No braids, no islands, and the wild rainbow population will be seriously compromised. Adding rip-rap and channelizing the McKenzie is like poison to these wild rainbow.
The Renegade was one of my favorite flies to fish during the times when trout were hungry and not particularly selective. Fished upstream on a dead drift, fished down and across on the swing, or fished straight blow the boat, with a twitch now and then, were all effective at different times throughout the day. People laughed at me for my stash of renegades, but they laughed at me for more reasons than I could count, so …….
Anyway, Chris asked me to dig out some of my old favorites in the March Brown type of fly to shoot videos. We are always looking for opportunities to keep people excited about fly tying, and along the way, tell a few fishing stories and demonstrate fundamental fly tying methods. This fly is dressed up with the addition of the trailing shuck which I never was innovative enough to use back in the days. Unlike the fore-and-aft hackled Renegade, this version is one that I used because it was simpler for me to tie by palmering the peacock body like I would have with an EHC (Elk Hair Caddis). Frankly, there were days when a store-bought renegade, slightly more sparsely hackled, was better received than my fly, so I carried some of them too.
This fly, sans nymphal case, was a great dry fly fished in the Metolius above Wizard Falls in June (size 12) and in September (sparse size 18). The Metolius rainbow demanded a perfect dead drift, and only RARELY accepted a down and across swing with this fly.
Laugh all you will, but the Renegade or/and this version of the fly, remain among the traditional patterns that merit consideration next time you are poking around your fly vest for something to tie on the end of your leader.
Monday night is party night around here. Tuesday through Friday can get pretty silly, too. And party nights in Eugene often involve feverish fly tying. We drink too much, we smoke & chew too much, we re-tell our favorite fish stories, and we argue like teenage geeks over various subtleties of our so-called sport. Somehow it rolls along amicably. And somehow we manage to be productive. Makes no sense, but it works out that way. Call it “collective inspiration.”
One recent evening brought some extra-special inspiration, a sudden flash of clarity, the result of an experiment fueled by necessity. I had run out of saddle hackle and was scrounging through everyone else’s materials. The only saddle on the table was chartreuse–well outside my preferred color scheme. But, left with no choice, I went with the bright green saddle, palmering a feather over a base of fluorescent orange Lagartun braided tinsel. Not bad! Then I tied in a clump of bright orange deer hair, followed by a dubbing loop of fluorescent red arctic fox.
“It’s the Fire Tiger!” I said. I might have yelled a little. It looked amazing!
A royal blue Ostrich hackle and a sexy pair of cerise hen hackles for the shell-back completed the spectrum, and pulled the whole thing together. The geek-o-meter was pegged out, and I was losing my mind over the sweet new combo.
So where, you might ask, is all this hogwash headed? Well, in honor of the most excellent Native Fish Society, I spent the next several days creating a series of six Fire Tiger Kingtruders. And this outrageous, one-of-a-kind, never to be duplicated set of chinook flies will be on display, and up for bid, at this year’s benefit banquet. So get your ticket now, and help support grassroots activism on behalf of wild fish, and wild rivers. Home waters require vigilance, and you can help!
Chinook image courtesy of Wildfish Studios, Miguel Morejohn, photographer.
Oregon is reeling from a big weather event — rain rain rain, and low lying snow. Most coastal steelhead fishing is shut down. So what’s an angler to do? Go tackle the McKenzie in high water. Ethan, Clay and I headed out yesterday on the biggest McKenzie River I’ve ever fished. We brought a few nice trout to the boat with big leggy nymphs, saw a lot of march brown duns between hail storms, and busted out Ethan’s propane heater to keep our hands from getting stiff.
The Super Skunk fly was born from the simple fact that I could not find a bright red Arctic Fox Tail to suit my discerning eye. I wanted a tail that would “pop” on a chartreuse tipped winter steelhead fly.
This is a wet fly that shows itself off nicely and will draw fish from some distance, if they are in the mood to leave their holding place. Hot Orange, Chartreuse, and black are winning colors in any steelhead fly, and this a nice blend to show the fish and tempt them to eat on the swing.
This is a fly that I would fish under moderately dirty winter flows, say, when the color is trending to the clearing side of a solid steelhead green.
