This last week, Scott and I hosted a family party of anglers from Austin, Texas. I had met Matt Faudree and Mac Mather over in Mongolia last fall, where they had professed an interest in coming to sample some of the fishy delights in our neck of the woods. True to their word, Matt and Mac flew up, joined by Matt's wife, Kerry, and son, Keegan, for a four-day fishing tour with the Two Dudes.
We started our adventure on the McKenzie, where the weather was sunny and bright one day, and cloudy and calm the next. Fishing was fair, with everyone getting into a few trout (and some magnificent whitefish!). The March Brown hatch was rather underwhelming but shows promise of some great fishing in the weeks to come.
On Monday morning we made a caravan up into the Coast Range Mountains for a crack at some winter steelhead. We floated the Siletz, even though the water was a bit bony. The Texans' brought their "game faces" and were rewarded for full-day efforts with beautiful steelhead landed in each boat.
We all spent the night in Pacific City, where we installed the Texans in an oceanfront house with a spectacular view of Haystack Rock, Cape Kiwanda, and the crashing surf. A fine dinner at the Pelican Brewpub finished the day.
On the last day of fishing, we floated the lower Nestucca. The river was quite low and surprisingly crowded with other boats. But our 9:30 a.m. launch time assured us of great seats at the "back of the bus." Although the fishing was slow up until lunch, a brief hookup by Keegan just after lunch kept everyone's hope alive. At around 4:20 in the afternoon, with the rain becoming more serious than just a cold drizzle, just as he'd done the day before, Matt hooked a beauty. He fought the fiesty little hen well, eventually bringing the chrome-bright ghost to the net. It had sea lice galore and flaking chromy scales, a fish that had clearly entered the river mere hours before.
Scott and I left the group of family and friends in their little shelter by the sea, and made the long drive back to Eugene. Today, as they're winging their way back to Austin, we all share visions of dripping rainforest, new-bud cottonwood, raging Pacific winter-storm surf, and green-glowing fishing holes dancing in our memories.
Posted by: Matt Ramsey
| @ March 10, 2010 3:39:51 PM PST ( ) |
This year, for our annual "webmaster appreciation float," Scott and I took Mark Fisher and his family (sons, Tyler and Nathan, and dad, Mike) for a day on the Siletz. The only day the boys could all get together on was Valentine's Day (Mike's decision to bring flowers and candy as a tip was a nice touch!). Conditions were perfect. The river, a little murky from recent rains, seemed to glow with the promise of fresh chrome winter steelhead.
Mark and Tyler started out in my boat, while Mike and Nathan joined Scott. Not long into the first hour of fishing, it was Nathan (the only rookie steelheader in the party) who connected on a beautiful bright 8 lb. buck).
Spirits were high! As we worked our way downriver, Mark and Tyler and I believed completely that each new bucket would produce. But somehow, despite Tyler seeming to hook the bottom or miss a "phantom grab" nearly every cast, we floated under the Logsden Bridge with nothing yet to show for our considerable efforts. Well, not exactly "nothing."
In Scott's boat, meanwhile, Mike managed to miss a takedown on the Girdle Bug on Crack, but redeemed himself shortly before lunch by landing his own chrome bumper. All this occurred in water my boat had already fished through.
At lunch, Mark jumped (like a rat off a sinking ship) into Scott's boat to "fish with his dad (sure)," and Nathan joined me and Tyler, who gamely vowed to stick it out with me. We hit it extra hard in the afternoon. Plugs, jigs, flies, plastic worms, we tried it all. Everything short of pitchforks and dynamite were deployed but to little avail. Towards the end of the day, Scott and I were fishing side-by-side down through a tailout. All four anglers had lines out ahead of the boats: a wall of opportunity for a chromer to make a mistake. Down went a bobber!. . . and Mike was hooked up again. This time, he landed an impossibly bright little hen of about 7 lbs.
As the takeout came into sight, Tyler set the hook for about the 10,000th time and the "bottom" finally started swimming. I saw a nice sized fish contorting under the surface and let out a triumphant hoot. . . just as it came unbuttoned.
"That was a trout," said Tyler.
"Sure it was," I replied.
There was much rejoicing at the landing as chromers emerged from Scott's fishbox and took their places in Hefty bags for the trip to town. The family was stoked on a great day of fishing on the central coast. The action had been great! Depending on whose boat you were in.
Posted by: Matt Ramsey
| @ February 15, 2010 10:02:48 PM PST ( ) |
This year's El Nino weather pattern has resulted in a limited snowpack and low-water conditions on all the streams draining the Cascades. The lower McKenzie has already been producing some great redsides of late, and unseasonably warm air and water temperatures bode well for an early onset of the annual March Brown Mayfly emergence.
With water conditions perfect, it looks like this could be a season to remember out there!
Winter steelheading has also been exceptional this year, with productive outings far outnumbering skunkings for most anglers. On Friday, February 5th, my old friend and college roommate, Willie Tiffany, joined me and Cricket for a float down the Siletz. The weather was perfect and calm, we never saw another boat, and we had several encounters with the elusive winter steelhead. And, hey, Willie even landed one of those fish to put the icing on that cake!
