Post spawn rainbows are responding well to nymphs and dries. Best flies have been Brillon’s Lucent Jig, Chubby Chernobyls, brown and green caddis.
There are a few Bull Trout migrating through the mid McKenzie at the moment.
Colder water temps mean you will still find a few “whiteys” when nymphing.
Got up to Crane early this week, with my closest friends, before the “grayness”. The weather was outstanding and so was the fishing. Many fish to hand…but wait…where are those mongo cranebows?
One angler had the misfortune of hooking one and of course….it wrapped around a log. That fish was the only fish we hooked of “mongo” size. However, the day was great for fish in the 10-15 inch range. They were all very scrappy and represented the larger cranebows quite well.
A slow retrieve with smaller leech or bugger patterns provided much success. We also indicator fished with balanced leeches….they worked!
The weekend cloud cover should provide some excellent angling for those who go!
Get out there!
LV
Professional fly tyer and ultra mellow, cool dude Jim Sens stopped by the Caddis Fly Shop to tie a fun & beautiful Trout Spey Soft Hackle Fly to get us all pumped up for the spring and summer trout season.
In this video, Jim shows us many of his techniques that he’s learned over the years to tie indestructible and long-lasting flies. From doubling up the thread for durable dubbing spins to incorporating ostrich feather for a beautiful wing, watch featured fly tyer Jim Sens on the vice.
Trout Spey Soft Hackle Fly
Hook: TMC 2312 Size 8
Thread: Veevus 8/0 Black
Body: UTC Holo Tinsel Gold Lg.
Ultra Wire Black Md.
Zap a Gap
Thorax: Ice Dubbing Pheasant Tail
Wing: MFC Ostrich Feather Black
Hareline Barbed Soft Hackle Olive
Deer Creek Diamond Fine UV Resin
From Native Fish Society
The Rogue River’s iconic wild spring Chinook salmon need your support!
After years of serious decline following the construction of Lost Creek Dam/Reservoir without fish passage on the world-renowned Rogue River, wild spring Chinook salmon are on an upward trajectory.
Thanks to the dedication of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and a team of concerned advocates, including NFS Rogue River Steward Peter Tronquet, the state agency has more than a decade of Conservation Plan Actions completed that have resulted in some of the highest wild spring Chinook returns in years.
While the Rogue’s iconic wild spring Chinook have improved, the Cole Rivers Hatchery, which releases 1.7 million hatchery smolts annually as mitigation to compensate for the loss of high-value spawning and rearing habitat above the dam, has failed to meet expectations.
Unfortunately, HB 2379 (bill text available here) currently being considered in the Oregon State Legislature threatens wild spring Chinook recovery in a backdoor attempt to force the state to increase hatchery production to compensate for underperforming hatchery returns that will have serious consequences for the management of Rogue spring Chinook. We must not let the wild spring Chinook and their recovery be jeopardized by doubling down on hatchery releases when the program faces other challenges that can’t be solved by simply increasing releases.
We’re urging you to contact the Senate Natural Resources Committee to oppose HB 2379 and ensure the recovery of wild spring Chinook is prioritized over increased hatchery releases in the Rogue.
Take Action Here: Wild Fish on the Rogue
For wild fish,
Jake
Jake Crawford, River Steward Program Director
Peter Tronquet, Rogue River Steward
Charles Gehr, Rogue River Steward
Mark Sherwood, Executive Director
Greg Apke from ODFW will present an overview on the Task Force and Oregon fish passage regulations. While this may not be the presentation on how to catch more and bigger fish, Oregon fish passage laws are pretty interesting, and lead to better fishing for all of us.
The ODFW Fish Passage Task Force is a volunteer team lead by Greg Apke, ODFW Fish Passage Coordinator. The FPTF is made up of volunteers from Water Users, Fishing and Conservation and the Public at Large. The members are tasked with reviewing waiver and exception requests and ensuring that Oregon fish passage policy requirements are met. The team also just updated a prioritized list of fish passage barriers in Oregon that was just approved by the ODFW commission.
Greg is an avid angler and hunter and has been supporting responsible fish passage at ODFW for many years.
May Chapter Meeting
DATE: Monday, May 13
TIME:6:00 to 8:pm
Claim 52 Kitchen on Willamette street in Eugene.
Headed out last week for the Malheur Wildlife Refuge for our annual bird watching event. Missed last year due to some “technical issues” at the Field Station, but all is well now and the station is ready for anglers and bird watchers.
This trip allowed some fishing time verses bird watching. Took my float tube along and headed out to Krumbo for about four hours. The fishing was good! Mostly slow trolling with a brown bugger with a trailing Zug Bug seemed to be the best opportunity. I saw other anglers using indicators and Chironomids with positive results.
The weather was about a 10+ due to lack of mosquitos and “no see ums” They were present but not enough to get out the Deet!The bird count this year was 90+.
Looks like the great weather will continue for the next several days. Fishing will continue to be good, its a great time to hit Crane, Metolius, Mckenzie, or the Deschutes (Salmon Fly Hatch is imminent with this great weather!). Get out there!
LV
Great new from our friend Pete Frost at WELC. Thanks so much to everyone who worked on this critical issue.
From the Western Environmental Law Center
We fought hard against the practice of motorized suction dredge mining in Oregon’s streams because it disturbs our shared rivers and harms wild salmon and steelhead. WELC helped our conservation colleagues engage legislators on a new state law permanently banning suction dredge mining in “essential salmonid habitat” in Oregon. The new law became effective Jan. 1, 2018, and fully protects 20,688 river miles, or about one-fifth of all river miles in Oregon.
We then successfully defended this common-sense law before both a federal trial court in Medford and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The miners then petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. On April 29, it declined to do so, so the law stands, protecting some of the most important wild salmon and steelhead habitat in Oregon.
One mile above Belinger landing.
From KVAL NEWS:
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Two trees are down across nearly the entire width of the McKenzie River about a mile upstream of Bellinger Landing, Lane County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol deputies warned Wednesday.
“At current river levels, drift boats may be able to pass if they stay river right; however any movement of the trees or changes in the water levels could make the area impassable,” the sheriff’s office said.
For safety, boaters are being asked to avoid the area and put in at or below Bellinger, or take out before they reach the obstruction, which has been reported to the Oregon State Marine Board.
New Summer Hours at The Caddis Fly start this May 1, 2019
10am-6pm Monday-Friday
10am-5pm Saturday
10am-3pm Sunday
In this video, Bruce Berry ties a variant of Anderson’s Euphoria. A nice intermediate size fly to try for summer and winter steelhead.
Hook: OPST Swing #2/4
Thread: Veevus 6/0 Black
Needle: Pro Sport Flexineedle
Tube: Pro Sportfisher Classic Pink
Rib 1: Medium Mylar Rib
Rib 2: French Tinsel Small
Body: Hareline Ice Dub Purple
Bump: UV Ice Dub Pearl
Flash: Pearlescent Flashabou
Hackle 1: Pheasant Rump Purple
Hackle 2: Wood Duck
Hackle 3: Guinea
Glue: Zap-a-Gap
Cone: Pro Sportfisher Pro Cone