Jay Nicholas
February 2012
Spey Iron Winter Steelhead Fly Series – Super Skunk
Okay, you sickos, don’t get all excited. I’m talking about steelhead flies here. Specifically, I’m talking about a class of modern steelhead fly called Tandem Tubes, the inventions of two esteemed tyers, Brian Silvey and Bob Quigley. Like most of today’s most innovative commercial fly designers, Brian and Bob are continually solving problems, coming up with ingenious ways to help us increase our hook-to-landing ratio. The Tandem Tube and it’s offspring, Silvey’s Tail light, and Quigley’s Jig-a-Lo, are the product of an ongoing evolution in the search for the perfect bunny leech.
The idea of securing the rear end of a long bunny strip using a tiny tube is slick as snot, and the flies have proven themselves throughout steelhead country. But for me, a loyal fan of the classic Samurai design, the pinned-down bunny strip leaves me somewhat uninspired. I know what that bunny wants to do in the water, and confining it to the clunky, lifeless motion of the stinger hook seems like a blasphemous waste of fishy goodness!
So there I was, swinging Quigley’s Jig-a-Lo through an especially sweet little boulder patch, when my destructive nature got the best of me. I pulled out a pair of scissors, whacked the bunny strip right above the little rear tube, and BAM! I had a whole new fly that I knew would drive steelhead wild. A couple of days later, back at the Caddis Fly beer garden, I saw Silvey’s Tail Light in the bins, and knew that my little cosmetic surgery technique would improve the hell out of that fly, too.
So, in the spirit of our beloved industry, where every little tweak of an existing fly deserves a name and trademark, I’ve decided to call my new, completely unproven invention, the Russell’s Chopped-to-Shit-Tandem-Tube-a-Lo! I’m gonna be rich, and you lovely folks are gonna be bangin’ steelies like the Holloway boys. You are welcome!
Below, find a report/rant from Captain Nate, who’s become disillusioned with the antics in the Great Lakes “Steelhead Alley”, watching guides teach clients how to line fish on spawning gravel. The East’s mild winter left little chance for ice fishing, but it did point out a new fishery — the swamplands surrounding Lake Erie. And Captain Nate dove in head first…
April Fool’s Day from “Steelhead Alley”. One of the greatest jokes I’ve heard in a while…
I’m not trying to start a fight over fish I couldn’t care less about. I’ve heard the Mid-West vs. Pacific Northwest fish argument rumble through quite a few fly shops. Not to poke the bear too much, but how can we compare a wild ocean run steelhead to a hatchery fish that was in essence brought here to help control invasives? The answer is we can’t and shouldn’t. Period.
I’m posing a question to the fisherpeople of the Great Lakes. What should be our sacred species? Where does our conservation fight begin? In my opinion you need to put on the Creedence and get your ass to the swamp.
Our wetlands! Bogs! Snake pits (there are so many F-ing water snakes that I don’t sleep on the floor of my boat). These are some the most wonderful areas of the Great Lakes. They are also, the most threatened.
The marshlands are to the Great Lakes what the headwaters are to the mighty rivers of the Pac Northwest. Without them there isn’t any spawning and eventually no indigenous fish populations. This spring we have been spending a lot of time back in the swamps of the western basin of Lake Erie. We have found fish and trudged through muck and reeds 15 feet high.
Records from the Department of Natural Resources show that there once was a population of Northern Pike that thrived in this Great Lake. There still are, but very few and only in a handful of areas support the spawning grounds for such a magnificent fish. So what happened?
The development of the harbors and subsequent channelization of the Great Lakes has managed to separate the main lake from many of her wetlands. Thus our toothy friends (amongst others) have nowhere to spawn or be warm and happy at ice out.
Back in the swamp, shad float on the surface. Shad die in the winter and become food for pike. Northern Pike are scavengers in the early spring and key in on oily bait like shad. These areas are totally set up for big Northern Pike, but are choked off at the most vulnerable area. There are a couple variables when chasing truly huge northerns. Food, access to deep water (the larger the system the larger the potential for giant fish), and spawning grounds.
So who cares? No one apparently… the fly fishing community here would rather rally around non-native, lake-run trout that they “sight-fish” to on spawning gravel.
