Caddis Fly Shop: Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Local Steelheading is Red Hot

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

We have now exceeded last years run size for Summer Steelhead over Willamette Falls. The Willamette from Dexter Dam to the confluence of the McKenzie is fishing great for Summer Steelhead. Swing flies on floating lines and sink tips in tail-outs and 4-8ft walking pace runs.

My daughter Patsy got here first Summer fish the other morning. We tried to get one on the Echo Gecko but the 10′ 7wt SAGE ONE, Bauer CFX 5 and a sink tip got the job done on a large and red hot Summer Steelhead.

Tony Torrence is back to his fishy ways and took this fish on a floating line and a Silver Hilton.

Finally please do be careful at your next boat launch.

Posted in Fishing Reports, Summer Steelhead | 4 Comments

July Deschutes Report: Part I

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

The 2012 Spring Technical Men’s Conference (old dawgs who have fished together for decades) was held in July this year. The TMC experienced some of the Deschutes finest hot weather each day. One day we measured 98 degrees in the shade! The canyon was still in fine shape and due to a very wet spring, still showed signs of being green. With the warmer weather the fishing was very good in the morning to mid day. The evening “magic hour” hatch was sporadic, but, when the sun dropped below the canyon walls, at times, was crazy good!

Our hopes were to catch the caddis hatch, we were not disappointed. The hatch was well under way and the usual flies were producing. X Caddis, emerging caddis, pheasant tail half flash, PED patterns, and on occasion even some large stone fly nymphs were working.

The late evenings proved to be very good for some of the TMC anglers.

The evening meals were the usual gourmet delights, especially the paella.

Fishing along the ledges of White Horse Rapids continues to produce those awesome native Redsides!

Still physically fit, and on occasion, memory challenged, the TMC members climb the magnificent side walls of the canyon to chase redsides, and navigate our drift boats down White Horse Rapids. Stay tuned for additional photos of the remainder of the 2012 TMC trip!

New Lamson ARX Spey Reels in the Shop!

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Everyday at the Caddis Fly Shop has the potential to feel like Christmas, particularly during the summer months when new products start rolling in from some of our favorite manufacturers. Yesterday was one of those days, with the arrival of a new spey and saltwater-specific reel from Lamson. It’s obvious the folks at Lamson did their homework when developing the new ARX series, as the design elements of these new reels speak for themselves.

Lamson eliminated the possibility of shooting head or running line getting caught in any gaps in the reel by moving the gap between spool and frame. They also created a full-cage reel without room for your line to slip through or get caught up, and eliminated gaps on the drag and spin knobs. Lamson also cut away a portion of frame to allow for easier application of palm-drag when you hook into a big fish. The ARX employs the same conical drag system we’ve come to love in Waterworks-Lamson reels, although when inspecting the ARX, we couldn’t help but notice how much beefier the components are than those of its smaller cousins. The ARX is finished in Type II Black Hard Alox with special grey accents on the cassette, drag knob, and graphics, meaning this reel will endure everything you throw at it and still look fresh.

The ARX frame is sturdy and spacious enough to fit some serious lines. For the 4+ model, at 4.75″ diameter, Lamson claims capacity for 275 yards of 30lbs Dacron, a 100′ 0.035″ running line (like the Airflo Ridge line), a 750 grain skagit head, and 18 feet of T-17! This thing is a monster! 4.00″ and 3.75″ models will be available in late summer, but we have a limited amount of 4+ reels available now!

We threw the Lamson ARX 4+ on a Sage ONE two hander and we’ve gotta say, this combo is pretty tough to beat. These reels are sure to create high demand, so give us a call or check the Lamson ARX reels out online if you’re interested in learning more!

Posted in Fly Fishing Gear Review, Shop Sales and Specials | 4 Comments

Flies and Tactics for Summer Conditions on the McKenzie and Willamette Rivers

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Water levels have dropped considerably and the fish are acting like Summer is officially here. Low clear water means smaller flies, lighter tippets and longer leaders. It’s time to swap the 3x and 4x for 5x and 6x Tippet. If your fishing broader runs and riffles make that 9ft leader 12ft. This time of year fish are more active in the morning and evening. Lately the best surface activity for me has be before 10:30 a.m. Trout tend to favor water with more cover this time of year. The Sun is on top of the river much of the day, you’ll find fish moving out of water you had seen them in earlier in the season. During the high Sun part of the day look for shadows, log jams and cut-banks more than the classic runs and riffles that hold fish in Spring.

