Come by for Caddis Fly, Howler Bros Happy Hour! Great new stock of Howler Bros apparel for Spring/Summer. Special deals include: .50cents off flies, 10% off leaders, lines, tippets and sunglasses. Free Coldfire Brew on Tap! Special pricing Happy Hour 3-5pm only.
When: Wednesday May 10th 2023 – 3-5pm
Where: The Caddis fly Angling Shop – 168 West 6th ave, Eugene OR 97401
Runoff and rain have bumped flows in our local rivers; high water calls for a different approach to spring fishing. The good news is both the Mckenzie and the Willamette rivers are dropping and should be in better shape as the flows come down. Warmer days and nights have helped kickstart our early season hatches and dry fishing can be good. March Browns and Baetis are trailing off and Grannom Caddis have taken the stage as our primary hatch currently. Large Salmonflies are making their way to the banks. Salmonflies and smaller leftover Skwala size stoneflies can be found in the bankside foliage. Fish are looking up with more bugs on the surface making dry fly fishing good, especially during a hatch. Nymphing will be most productive when there aren’t bugs coming off the surface; if you like streamer fishing, you should make use of the high flows while they last. The streamer bite can be especially good when water is high like this. Look for fish holding along the banks, and in softer water when fishing these higher flows.
Our recent warm weather has shifted the Grannom or “Mother’s Day” Caddis hatch into full swing. As the season progresses, you will see fewer March Browns and Blue Winged Olives. Late morning to early afternoon you will see small, dark size 14-16 Grannom caddis emerging; this is often accompanied by some rising fish. There also may or may not be some March Browns or small Baetis sprinkled in with the Grannom hatch. Salmonfly nymphs, adults, and their shucks are littered along the riverbank. Having a variety of flies will help to key in on what the fish are taking.
The Grannom Caddis hatch can be notoriously difficult and frustrating to fish with dries. Often fish are rising but will not touch your fly, or even worse, there’s loads of bugs and nothing is eating on top. This is primarily because the fish have either already eaten their fill, or they are eating subsurface on caddis pupa trying to break through the surface film. It may look like a splashy, aggressive rise, but often they are not actually eating adults. Swinging caddis pupa or soft hackles during this period is especially productive. Fishing caddis patterns with a shuck will be helpful if you want to fish dries. Here are some dry fly recommendations for the Grannom hatch: Splitsville Caddis #14 Peacock, X-Caddis #14-16, Missing Link Caddis #12-14 . If you see March Browns here’s what’s been working lately: March Brown Klinkhammer #12-14, Hi & Dry Western March Brown Parachute#12-14, Jake’s Hatchback Hecuba #14. If they’re only keying in on Baetis, this is what I’d throw: Parachute Extended Body Blue Winged Olive #18-20, Galloup’s OG Bent Cripple #18 Olive, CDC Baetis Emerger #18.
Salmonflies are hatching and are all over the banks. Fishing a large chubby chernobyl, or other salmon fly imitation through fast water can move a fish. This is also a great opportunity to fish with a dropper below your large buoyant dry fly. Here are some great Salmonfly adult imitations: Double Stack Chubby Chernobyl #8, Moorish Fluttering Salmonfly #6, Goodman’s Crowd Surfer Stone #6. If you’re fishing a Dry-Dropper rig, here are some hot nymphs to run below it: Jigged PCP #14, Jigged Frenchie #12, Sweetmeat Caddis Lime #14.
Nymphing will be productive when there isn’t a hatch or when dry fly fishing is frustrating. This time of year, trout will be gorging themselves on caddis pupa, large salmon fly nymphs, and other assorted nymphs on the move in the water column. Dead drifting your nymphs through slackwater on seams will be the best. When fishing high flows, finding any soft water where a trout can catch a break will be a great place to run larger nymphs through. Letting your flies swing at the end of your drift is a great way to mimic emerging caddis pupa and entice an eat this time of year. Some great salmonfly nymph imitations are: Pat’s Rubberlegs Brown #6, Mega Prince #6, Tungsten Trout Retriever Chocolate Lab #6. Some of our favorite Caddis Nymphs follow: Weiss’s Possum Anchor #12, UV Green Weenie Jig #14, Jigged Duracell UV Light Olive #12-14. Other must have attractors include: Morrish’s Dirty Bird #12-14, Morrish’s Sparkle Donkey #14, Improved 20 Incher #12.
