Fishing Reports - May 24th, 2024

Mount Hood Lakes

The stillwater season is off to a great start!  The fishing has been very good....the weather has not been.  Strong winds and below average temperatures have been keeping the insect activity to a minimum, but that hasn't slowed the bite down.  Trolling leeches on intermediate lines has been fast and furious.  Though there haven't been a ton of bugs around, chironomid droppers are getting quite a bit of attention.  Nobody loves the high winds on a lake, but this can be used to your advantage.  Anchor up on the wind-swept end of the lake.  The wave action will push food that direction.  Rig up a slip-strike indicator with a balaced leech/chironomid dropper and cast it up wind.  This will get you a nice wind drift and provide plenty of action on your flies.  Keep a close eye on your indicator.  Sometimes the bite on a small chironomid just makes the indicator wiggle a bit as opposed to going all the way under. If anything looks funny, set the hook.  You'll be surprised at how many of those "maybes" turn into fish.  

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Deschutes Trout

Most of the local fishing buzz has been out on the Deschutes.  The stonefly fishing kicked off a couple weeks ago when the warmer weather was here.  Bug activity slowed a bit in the past week, but the fish have still been very interested in big dry flies.  They definitely have stoneflies on the brain.  Make sure you're fishing a dropper nymph below your dry, especially early in the day when it's cool.  This can really pad the numbers in the morning.  Aside from the stones, be prepared to see a smattering of mayfly activity.  This could come in the form of olives, pmd's, ped's or even Green Drakes if you get really lucky.  Also worth mentioning, the caddis will continue to become increasingly important as we work into early summer.  Once the big bugs fade, caddis become a daily staple on the menu.  

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Summer Steelhead

It seems a bit early, but there are already some summer fish on the move.  It's going to be a bit before the Deschutes becomes a viable option, but many of the Columbia River tribs further west already have fishable numbers of summers prestent.  If you find yourself in the greater Portland area, it would definitely be worth a shot.  These early fish tend to be super hot.  Certainly worth the effort!

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Deschutes Fishing Report 05/16/19: Guide Edition

Although the weather is turning back to early spring conditions, the fish had enough time seeing big bugs fly around to get keyed in.  The fishing has been the best all season as of late. The big fish have moved to the banks and they are keyed on dries.  We did real well on Clark Stones and Chubby Chernobyl's.  We did not do well on the dropper nymphs or swinging, more proof they are on the big bugs.

Jim Greenleaf is nailing them on dries

Look for conditions to stay prime with this cooler weather.  The cooler weather will put the breaks on the hatch and keep it moving slow.  Keep an eye out for yellow stone (little sallies) PEDS, caddis and BWO’s.

Sam Sickles
(541) 400-0855
www.steelheadoutfitters.com

Deschutes Fishing Report 04/29/19: Guide Edition

“EURO” nymphing

 I missed the upper Deschutes opener on Monday (who has a trout opener on a Monday?).  Friday, I went up to Warm Springs and did the day stretch. The weather was nice but the wind was nuking down stream all day. The river is high with runoff and will probably stay that way until summer, that’s great news for fish.  Spring fishing is a mid-day show for fishing dry flies, and in our case it was a no show.  A stiff east wind all day and high pressure usually means no bugs.  I saw exactly two adult insects all day, and saw a couple fish eat on the surface but I give the river a D+ for dry fly fishing yesterday.

The fishing was as good as I have ever seen for this time of year. Despite a pretty full parking lot at Warm Springs boat ramp we found the river fairly open and the fish very willing.  When rivers run high and fast most fish will be sitting in the softer water, and that’s where we found them…a lot of them.

I spent the day “euro” nymphing, and my partner did the American thing…results, six in one half dozen in the other, but had it not been so windy I believe the “euro” rig would reign supreme.  A couple takeaways;  The fish are on the stonefly nymphs HARD!  We caught a few fish on smaller bead head nymphs but for the most part they weren’t interested.  The most successful presentation was tight line nymphing (with or without a bobber).  Lastly, the hatchery steelhead smolt abound, if you get into them it’s best to move along.

We found a bunch of nice bright healthy fat fish 12-15 inches, and a half dozen or so fish 15-18.  Pre-salmon fly hatch trout fishing can be some of the best of the year but make no mistake the big bugs will be around the first week of May in the lower river and that will change everything.  Salmon Flies and Golden Stones should be above Maupin by Mid-may and then they’ll work their way upriver with the water temps.  I expect stone fly good dry fly fishing into June this year.

We’ve got open dates this week and we’re pretty well booked through May, with a day here and there.


Sam Sickles
(541) 400-0855
www.steelheadoutfitters.com

 

Chile Fishing Report 03/21/2019: Greg's Edition

Just back from 2nd annual trip to Chile. It would be hard not to make this an ongoing annual trip from now til ???

I apologize now for sparse details about location but it must remain so as I am under a honorary oath to do so. If interested in this experience you can contact me direct.