Winter is feeling a lot like spring around here these days. The scent of daphne is in the air, the daffodils are rising, and the Magnolia trees are set to burst into bloom. We could be due for a return engagement of winter weather, but from where I'm sitting, I'd say the fishing forecast is quite sunny!
Posted by: Matt Ramsey
| @ February 6, 2010 10:27:46 PM PST ( ) |
Winter steelhead season has arrived! Fishing has been very good when river conditions have been favorable. Even with an early and sizeable return of hatchery steelhead, wild fish have also begun to make their presence felt.
Watch for rivers to drop after a big rain event, and go find the green water. Chromers are in!
Posted by: Matt Ramsey
| @ January 10, 2010 2:55:55 PM PST ( ) |
For those souls willing to chance the iffy weather, November offers some uncrowded fishing for redsides on the McKenzie. Scott and I got to do a two-day, Two-Dudes, Two-Boat special about a week ago and between torrential downpours, the fishing was actually pretty nice.
As daytime temperatures warmed through the weekend, the trout action got better. Nymphing was consistent with golden stones and b.h. Princes doing the trick. Greg Jones and his daughter, Katie (an OSU co-ed), had good success using a secret fly we're calling the "Beaver Bug."
Wonder how we would've done with "the Duck?" Don't miss the Civil War football game next week. Whichever side wins, it's a great year to be an Oregonian football fan!
Posted by: Matt Ramsey
| @ November 24, 2009 10:02:33 PM PST ( ) |
I returned from Mongolia at the end of September to find the steelhead action peaking on all the local rivers. The McKenzie and Willamette have been fishing very well, and the Deschutes is also stacked. Guided trips on all these systems have been excellent. Recent rains are bringing salmon in to the coastal rivers.
Bottom line: If you haven't gotten out there this month, you are totally blowing it!
Posted by: Matt Ramsey
| @ October 15, 2009 8:32:13 AM PDT ( ) |
On the spur of the moment, Al Goldner emailed on Monday hoping to book a trip for the next day, Tuesday, August 11th. As luck would have it, I had a the day open on the calendar, so we agreed to meet for a float on the Willamette at 5:30 a.m.
Already an experienced steelheader, Al was hoping to get some reps with his newish spey outfit and see some new water. It didn't take him long to get the hang of the double spey cast and the snap-T, and he was soon in such a good rhythm that he almost forgot that he might actually catch a steelhead at any moment. Towards the lower half of the second run of the morning, a sharp pull and a loud chirp from his reel reminded him of the stakes of the game. Once hooked, the 6 lb hen had little chance of escape, and Al soon lifted it from the net for a photo.
Through the next few runs, Al landed a steelhead, a buck of around 8 pounds, hooked and lost another and had one other grab. Not bad since it was only 8 a.m.
The rest of the float was punctuated by interludes of dry fly action for 8-13 inch cutthroats as we swung our way towards the take out. With the boat landing in sight, in the high sun of the early afternoon, Al hooked up on the last swing of the day, landing yet another nice 8 lb hen. A perfect ending to a great day of fishing. All within 20 minutes of downtown Eugene.
You gotta love the "dog days" of summer in the southern Willamette Valley!
Here are some images from Al's day on the river:
Posted by: Matt Ramsey
| @ August 12, 2009 9:13:25 PM PDT ( ) |
Fishing has been great on the upper McKenzie in the last few weeks. The big dry/ dropper nymph combo has accounted for obscene numbers of 8-14 inch rainbows. Midsummer safari season is in full swing.
Speaking of swinging: I joined Rob Arita and Tony Kaltenberg for a reunion on the North Umpqua last week and timed it to be there for some thunderstorm activity. The fish were in the fly-only waters in fair numbers, and we had some great action on skating muddlers. All of Tony's and mine got away, but Rob landed a couple beautiful wild steelhead. Here's a few shots from the holy waters:
Also making his annual pilgrimmage to the Pac NW was "the Iceman," Bill Wiley, from Tallahassee. Bill spent a productive and restorative five days on the magical "U," before joining me for a float on the Willamette on his last day on the scene. Although he fished to his usual high standard throughout a nice cool morning, we still had to hang in there until about the 7th hour of the day before he was finally rewarded with a hookup on a beautiful 10-pound hen. Even though it shook loose before we could bring it to net, Bill's trip was already made.
Steelhead for the soul.
Posted by: Matt Ramsey
| @ July 24, 2009 11:54:38 PM PDT ( ) |
Scott and I both ran trips on the Mckenzie last week with good success. The river is fishing well from the upper reaches all the way down to Springfield. Don Truax came out for his annual midsummer float and surprised no one by catching a slew of nice trout on dries and nymphs. Don was joined this time by his longtime fishing buddy, Larry Carter, who also knew his way around a fly rod.