It’s a great time to do some wet wading on some of our smaller streams. Salt Creek, Salmon Creek, The North Fork of the Middle Fork, South Fork of the McKenzie and the Middle Fork of the Willamette above Hills Creek dam are good options. For these smaller waters I will shorten the leader to 7-8ft put on a caddis or Royal Wulff and fish upstream.

The indicator set up is all but shelved for the time being. The largest nymphs of the year have emerged. With lower, stable water we just don’t see as many nymphs in the drift in Summer as we do in Spring. Fish are very willing to come to the surface with smaller imitators and attractors. At dark, and during cooler days in Summer look for Green Drakes, Golden Stones, and Green McKenzie Caddis to catch fish. If you want to drop a nymph off of your dry use a short piece 12-18 inches of 5x tippet and a small Possie Bugger or Prince Nymph. Many times a fish willing to come look at the dry but not eat it will come to the small nymph dead drift by his nose.

Best fly patterns for Summer conditions include.
Parachute Adams
Parachute Purple Purple Rooster
Royal Wulff
Silvey’s Yellow Sally
CDC Green McKenzie Caddis
X-Caddis
Q’s Film Critic Green Drake
Ice Prince
Possie Bugger
Pheasant Tail

Posted in Fishing Reports, Lower Willamette, McKenzie River, Middle Fork Willamette River fishing | 2 Comments

2012 McKenzie River Two-Fly Tournament sign up now!

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Mark your calendar! Saturday Oct 20th is the Caddis Fly Shop’s Fifth Annual McKenzie River Two-Fly tournament, a fundraiser for habitat restoration on the McKenzie River.

This is your chance to fish with some of the best guides on the river at the best time of the year to catch big wild trout. And all funds go to help protect and restore our resource .

Over the last five years, this event has raised nearly $20,000 for including helping fund the Crescent Lake side channel reconnection and the Green Island levee removal project. These projects have improved habitat for juvenile Chinook as well as native trout but there is always more work to be done! This years proceeds will again go to the McKenzie River Trust.

The tournament is actually pretty straight-forward. The basic contest rules: participants and their guide select two flies per angler (that’s two flies not two patterns) to score for their team. Scoring is simple: the guide adds up the length of the team’s best three trout and the highest score wins. As always, there are some great prizes. (Please note these are not the official contest rules which will be provided at the Friday night kick-off event.)

Cost is $750 per boat, or $375 per angler. Contact the shop for details on how to register 541-342-7005. Space is limited, so sign up now.

Posted in McKenzie River, Oregon Conservation News | 1 Comment

Winston and Bauer Headline Summer Sales at the Shop

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Summer savings at the Caddis Fly are underway, with steep discounts being offered on our remaining inventory of rods and reels being changed or discontinued by manufacturers. R.L. Winston is changing/dropping both the GVX and B2MX family of rods and Bauer Reels is ousting the MacKenzie Xtreme and MacKenzie Xtreme Perfect reels. Quantities are extremely limited, click highlighted text above or give us a call if you’d like to get in on the savings.

With these products being discontinued, we hope to see some exciting new products from both Winston and Bauer in their 2013 lineups. Stay tuned!

Posted in Shop Sales and Specials | Leave a comment

John Day Bassin’

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

The notion of bass fishing strikes a certain patriotic chord in my soul, so when some Portland buddies suggested we head east to ply the waters of the John Day for smallies, I was quick to acquiesce. Following a quick night in Portland, enjoying the pleasantries of the big city, we crammed a 4Runner full of bass poppers and Bud Light and headed east.

Not a cloud in the sky and the mercury topping 100 degrees in Hood River, we got to camp late in the morning on Saturday, half an hour outside of Arlington on the banks of the JD. Once tents were pitched and rods rigged up, the obligatory round of Evan Williams got the day’s fishing started off right.

We were the only group on the river fishing, with a few families camping upstream and splashing around to beat the heat. Between five anglers, we covered roughly two miles of wading and landed well over 100 fish in four hours. While not huge, the smallmouth were super-aggressive and feisty as hell, with fish in the 10-14″ range engulfing foam and feathers with impressive strikes. Sunday’s fishing was even better, as it seemed like the fish just got more active the higher the thermometer rose. The sheer number of fish in the river was surprising, as it seemed every step spooked a group of shadows downstream. The John Day is an enjoyable bass fishery and offers a great change of pace when those summer steelhead skunkings get you down.

