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It's hard to believe I was just guiding on the Lower Sac on Monday with flows at 4,000cfs. The release is now 25,000cfs and looks to stay high for quite some time. The low flow section of the Feather is at 8,000cfs (normally 600cfs) and the high-flow is at 25,000cfs. The Yuba is at 30,000cfs and the American is at about 25,000. The Trinity peaked at about 3,000cfs in Douglas City yesterday. Lots of water everywhere! We'll keep you posted on the flow situation. |
For those of you who don't go steelhead fishing...here is what they look like.
 A superb wild fish on the last cast of the day  Legendary angler Dean Bell  The classic admiration shot |
Mike Corley and I guided Kelly, Peter and their father Kurt today on the Lower Sac. Kelly was in my boat and she did great. Here is a photo of her best fish.  Kelly with a big rainbow |
I just had a great few days speycasting on the upper Rogue with John and Joy from Atlanta. They have family in Oregon, which makes quite convienent to sneak away for some spey casting and chasing steelhead on the Rogue. They are heading to BC on a speycasting trip in a few months, so the upper Rogue is a great way to get prepared for their trip.
John is a well seasoned spey caster, and Joy was a very enthusiastic beginner. Despite the challenging river conditions in most of the state, we were able to fish some superb, uncrowded swing water for 2 days. Joy learned how do double spey from both sides of the river, and John and I worked on multiple spey casts, techniques, and had in depth conversations regarding various casting and angling theories. I love finding anglers who share my same passion and enthusiasm for flyfishing as a true artform. Looking forward to fishing with them again.
The Rogue and Applegate are high, but fishable and dropping right now. Fish are in each river. They get caught sometimes too. You wont catch them if you don't go fishing though.  John from Atlanta launching one out  Joy Garrett, all smiles on river left  Joy swinging a perfect Rogue run |
Wayne from the Gold Country Fly Fishers fished the lakes today along with four ladies from the Shasta Mayflies. The weather couldn't have been much worse, but Wayne had this fish to show for it! |
Clint and I spent the day on the Trinity River near Lewiston. Clint didn't waste any time hooking the first steelhead of the day. After a prolonged fight, we lost the five pound fish right at the net. Fortunately, he hooked another on his very next drift and landed it after five spectular jumps. We spent the rest of the day head-hunting for rising fish. It was a little too sunny for great dry fly fishing, but we fooled a few half-pounders on dries nonetheless. My largest was about 16.  Clint's steelie  A big green drake  Skwala stonefly |
The most under the radar prime steelhead fishing opportunity is the Upper Rogue in April. Our winter fish are arriving now on our high water and will continue in good numbers through April. Last year our fish were a little late and we had great fishing in May! This is your last chance to get your steelhead fix before trout season. We also have a few days still open in March for the Applegate and Upper Rogue. From the bay area, it's only a six hour drive. Remember, the Rogue is just over the border!  Upper Rogue Steelhead |
Things are looking good for productive steelheading in Oregon for the rest of this month. The Upper Rogue and Applegate are closer than you think to Northern California. An easy drive up I-5 into Ashland, Grants Pass, or Medford and you can be speycasting and tight line nymphing in uncrowded prime steelhead water. I'm not ready to trout fish yet...there are steelhead to be caught!
 MP hooked up on Applegate  A perfect March wild chromer  Wildlife on the Applegate |
We had two separate groups at the lakes today. Here are some photos sent by Jim.  Len's big fish  Corley got a nice one |
Tony and Len were treated to some very good dry fly fishing today on the Lower Sac. We had a mix of caddis, PMDs, and March browns on the water. The fish started rising right about noon. Once we figured out the right fly, Tony and Len got a ton of grabs. They hooked at least a dozen fish on dries and rose many others. We had most of our dry fly action while wading. It was fun stalking these fish. There were dry fly opportunities throughout the afternoon. Nymphing was slow in the morning, but did produce a few really nice fish. S&M nymphs and amber princes were our best nymphs.  Len with a nice bow  Tony with a colorful rainbow  March brown mayfly |
We had a group of four at Eagle Canyon today - here are some pics!  Clint helping Doug land a fish  Frank with a big fish  Doug strikes again |
I'll be finishing up my first winter steelhead season this weekend. I have fished some amazing places around the world, and the Southern Oregon Coast ranks right up there.
