From our pal James: I stopped into the shop on Thurs planning to hit the Alsea early Friday. Lou set me up with some egg patterns and I told him I’d let you guys know how it went. After 5 hours fishing, this fish (pic attached) slammed my rig while I was nymphing a few miles down from the hatchery. Cleared the water about 6 times. To say we surprised each other would be an understatement. After 5 years of buying harvest tags it feels good to fill it out… this hatchery fish is in the fridge now!
Hey folks, we just received a huge inventory of absolutely fantastic rooster saddle patches from Whiting Farms. A big proportion of these rooster saddles will be used for making feather jewelry, hair feather extensions, feather hair braids, and such. We have amazing dyed saddles that contain long narrow feathers dyed pink, blue, purple, turquoise, and red. We have some Euro rooster saddle feathers on full patches. We have rooster half-saddles from Whiting Farms. The natural and dyed colors of these rooster saddles are too numerous to note, but we probably have it if anyone does.
The evolving expansion of the fashion world use of rooster saddle feathers has followed after years of cornering the market for the best ostrich and peacock feathers. Deal with it folks, we fly tyers are a dot on the international consumer market for feathers. The days of easy access to dyed blue grizzly saddles, dyed purple grizzly saddles, and dyed anything grizzly saddles could be over for several years.
Black Rabbit Strips and a Green Cone, deadly with nothing else. Throw this pattern on sink tip and you have “instant” fish. Summer Steelhead, Winter Steelhead, Sea Trout, Atlantic Salmon all eat this Tube Leech pattern. Continue reading
Jane Holloway caught this fish on the North Umpqua. Jane is so courteous she let husband Tom and son Clay fish through the camp water first. She then followed with one of Clay’s Intruders and stuck the fish above. Nice Work Jane.
Water conditions are ideal on most of Oregon’s Winter Steelhead Rivers. We’ve had some awfully nice afternoons of late. If you have the chance, get out and enjoy.
Continuing our video series outlining new products for 2011 Jon Covich details three killer chest, waist, fanny packs from Patagonia’s new fly fishing gear line up. The Stealth Hip Pack, Stealth Chest Pack and StormFront Hip Pack are all new and highly functional designs for the angler.
From the desk of Tom Wolf, Oregon’s Trout Unlimited State Council Chair:
At the Board of Forestry meeting yesterday, the Board picked Doug Decker by a 4-2 vote to be the new State Forester to head the Oregon Department of Forestry. I was invited to a public evaluation of the three final candidates-Paul Bell, Doug Decker and Paul Little- and was asked to submit electronic comments evaluating all three candidates. I did a lengthy evaluation of all three candidates and picked who I thought would be the best choice for the agency.
My pick was also Doug Decker. He demonstrates key leadership abilities, good communication skills, the ability to work with all stakeholder groups and above all, vision for how he thinks ODF should meet the future with the responsibilities it has. I think he is the best possible choice to deal with ODF mission to harvest timber yet protect critical fish and wildlife habitat. I am excited to work with him and excited for the future of Oregon Department of Forestry.
Congratulations to BOF Chair John Blackwell and the rest of the board to pick someone who has the best skills to deal with the agency’s mission and balance harvest with fish and wildlife habitat needs.
The Long Tom Watershed Council is looking for 8-10 volunteers to help monitor the migration of coastal cutthroat trout in streams near Monroe. The goal of the project is to learn about the migration behavior of resident and fluvial-migrating cutthroat in the Long Tom Watershed. This information will help prioritize restoration projects benefiting these fish. Duties will include: Checking fish traps, assisting Council and/or ODFW staff with backpack electro-fishing, and installing PIT tags in collected fish.
Jay Nicholas demonstrates how to tie a Copper Miner Tube Fly for Salmon and Steelhead. This tube flies color combination is often over-looked but can be very effective. The flashabou hackle for the fly was inspired by Scott Howell’s Prom Dress fly pattern. Jay uses Pro Tube Fly System parts for the tube and hook guide on the finished fly.
We continue our Pro Tube Fly Systems series with the Blue Hoochi. This pattern was inspired by Scott Howell’s Prom Dress fly pattern. Continue reading
For those of you who missed Brian O’Keefe in person this week, we sat down with him after the presentation and chatted about his recent trip fly fishing in Cuba. The photos were amazing. Check out this slideshow and Q&A:
For info on fly fishing in Cuba, contact us.
Share Your Passion! Bring A Friend! 2011 Northwest Fly Tyer and Expo
The 2011 Northwest Fly Tyer and Fly Fishing Expo is set for March 11, and 12 at the Linn County Fairground and Expo Center in Albany, Oregon. The theme for this year’s event is:
“Share your passion, bring a friend!” to encourage new people into the world of fly fishing. Continue reading
The legislators in Salem are putting together a bill to merge state fish and wildlife agencies with parks and land departments, creating an umbrella organization — the Oregon Department of Natural Resources, presumably in a move save the state some money.
Some of us have argued that ODFW can’t really operate in the interest of wild fish, when the agency literally survives on license sales revenues, so decoupling fisheries management decisions from how they might affect the agency’s budget could be a good thing for native salmonids. But it is too soon to tell if this proposal would be a step in the right direction or not. What do you think?
SB 521: Establishes Oregon Department of Natural Resources and Oregon Natural Resources Commission. Directs Governor to appoint Director of Oregon Department of Natural Resources and members of commission. Establishes Oregon Natural Resources Fund. Continuously appropriates moneys in fund to department for purpose of carrying out its duties, functions and powers. Abolishes State Department of Fish and Wildlife, State Fish and Wildlife Commission, State Parks and Recreation Department, State Parks and Recreation Commission, Department of State Lands, Department of Land Conservation and Development, Land Conservation and Development Commission, Land Use Board of Appeals, State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, Water Resources Department, Water Resources Commission, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, State Forestry Department, State Board of Forestry and Oregon Forest Resources Institute. Transfers duties, functions and powers from abolished departments, commissions and boards to Oregon Department of Natural Resources. Declares emergency, effective on passage.
Northwest legend George Cook of Sage Manufacturing and Sage endorsed instructor Jon Hazlett are converging on Eugene March 5th and 6th 2011, for the first annual Chuck and Duck Spey clinic. Continue reading
Why not tie a “Summer Steelhead Classic” on a tube? In this video Jay Nicholas shows us how to tie a traditional style Steellhead pattern on a Pro Tube. The ability to swap hooks, use a short shank hook, and add uniform weight are merits of using a tube for the platform of your flies. Recently we filmed a bunch of cool tube fly patterns stay tuned.
