Late Winter Redsides

On Sunday Mark told several of us that he would like to have some Deschutes pictures. Well, at The Fly Fishing Shop when Mark wants something we get to work to make it happen. On Monday I called my buddy Eric Gunter and suggested that he might be coming down with a sore throat, and that he should probably call in sick on Tuesday (I hope his boss isn’t reading this). Eric told me he would call me back in twenty minutes. Twenty minutes later we were on for Tuesday.  I explained to Eric that we had

two goals. The first was obvious...catch fish. The other was to get some interesting photos for Mark. We decided to take it easy, not get in a rush, and keep our eyes open. The day couldn’t have been any better. Sun shining, pleasant temperature, no W-I-N-D. The water looked great. Oddly enough, there weren’t very many other folks around. I’m really sorry that you missed it. Take solace in the fact that it was enjoyed on your behalf.

I was really hoping for a March Brown hatch, but it never materialized, at least not near us. We did see a fair number of baetis mayflies shortly after noon, but the trout apparently didn’t notice them. I didn’t see a rise all day. Eric claims that he saw one. Eric also caught two suckers, so his credibility is in question. I think that we achieved our goal of finding some interesting things to photograph. The execution wasn’t always top-notch, but the river did its share. The most interesting thing that I saw was a water boatman.

Oh, we also caught some fish. Before I left the shop Josh Linn told me that green nymphs were working well. Josh was, as usual, right on the money. I caught fish on an olive Hares Ear, an olive Bird’s Nest, and a green wire-bodied nymph. The biggest fish of the day was caught on a Beadhead Pearl Stone nymph. It had been escorting my olive nymphs to the bottom all day, so it was fitting that on my last cast a nice redside grabbed it and ran straight out into the current, taking a substantial length of line with it, before I was finally able to coax it back in. So it turned out

Pearl Back Stone Nymph
Your first reaction will probably be, "You gotta be kidding!"  However, the pearl back black stone nymph can be the best thing going on during late wither.  All of the Salmon Flies that will hatch next spring are now crawling around on the bottom of the river.  this time of year they are usually jet black.  We have never seen any that looked pearlescent, but for some reason the pearl back fly will often out fish a plain black one.

Local rivers such as the Sandy, Clackamas, Hood, Washougal and Kalama continue to receive fresh winter steelhead.  Water levels have remained high and water temperatures are rising with the longer days and warmer nights. this is the perfect situation for those anglers who relish probing the waters with a two hand fly rod. The same story prevails on the river to our south such as the Santiam and Umpqua.  The rivers feeding Tillamook Bay have fish and so does the Nehalem.  Some big steelhead have been caught and many fish that were

caught during the past two weeks are deep and thick of body, which is a sign that Ocean feeding conditions have been very good to them.  This is a good time of year to dig out your heavier spey rod and use heavier tippets as some fish this time of year can prove to be on the beefy side. All of the normal fly patterns have been producing good results.  With the heavy flow that we have in our rivers right now, don't hesitate to use your fastest sinking tips in the main flow.  However going through the softer flows next to the bank first can produce some pleasant surprises.

The vaunted Northwest Fly Tyers Expo moved from Eugene to Albany this year. Showcased were the skills of over 70 premium fly tiers, as well as PowerPoint programs, casting demonstrations and many schools.  This was the first year that venders (like ourselves) were invited set up booths.  The facility the FFF chose at the Linn County Expo Center was modern, spacious, well lit and very comfortable.  The array of fly tying talent was off the chart.  Just a few of the tiers are pictured.

This is an event kind of like the Sandy River Spey Clave.  It just feels good.  No doubt it will get bigger.  We plan on being there next year.