-KS

Posted in Central Oregon Fishing Report, Eastern Oregon, Fishing Reports | 2 Comments

Next Trout Unlimited Meeting July 11th

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

At our next meeting we’re dispensing with the usual speaker routine.
Instead, we’re going to sponsor a gear/fly swap, followed by a
roundtable discussion about sponsoring a local watershed. Here’s a small
selection of the kinds of things you can get/give at the swap:

Flies of any kind
Flyboxes
Waders/boots
Spey/switch rods
reels
lines
leaders/sink tips
fly tying materials

Basically, bring anything you don’t use or want and turn it into
something else. All swaps will be by mutual agreement of the the owners.
Of course this is also an opportunity to hobnob, share a beer, and swap
stories. Following the swap, we’ll have a 30-minute discussion about
adopting one of our local watersheds. Based on our discussion, we’ll
allocate time and resources to restoring/enhancing the stream we choose.

What: TU 678 Gear/Fly Swap
Where: Vets Club, 1626 Willamette in Eugene
When: Wednesday, 7/11
What to bring: You, a friend, and some gear or flies to swap.

Even if you don’t want or have gear to swap, come and share a beer and
participate in our roundtable.

See you on Wednesday,

TU 678

Posted in Oregon Fly Fishing Clubs and Events | 1 Comment

Steelhead on the 4th of July

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

The head coach of the Utah Women’s Basketball Team, Anthony Levrets, was in my boat last year on July 5th chasing Steelhead. Both he and his wife Sarah grew up in Oregon, have family in the area, and visit our “Steelhead State” often (sometimes on team business – ha). Both love the outdoors and both love to fish – so much so that they met me at the boat launch at first light (5:30 a.m. to be exact).

As we approached the first productive steelhead pool, Anthony threw out a very early exploratory cast as I was still giving the requisite disclaimers that guides give to manage expectations…. “these are fussy fish, steelhead are unpredictable and we might not get a bump at all today so enjoy the river, enjoy the scenery, enjoy the day – if we are fortunate enough to get a steelhead “on” there is about a 50 / 50 chance that we’ll put that fish in the ….&%$#@”
fish on!!!! Continue reading →

Posted in Fishing Reports, Summer Steelhead | 3 Comments

Last Minute Alaska Trip Anyone?

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Our friend Jon Covich just sent along this note about a 2 for 1 deal on the Kanektok River in Alaska. It’s short notice but just in case someone can get away we wanted to pass it along.

FlyWater Travel just received a call from Mike Trotter, owner of Baranof Wilderness Lodge and Beyond Boundaries. BB runs trips on the Kanektok and they have 2 trips in July that have 2 openings on the July 14th and the July 22nd trips. As both trips are going he would be willing to make a deal for the remaining spots. – 2 for 1. I know it is last minute but if you know anyone it is a great opportunity. I have been on this float on the Kanektok and it is spectacular.

Trip info link: http://flywatertravel.com/destination/Kanektokriver

Posted in Fly Fishing Travel | Leave a comment

Steelhead Spawning in the Elwha

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

On the heels of yesterday’s sneak peek of DamNation comes word from the Seattle Times that steelhead have been spotted spawning in the previously inaccessible stretches of the Elwha River above the dam removal site. For the first time in over 100 years, wild steelhead are finding their way up the Elwha and reclaiming their spawning grounds. In an uphill battle to recover the Northwest’s rivers and native anadromous fish runs, this news in nothing short of inspiring.

It’s like Field of Dreams,” (said fish biologist John McMillan). As in, build it, and they will come. Or in this case, un-build it. “Not everyone gives them enough credit,” (McMIllan) said of the wild fish. “I give them a lot of credit.

Cheers, John.

Read the full story here. Thanks to Mitch Baird for the tip.

-KS

Posted in Oregon Conservation News, Oregon fly fishing links, Summer Steelhead | Leave a comment

DamNation trailer from Felt Sole Media

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Exciting news from the guys and gals at Felt Sole Media. After coming up with game changing titles like Running Down the Man, Red Gold, and Eastern Rises, the Felt Sole crew has put their magical powers to work telling the tale of dam removal in the Pacific Northwest.

With the removal of the Condit and Elwha dams in the past year, perhaps no issue is more front and center for conservationists and anglers working for free rivers and healthy runs of anadromous fish. “Damnation” provides a look at how the conversation surrounding dam removal has changed in recent times, through interviews with diverse stakeholders from all sides of the issue. Felt Sole has released a preview of the film on their blog, and we couldn’t be more excited for the full release early next year.

DamNation | Trailer from FELT SOUL MEDIA on Vimeo.

