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| Deadwood fly fishing clinic -Summer Fun |
Summer Focus
The Gorge is finally wringing out from an extended spring. Flowers and greenery has taken up its annual residence below the blanketed peak of Mount Hood. Summer brings a new, lively anticipation to our fishing pursuits. As temperatures rise, so too, does the beat of our angling hearts here in the Columbia basin.
Summer = Great trout and Steelhead angling. Epic Salmon Fly hatches fan into great Mayfly and Caddis activity out on the Deschutes. Boasting 3000 fish per mile the Deschutes is home to a hard-fighting, gorgeous strain of Rainbow Trout. For anglers willing a chance to hook one of their, larger sea- run cousins, Columbia River tributaries are starting to receive the start of Summer Steelhead runs. This is a giant run of fish that are ready and willing to inhale flies. Not to be overshadowed, the coming months are ripe with fine Smallmouth bass fishing on the Columbia. Early summer is a fine time to strip leeches and poppers for these reckless fish. Area lakes also offer up some fine angling opportunities.
Stop on by the shop here in beautiful Hood River. We are happy to nurture a solid foundation to your fishing adventures. The clouds have parted. It is a fine time of year to get that fly in the water….
- Duffy
Fall Focus
Autumn in the Gorge is remarkably beautiful. A step out of doors and we are swept away into a world of soft colors and crisp air. It is a time to rejoice in the welcoming transition to winter. As anglers, we goose step through streams that are full of Steelhead. Most of us head a little further east, to catch up to the hordes of fresh Steel as they tuck into various tributaries of the Columbia. Fabled waters such as The Deschutes, The Grande Ronde, The Snake and The Clearwater beckon our flies. It is a time for Spey, a time to swing flies in hopes of piscatorial connections…
But here at the Gorge Fly Shop, we take care of customers from around the world. The falling of the leaves in Oregon, means new buds in New Zealand. While the frost settles into our fields, ice drip, drips away in Chile. Folks don their sticks, and driven by a deep curiosity for water and their inhabitants, they set out to discover. Whether it’s for tailing bones on the shoals of Easter Island, giant, spotted browns in the crystalline waters of New Zealand, cruising Roosters off the coast of Mexico, fishing brings us to a place where time disappears. Our shop is here to help you on the path of discovery. Give us a call or shoot us an email at any time if you have questions on how to best fill out your gear bag. There are lots of new products available to align with your interests and endeavors. We wish you all a wonderful fall season…
- The GFS Team
Winter/"New Year" Focus
The holidays have left that extra layer of fat on many us. Yes, meats and cheeses, cookies and crumpets – the feast helps winterize our bodies for those piscatorial endeavors that lay in the cold flows ahead. Here in Oregon, we set our sights to the ribbons of fresh steelhead as they make their way back to their birthplaces. It takes a certain attitude, a sense of perseverance, a love really, to push us on into a world of frozen guides and chattering teeth. We are not the only ones, that calculate our movements a little more carefully when the mercury falls and a false step encourages disaster. The animal world, and our dearest critter, the fish will too, alter their behavior and habits. Metabolisms change with temperature. We must change our approach. Why do we sell a lot of sink tips in the winter? Because we have to bring our patterns closer to the fish. We have to work a hold thoroughly, where speed and depth of the fly is of major concern. Winter is a time of Skagit lines, long leaders, sink tips and heavy flies. It is a time of rain and snow, thermoses of coffee, gloves and crackling fires. It is a time to repair those leaky waders and make sure the treads on our boots still got that grip. Hooking a steelhead on a fly rod is no easy task, yet in the winter, the difficulty seems to increase. But so does the reward! A puzzle that just clicks together is of very little use. The journey taken dictates the electricity of triumph.
Of course many of us dream of distant lands when January closes in. Lands like the Gorge Fly Shop Travel Page | Jerry Swanson | Fish Head Expeditions. Anglers around the globe will warm their hearts and zap their souls this winter season. There are mysteries worldwide to be solved and we, at the Gorge Fly Shop can help you on your own individual paths of discovery. Drop us a line; let us know what your pursuits entail and we can ship all the necessary tackle to you. Aside from providing one of the largest arrays of fly gear in the industry, we have really built our business on the laurels of exceptional customer service. All of us here at the Gorge Fly Shop | About wish you a magical winter season.
- The GFS Team
Spring Focus
All it takes is that first warm day… You’ve all felt it before - that threshold when earth’s axis has tilted just enough to make change palpable. There is no mistaking the shift. Like a spotted nose rising to a dry fly, your spirit surfaces, ready to take a bite out of the awakening landscape. Spring has arrived and with it a desire to shed our old winter-callused skin and let our insides out.
Where will you be when the layers start to peel? What destinations await your arrival – standing ready to water this regrowth? A freshly – thawed alpine lake? A meandering prairie stream? A white sand flat? A mangrove-laden lagoon? A tumbling mountain cascade? No matter where spring’s renewal may lead us, one thing is certain.
Just add water…
- Duffy
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