Howdy,

This time of year the Little North Fork (LNF) begins to turn into a pretty decent river.  A small run of late fall steelhead enter the lower section of the river and wait in the deep holes for spring to come.  The fish are finicky, but will hit flies and lures on occasion.  The LNF is a free running piece of water that merges with the North Santiam near Lyons, Oregon.  I am fortunate to live on it’s banks just a few hundred yards from this confluence. 

Because it is unimpeded on it way the North Santiam, it is completely controlled by Mother Nature.  Rain and snowmelt up in the mountains cause the river to rise rapidly, but recede and clear after a day of two of dry weather.  It fishes best between 4.5-6 ft. measured at the guage just upstream from the confluence.  The local steelhead will stay in the lower section of the river until mid-March. 

Me and my son Christian working the "Big Hole"

That makes all sound a little too easy, right?  Well, getting Mother Nature to cooperate and leave the river in the sweet spot doesn’t happen as often as a steelheader with a day job would like.  Luck was on our side towards the end of the holiday weekend and Christian and I were able to get out and do some fishing.  We didn’t manage to hook into anything, but a couple strikes and great weather made it enjoyable.

There are a few local “part time” residents that also enter this lower section of the river this time of year.  They are competitors of us anglers, but they sure are fun to watch!  They seem to think this is “their” fishing hole and snort and bark at us whenever we show up.

Mama Otter and two yearling pups.

After going fishless for a couple hours, the weather warmed a bit so we headed to a sunny spot on the main river.  Christian managed a nice rainbow on the #18 grey midge and miss a couple others, but he went home without being fishless for the trip.

Tight Lines!

Dave