Columbia Gorge Fishing Report (October 26th)

Fishing Report

It’s down to the wire for trout fishermen.  Many rivers and lakes close next Saturday October 31, so get your fishing in while you can.  Laurence Lake will be closing along with the Deschutes River upstream of the northern boundary of the Warm Springs Reservation.  This includes the popular Warm Springs to Trout Creek section, as well as much of the Trout Creek to Maupin section.  The Deschutes remains open for steelhead in that section until December 31. 

Eagle Creek near Bonneville Dam is a nice little trout stream that is also closing, as well as the East Fork of the Hood River (as well as the main branch for trout).  Also, there are several general season trout streams and lakes in central and eastern Washington that will close.  Check the regulations before you go.  We don’t like to hear of our customers getting tickets for fishing closed waters. 

Chinook Salmon are in full spawn now.  There are a few weeks left before they are all gone.  This has been quite an epic run numbers wise, but many of the fish have not moved into the tributaries yet, so there will be more fish moving in for the final push.  We are so close to breaking the previous record for Fall Chinook passage through Bonneville Dam.  We are at 944,000 and still passing 1,000 fish per day or more.  The previous record, set in 2013 was 953,222.  It looks like we have a solid chance to beat that record. 

We have already surpassed the all-time Chinook total for the year (Spring, Summer and Fall Chinook combined) at 1.35 million.  So numbers wise, this has been an epic year.  If we can get these fish to spawn and get their smolts out to the ocean, we will be in good shape for the next few years, but with such bad river and ocean conditions this year, the odds are stacked in the wrong direction.

In the meantime, please be aware of spawning fish and look for redds.  Please do not walk across, over or through them. 

Coho Salmon are nearly non-existent this year.  Gabe has caught a few on conventional gear, but there has been little effort or enthusiasm towards the fishery this year.  El Nino years are very bad for our Coho runs here, but are quite the opposite in Alaska, where there were record runs of Coho this year….

Summer Steelhead:  The rivers are in great shape as of Saturday afternoon.  This colder weather is causing the clarity to increase and the fish have generally been pretty happy.  I don’t like crystal clear water, but some of our rivers are there.  This week looks to bring us some much needed rain.  A couple of spikes in the flows will definitely get some fish moving around and on the bite.  If we can get steady, heavy rains to bring the base flows up, it would improve fishing dramatically. 

The Klickitat has been producing fish steadily, while the Deschutes has been a little on the tough side this last week.  The Grande Ronde has reportedly been really good but lower than any other classic steelhead river in the system.  We have heard that the Clearwater and Salmon Rivers in Idaho have been steady, but not epic.  All of them are kicking out fish daily.  Just get out there when the conditions allow!

The Hood River is still awfully low.  We get so many people asking how it’s fishing.  Ian fishes it just about every day under the foot bridge.  Many of you have seen him down there.  He is hooking into a fish occasionally, and he puts in many, many looong days in that run.

Once you move upstream of the mouth, there is not enough water to swing a fly and very few fish moving past the first barrier of passage (the riffle at the foot bridge).  We desperately need rain/snow and lots of it.  I did catch a nice trout down there last week because I had an hour and wanted to go fishing.  That is about the extent of effort I am willing to put into the Hood until it goes up in volume about five-fold. 

Trout fishing on the Hood closes on Oct 31.  This includes the East Fork of the Hood, which is not open for steelhead or salmon, so it closes completely on Halloween.  There have been reports of nice, small trout caught on the East Fork up off the campgrounds on HWY 35.  Get it in while you can. 

Targeting Chinook in the Hood River is prohibited after June 15.

Lost Lake and Laurence Lake are still fishing really well right now.  We do get very few reports from the lakes in the fall because most people are fishing for salmon or steelhead, but it can be wicked awesome this time of year with very little (no) pressure.  Laurence Lake closes on October 31, so get out while you can. 

Smallmouth Bass fishing has been tough now that the level of the Columbia is so low.  They are looking for current and not finding much.  If you can find some good, strong current, you will find bass.  They have been pretty deep, so bust out that crank bait if you have it. 

As always, we are happy to talk fishing any time.  Give us a call if you have any specific questions on local rivers, gear, and tactics, or if you just want some encouragement to get out of the office.  

Andrew Perrault
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Who needs fireworks?

Starting somewhere around the first week in November I start jonesing for 4th of July weekend on the Deschutes. Every year we float the river with friends over the 4th looking for a good time and potentially an early summer steelhead. Launching at Mack’s Canyon is a short 24 mile float through the roadless section of the lower, lower Deschutes. I had the priveledge of working this lower 24 miles for the previous month running trout trips and knew every camp was overgrown and tick infested so I wasn’t upset when our standing date with friends was cancelled. So what to do? We hemmed and hawed around a bit about possible road trips far far away but settled on easy. A nice jet boat trip, just Marni and I, to relax and maybe fish and maybe not.

