If you want to make great looking collars for steelhead flies, you need to fold your hackle. Tying the feathers in from the tip, and wrapping them forward, Jay shows you the best way to create great looking patterns.
Jay Nicholas has been demonstrating his fly tying tips and fly tying materials selection for us down at the shop, so look for lots of new videos with Jay.
Looking for something to do with those hatchery steelhead? Here is Barrett’s smoked fish recipe:
Brine:
1/3 cup salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
6 cloves peeled garlic crushed
3 tbsp. ginger fresh grated
Juice of one fair sized lime
3 tbsp. high quality soy sauce or tamari
1/4 tsp. cayenne (optional)
1 qt. water
I remove all the bones (both pin and rib bones)with a needle nose pliers.
Slice the fillets into the size pieces your family uses (about 2 in. for my crew). Don’t forget local libations.
I use a gallon Ziploc bag to soak as many fillets as will fit (usually half of a salmon/steelhead or 10 hatchery trout)for 24 hours in the fridge.
I then set the fillets on the racks of my electric smoker to air dry for about a half hour. When the fillets look tacky I put the rack in the smoker, I use apple or cherry wood to smoke my fish but there are a lot of options, almost all are good. 4-6 hrs later I remove the racks of fish and allow a hour to cool to room temp.
Then you can vacuum seal for long term or Ziploc for short term storage. Enjoy freshly smoked or freeze to enjoy later in a myriad of recipes!–BC
Most of you have probably heard of The Drake’s Fly Fishing Film Tour. They’re coming to Eugene next month and offering a special rate for the shop. Ticket prices for this years event are $14 online at the film tour site, $15 at the door, and $12 at the shop — on sale now.
The show is scheduled for:
Tuesday February 16th
The Shed, 868 High Street
Doors @ 6:30 PM, Show @ 7:00PM
The show will run aprox 2.5 hours which includes a 20 minute intermission.
Be sure to check out s trailer for one of the new films they’re showing:
Dave Hughes, co-author of Western Hatches, author of Trout Flies, and 20 other titles will be at The Caddis Fly on Feb 27th.
Dave will be putting on a workshop on the Elements of Fly Fishing For Trout from 9am-3pm for $50/person, 20 person maximum. From 4pm-5pm Dave will be doing a book signing and tying demo, free and open to the public following.
Elements of Fly Fishing for Trout (a 4- to 5-hour workshop).
Includes the following three slide shows and a casting demonstration if space and weather permit.
Reading Trout Water: Learn to read water and find trout in creeks, streams, rivers, plus lakes and ponds. The initial skill in trout fishing is learning to focus your fishing in water where trout hang out, and to eliminate time wasted fishing water where they do not. Based on Dave’s books Reading Trout Water.
Selecting Trout Flies: Learn how to select the right type of fly—dry, emerger, nymph, wet fly, or streamer—for the situation you’re in: the type of water you’re fishing, and the naturals, or lack of them, that trout might be taking. Based on Dave’s books Handbook of Hatches, Trout Flies and Essential Trout Flies.
Tactics for Trout: Learn the most effective rigs, casts, and methods to present dry flies, nymphs, wet flies, and streamers to trout on waters moving and still. Based on Dave’s books Dry Fly Fishing, Nymph Fishing, and Trout Rigs and methods.
Casting Demonstration (weather permitting): Covers appropriate tackle selection for all types of trout fishing. Demonstrates the parts of the basic casting stroke, variations on the basic cast, and casts to apply the methods covered in the workshop. This is not a distance casting demonstration, rather a presentation of practical fishing casts that actually catch trout.
Dave Hughes: Dave is author of more than 20 books about fly fishing. They include the classic Western Hatches with Rick Hafele, American Fly Tying Manual, Handbook of Hatches, Reading Trout Water, Dry Fly Fishing, Nymph Fishing, and the massive reference Trout Flies. His latest book, published in 2009, is Nymphs for Streams and Stillwaters.
Call the shop to reserve your spot ASAP: 541-342-7005.
Although I did not have a thermometer yesterday afternoon the water temperature was “fish friendly” enough.
We spotted one March Brown, a couple of Winter Stones and a few Beatis. The only sipping on the surface was in very slow water.
The few fish we caught were on the Mega Prince, fished under a Thingamabobber about 6 feet.
The McKenzie did rise yesterday evening and had a steel gray green color to it. Look for it to drop during the next couple of days and for warm afternoons to be very productive. All indications are we are going to have a fine early trout season on the McKenzie and Willamette.–CD
Salmon “home” right? They find their way back home to the river, tributary and maybe even the gravel bar where they were spawned. In the case of hatchery fish, they home to their release location, right?
