Howdy,

After picking up the kids bright and early from PDX and returning home, Christian, Emma and I hit the river.  As usually happens during spring break, we get one good day of weather before it turns bad.  This year is no different.  Having learned from previous years, we headed for the water quickly. 

 Christian had a Double Wing Elk Hair Caddis tied on (from last fall) and started off with that while Emma and I turned over rocks to see what was living under the surface.  We located some mayfly nymphs, stonefly nymphs and big ole Caddis Larva about 1″ long!  With so much food available under the surface, I didn’t think Christian had any hope of hooking anything with the big dry fly on.  The only bugs in the air were BWOs, some small Speckled Caddis and some March Browns.

Emma holding the Dark Olive Caddis

 Next thing I know, Christian is hollaring from downstream.  I look over my shoulder to see his 4 wt. doubled over and shaking wildly.  My first thought was that he had hooked into a steelhead, but once I got downstream to him, I saw the flash of a pretty rainbow trying to race upstream.  Christian got him turned around and he moved into the slower, shallower water.  Next thing the fish tried was to lodge itself between a couple boulders.  Christian moved downstream a bit and got him to turn again.  We got him landed, snapped a picture or two and released a beautiful 17″ Native Rainbow back into the North Santiam.

Christian's 1st fish of the year (it won't be the last)

I decided it was time for me to do some fishing.  I missed a couple takes on nymphs before we headed for the house.  As usual, Christian outfished me.  He didn’t catch anything later on either, but his only catch was quite a fish. 

Sunday brought rain, Sunday night and Monday morning brought more rain.  Looks like a typical spring break.  At least we learned enough from past years to take advantage of every opportunity.

Today has been spent at the vise, working on a few patterns to imitate the bugs that Emma and I collected.    Once the rivers are back into shape, we’ll have a couple new patterns to test.

Top to Bottom - Big Stonefly, Little Yellow Stonefly, Mayfly Nymph

Tight Lines!

Dave

Howdy,

Sunday morning (03/21/10) brought with it grey skies and a light drizzle as Mike, Craig and I boarded the Rapid Sucess for a drift down the North Santiam from Mehama to Stayton.  The purpose of this trip was to introduce Mike and Craig to fly casting for Steelhead.  Both of them are beginners in the sport, but have years of fishing experience using other types of gear.  To start them off, I rigged up some Oakey Drifters to let them warm up and get the feel of the boat as we made our way downstream to some better water for fly casting.

Side channel on the North Santiam

An hour or so into the drift we stopped on a nice wide gravel bar and I gave a few basic instructions, rigged up a couple fly rods and set them off thrashing the water for a bit.  I observed from a distance and picked up on a couple of adjustments that they needed to make.  It wasn’t long and their casting began to improve.  As with most newbies to the sport, they did a LOT of casting and very little fishing.  I then gave them my best professional advice by telling them that 99.999% of fish are caught on a fly when it’s in the water, not when it’s being flung forwards and backwards in the air!  Being the quick learners that they were, more fishing ensued.

I pointed Mike to a side channel that looked promising for trout.  I rigged a tandem nymph setup with a Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear (bead head) with a trailing Soft Hackle and instructed him to work his way down the channel back to the main river.  I went back to check on Craig and noticed that he had switched to the baitcasting setup and was sidedrifting the Oakey rigs.  I picked an unused fly rod and made few casts myself.   A few moments later I head Mike’s voice and looked over my shoulder across the island to see the tandem nymph rig stuck in the trees across the side channel.  We met in the middle of the island and traded rods.  He taking the 8 wt. St. Croix with a Santiam Stoneattached and me taking the 5 wt. Pro Logic with nothing but a broken leader.  I re-rigged with an old time pattern commonly used on the east coast called the “Sheep Fly”.  For you west coasters, it’s best described as a Timberline Emerger (Kauffman) on steroids.  Tied on a #10 nymph hook with a fat grey dubbing body, soft hackles of partridge or pheasant body and grizzly hackle tip wings.  It’s definitely not a “pretty” fly, but it is effective.

