Greatest Party On Earth

Scott O'Donnell and Mike McCune have educated and entertained us at each Sandy River Spey Clave since 2004. Their presentations are always leading-edge because these two guys spend a lot of time on-the-water; fishing.  As professional guides, their annual circuit takes them from the Oregon Coast, to Alaska, to the Grand Rhonde and back to the coast again.  They are with a different set of clients every week...year round.  They see a lot of different acts and they see a lot of different casting

mistakes.  Scott & Mike constantly work
to help improve the casting skills of their clients.  This demands that they are constantly analyzing how every cast is made and how to improve upon it.  Their understanding of Spey casting is constantly evolving and each of their presentations at the Clave has been different.  Their tackle is the configured to work the best under the fishing conditions they encounter on the rivers they fish.  Both of these gentlemen had a huge impact on the development of Rio's

Skagit Lines and were chosen to present Skagit Casting Techniques on Rios' new 3 DVD block buster, Rio's Modern Spey Casting.  When I asked Scott for some promo pictures of  him and Mike with big fish, he relied, "How about little fish.  Little fish are cool too".   This presents a refreshing insight, since there are plenty of pictures of these guys with very large fish.

A transplant to the Pacific Northwest, via the U.S. Navy, Scott O'Donnell settled on the banks of the historically rich, North Fork Stillaguamish River, in Northwestern Washington State. It was there, in 1987, he was first introduced to the spey rod and has been in the thick of the spey casting
revolution ever since. His contributions to spey rod and line design, spey fishing techniques, and his exceptional abilities as a casting instructor has made him one of the most sought after steelhead guides in the West. He is also highly influential member of the Sage and Rio Products Pro Staffs. Scott currently resides in Seaside, Oregon.

Mike McCune is a full time fly fishing guide and lives on the Oregon Coast. Born and raised in Northern California, Mike is a life-long Steelhead "junkie" and has fished and guided extensively throughout their native range. A devotee of two-handed methods, Mike is also member of Sage fly rods advisory team Rio products pro staff.

Scott and Mike are great team and put on show that is bound to educate and entertain you
and your mom.

Patagonia's classic revisited, improved in all ways. it is offered in a new stretch fabric that is lighter, more breathable and more durable. They've also streamlined the pocketing to provide even more storage but cleaner access and less bulk to get in the way of oars, rods and lines. The left vertical front pocket has an inside pocket for tippets. The reversed StretchCoat® gussets seal out water at the wrists; a protective cuff prevents line snags. It has an adjustable hood that folds into the collar, fleece-lined handwarmer pockets, abundant D-rings and a hidden rod holder. The men's jacket has a zippered pocket on the back with a storm flap. All exterior zippers are waterproof.

Eyes On Flies Can Be Very Important !  A theory on how eyes evolved. 

Wasn't it an old Eagles song that said, "You can't hide your fly tying eyes?"  On bait fish fly patterns, eyes may be one of the most important targets for predatory game fish.  This means that one of  the key features that many game fish see is the eye (or eyes) of their victims. It stands to reason that flies with eyes should be much more successful than the same pattern without eyes.  Our tests conclude this is true.  Check out this discussion about fishes, flies and eyes!