Well, yes and no. Homing by Pacific Salmon is crucial to the ability of these fish to develop genetic characteristics that have survival benefits, characteristics that improve their fitness, productivity, and ability to survive in different river basins. This is true.
It is also true, I think, that a certain amount of straying is essential to the survival of Pacific Salmon. If these fish did not – ever – stray from their home stream, there wouldn’t be anadromous fish in rivers that have been frozen under ice sheets, cooked by volcanoes, baked in drought, blocked by fire and landslides, and so on.
Pacific salmon are pioneers. But there is a balancing act between the benefits (to a locally adapted stock) of returning to a home stream versus the benefits (to the species) of venturing forth to some other river to spawn. This is not a conscious choice, I remind my friends who tend to anthropomorphize salmon and intuit their desires.
Some stocks of Pacific salmon do home very precisely to very local spawning areas. Sockeye salmon of an inlet race would survive very poorly if they spawned in an outlet river. I believe that some pink salmon stocks home to very spatially distinct reaches where they spawn near springs and braided channels. Cutthroat trout in Alaska, I understand, also home very precisely.
But we know that there is indeed a degree of straying in our lower 48 Pacific salmon stocks. Not enough that they all blend into one mass of indistinguishable genetic goo – but enough that it is a matter of interest and curiosity.
It is easier to track coded-wire-tagged hatchery fish than wild fish. Rogue Chinook wind up in the Klamath. Klamath coho wind up in the Rogue. Rogue half-pounders show up in The Elk. Chetco steelhead return to Elk River Hatchery. When they were in operation, private hatchery coho and Chinook roamed into many of the nearby watersheds instead of all returning to their home hatchery. I remember a year when several-thousand hatchery coho returned to Elk River instead of the Floras-New River system where they were stocked as smolts.
Keep your eyes open when you fish rivers where hatchery fish are not stocked. Make mental note when you catch a hatchery fish there. The Chinook pictured above is a hatchery buck that was not in its home river.
Pacific salmon and their home rivers are full of grace and wonder. I encourage you to observe the fish and think about how these ecosystems once functioned. Think about how hatchery and wild fish interact and how hatchery and wild fish factor into our fishing experience. Share your observations. Learn.
From Trout Unlimited Oregon State Council Chair Tom Wolf:
Charles Gauvin is stepping down as CEO of Trout Unlimited and Chris Wood will be replacing him. Also , Whit Fosberg will be the new president of Trout Unlimited while the new Chairman of the Board of Trustees will be John Christiansen.
Charles is leaving after almost 20 years as CEO of Trout Unlimited. He has done a great job of building the organization and making it a leader in cold water conservation. When he came on board in the early 90’s, TU was a very small organization , with a small budget, small staff and in debt. He built it into a large organization of 150,000 members, 120+ staff, a budget of over 20 million dollars and the largest cold water conservation group in the country, an effective voice for native trout and salmon. He deserves a thanks and praise.
Chris Wood, who will be taking over the CEO job, and many of you have met when he was out here 2 years ago for our state council meeting, is an outstanding choice to be Charle’s successor. He has been ,throughout his career , a passionate voice for protecting trout and salmon. His leadership since he has been with Trout Unlimited has really been amazing, leading TU in new areas we haven’t been involved in before such as roadless and wilderness. He will be a great CEO and continue to help TU grow in it’s role as an advocate for wild trout and salmon.
So we will be saying good bye to a person who has lead TU faithfully and with great ability for almost 20 years-a very long time in the non-profit arena. But we will also be getting a leader who will continue the great work done by his predecessor. I look forward to working with Chris as we continue the outstanding work that TU does.
-Tom Wolf
If you care about salmon and steelhead on Oregon’s North Coast, now is the time to get involved with the ecological nightmare about to unfold on the Tillamook.
From Jeff Hickman: Back in June 2009, the Oregon Board of Forestry voted to increase clear cutting from 50% to 70% of the Tillamook and Clatsop state forests. The Board’s decision authorizes increased clear cutting of thousands of acres of diverse, native forests, which are rare in the North Coast range, including up to 70% of some key salmon “anchor” watersheds.
The Tillamook and Clatsop state forests that are affected by this decision are the largest publicly owned coastal rainforest south of the Olympics and home to some of the healthiest remaining runs of wild fish in the lower 48 states. These forests and the health of their watersheds face an uncertain future if the Board’s recommendations are allowed to proceed unchallenged.