What I can tell you is this game is for migratory brown trout. Like steelhead, much of your success involves how many fish are in the river. This years warm weather had us concerned. Those concerns where soon laid to rest.

What I've learned about fishing for these migratory's is they are moody! Sometimes it's everything you can do just to get one to show itself and other times they are aggressively willing.

New this season, I added an approach of big top water beetle fishing. Glad I did seeing that three of my catch came to hand this way and several other fished appeared for the offering. The visual is epic!

I've caught many brown trout but these fish are different. They are shouldered and strong. Fish of recent migration appear much more silver like. A couple of my catches jumped more than I've ever seen. Full body out of water type of jumps.

This fishery will test you and your gear to the max!

We're back home now and recovering. Muscles aches and sleep deprivation are on the mend but all we can think about is next year!
Greg

Deschutes Fishing Report 03/14/19: Guide Edition

Deschutes Fishing report

I know it’s not yet spring but it feels like it. The sun is shining, the snow is visually receding from my driveway and my boats, and it’s warm. I took a day, yesterday to go over to the Deschutes and play around with some “Euro” nymphing. The drive was breathtaking with snow everywhere and bright sunny skies. My destination was Maupin, a nice place to do a short day. My first sighting of the Deschutes since December was a bit shocking, it looked high and dirty. As I drove upstream I encountered large boulders all over the road from the snow runoff. There is so much snow melt right now that there are little waterfalls and Nena Creek is raging, that should make for happy steelhead.

I kicked my boat of the trailer, loaded my gear and set off to an all but empty river. I saw three rigs road hunting, and some dudes on a mid-afternoon float…all day. I didn’t have super high expectations based on the weather, color and flow of the river and water temps. My expectations were exceeded. I found willing fish at every stop, some spots many eager fish were found. To my surprise there was a nice little blue wing hatch about 1PM and in the shady spots the fish were feeding on dries and emergers. As the day wore down the bite definitely slowed down but not to zeros.

I chose to spend the day “euro’ nymphing and I hooked a lot of fish. I’m not sure if I’d have done as well with traditional nymphing techniques I’d like to think I would have but who knows. One things for sure euro-nymphing is elective and I foundd this style of fishing fun. If you head out to the Deschutes to go trout fishing bring a lot of pat’s stones with a tungsten bead. Even with all the BWO activity the fish were 3 to 1 on the stone. The other file I had a lot of success on was a little frenchie with a salmon hot spot.


C’mon Spring!!!

Sam Sickles
(541) 400-0855
www.steelheadoutfitters.com

 

Fishing Report 02/19/19: Guide Edition

I finally busted out of the ice box known as Hood River on Presidents day. With a familiar crew and somewhat low expectations we headed off to the Sandy to swing some flies. We found the Sandy low(1700cfs) cold and clear, my favorite. The forecast was for 28 degrees until mid morning so we were glad to be met with temperatures above freezing. After a quick check in with one of my favorite guides we headed off. I let my guys know probability of getting a fish was pretty low so DO NOT trout set if you get pulled. Our first stop was a bust. Moving on we started to run into some walk in traffic but I still had hope to get one of my favorite spots. Sure enough our spot was open. My clients immediately start pointing at all the footprints, and there were a lot of them. There were several anglers above us but I decided we were going to fish it anyway. We made a quick fly change and off to work we went. As I’m bouncing between my guys I see Joe’s rod come tight, no response from Joe dead still. A couple seconds go by and his rod starts bucking and I knew we struck pay dirt. We ended up landing a nice wild 5-6 pound buck. Moral of the story, there are two. Don’t worry about some footprints and leave your rod down!

So the report is this; we fished three runs clean and hooked one fish, a solid day. We fished until dark and never got another pull, still pretty slow. The good news! on our float down the river we jumped a nice little pod of mint bright steelhead that scattered in every direction My hope is that we get some more water in the river and the fish staged down low can move up…Ill be waiting.

Side note; I couldn’t help but notice at the the blue winged olives coming off mid day, we even saw some of the big winter stones. Now that the roads are clear it’s time to head over to the Deschutes to fish some dry flies but remember not on a sunny day and not on a windy day.


Tight lines.


Sam Sickles
(541) 400-0855
www.steelheadoutfitters.com

Fishing Report 01/15/19: Guide Edition

Currently fishing for winter steelhead is still pretty slow on local rivers which is pretty normal for this time of year. We’ve had a high pressure system sitting on us bringing big winds form the east, sunny skies and low cold and clear fishing conditions. These are the toughest conditions that exist for winter steelhead fishing. The good news is rain is on the way at the end of the week along with some warmers weather.

Local fish hatcheries are recycling some hatchery steelhead, as well as the North Fork Nehalem. For now, I would concentrate my effort on the North Coast rivers, many of these rivers fish well when our local rivers approach too low conditions. When the rains hit we hope to see some decent numbers of steelhead show in the local rivers like the Clackamas, Sandy and Hood Rivers.

If you do go chase chrome focus on the spot where there is enough water to provide cover, fish heavy tips and pair your flies down a bit.

