steelhead run prediction

Summer Steelhead/Salmon Run Predictions and Up-dates, by River!

Clackamas River

Water conditions are good. There are small numbers of bright summer steelhead. Most of the Spring Chinooks are starting to turn color and many are beyond their prime. Salmon September/October.

Clear Water River

Very little steelhead activity at present. Will start fishing in September/October. Best period for fly fishing October 1-15.

Deschutes River

There are fishable numbers the river now. Fish are scattered in the lower forty miles. Water is low and clear. White River glacial run-off is non existent. Steelhead run is expected to at least match last ten year average.

Grand Rhonde River

No steelhead activity at present. Will start fishing in October/November. Best period for fly fishing is October 15 to November 15.

Hood River River

There are still fair numbers of bright steelhead stacked up in the mile below Power Dale Dam. The rest of the river from from the dam to the mouth has sparser numbers of fish. The water is colored from glacial silt. Only on the coolest days is the river fishable.

John Day River

Not much steelhead activity yet. A few fish are at the mouth of the river. Predictions of run size and water conditions are favorable for fall fishing. Best period for fly fishing October & November.

Klickitat River

There are fair numbers of very bright steelhead. The run will continue to build through November. The problem is the Klick is in and out with glacial turbidity. Most predictable period for fly fishing is October.

North Santiam River

Water conditions are good. Still good numbers of bright summer steelhead. Fishing has been good for anglers willing to cover water. Fishes well through October.

North Umpqua River

A few very bright fish are scattered in the fly-only water now. This run will build throughout the summer. Seasonal water conditions should be favorable. Best fishing period is August through October.

Rogue River

A few half-pounders and adult steelhead in the lower river now. This run will build throughout the summer. Seasonal water conditions should be favorable. Steelhead run is expected to be similar to last ten year average. Best fishing period is August through October.

Sandy River

There are sparse numbers of fairly bright steelhead scattered in the 25-miles below Marmot Dam. Even though the weather has been hot, many days the river has at least 3-foot visibility. Expect a very large run of Coho Salmon September/October.

There must be a good reason they call this place:
Steelheadquarters (It's easier to say than steelhead headquarters)

If You Are Into Spey Rod Fishing, We Have What You Need !!!

George M. Kelson circa. 1895 author: "The Salmon Fly" described spey casting in detail. During this era casts were performed with wooden rods which regularly weighed several pounds.

Two-Hand fly rods are any rods that are powered with both hands. These rods are commonly 12' to 15' long. This extra length gives the angler the advantage of being able to present and control the fly at longer ranges and greater depths in large salmon and steelhead rivers than do single hand rods.
Two-Hand fly rods come in two types; those designed for over head casting and those designed specifically for change of direction roll casting,
ie. Spey Casting .
The first type is called an "Overhead Rod". They are usually designed with a very fast taper and stiff butt and excel when fishing wide-open streams with shooting head fly lines.
The second type is commonly called the "Spey Rod". These rods are designed with more moderate tapers to facilitate timing and loading during change-of-direction-roll casting; or spey casting. Since our stream banks are usually vegetated to the shoreline, Spey Rods have become very popular in our area (Pacific Northwest, USA).

Now Available In DVD
The first thing you will notice is the difference in clarity of the picture and sound in the digital DVD vs. the analog VHF Video. Details that were hidden in the VHS have come back alive in the DVD. The next big improvement is that the DVD may be watched as an entire program or you may go to the chapter menu and select the the casting tip you want to watch.
The DVD works much better as a learning or teaching aid.
Even if you have this classic video in VHF, you should buy it in DVD. It is that much better.

"Spey Casting Secrets"

60% of the price of this video
goes to protect Native Fish!

Techniques, Styles & Tips

Few trends have captured the imagination of fly–fishing enthusiasts like the resurgence of the two–handed rod for steelhead and salmon fishing.

New designs in spey casting rods and fly lines give anglers more distance, line control, and ease of casting when fishing broad waters for large fish.

"Spey Casting Secrets" captures 10 of the world’s finest spey casters, imparting their wisdom, tips, secrets, and techniques.

Filmed in Oregon at the Sandy River Spey Clave, "Spey Casting Secrets" is a rich stew of narrated demonstrations and a myriad of tips that can’t help but make you a better spey caster. Each participant donated his time to spend a week-end with more than 700 attendees who came to the Spey Clave from across the country and beyond.

