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The Lower Rogue and S. Oregon coastal rivers produced some nice fish for us this season. We still have a few days left and a few available for any last minute bookings. We (Gino and I) are wrapping it up next week. As usual, our coastal winter steelhead season went by way too fast and for now, at least, we are leaving the chromers behind.
I spent most of Jan. and Feb on the lower Rogue. Gino did some Rogue days, but mostly continued to dial in our swing venues with great success on our smaller rivers like the Elk, Sixes, and Chetco. Overall we had good water conditions and we were able to explore new water, learn a ton, and catch some nice chromers.
Next on the agenda is the Applegate. We have private access to much of the river and are able to float it. We (Jon, Mike and Gino) will be guiding it the month of March along with the Upper and Middle Rogue. Our calendars are pretty full, but we have a few slots open. Check our guide calendars or contact us for openings.
Here's a few pics from the Lower Rogue and a secret creek.  Rich Rubin with silver bullet  Ken Cochrane searching for the one  Donald Norene's 30 hen ate a tight lined leech |
I can't believe how good the dry fly fishing has been for me this season. Sooner or later, I am going to have to break out my nymph box. I explored a few cool little creeks this last week that had some nice fish in them. Parachute adams was the primary fly of choice, along with a weird terrestrial pattern I tie that fish seen to enjoy.
We can use some more rain to freshen things up...rivers are getting pretty low. The forcast is for sunshine and a strong North Wester... the fish don't care if its windy, so if you come down, practice your double haul! The wind is actually good for terrestrial fishing.
 ridiculous rainbow  cool release shot  look at the eye on this thing |
I just wanted to show a few photos of my fishing buddys glory shots from this past month.  Fred Young had some amazing fishing  Steve just pillaged down here  What a fish |
I spent my day off fishing one of the lesser-known parts of the Trinity River system today. I did a nice float with friends Randy and Jeff. We had a beautiful day, although a strong north wind came up in the afternoon. We spent the day swinging flies with our spey rods. I fished my Sage Z-Axis 7136-4 spey rod with a Rio Skagit 550 shooting head and about 15 feet of T-14. Flows were a little on the high side, but we made some great presentations in a few of the slower spots. Randy got a grab and we saw one fish spook, but no hookups. It was a glorious day and we had the river to ourselves.  Randy swinging a sweet run  Jeff in a scenic spot |
I enjoyed a beautiful day on the river today with Jeff and Dean from the Bay Area. We did a double-float today, starting out in the Junction City area. Flows are high down there, over 1000cfs. We kept on the move, briefly hooking up with one adult steelhead. A great hatch of march browns and callibaetis started just after lunch. We anchored up within range of a very nice riser, which I think was a brown. Jeff made about five drifts before getting the grab. He stuck the fish and fought it for a while, but it threw the hook. Dean got his turn a little later, hooking and landing a 16 rainbow on a callibaetis dry. We spent the late afternoon on a short float on the upper river.  Dean's dry fly fish |
I guided Bill and Pete from the Bay Area today. We floated from the Old Lewiston Bridge to Bucktail on the Trinity River. Fishing was good in the morning. We hooked three adult steelhead on nymphs. They all ate small nymphs like red copper johns and natural birds nests in a size 16. The afternoon was a little slower, although we did encounter some half-pounders. It was a little too sunny today for a good hatch. We did find one riser. Pete wasted no time, getting the grab and landing the fish on his first cast!  Beautiful weather |
We finally got some much needed rain here in Southland. The rivers were getting quite low, and my farmer friends were getting bummed. I finally had to fish something other than a dry fly the other day when the river I was on was running dirty. Good results though...the conditions dictate the technique that will be most appropriate for success. The river cleared up the next day though, and we hooked some great fish on drys again...so all is right in the world.  Streamer stud Bradley  chrome brown  I love cicadas |
Day 26, and I still haven't had to resort to anything other than a dry fly in my guiding and personal fishing.