Mike and Craig working on their casts

Since Mike had moved back to the main river, I decided to finish out the side channel.  On the 3rd cast I missed a take.  I immediately ran the Sheep Fly back through the same slot and felt another soft pickup.  I stripped in about 4 inches of line quickly and then dropped it back in the current – WHAM!  I lifted the rod tip and the fish immediately took all the slack and was on the reel pulling line.  I got him turned and he raced back upstream into the deep slot.  The fish felt heavy, but gave up pretty quickly.  I assumed it was a Whitefish by the fight, but was pleasantly surprised when a beautiful native rainbow came to hand.  I hollered at the guys across the island, held up the fish, gave it a quick measure next to the rod, snapped a couple pics and released him safely back in the channel.  He was a “specimen” of a fish.  Not huge (18″), not a hog, but rather just a perfect example of what a native rainbow should be.  Clean, beautiful coloration, perfect proportions and best of all – willing to take a fly!  It was simply “one of those fish”.

18" Native Rainbow

We piled in the boat and headed off downstream again.  With a mix of sun breaks and downpours, we continued to fish on the move, stopping briefly at a couple spots.  Later in the afternoon the water came alive with hatches – Green Drakes, March Browns, MB Spinners, BWOs and the occasional caddis – little black ones and medium greys.  Obviously the fish were ignoring the adults because we only saw 2 fish rise all day.  Not what a guy who loves dry fly action wants to see, but a good sign that there was an abundance of under the surface food for the fish.

As with all river trips, there were the moments of comic relief.  Craig calling his cast (ala Babe Ruth) then proceeding to cast into a tree just like he said.  Craig trying to untangle the snag from the tree branch with his hat fallen down over his eyes.  Mike snagging in the rocks while I’m struggling to retie a rig for Craig, etc. etc.  The way I see it, those are the things you’ll remember from the trip that allow you to forget the rain and cold.  There are also the unexpected moments that nature provides that just leave you amazed…………..

A native rainbow of another sort. A great finish to a fine day.

Tight Lines!

Dave

Howdy,

Here are the latest reports on the rivers we fish:

North Santiam River, Oregon

Report date: 03/10/2010
Report by: Dave Carpenter
Fly fishing outlook: 1 – Excellent
Water level is pretty low, but fish are still moving in. The first Summer Steelhead and Spring Chinook have entered the system. Keep watching the Oregon Outdoor Excursions website for regular fish count updates!
Species to fish for: Chinook Salmon,Steelhead
Flow: 1660 @ Mehama
Wading difficulty: Normal
Water clarity: Excellent
Water temperature: 40 @ Mehama
Current hatches: Black Midge,Blue Winged Olive,Brown Caddis,March Brown
Wet flies (nymphs) to use: Cascade Intruder, Eyed Egg, Eyed Critter, Metal Butt Skunk, Governor Hairwing
Dry flies to use: March Brown Emerger, Biot BWO
(Updated 03/10 9:38 AM)

Little North Santiam, Oregon

Report date: 03/10/2010
Report by: Dave Carpenter
Fly fishing outlook: 2 – Good
We still have very stable river conditions here. Low and clear. Stick with the smaller, more subtle fly patterns – size 6 & 8.
Species to fish for: Steelhead
Flow: 285 cfs near Mehama
Wading difficulty: Normal
Water clarity: Excellent
Water temperature: 42 near Mehma
Current hatches: Little Black Caddis,March Brown,Speckled Caddis
Wet flies (nymphs) to use: Eyed Egg, Santiam Stone, Clash Hairwing, Bunny Leech
(Updated 03/10 9:33 AM)

Siletz River, Oregon

Report date: 03/10/2010
Report by: Dave Carpenter
Fly fishing outlook: 2 – Good
The river is still running on the low side things at a little over 4 ft. Steelhead are still spread throughout the system though.
Species to fish for: Steelhead
Flow: 887 cfs @ Siletz
Wading difficulty: Normal
Water clarity: Good
Current hatches: no
Wet flies (nymphs) to use: Eyed Egg, Clash Hairwing, Spey, Dee and Leech patterns
(Updated 03/10 9:30 AM)

Picture of the week:

Tight Lines!