Some highlights:
- Getting crushed on the swing on a small river while watching the sun burn into the ocean a few hundred yards away...pretty unique stuff
- Having a winter fish aggressively crush the swung fly just seconds after it hit the water and got tight...landing the trophy hen, then hooking another on the very next cast (instead of another 1000)- Stalking and sight fishing NZ style to wild steelhead exceeding 10lbs in pristine forest settings..and actually hooking a few
- Fishing 5 different steelhead rivers in one single day...all totally unique special rivers
- Seeing no other fly anglers...anywhere!
- Watching my clients get better at speycasting and angling
- Personally getting better at my spey casting skills and instruction
- Exploring and fishing some of the coolest rivers in the states under varying conditions...explored a few good taverns too.
I'll be up on the upper Rogue starting next week...chasing steelhead farther from the ocean. I'll also be working a little on the Applegate too for the right clients. I have some spey casting clinics coming up next month...contact me if you are interested.  a massive wild winter hen  A perfect swung up specimen  Emerald water and chrome steelhead |
Still Swinging up Fresh Steelhead on the Northern California Coast...This dime bright hen was caught today on a scouting trip. Had a couple of other missed opportunities as well. Not too late!!! There will be fresh fish coming into the Coastal rivers for a few more weeks and into April on the Lower Trinity. The upper Trinity will have the occasional fresh Steelhead as well as dry fly opportunities for Browns!!! Not too Late!, book a trip now...or beat the Christmas Rush and book a trip for next Fall/Winter.
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We had a great group of five guys at the lakes on Saturday. They braved the newly-fallen snow to catch a lot of big rainbows. Here are a few photos. |
After a month of no rain, we finally got a big dose last week and really improved the fishing up here in Coastal Oregon. The diversity of angling venues here is truly unsurpassed for a keen steelhead angler. Whether you enjoy speycasting in classic steelhead riffles, tight line nymphing from a boat, or technical sight fishing in remote coastal rainforest rivers...these rivers deliver the goods. Oh, and the steelhead you are targeting are only a few miles from the ocean...that's alot different than the fish that you would hook beading it up in slow frog water that is heading back downstream a hundred miles away from the ocean after he just got done spawning. Evolution as an angler is a good thing.
Brookings Oregon is only about a 7 hour drive from the bay area up the beautiful 101 coastal highway. The winter steelhead window will be closing in the next few weeks...rain is forcast for tomorrow. This weekend into next week will provide the absolutely prime opportunity to catch a true winter steelhead on the swing with a spey rod, or a sight fished chromer on your favorite switch rod...epic stuff....not as homesick about New Zealand at the moment :) |
Dennis Taniguchi let me tag along with Gino for a few days this last week. Thanks guys! Dennis closed the deal on the fish in the photo...I blew my 3 opportunities that particular day. The day before Jon and I each blew our two opportunities on sighted fish. Like I say...It's all about the grab! Moral of the story? You don't get such opportunities if you aren't fishing, and guides blow it too!  Dennis T...the legend  Eric...high sticking for chrom  upstream casting to a sighted steelhead |
Due to a cancellation I had just one student in my stillwater clinic today at Eagle Canyon. Ron from Redding got the royal treatment as both Clint and I were on hand. Fishing was good, with lots of hook ups with nymphs under indicators and on leech patterns. Here is what Ron had to say about his experience:
I enjoyed myself. I am sure I caught between 15-20 fish, most were huge. Thanks to Clint for doing all of the netting. Great day and hope to return again.  Ron with a nice one |
We speyed. We bobbed. We dry flied. Other than one grab on the spey rod, our best luck by far was with dries. The callibaetis and march browns are hatching big-time, despite the very cold weather. We even saw a green drake, which didn't float very far before it was gobbled by a half-pounder. Ted and Alex both landed fish on dries today. Alex's was the best, a brown about 17. Water conditions are perfect right now. The river is slowly dropping and fishing should be good all the way from Lewiston to Pigeon Point until the next storm comes in.  Alex fooled this nice brown  Ted swinging his fly through a nice run |
I just finished up two days on the Trinity with Chris and Rich from the Bay Area. Some people like to spread out their fish over the course of a two-day trip, but not these guys. Chris landed two steelhead in the first half hour of day one and then that was it. They both ate small nymphs on light tippet. We also had some excellent dry fly fishing for half-pounders and browns on Friday. Chris and Rich had quite a few grabs on dries, including one really nice brown that didn't make it into the net. Today was extremely slow down in the Junction City area. We didn't hook or see a fish, and neither did anyone in the four other boats on our float. The storm forecast for this coming week should bring some new fish into the river.  Chris landed 2 like this |
Maurice and Martin fished the lakes today. They said fishing was pretty slow but they had a good time nonetheless. |
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