-KS

Posted in Oregon Conservation News | 1 Comment

Debbie Dampens Caribbean Fly Fishing Adventure

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Fifteen of us (11 anglers) traveled to the Isle of Cayo Largo this past June to fly fish for Bonefish, Tarpon and Permit. The small island south of the Cuban mainland is a 35 minute flight from Havana. Two years in the making, I had high hopes that this trip would be off the charts saltwater fly fishing.

Needless to say you can’t control the weather….. Tropical Storm Debbie cut our six day fishing portion of the trip to three days with little sunshine.

Continue reading →

Posted in Fly Fishing Travel | 2 Comments

Wagons East

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

In the 1994 film Wagons East, a group of misfit settlers decide they cannot live in their current situation in the west, so they hire a grizzled alcoholic wagon master (John Candy) to take them on a journey back to their hometowns. Candy died on set.

As the clock winds down on my time in Oregon, I’m starting to feel (and unfortunately look) like John Candy. I am that reluctant, grizzled alcoholic wagon master. And my caravan rolls back to Ohio on Wednesday. Hopefully I don’t die on set.

I love this place.

Last week, Chris and Ethan and I floated the upper section of the McKenzie River. We caught dozens of big, wild, native trout. We used dry flies the size of ping-pong balls trailing little nymphs. I landed my first McKenzie bull trout, a giant native predatory char that’s hyper-sensitive to water quality. We bounced over the upper section of one of the most beautiful rivers I’ve ever seen, and had it all to ourselves.

This ecosystem is the only place I’ve ever cared enough about to fight for. And I hope the fight to protect this watershed carries on, through the people at Trout Unlimited, the Native Fish Society, and McKenzie River Trust. I know it will carry on through Chris at the shop. And I’ll cheer-lead from the sidelines.

Arguably, I’ve been on the sidelines for the last couple years anyway. The pressure cooker of a young family, a wife pursuing a PhD, and a new job really put the brakes on my activism, and fishing.

And when I try to rationalize this move, I tell myself “Hell, with my parents helping out with Paul, and the money I’ll save living in a post-Industrial wasteland, I’ll be fishing in Oregon about as much as I do now anyway!” And while we all know that’s probably not going to happen, I can promise to try.

What I’m trying to say is that I’ll miss all of you, and this place, dearly. I wasn’t born here, but chose this place as my home.

I’m in hock to Chris for a bunch of gear — so I’ll still be writing and taking pictures about fly fishing for this blog for a long time. So don’t get all weepy. And while I’m feeling sorry for myself about the move, I will be reunited with Captain Nate. The Stansberry brothers — together again on their home turf for the first time in over ten years. Talk about a pressure cooker…. stay tuned!

And sincerely, thank you to everyone who reads this.

-MS

Posted in McKenzie River | 13 Comments

Steelhead in Town

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Greg Hatten who recently ran his drift boat down the Colorado, yes that’s the one with Lava Falls and giant rafts brings us this local report. You can see more about Greg’s journey down the Colorado here.

Father & son Rick and Mike Drake were in my boat last July at first light one morning with the intent of hooking up with a Steelhead on the fly on the “Town Run”. We fished hard and it was worth it – son Mike hooked, fought, and landed a nice fresh Steelhead hen just a few minutes before noon with the sun beating down from high in sky.

Tuesday this week, the father-son team hit the river again in search of a bright silver early-season fish. An “above average” Steelhead count was “countered” by “above average” river levels on both the Willamette and the McKenzie. Steelhead on a fly would be challenging – we started early in the day.

After an exhausting morning fighting the fast river flow, we had nothing to show for it – not even a curious trout with delusions of grandeur. At about 11 o’clock, Rick caught three trout on successive casts with a fly designed for bigger fish. At just before noon he made a cast and swung the fly close to river structure (next week, when the river drops a foot, this place will be too shallow fish and a week after that, too shallow to float). On this day however, it was the perfect cast to the perfect spot. Just as the fly was reaching the bottom of the swing it got “hammered” by an aggressive buck that was fresh from the Pacific and ready for a fight.

We got it all – a quick jump and a roll, several runs at the boat to make us think we’d lost it and then a couple of reel spinning sprints downstream that made us hold our breaths and hope the knots in our leader would hold.

Rich landed the fish just before “noon” about 12 months after his son landed his just a few miles down river. We fished both rivers til dark and got a few more grabs but no “sticks”. It’s gonna be a great year for Steelhead on both the Willamette and the McKenzie.

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