The Mayor with a July Hog.

I had been up the river on the 3rd with the Hood River “fish boy” Gabe Cunningham and the river had been kind. With my itch scratched, my mindset was that of a camper not a fisherman…or so I claimed to my wife. So we packed up our backpack size camp and headed up the mighty Deschutes the afternoon of the 4th, no fireworks just each other’s company and the river. Had I not scratched my itch the day before I might have been upset to see one group spread out acrosss the vast expanse of Wagonblast but I was just camping out so whatever. We made our way up the remaining rapids to the middle lower lower and found a nice shady camp sitting on a two hour fish, gotta love July.

A note from Grandma Froggy

Gabe admiring a sweet rod!

My young grandson moved to Hood River at a young age. He and I fished for trout, bass, salmon. I was able to teach him the basics of fishing.

Gabe was 6 or 7 years old when he started dropping in at the Gorge fly shop. He asked lots of questions, admired lots of flies.

Gabe asked the shop to put pictures of him and most any fish he caught in the store window. The Gorge fly shop did that for him .

Make your own Caption!

The shop even helped Gabe out from time to time with flies and equipment. For no reason other then to be nice and support a little boys interest in fishing.

The little boy is now a 15 year old young man and is a fine fisherman. He still drops by the Gorge fly shop frequently.

I drop by from time to time when I need a new rod or reel . I find quality and reasonable prices. I can't resist a few new flies while I'm at it.

Thanks, Gorge fly shop,
Grandma Froggy


Learn more about Gabe in "What's up with Gabe".

Gorge Fly Shop

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Gabes Review: Airflo Super Dri Elite Trout

I paired the Airflo Super Dri Elite, with my 5 weight Sage Launch.

Pros: This line glided through my guides like melting butter. I felt like I could cast into my backing. It has a firm but forgiving stiffness, that allowed for great fish fighting power. When casting, it laid out a very straight landing. For stripping it was very smooth feeling. It didn’t burn me when striping while setting the hook on big fish.

Cons: There really is not too much to complain about with this line. One thing that I noticed about it was when nymphing with a strike indicator, that extra drag made the tip of the line sink under the surface. This made it a little difficult to get a good hook set.

This line really seemed to be the all around performance line. I also got to fish some still water with it stripping heavy leach patterns, it performed outstandingly. I would definitely get this line if you were looking for a line that will get the job done for just about every freshwater fishery that you could think of. From short casting tiny dry flies to spring creek trout, or ripping a big streamer through deep dark hole’s for monster browns, this line will make your eyes grow!

Gabe

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

What's up with Gabe

Fishing With Gabe

Gabe doing what he does best.

As a fishing guide you meet many interesting folks along the way. Many are retired or have demanding careers or just everyday people who are willing to try something new. We share some stories, catch some fish, enjoy a day on the water and sometimes you’ll see them next year or maybe never again and so goes the life cycle of a fishing guide.

But every once in a great while, someone comes along that reminds you why you started fishing in the first place. Someone who takes you back to the excitement that hooked you so many years ago; someone that not only wants to be a good angler but also lives to fish. Someone with a free-spirited, pure passion for the sport and a willingness to push boundaries and break though that secret unwritten code of what an angler is supposed to be. Someone that takes you all the way back to the beginning, so many years ago - that first spark, the first fish, the first memory of what would become a lifelong quest.

Someone that…Well, I could go on and on.

Few things in my fishing career are as rewarding as sharing a day on the water with 13 year old Gabe. I first met Gabe about 5 years ago while working the counter at Gorge Fly Shop. You could feel the energy radiating from him like a solar eclipse that could only be handled in short bursts. Then, fishing questions shot at you faster than the gossip from a teenage girl, and five minutes later, your brain is swirling and you are wondering what just happened. But you dare not try to soften the energy because you know that inside lives a dream that you recognize.

Fish Boy Tales... So What's Up With Gabe?

Many of you were introduced to our local adolescent phenom in an earlier post titled, What's Up With Gabe?

Let us get a second helping. It is time to check back in with Fish Boy!

Well by the looks of it, Fish Boy or Gabe (semi-formal, human birth name), felt like a trip south was in order. It seems that even the steel-searching MerMan, himself, needed a reprieve from the dreary Oregon winter. With the cool, gray showers in the rearview, Fish Boy searched in earnest, the blue waters off the coast of Mexico, for connections with his distant brethren. True to his nature, he blazed a trail through the tropical landscape, marking his coordinates with clusters of dropped jaws and thrashing fins. There is an unmistakable passion in his breath, and I wonder how long before his gills find purpose beneath the surface, where his heart now beats.



Nice Find!



Cuda Time!



Yea, but mine are straighter!

 

Ya see fellas, ya just got to make it swim like a -



Here we go.  So yeah, it's just like I was saying, ya just....

Nice work Gabe!  We'd like to say that the steelhead have missed you here but upon second thought, we're not so sure...