Fly Fishing Insider Newsletter featuring Topics Stonefly Nymphs Book Special

Most Stoneflies crawl out of the water to hatch.
hatching Golden Stone…Deschutes

In our region, stone flies hatch from January through August. There are at least two dozen species which are important in the adult stage to the trout angler. These range between the tiny Winter Blacks (3/8") to the giant Salmon Fly (over 2").

The Salmon fly hatch on Oregon's Deschutes in May/June, is arguably the best dry fly fishing the Pacific Northwest has to offer. The hatch starts at the mouth of the river in the first week of May.

By May 25th there are usually a few Salmon Flies at Warm Springs. The first week in June is peak for the best fifty miles, between Maupin and Warm Springs. The hatch trickles off through June and there are scattered salmon flies around Pelton Dam most years until nearly the first of July.

A dense hatch of golden stones and several smaller, lesser-known, but very important species accompanies the Salmon Fly hatch. Early in this sequence fish will be keyed on Salmon Flies and Goldens. Later in the hatch, especially in places where the trout have been worked over hard, trout can become very picky. They often ignore the best-tied and presented big dry patterns. Instead they will select out caddis, alder flies, may flies and very often, smaller stones. These are most often size #12 to #14 Olive Stones.

As the salmon fly hatch comes to a close, these smaller stone fly species tend to linger on, and through July are replaced with even smaller ones. These summer stone flies are usually bright yellow and are size #14 to #16.
THE FLY FISHING SHOP HAS THE BEST SELECTION OF
STONEFLY PATTERNS !!!

Mike Sinatra with a spey rod Spring Chinook.

Nookers on the fly...
Spring Chinooks are poring up the Columbia this year in good numbers. The count at Bonneville Dam as this is being written shows that the run is later than last year. However, all of the Columbia River tributaries are expected to receive good numbers of fish. Most of these fish are of hatchery origin and Spring Chinook are considered to be the best eating of all the Pacific salmonids. Yet, few of these fish receive much attention from fly-rodders. Why?

Because Spring Chinook are damn difficult, that's why! They hate light, so they are only on the prowl in shallow water very early in the morning and late in the evening. They are intensely moody and will go on and off the bite for no apparent reason. The bite usually lasts less than half an hour at a time. Springers like deep water with lots of current available. They like the deep side of the pool, especially if it has a lot of big boulders or

Many Oregon Spring Chinooks are of hatchery origin.

That Spring Chinooks will eat flies is not a myth.

ledges to break the current. Spring Chinook runs bring out the meat hunters and a lot of the best water will have high traffic from the bait slinging crowd. Most fly fishers get discouraged before they even start. However, Spring Chinooks are big strong, hard fighting fish and when you know the rules to the game, there are quite a few places where they are available to fly fishers, if they have the skills and the tackle.

The best part is they take flies about as well as they take bait or spinners. Very fast sinking tip lines are mandatory. A two-handed rod will enable you to fish the deep side of the river where there is usually a minimum of back cast room. Most hatchery Spring Chinook run from 10-20 pounds with 14 pounds average. Your average stout winter steelhead rod (14' #9/10) will work fine if you can throw 250-275 grain tips. Short leaders with 10-15 pound test tippets are required. There is no doubt that there is a lot of experimentation to be done with flies for Spring Chinook, but simple Bunny Buggers in black, orange, pink & chartreuse are proven. The Clackamas, Sandy, Hood, Deschutes, Kalama, Lewis & Wind Rivers all have fish. As to where are the specific spots to fish, you might as well ask a Chinook fisherman where he has his gold buried.

Hardy Bouglé Mark IV Fly Reel, winder side.

The first Hardy reel patent was registered in 1888, and since then many patents have followed. One of Hardy's most popular reels appeared in 1891. It was understandably called the "Perfect". It included most of the improvements that fishermen had been asking for up to that time. The spool was narrow and deep. An adjustable check supplied the friction to keep the spool velocity from over running the line while playing a fish. Up to that time most fine reels were made from brass. The first Perfect reels were made from brass. In just a short period they machined from an aluminum casting. This made the Perfect very lightweight for its time.

A great contributor to the reels success was its ease of disassembly which is accomplished by rotating the side plate backwards. Both ends of the reel turns. This allows the angler to palm or finger a side plate for more friction while playing a fish.
"Perfect can rightly claim to be the most successful fly reel of all time, having remained in production for the best part of a century, during which time many dozens of variations and improvements to the original design were made.", is quoted from A History of Fly Fishing, by Dr. Andrew N. Herd.
In 1903, Louis Bouglé, a French tournament caster, asked Hardy to make a lighter variation of their Perfect reel for competition casting.

Hardy Bouglé Mark IV Fly Reel, back side.

The Bouglé mark IV is most advanced version yet of the reel that the legendary Monsieur Bouglé asked Hardy to make in 1903. It comes in five sizes of click check reels for freshwater fishing. The Mark IV is machined from 6262 bar stock aluminum alloy and is protective anodized in a pearl silver finish with nickel silver components and wood permali handle. Running on 12 stainless steel ball bearings, the spring and pawl drag is silky smooth. Nickel silver roller pillar and wide-ranging, reversible check mechanism are standard features. Five sizes will accommodate small traditional split bamboo rods or lengthy two-hand salmon rods.
Individual Model Specifications And Prices

	Stoneflies
	Little Stones
	Realistic Big Stones
	Clark Stones
	Traditional Big Stones