Thanks goes to the following casters featured on this video:

Simon Gawesworth, Rio Products and international spey rod instructor.

Steve Choate, 2002 international distance spey casting champion.

Scott O’Donnell and Mike McCune, Scott Rod instructors.

Dr. Way Yin, a noted spey caster and a developer of Scientific Anglers fly lines.

Andy Murray, British spey caster from The House of Hardy.

George Cook, spey casting instructor working with Sage, Simms, and Rio Products.

Ed Ward, Washington, Alaska and Russia fishing guide.

Brian Silvey, an early spey casting convert and noted Deschutes and Sandy River guide.

Mark Bachmann, owner of The Fly Fishing Shop, fishing guide, and the prime motivator of this video.

Many more thanks go to Jeff Runner and Mark Bachmann, who spent countless hours editing this video. All wholesale proceeds will go to support the Native Fish Society in its efforts to restore native steelhead and salmon runs in the rivers of the Pacific Northwest.

To learn more about the Native Fish Society, its important work, and how you can help, please visit www.nativefishsociety.org.

"Spey Casting Secrets" a Spey Casting Video: 120 minutes, VHF Format for your entertainment and education.
Item	Description	Price	To Top
SP-VIDEO	"Spey Casting Secrets" Spey Casting Video	$29.95
SP-DVD	"Spey Casting Secrets" Spey Casting DVD	$34.95

Ask The Fly Fishing Shop Guy
There have been several articles written about what it is like to work in a fly fishing shop. One of the things I enjoy is the communication that internet and email brings to us. We correspond with hundreds of people scattered in dozens of countries.

From: John Gifford
To:flyfish@flyfishusa.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 2:28 PM
Subject: 6-weight rod comparison

Hi,
I enjoyed your 6-weight rod comparison in this week's newsletter. From what I can tell, the 6-weight T&T Horizon II weighs a bit less than the 6-weight T&T Helix. Would the Horizon II make for a good rod for the conditions you mentioned? Or is this rod too stiff?

For what it's worth, I also noticed that the G. Loomis Crosscurrent GLX 6-weight weighs in at 3.3 ounces -- lighter than some of the rods reviewed.

Do you have any reservations about using a saltwater rod like one of these for both freshwater and saltwater duty? I'm thinking of buying one, and am interested in these two rods -- T&T and G. Loomis 6-weights.
Thanks,
John

From: Mark Bachmann
To: John Gifford
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 4:36 PM
Subject: 6-weight rod comparison

Dear John,
The rods listed are the best of the wide range of 6-weight "streamer rods" we have fished over the years.

There are of course a large number of rods that didn't make it into the favorite category.
I never used the new Horizon.

All and all, my favorite action is the StreanDance GLX, with the Sage XP a very close second.

As far as saltwater vs. freshwater actions in this 9-foot, 6-weight category, I doubt if there is a difference.

These six weight rods work best when fishing for fish that weight one to five pounds.

Fish this size usually feed on things that are 1/2" to 3" long.

That is about the size range of flies that are most comfortable with a 6-weight rod and line.

At present the two favorite streamer rods are also my first picks for saltwater and bass bug fishing.

Right now Pete Gadd is conspiring with Kerry Burkheimer to design and build the ultimate streamer rod.

Their design parameters sounded well grounded to me.

The proof will be on the water.

At present I'm happy with the selection of the five mentioned 6-weights I fish with.
You might like to check out:
http://www.flyfishusa.com/tackle-tips/trout-tackle/troutkl.html#rods

That article was written about rods used for dry fly and nymph fishing for trout, which is an entirely different category of 6-weight rods.
With your permission, I would like to print this correspondence in our next on-line newsletter.

Fish long & prosper,
Mark

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Summer Steelhead Fishing is a key part of the activity around The Fly Fishing Shop. Fishing forays are made weekly to keep us up-to-date with first hand proprietary information. The best part is that Patty and I have to collect much of this information in person. Also John, Bob, Pete, Roger, Brian, Marty, Hawkeye, Ron & Leroy contribute to our awareness nearly every day.
Well that's just the way it is. It's dirty dangerous work, but someone has to do it.

steelhead run prediction

Steelhead Flies