Often like during the March Brown hatch, swinging wet flies during a Grannom hatch can be, and often is more, deadly than fishing dries. Whether you’re doing this for mayflies or caddis, a similar “indicator-less” nymph rig will do the trick. The first fly on the end of your leader will be some sort of beaded nymph, the second fly will be some sort of unweighted soft hackle tagged off the back of your heavy nymph. A cast upstream and some upstream mends will allow your heavy nymph to pull your soft hackle deep. As the fly swings towards you downstream you will often get an eat as it pulls tight. You can add very small strips if you’d like, or slowly lift the rod tip where you suspect a fish is holding to make it look like your flies are emerging right for the surface. Some great flies for swinging during a March Brown hatch are: Beadhead March Brown Emerger #12-14 & March Brown Wet Fly #12-14. These are killer options currently for swinging during a Grannom hatch: Spectre Soft Hackle Olive #12-14, Simple Olive Soft Hackle #12-16, Sparkle Caddis Pupa Olive #14-16.
Swinging streamers can entice big, explosive eats during this high water. Swinging flies through riffles into the seam and softer water can be deadly given the shape of our rivers. If you find a pool or eddy, erratically stripping streamer through that calmer water is great also. Here are some great streamers to throw right now if you like streamer fishing: Tungsten Thin Mint#8-10, Jr. Sculpzilla #8, Conehead Kiwi Muddler #8.
There are still fish to be caught in high water. Look for fish pushed up on the banks and find them holding in calm water. Have fun out there, and use caution wading in the swift water!
-Simon
The video above shows gives an aerial view of Phase 1 of the Finn Rock Reach restoration. As you drive up 126 past the Finn Rock Boat Launch what was a single channel is now an abundance of channels, log jams and mini pools specifically designed for salmonids. At the end of the video the drone is looking at the area that will become “phase 2”. If you are interested in the process see details below on a meeting.
From McKenzie River Trust: With Finn Rock Reach Phase 2 of restoration planned for this summer, MRT and our restoration partners are hosting a presentation and community conversation:Thursday, May 4th – 630p at the McKenzie School in Blue River.
Restoration Partners Representing:
McKenzie Watershed Council, U.S. Forest Service & McKenzie River Trust
The McKenzie and Willamette river remain high but water temps are moving up and a variety of hatches are occurring daily. Fish are keen to eat stonefly nymphs, March Brown Nymphs, Pheasant Tail Nymphs and more. Getting your fly down in the “slower” zones is the key. Yesterday there were a good number of salmon fly adults emerging and we had quite a few fish take a look at the large Chubby Chernobyl dry. Grannom Caddis, March Browns and Blue Winged Olives were also visible most of the day.
This summer steelhead raced up above Leaburg dam and ate a size #12 jigged pheasant tail dropper nymph yesterday.
The water is big and super cold, there is a lot woody debris in the river due to the Holiday Farm fire, be careful out there.
In this video Simon demonstrates how to tie an effective golden stonefly nymph. This pattern does not employ a heavy bead, rather it’s on the “lighter” side by design. Lighter facilitates the “tumble” stonefly nymphs often go through in high water and as they make their way towards shore in order to become adults. The pattern uses a really stout new hook from Ahrex, the HR416 Anadromous Nymph Hook is perfect for trout nymphs, trout streamers, bass flies, steelhead nymphs and more. It has a nice shank length, heavy wire and lethal sharpness. Dirty bug yarn and Straggle String from Semper Fli help create a realistic and easy to form body and thorax. Enjoy!
Golden Stone Nymph
Hook- Ahrex HR416 Anadromous Nymph: Size 4
Thread- Danville’s 140 Denier: Tan
Lead- Hareline Lead Wire: .30mm
Antennae & Tails- Hareline Turkey Biot Quills: Sulphur Orange
Eyes- Hareline Small Mono Nymph Eyes: Black
Dubbing- Hareline Ice Dub: Golden Brown & Hareline Hare-Tron Dubbin: Light Olive Brown
Abdomen- Semperfli Dirty Bug Yarn: Mottled Golden Olive, Danville’ .006 Mono, Hareline Standard Tubing Dark: Golden Stone, & Hareline Cinnamon Tip Turkey Feather
Legs- Montana Fly Company Medium Barred Sexi-Floss: Tan
Thorax- Semperfli Straggle String: Brown Olive, Dubbing Blend, & Hareline Cinnamon Tip Turkey Feather
Anglers have limited options for clear water in the Willamette Valley at present. It seems that low level snow and the past 3 months of rain are draining out into the rivers and tributaries, causing water levels to rise in a big way. Anglers will want to focus on the Middle Fork of the Willamette as it leaves Hills Creek Dam and before the North Forth of the Middle Fork enters. March Brown hatches have been consistent between 12:30 and 2pm. Nymphing with rubber legged stoneflies with smaller nymphs like Hogan’s Clinger, Weiss Possum Anchor, and Croston’s Full Metal Jacket.
As temperatures warm anglers will see more caddis and stonefly adults so it’s a good idea to have some Brown Elk Hair Caddis, Golden Stone Adults, and even a few Green Caddis.