Bob Van Dyk of the Wild Salmon Center said the Oregon Board of Forestry is seeking public comments before they finalize their June 3 decision to weaken environmental protections on your state forests.
You can send your comment through a website created by the Sierra Club. The website has a good preset comment, but it can be changed, so add something personal, too.
Or you can send your own comments via email to Jeff Foreman and the Oregon Department of Forestry. Jeff.Foreman@state.or.us Put “State Forest Rule Making” in the subject line.
KEY POINTS:
1) Do not lower the goal for growing and protecting older, complex forests.
2) Do not increase the amount of forest that is allowed to be recently clear cut.
3) Work cooperatively with the federal fish and wildlife agencies to design a strong habitat conservation plan.
COME TO A PUBLIC HEARING IF YOU CAN:
Salem Oregon on Tuesday the 26th from 5:30 to 9 PM at the Department of Forestry Headquarters.
Seaside Oregon on Thursday the 28th from 5:30 to 9 PM at Seaside City Hall.
Details on hearings and proposed changes in ODF press release HERE.
COMMENT PERIOD CLOSES FRIDAY JANUARY 29
The 2010 Northwest Fly Tyer and Fly Fishing Expo is set for March 12-13, 2010 at the Linn County Fairground and Expo Center in Albany Oregon.
The NW Fly Tyer and Fishing Expo brings together the social network of fly fisherman throughout the Northwest, Northern California, and Idaho. Over 2,000 people attended last year’s Expo. The NW Expo has been heralded as the “largest fly tying event west of the Mississippi”, with over 80 classes. Class choices include: fly tying techniques, fly casting (single and two handed), and fly fishing techniques. The NW Fly Tyer Expo is sponsored by the non- profit organization, Oregon Council of Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF). All proceeds are dedicated to education and conservation efforts within the state.
Nearly 200 tyers will be demonstrating in shifts all day, both days (March 12 & 13, 2010), plus 59 different vendors of products peculiarly of interest to fly fishers, “where & how to” programs, raffles, and silent and oral auctions of quality merchandise. Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) members get free admission, non-members pay only $5.00. If you attend and are not yet an FFF member, you can join, and then get in free, basically a $5.00 discount for your membership!
Also, there is no charge for parking at the Linn County Fairgrounds facilities. Good food is available within the Exposition area. Tying classes are conveniently just down the hall from the main hall, and casting classes are in an adjacent building.
On Saturday evening, after the close of the show, there will be an opportunity to meet and mingle with fly tyers and instructors with a no-host bar, followed by the annual banquet and oral auction to conclude the festivities. It is not necessary to buy a dinner ticket to attend the auction. You may learn more about the Expo and sign up for classes or purchase banquet tickets here.
The Dark Cahill wet fly with hidden bead is an excellent searching pattern on the McKenzie and Willamette rivers in the spring time. The body of this fly is made of Uni-yarn, an interesting alternative for folks who have a hard time making nice tapered bodies with traditional dubbing.
Dark Cahill wet with hidden bead
Hook: TMC 3761 #8-16
Bead: 1/8 Tungsten Gold Bead
Thread: 8/0 Black
Tail: India Hen Back Natural
Body: Uni yarn, gray
Rib: Copper Wire
Hackle: India Hen Back Natural
Wing: Lemon Wood Duck
The barrage of egg-pattern variations continues! This is the Gorman’s Caballero Egg, a dead drift winter steelhead pattern that is very effective on local rivers. Check out our Steelhead Pattern Index for more fly tying instructions.
Gorman’s Caballero Egg
Hook: Gamakatsu C14S #4-10
Thread: U140 Ultra Thread Pink or Orange
Bead: 5/32 copper bead
Tag: Uni floss Neon Chartreuse
Body: Speckle Crystal Chenille Pearl/fl. Orange
Veil: Egg Veil
The US Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced its intention to revisit its 2005 critical habitat designation for bull trout, a species listed under the Endangered Spcies Act since 1999.
The new proposal would increase by 19,000 stream miles the amount of habitat listed as critical for the bull trout. The Forest Service revisted its previous decision after the Inspector General found that former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and PArks, Julie Macdonald (a name which shall live in infamy) interfered with the designation of critical habitat for bull trout. She instructed agency biologists to abandon the best available science, to exclude all federal lands and exclude all lands that had any “plan” governing land use whether that plan was adequate or specific to bull trout.