NZ is definately getting more pressure every year, but I don't care. I am willing to drive and hike farther than most others to find the moment...and there have been lots of incredible moments this season!
 big rainbow, big dry fly  another big rainbow, another dry fly  Backyard brown |
I was unexpectedly able to get away and do some fishing today! Mike Corley and I floated the canyon stretch of the Trinity River. The Trinity is rather high but has a great steelhead green coloration to it right now. Despite flows over 1000cfs we found quite a bit of fishable water in the canyon. I landed two great wild fish on egg patterns. The river is dropping fast. As flows drop fishing should get better and better this coming week.
We also had the opportunity to test some fly lines sent by Jamie Lyle, our California sales rep for Sage/Rio/Reddington. Bill Kiene from Kiene's Fly Shop in Sacramento asked for some input on fly lines for indicator nymphing last week. We tried the Rio Indicator and Steelhead/Atlantic Salmon lines and the Sage Nymph line, all six weights. We fished all three on the same rod, a Sage 697 (6wt 9.5ft) Z-Axis. Conditions were pretty extreme for indicator nymphing, so these lines got a good workout. We were fishing the largest Thingamabobber with a drop as long as 8 feet, with two 3/0 shot plus a barbell-eye Morrish Thunder Egg. That's a lot of junk to turn over!
Of these three lines, I found the Sage Nymph and Rio Indicator to be the best for this situation. The Sage Nymph line has a bright orange tip, like the Rio Nymph line. I imagine this line is intended more for nymphing without an indicator, but it sure worked well with our setup. The heavy tip turned everything over easily and the line floated great. It was also very slick going through the guides. It's a relatively stiff line, which seemed well-suited to heavy-duty indicator nymphing. The Rio Indicator line was very good also. It has a really thick tip and a long belly for easy mending. I really liked the Rio Steelhead/Atlantic Salmon line. It wasn't the best choice for what we were doing, but it felt more like a traditional fly line. It would be great for fishing nymphs without an indicator, swinging traditional wet flies, and single-handed spey casts. It feels like a light spey line, really.
To sum it up, the Sage Nymph and Rio Indicator lines were well-suited to the task of heavy-duty indicator nymphing. If you love indicator nymphing, buy one of these lines. If you like to have one floating steelhead line that does it all, I recommend the Rio Steelhead/Atlantic Salmon line.
I'll be back to guiding the Trinity and Lower Sac starting Feb 17th. Fishing should be really good in the meantime, though. Mike Corley and Brannon Santos both have open days if you want a shot at some winter steelhead!  Wild fish  I hogged all the fish today |
The dry fly fishing has continued to be unreal this past week. I have been focusing on backcounty fishing, and have really lucked out with the weather. The hiking and sandflies have been brutal, but the fishing is truly epic. Nymphs have not been necessary, just keen casting skills. Crystal clear water surrounded by native rainforest, freely rising brown and rainbow trout...angling just doesn't get any better in my opinion.
The browns and rainbows we have caught the last week or so have ranged from 5 to 10 pounds, and I have not used a nymph yet this season. Insane.  Steve from Idaho, in Heaven  yep  An absolute perfect specimen |
I just spoke with Jon Hazlett, who fished the Lower Rogue today. His clients hooked five steelhead today on their spey rods. Pink and black Dirk Wigglers did the job. Jon is doing jet boat trips on the Lower Rogue and raft trips on the other rivers in the area. He says that conditions look perfect for the next week. The Lower Rogue peaked last night and is slowly dropping. |
For the last 8 days, the weather has been perfect. Lots of sun, and very little wind...I should buy a lottery ticket. Terrestrial fishing has started, and the backcountry river fish have been looking up. I have not had to resort to using a nymph dropper yet. Dry fly fishing in paradise...timing is everything.