Keep an eye on water levels at http://levels.wkcc.org/?P=Oregon.html.
A general forecast can be viewed here: https://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/rfc/.
From Liz Perkin, Native Fish Society
On April 18, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) hosted a webinar (watch the recording here) to inform the angling public of the outlook for this year’s run of Columbia basin summer steelhead. Unfortunately, it’s not looking great. The pre-season forecast is for yet another poor return, with an estimate of approximately 68,000 total summer steelhead returning and only 18,600 total wild A- and B-run fish. That would make this year’s run the new record lowest, less than even the miserably small run of 2021. So what does that mean for summer steelhead fishing on the Deschutes and John Day this year? And more importantly, what does it mean for the future of summer steelhead in the mid-Columbia River?
According to the Deschutes Steelhead Fishery Framework that ODFW developed last year, the summer steelhead season will open on the Deschutes because the number of wild adult steelhead passing Sherars Falls was over 625 fish. However, because there is expected to be fewer than 9,900 wild fish over Bonneville between July 1–July 31, the season will likely close on August 15. It is also expected that fewer than 23,100 wild steelhead passing Bonneville between July 1–August 31, so it is unlikely the season will re-open once it’s closed.
The John Day fishing framework uses the number of only wild A-index summer steelhead passing Bonneville as a guideline to open the season or not. Under this framework, if fewer than 20,000 wild A-index fish pass Bonneville, the season on the John Day won’t open. Given this requirement and the poor outlook, it is unlikely there will be any summer steelhead season on the John Day this year.
Currently, the state of summer steelhead in the mid-Columbia River is looking dire. Returns have been down since 2016 (see graph below). We question the wisdom of the current Deschutes framework defaulting to an open season if the previous year’s run was high enough. Last year’s run was just large enough to allow angling, but was by no means the “return” to abundance as some advertised. ODFW’s argument is that few anglers tend to target steelhead early in the season, so they expect the effects of having a season that starts open to be minimal. But if anglers know that it is highly likely the season will close on August 15, isn’t it possible that some may change their habits to take advantage of the time it is open? In addition, the highest temperatures in the Deschutes are typically in June, July, and August. During those months, the max temperatures at Moody often surpass 68F, a point when mortality from catch and release angling greatly increases for steelhead.
Hopefully, the forecast will turn out to be low and we’ll see decent numbers of summer steelhead returning to the Deschutes and John Day this year. But until we have a better idea of what the run is going to look like, we hope that anglers will refrain from targeting steelhead, even if the season is open. And if the run is better than expected, we urge anglers to pay attention to water temperature, and not fish when it’s over 68F.
So how do we move forward from where we are now to a place of greater abundance? The first thing we need to do is look at what is driving the current dismal returns. Given the patterns of steelhead declines throughout their range, and understanding where they move in the ocean, it is highly likely that climate change, primarily through increasing ocean temperatures, is the biggest factor driving declines. Anyone who is serious about protecting steelhead has to be pushing for major action to be taken on climate change. Contact your representatives and tell them this is a major issue for you. Reduce the flights you take. Here are other steps you can take to reduce your personal carbon footprint.
There are some steps we can take to offset the effects of climate change in freshwater ecosystems. Summer steelhead in basins with relatively intact, high quality habitat are still doing fairly well. We are partnering with Trout Unlimited in the lower Deschutes to locate restoration sites in the mainstem and key tributaries that are likely to provide the greatest return on investment to increase steelhead numbers. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs has been carrying out habitat restoration throughout the John Day basin, but we also need to push for increased environmental flows. Extreme low flows in late summer have unfortunately come to characterize the John Day and are a likely driver behind the “overshoot”–the tendency of John Day steelhead to keep swimming upstream past the McNary Dam–that reduces the number of steelhead surviving to spawn in the John Day.
We wish the news for Columbia River summer steelhead was better, but we’re committed to work hard with our supporters and our partners to bring these amazing fish back to sustainable numbers.
Native Fish Society April Chapter meeting!
Kara Anlauf-Dunn of ODFW will be giving a presentation of her work examining native fish response to heat. It should be a good way to prepare yourself for responsible angling as we enter the summer trout season and increasing temperatures.
Where: Ninkasi’s Better Living Room, 155 Blair Blvd, Eugene, OR 97402
When: 5:30 pm, April 26
As always, friends and family are always welcome!
I hope to see you in a couple of weeks!
Liz Perkin
Northern Oregon Coordinator
503-442-3985
In this video, Greg ties a Peacock CDC Caddis fly pattern that is a variation of an elk hair caddis. The use of peacock and CDC gives this fly movement and shine that’ll catch the fish’s attention. Fish them as a traditional dry fly up current or skate them across and down current. A deadly pattern that can be tied in different sizes and colors (elk hair, thread, wire).