From the Inspector General’s report: “We determined that MacDonald was heavily involved with excluding large amounts of areas from the bull trout CHD; she accomplished this goal by making several policy decisions. Many FWS staff whom we interviewed believed MacDonald’s ad hoc policy decisions resulted in a final CHD rule that was not based upon the best available science and was harmful to the recovery of the species.”
The newest propsal identifies 32 habitat units in five western states including 3100 miles of habitat in Oregon. The agency will be accepting public comment on the draft proposal until March 15. You can see Fish and Wildlife’s bull trout homepage here for more information. A Critical Habitat map can be found here.–KM
Each January I head over to the Central Oregon for my annual winter Trout trip. Last year we decided to target the river’s plentiful Bull Trout for the first time. While I have had the pleasure tussling with bullish fighters as an incidental catch as I nymph for trout, I had never taken the time to formulate a strategy to take these beautiful fish. This year the Trout and Whitefish would have to wait because the Bull Trout were our quarry.
Matt Siegmund critiques my casting:
The plan came together and the strategy was simple: go big, go deep, and go twitchy. A down-stream belly in the line, allow some sink time, and twitch the fly through the swing. My good friend Dean Finnerty struggled with the concept of “down-stream belly.” It goes against my instinctive to mend for Steelhead he explained, but it didn’t stop Matt and I from barking, “BELLY” with uproarious laughter each time he made a cast.
Despite unseasonable warm temperatures and a very unstable barometer we managed to put a few fish in front of the camera. This year we were joined by a few friends for a little fishing, and a whole lot of fun.
Dean Finnerty test his new invention:
The Bull Trout agree…it tastes delicious!
This year we would be fishing with our new friends—the Spey rods. There isn’t a lot of back-cast room and the flies are enormous. These rods, coupled with sections of T-14, T-17, and newly concocted streamers we had what we need to get the job done.
Chris and the Stansberry Bros. joined us for a day and Chris caught a toad. Nate grew bored with the whole bull trout thing, and decided to give them pesky whitefish a lesson or two.
Chris Daughters caught the big fish of the trip:
I try to go on my annual outing in January simply because it fits nicely into the end of the Duck hunting season and the beginning of my winter Steelhead season. This winter fishery remains strong until the winter run-off raises the river.
-TT
In this new fly tying video, Barrett shows you how to tie the Gotcha, a hot fly pattern for bonefish on the flats.
Hook: TMC 811S #4-8
Thread: Tan 6/0 Uni Thread
Eyes: Bead chain or pseudo eyes
Body: Flat Diamond Braid, shrimp pink
Legs: Silicone Legs bonefish pink
Wing: Pseudo Hair tan/sand
Barring: Brown marker
After a month of wild weather and high water, this weekend is finally shaping up to be a classic. Rivers are dropping and fish are moving. The weak tides ahead may not bring a lot of fresh steel from the salt, but there are solid numbers of fish already navigating and staging in Oregon’s coastal rivers. Focusing on the upper reaches of your favorite river(s) will probably bring the biggest payoff–expect fish to be accumulating in the deeper pools where waters are clearing. That’s where the bobbicator boys will be hunting, and rightfully so. I’m going to stay down low, swinging the greenest water I can find for one of those monster, hump-backed, gator-mouthed bruisers that tend to show up from now through early February. There is NOTHING like the rip-the-rod-out-of-your-hands grabs that a swung fly will bring this time of year.
If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to dive into Skagit-style steelheading, this is it. Time to shelf the old Windcutters and Deltas. Give your arms and joints a break, and get the most out of your Spey rod. Your favorite fly shop can help you pick the right grain-weight for your rod, and get you hooked up with the right sink-tips. Most of your old tips will probably work fine with the new head. This is no sales job, folks. I’m trying to help you, because I know what it’s like fighting gear that isn’t dialed in. I was a late-adopter of short heads, in spite of plenty of expert advice.
If you’ve been cranking out Intruders at the vise, now is the time to employ them. They may be fun to play with in the bathtub, but they’re made to be thrashed and ripped to pieces by pissed off salmonids (or hung from tree limbs that are just out of reach). On-the-water testing is the only way to work out the kinks in your fly designs.
It’s quite ironic that I’m advocating the swung fly, considering that I’m a jig-a-holic. And a plug-a-holic. All the methods are good fun. But there is only one way to have your arm ripped out of its socket, or to hyper-extend your elbow on a grab, and that’s with a swung fly. Sure, there’ll be days, weeks and months without a yank. That’s why you need to start now.
See you on the water…
-RR