 you can't see Fred behind this giant fish  NZ steelhead...Steve with a perfect hen  Logan..80 and still charging hard for the moments |
Our rivers are coming back into shape here in northern California. The Lower Sac is low enough to fish and has changed from a nasty brown to a fishable green color. The Trinity River is fishable in Lewiston and the whole river down to Junction City should be in good shape by the end of the week. |
I just spoke to Jon Hazlett on the southern Oregon coast. He and Gino are holed up in Gold Beach for the next six weeks. Jon says the flows are dropping on all of the rivers and that conditions on the coastal rivers should be excellent in the coming week. We have a great selection of venues on the Oregon coast, from walk-in fishing on small streams to raft and drift boat trips and even jet boat trips with Jon on the Lower Rogue. All of the rivers and streams have big wild steelhead, and believe me, they fight really hard when you hook them just a few miles from the ocean! |
I have spent the last week fishing new water, due to extreme pressure on lowland rivers. Some days I find fish, some days I don't...that's NZ.
I landed one fish on a mouse so far, and spooked about 20 others with it. Pretty fun stuff. Many of the mice have died off after a big cold front that brought snow down to 2000 feet a few weeks before I arrived. Most fish aren't interested in a mouse pattern during the day, but its still fun to try it. There are guys catching giant browns fishing them at night...I am too busy drinking beer with farmers at night, and I am in NZ to sight fish...so good on them.
I am totally booked for February, but March is still wide open. I am only going to take a few bookings that month, because I will want to be spending time with Leah, and exploring new water. Dick Galland is coming down in April for a few days...I am very stoked to finally get to fish with one of my best angling mentors in paradise.  The big fella ate a size 20 midge...stressful  I found a new spring creek..epic  8 hours of hiking...no fish...but beautiful |
We're in the middle of a huge storm here in northern California. The Lower Sac peaked at 35,000cfs at Bend and the Trinity is over 2,000cfs at Douglas City. We're also experiencing heavy wind gusts up to 50mph. Our rivers should be fishable again within 3-4 days. The Trinity drops pretty fast once the rain stops. Other good bets for fishable conditions after the storm is over include the Feather and American. |
Gino, Jon & I just finished up the San Mateo ISE Show. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello. Dax's video was a big hit and Jon even tied four flies! It was great to see familiar faces and meet a bunch of new folks interested in fishing in northern California and southern Oregon. Everyone who signed up for our email newsletter was entered to win a free guide trip. We'll be announcing the winner soon!  Our sweet booth |
I guided Bill and Mike from Chico the last two days. Yesterday we floated near Junction City and today we were up by Steel Bridge. We had a lot more action yesterday, but both days were good. Bill didn't believe there were any fish in the river until he hooked his first fish around 10am yesterday. He hooked into his second just 10 minutes later. We covered a lot of water both days and found the fish to be pretty spread out. In addition to the adult steelhead, we landed brown trout and half-pounders both days. Our best flies were black copper johns size 14, egg patterns, and olive micro mayflies size 16. There are quite a few people and boats on the river right now, but we were fortunate to find uncrowded water both days.  Bill with the first fish of the trip  Mike with a great wild fish  Bill strikes again |
I guided Chuck and Wayne today, a couple of great guys from the Sacramento area. We fished the Junction City area. Water conditions are perfect right now. The river peaked around 1500cfs two days ago and has dropped very quickly. It's very fishable now and it produced several fish for us today. The fish are eating pink egg patterns and size 12 copper johns. We started our day off with an up-close bald eagle sighting. Not much boat traffic for a Sunday. |
I guided Alex and Shani from San Francisco today on the Feather River. We floated the low-flow stretch from Oroville to the Afterbay Outlet. Fishing was pretty slow, but we did have a couple nice interruptions. The first was a nice half-pounder that chowed a small dry fly. It was a hot little silver bullet that jumped a couple times before throwing the hook. Then after lunch Alex hooked and landed a nice wild steelhead. There were just a couple of other anglers out today and the weather was beautiful. We saw a handful of zombie salmon flopping around, but none really holding on redds. I'm heading back over to the Trinity tomorrow.  Alex with a wild steelhead |
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