Hook: TMC100 Size 14
Thread: Uni Thread Red 8/0
Wire: Ultra Wire Olive Small
Thorax: Peacock Hurl
Underwing: CDC Gold Wood Duck
Wing: Elk Hair
Glue: Hard as Hull Penetrator Cement
In this video, Simon ties a small stonefly nymph that utilizes Hareline Tungsten Stout Bodies to create an inverted “almost jigged” style fly without the use of a jig style hook. If you have a bunch of standard nymph hooks and want to create an inverted fly that rides hook up this video demonstrates how.
Inverted Yellow Sally Nymph
Thread: Danville’s 70 Denier: Cream
Bead- Hareline Gold Stout Tungsten Bead Body: Small
Antennae & Tails- Hareline Stripped Goose Biots: Gold
Abdomen- Hareline Micro Fine Dry Dubbing: Baetis Tan, Hareline Squirrel Hair Dubbing: Brown, & Uni Medium Soft Wire: Gold
Legs- Montana Fly Company Small Barred Sexi-Floss: Tan
Wing Case- Hareline Cinnamon Tip Turkey Feather
Adhesives- Solarez Bone Dry & Hareline Hard As Hull Head Cement
Former Caddis Fly Angling Shop employee and Oregon Fly Fishing Blog contributor, Gregory Nespor will be guiding again this season in Yosemite National Park.
This June marks Gregory’s 20th anniversary in the park. For the first eight seasons he worked as a ranger-naturalist in Yosemite Valley where he led guided walks and moonlight tram tours and answered visitor’s questions. During this time he also got involved with bear management, search and rescue, and mentoring Student Conservation Association interns. He considers Yosemite Valley one of his most favorite places.
Later Gregory worked as a wilderness ranger in Yosemite’s high country, based out of Tuolumne Meadows, patrolling the park’s 800+ miles of trail, helping visitors, and protecting resources. It was during the Tuolumne days that he and his best friend Rob would fly fish every day along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, literally outside their front door.
In 2015 Gregory was approached by David Gregory, owner of Yosemite Outfitters, about becoming a guide. After a brief meeting and a day on the water, Gregory accepted the job of guiding visitors on his days off from rangering, and thanks David for changing his life.
In 2021, with the encouragement of family and friends, Gregory started guiding full time. His work at Rajeff Sports in 2018 and the Caddis Fly Shop in 2018-2021 and being a lifelong student of all things wild have inspired Gregory to share the love of fly fishing with others.
His mentors include the Caddis Fly Shop crew, especially Bryson & Justin, Chris Daughters, Tim Rajeff, Katherine Hart, Randall & Mary Kaufmann, Rob Hrabik, David Gregory, Evan Burck, James Lemon, Corey Domings, Creg Phares, and many more.
Be sure to follow Gregory at Gregorynesporflyfishing.com for his latest adventures, Yosemite information, and details about guided trips.
Guided Fly Fishing Trips
Guided Hiking Trips
In this video, Greg ties Lance Egan’s Rainbow Perdigon fly pattern.
Different size hooks and beads can be used depending on water depth and speed. Do not be afraid to oversize the bead on a size 18 hook. You need to get down to the zone asap.
Materials
Hook: Hanak 480 BL Size 18
Bead: Hareline Slotted Tungsten Gold 3.3mm
Thread: Uni Thread Red 8/0
Tail: CDL Brown
Body: UTC Flat Pearl Tinsel Lg.
Glue: Loon UV Fly Finish Flow
You’re Invited to Native Fish Society’s 27th Annual Homewaters Benefit Auction + Wild Fish Celebration
Guided by the best available science, Native Fish Society advocates for the recovery and protection of wild, native fish and the stewardship of the habitats that sustain us all.
In-person: Saturday, April 22, 2023 | The Loft At 8th Avenue, Portland, OR
Virtually: Bidding for the Virtual Silent Auction opens for all Sunday, April 16th, and closes Saturday, April 22nd at 12pm PST | Anywhere you have wifi!
For Friends Of Free-Flowing Rivers + Abundant Wild Fish! Revenue from this event provides one-third of Native Fish Society’s annual budget and helps continue their work as the Northwest’s leading conservation group dedicated to cultivating a groundswell of public support needed to revive abundant wild, native fish in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California.
Until all our northwest communities enjoy healthy homewaters with wild fish, NFS will be advancing science-based solutions to the root challenges facing native fish. Here are a few highlights:
We hope to see you there!
Click here: Native Fish Auction for more information, auction catalog, and registration.
Great prizes will be available including items below.
The Caddis Fly Shop led a group of anglers to the Seychelles Farquhar Atoll March of 2023. The incredible variety of fish and stunningly clear water make Farquhar an incredible saltwater fly fishing paradise.
