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December 01, 2002, Sunday, 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Fly Tying 101 - Basic Fly Tying

Although there are some purist fly anglers who disdain the use of egg patterns, one should keep in mind that on the most Oregon rivers, eggs are a naturally occurring food source nearly year round. Salmon, steelhead, trout and whitefish spawn fuels a huge percentage of the food chain and are consumed regularly by all of these same species of game fish.  In addition to that, the traditional Glo Bug pattern meets the legal (state of Oregon) test for an artificial fly.
          I hope that you don’t have the idea that wet flies are the only action for trout fishers during the winter months. There are some of us who feel that dry fly action in the winter months is the most predictable time for insect activity of all year. The reason for this is rather simple. Baetis Mayflies hatch between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM from most Pacific Northwest river through most of the winter. Rivers such as The Deschutes, The Crooked and Metolious have hatches and rising trout nearly every day.  Hatches occur in all kinds of weather, even during freezing temperatures.  The biggest hatches come off during quiet cloud-cover days.  All you need to do is wait for the “rise rings” to appear and you are dry flying fishing for 1-2 hours. 
          Many fishers just assume that one size of one fly pattern will fish all of the Baetis hatches.  In fact, many times there will be several sub-species hatcheing at the same time at the same time. They can range from size #16 to #24 range.  Colors can vary as well.  Most Baetis are Blue Wing Olives.  However grayish and tanish shades are also common.  Trout can be extremely selective to one size and color.  It pays to have a variety of flies in your arsenal. 
           Pay close attention to the Baetis emergers. As a rule, most Baetis imitations are brown and olive shades.  However some Baetis nymphs and emergers are an iridescent greenish black.   It pays to have a few tiny black nymphs in your box.  Most emergers are quite helpless for a short time, a fact not ignored by large trout. 
          In the winter season hatches usually occr during the peak water temperature at mid-day.  Look for most hatches in the slow shallow riffles and quiet edge-water.
          Besides the streamlined insect activity in the winter, there are a lot less fishers are on the water, and most of them are after the elusive steelhead. As a result, most (if not all) fishers are ignoring classic trout water. This can translate to many 5-30 fish days, including 1-2 hours of terrific dry fly action.
          Highway 26 (the most traveled route) is well maintained in the winter and is rarely impassable. Care should be taken in ANY shady spots, regardless of the lack of obvious moisture on the road.
          Serious ski traffic usually starts after 9:00 AM, and the road home is clear of most traffic until about 4:00 PM.  
          Going fishing in the winter does not require you to freeze your you-know-what off, or fighting ski traffic. Most days will find you home for dinner at a reasonable hour. And with Christmas drawing near, this can be a real bonus with the significant other.  

                                                                             Fish Hard- Die Old

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There are 7 size/models of  
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How to choose a steelhead rod.       Sage fly rod handle chart- 48K.  

Action: Medium Fast
Material: Graphite II
The LE Series offers Sage performance for the cost-conscious angler. Sage built their LE Series rods from scratch, using a new medium-fast action taper that's both easy to cast and a pleasure to fish.  LE rods address a wide range of angling applications from trout and panfish to bass and bonefish.  The new LE rods are highly polished silver-gray in color with black thread windings. Handles are premium cork. four through six weight rods have wood spacer reel seats.  All reel seats have machined, anodized metal parts. Picture of assembled LE Outfit.

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