Dave

Howdy,

Riverwood Trout Fly of the Month

Grey Midge

Recipe:

• Hook: Dry Sz 16-22
• Tail: Tan Saddle Fibers
• Body: Muskrat Dubbing
• Wing: Grizzly or Grey Hackle

Midge is the common name of a variety of small insects that hatch along the water’s edge. They are small, plentiful and a great source of food for trout. They are available in almost every month of the year and hatch at various times.

The grey midge adult pattern not only passed as a midge, but also as a small Blue Winged Olive, Pale Morning Dun and other small mayflies.

The best time to fish these patterns is on a cloudy, or overcast day when the temperature is above 50 degrees. They are also handy to use immediately following a brief rain shower – just as the sun is coming out again.

Riverwood Steelhead Fly of the Month

Recipe

• Hook:  Salmon/Steelhead sz 2-6
• Body:  Angora Dubbing (Pink used here)
• Rib:  Holographic Tinsel
• Body Hackle:  2 Colors of Schlappen (Yellow and Pink here)

This is a very simple, yet very effective pattern.  The long schlappen feathers ebb and flow along with the current, imitating a swimming or free drifting shrimp.  Fish deep and on a dead drift for best results.

Tight Lines!

Dave

Howdy,

Here’s the latest scoop on my favorite Oregon Rivers!

North Santiam River, Oregon

Report date: 03/01/2010
Report by: Dave Carpenter
Fly fishing outlook: 1 – Excellent
The river is still quite low for this time of year at 4 ft. (at Mehama). This makes for great fishing as the fish have less room to spread out. The first couple Spring Chinook have passed through Willamette Falls and are heading this way. They are about 2 weeks ahead of last year. ODFW is projecting a really decent run this year.
Species to fish for: Chinook Salmon,Steelhead
Flow: 2,300 cfs @ Mehama
Wading difficulty: Normal
Water clarity: Excellent
Water temperature: 44 @ Mehama
Current hatches: no
Wet flies (nymphs) to use: Eyed Egg, Santiam Stone, Clash Hairwing, Bunny Leech
(Updated 03/01 10:19 AM)

Little North Santiam, Oregon

Report date: 03/01/2010
Report by: Dave Carpenter
Fly fishing outlook: 2 – Good
Holding steady at 4-4.5 ft. this week with little change expected. The flow and depth have been stable for quite a while now. Fish will be settled in the deeper pools. Fish deep my friends!
Species to fish for: Steelhead
Flow: 587 cfs near Mehama
Wading difficulty: Normal
Water clarity: Excellent
Water temperature: 43 degrees near Mehama
Current hatches: no
Wet flies (nymphs) to use: Eyed Egg, Santiam Stone, Clash Hairwing, Bunny Leech
(Updated 03/01 10:15 AM)

Siletz River, Oregon

Report date: 03/01/2010
Report by: Dave Carpenter
Fly fishing outlook: 2 – Good
The river is still holding steady in the 5-6 ft. range which is optimum for fishing. However, there really needs to be some high water, followed by a drop to make things great!
Species to fish for: Steelhead
Flow: 2,200
Wading difficulty: Normal
Water clarity: Good
Current hatches: no
Wet flies (nymphs) to use: Eyed Egg, Clash Hairwing, Spey, Dee and Leech patterns
(Updated 03/01 10:12 AM)

Picture of the Week:

Dr. Bob's Santiam Winter Steelhead 02/26/2010

Tight Lines!

Dave