On the Deschutes, salmonfly is all but over. Last Wednesday, there were still big bugs in the one-day stretch between Warm Springs and Trout Creek, and fish were eating them. But below Trout Creek, fishing was best with smaller stimulators, caddis, and parachute mayflies. Trout aren't working in the eddies in big numbers yet, but there are plenty of great fish to be caught, if you're willing to put in the time to find them.
Posted by: Matt Ramsey
| @ June 28, 2009 11:19:51 PM PDT ( ) |
I have seen this phenomenon only one other time. It was also during the Salmonfly hatch in the Deschutes River Canyon.
The appearance of water bags hanging from the bottom of the cloud occur when heavy rains begin to fall from the cell and then are sucked back up by the intense updrafts. Check out the photo;
PS. The dry fly fishing with Salmonfly patterns was excellent for the last 7 days between Trout Cr. and Maupin. I did two back to back trips through the canyon and everyone's expectations were wildly exceeded. The river is at a perfect level and the fish are all keyed up on eating the big bugs.
Posted by: Scott Nelson
| @ June 4, 2009 5:08:57 PM PDT ( ) |
Steve Pailet made the most of his first visit to the McKenzie River. Sure, he caught several nice redsides and cutthroat on nymphs, dries, and wets throughout the day. Sure, we never saw any other anglers. But the day's high point without a doubt was Steve landing his first King Salmon. Best of all it was on a #10 soft-hackled wet fly! Kudos! Here's the shot to make everyone jealous:
Posted by: Matt Ramsey
| @ May 27, 2009 11:20:18 PM PDT ( ) |
David and Jared Kabaker returned for their now annual Memorial Day Weekend outing on the McKenzie on Saturday, May 24th. Having lost a big redside last year, Jared was excited to get another chance to get a big one into the net. He wasted no time, landing a nice 14 incher in the first half hour of fishing. Dad and son had a friendly wager going on the first, most, and biggest fish of the day, so the gauntlet was laid.
Although the morning produced several nice fish for both anglers, Jared looked solid to take home the big fish prize for the day. All of a sudden, on a golden stone nymph swung on the surface (!), David hooked a fish in a huge explosion. As it turned and peeled off downriver, I thought, "steelhead!" But the deep and bright red flank showed this was a redside. And it was comfortably over 20 inches; a true trophy! David fought the fish for over 5 minutes through several long runs in heavy current. At last, as it neared the boat, I grabbed the (WAY too small looking) net and looked for my opportunity to try to get this biscuit in the basket. That's when the fly popped loose, and the great fish disappeared. *Sigh*.
While the rest of the day provided great action for cutthroats and smaller rainbows, the one that got away was never far from our thoughts. Maybe next year?
Posted by: Matt Ramsey
| @ May 25, 2009 9:54:04 AM PDT ( ) |
RC and Kathleen joined me for a float on the McKenzie River between Hendricks and Hayden Bridges. We enjoyed a relaxing and productive day of fishing with no one else around. I guess the high and cold water had everyone but the fish scared off. RC put on a clinic, catching fish on nymphs, wet flies, and dry flies too. He also worked on his sunburn while Kathleen perfected her overhead single hand cast and caught her first, second, and third Wild Trout on a fly. The high light of it all, for me, was a perfectly simultaneous double hook up on two twin Cutthroats. Check out the photo;
Posted by: Scott Nelson
| @ May 18, 2009 10:07:42 PM PDT ( ) |
We've been hit! It looks pretty bad! I think I'd better drop the anchor.
Posted by: Scott Nelson
| @ May 2, 2009 4:23:05 PM PDT ( ) |
Recent hot weather has reminded us that summer is just around the corner. With temperatures into the 80's over the last weekend, fishing action really picked up on the Mckenzie. "Mother's Day" caddis have been providing good late afternoon and evening dry fly action, keeping the redsides' and cutthroats' interest up after the daily March Brown mayfly emergence.
On Monday, the 20th, I was joined by webmaster/fly caster extraordinaire, Mark Fisher, and his son, Tyler, for our annual spring float. Fishing was steady throughout the day on nymphs and wets, punctuated by two good windows of dry action in the early afternoon and at the end of the day. One of the highlights of the day was Mark landing a rock on a Copper John nymph. Think about it: we all hook plenty of rocks out there, but how many actually get landed? Here's the proof:
On Wednesday, the 22nd, I was joined by Don Parker and Neal Goldsmith who made the drive over from Bend to try their luck in some early season trouting. Despite cooler temperatures and a slightly higher river, fishing was still good, providing a repeat of the action from earlier in the week. Both Don and Neal landed several beautiful oversized redsides along with a mix of smaller bows, some nice cutts, and a few summer steelhead smolts. Here's one of Don's beauties:
Mike and Nancy Phillips from Bend also happened to be in town visiting Scott and the family. It was a treat when, just after lunch, they all floated into view in Scott's boat. The afternoon became a nice Two Dudes-Two Boat Special. It's spring in the southern Willamette Valley. Hard to imagine a nicer place to be.
Posted by: Matt Ramsey
| @ April 23, 2009 9:50:58 AM PDT ( ) |
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