We haven’t seen another angler let alone fly fisherman where we go and I don’t think that will change. Sound familiar?
So it is sad to see the survey nets go up in the back of my bays. I hear the ODNR is looking for my slimy friends. I hear there are some really old fish out there… The bass guys tell me about the monster that got away with their five pound bucket mouthed prize and how they haven’t seen a small pike in a long time. I know what that means… but I don’t care.
I walk the marshes, cast my leeches, and catch all sorts of wild fish despite our best efforts to kill them. This year we have caught fat Largemouths, Smallmouths, Freshwater Drum (AKA Lake Erie Redfish), and even a few ambitious Panfish that attacked our bunny leeches.
I don’t socialize much on the weekends because I’m in the bogs. I’m introduced to people who hear I like to fish and chat me up about their favorite chuck and duck techniques for steelhead on gravel. I keep my mouth shut so they don’t see me puke.
This is a gently hued fly that just fishes and fishes. I think that the effectiveness of these flies is their subtlety. The Whiting Coq De Leon is a feather that I only discovered in the last few years, and I really like it as a substitute for black hackles.
This Spey Iron Steelhead fly offers a pinch of blue, subtle purple body, and mottled flowing hackle topped by a translucent white wing. I like to build this winning combination over either a nickel or bronze Heavy Spey Iron Hook.
This is a fly that I would fish in flows that are on the clearing side of perfect steelhead green water, when the river is finished just entering the mood to turn the pools from emerald to a transparent blue.
Jay Nicholas
February 2012
Spey Iron Winter Steelhead Fly Series – Coastal Blue
Hey you Squidro Fly tying fiends out there, Hareline Dubbin has just added some eye-catching colors of the Hot Tipped Crazy Legs we have come to adorn our Squidro Flies with and adapt to wings and tails on our traditional salmon and steelhead flies.
Nothing quite like a photo to show you the delights of these new color offerings.
All of these colors are available at the Caddis Fly , and my perusal favorites of this batch are the Salmon Pink/Hot Pink Tipped and the Blue/Hot Pink Tipped.
Thanks to Issac Roman for pointing us to this article on the Trout Underground. Tom Chandler explains how dam-huggers are claiming “dams are good for salmon, it’s all the Native Americans’ fault, the UN wants to seize our lands and create a wildlife preserve, and his personal favorite: the Klamath’s coho salmon are not native to the Klamath watershed, so their ESA listing is illegal — as is removing the Klamath River dams to protect them.
Also, you can check out this great video by Freshwaters Illustrated about a dam removal project on a small Willamette Valley tributary, the Calapooia.
The third video of our Clear Cure Goo Chironomid series, demonstrating how to tie deadly, durable and easy to tie Chironomids. In this video Jim Terborg uses Clear Cure Goo, flashy materials, and markers to create a multicolored midge pattern that lights up in the water column, and lights up the fish in terms of catching.
This steelhead egg fly pattern looks a lot like Darian Hyde’s Steelhead Dart. The Pearly Pink Egg Dart fly is weighted well with the lead eyes, but you may substitute a wide variety of dumbbell eyes that are of brass or tungsten composition. I like the Pearl painted lead dumbbells because they are inexpensive, I know I will loose a lot of these flies, they have a nice bar between the eyes that make it easy to tie in and wind chenille to make the egg-head, and I like the pearl white color too.
The Pearly Pink Egg Dart is a steelhead fly that I usually fish in high clear water, and I am likely to fish this fly in larger streams than in very small streams.
Jay Nicholas
February 2012
Best Steelhead Egg Patterns – Pearly Pink Egg Dart
The effectiveness of this steelhead stonefly nymph is not limited to our backyard, but it is deadly hot on the McKenzie, Deschutes, and Rogue. As such, I would be willing to bet a dozen Squidros to a Dozen parachute Adams that this same fly will be eaten regularly by Great lakes steelhead.
The fly shown here is one of my simplicity style nymphs that captures the essential form, size, and general color impression of stoneflies that are present in stonefly nymphs wherever they occur. And in the event that there are no stonefly nymphs in any unfortunate body of water that also contains steelhead, this fly imitates a brown stick tumbling along the bottom, an item that actual steelhead to eat from time to time.