Trout fishing will be good all winter on the Deschutes and other east side rivers. Standard winter tactics should include swinging sculpins and other streamers on heavy sink tips, nymph fishing, and an always open eye for blue wing olives mid day. The weather system moving in should bring some good opportunities to fish blue winged olive mid day.


Sam Sickles
(541) 400-0855
www.steelheadoutfitters.com

Fishing Report 01/07/19 Guide Report

An average Deschutes Redside

The quick down and dirty fishing report. People are catching steelhead on local rivers…but not very many. We had some nice spikes in river levels over the last couple of weeks and it brought a few fish into the rivers. As of this week river levels are all at prime levels, ie, very fishable. We have a couple nasty days of rain on the way which is always good for fishing but not real fun to fish in. The rivers will not rise much from the rain with a freezing level around 2000'. This week should bring some of the best sustained conditions for steelhead fishing we’ve had. There are not a lot of fish around so be thorough, fish well and with sharp hooks. Look for the next big spike a drop for larger numbers of new fish.

Trout fishing will be good all winter on the Deschutes and other east side rivers. Standard winter tactics should include swinging sculpins and other streamers on heavy sink tips, nymph fishing, and an always open eye for blue wing olives mid day.

Sam Sickles
(541) 400-0855
www.steelheadoutfitters.com

Fishing Report 12/17/18 Guide Report

A nice Sandy River Hatchery Steelhead taken during the drop after a large winter storm.

During the months of December and January In the Pacific Northwest river levels spike then drop quickly, there’s a word for this is; volatile. We are in a cycle of river level volatility (see graphs). Volatility presents some very good opportunities. With each storm rivers jack up, fish enter the systems, the rivers drop then stabilize, we go fishing. Last week we had a large spike in river levels, then the rivers dropped into shape and next to low and clear. Another spike, a much larger spike is coming this week. Expect rivers to hit blow out levels for most the week, depending on the river. By the end of the week maybe the weekend there should be some good opportunities to catch a nice bright winter Steelhead.

Winter Steelhead. Sink tips and big flies are the way for fly swingers for the next several months, I like Skagit heads, especially the Skagit FIST for a wide range of winter conditions.


The Deschutes is still kicking out some late summer steelhead in the Maupin area, expect little competition from other anglers. Current flows are 4900 at the Moody gauge which is very fishable. I’d also recommend bringing your trout gear if your gonna make the trip. Trout fishing on the Deschutes during the winter can be very productive. I like to swing flies on a trout spey, don some nymph fishing, and be ready for a blue wing olive hatch.

The John Day river is running a very slow 260 cfs and reports have been poor.
The Klickitat closed December 1st and will not re-open until June 1 2019.

River Forecast

Sam Sickles
(541) 400-0855
www.steelheadoutfitters.com

Fishing Report 12/13/18 - Guide Report

A late season Deschutes Steelhead

Winter Solstice is December 21 so technically it’s still fall. With a noticeable lack of rainfall for the Fall season 2018 we have had low and clear rivers in western Oregon. The kickoff to winter steelhead season is Thanksgiving Day, we’re gonna get a late start the 2018-2019 Season. The region got a nice bump in river levels this week and fresh winter steelhead will be caught on many rivers over the next few days. Local fishing on the Hood River (800 cfs) itself has been giving up some fish and will definitely improve as bright winter steelhead move into the river after the first of the year. Look for winter steelhead numbers to increase as we move into the New Year, and as the weather settles into it’s normal cycle around February through March fishing will become consistent. Between now and then play the drops as the storms move in and out of the region. Sink tips and big flies are the way for fly swingers for the next several months, I like Skagit heads, especially the Skagit FIST for a wide range of winter conditions.

The Klickitat closed December 1st and will not re-open until June 1 2019.


The Deschutes is still kicking out some late summer steelhead in the Maupin area, expect little competition from other anglers. Current flows are 4900 at the Moody gauge which is very fishable. I’d also recommend bringing your trout gear if your gonna make the trip. Trout fishing on the Deschutes during the winter can be very productive. I like to swing flies on a trout spey, don some nymph fishing, and be ready for a blue wing olive hatch.


The John Day river is running a very slow 260 cfs and reports have been poor.

Sam Sickles
Steelhead Outfitters

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report - (1/8/2018)

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season, and maybe a new toy or two to get them excited about the angling year ahead!

Water this color always gives me confidence!

Winter Steelhead- As of late, most our rivers have come into shape with some anadromous fish lurking here and there. Though this is notoriously always subject to change at any moment's notice here in the Northwest. The hardest part about this time of year is dealing with fickle flows and clarity- if planning a fishing date far in advance, make sure you have have a backup plan too. I’ve got a nifty phone app called Fishhead, which gives me gauge data for my favorite rivers as well as some other useful info. It only costs a couple bucks, but it definitely saves me time when figuring out the whole if, when, and where, questions.

Chelsey, locked and loaded...

No doubt though, if you want your best chance at a big winter-run steelhead you should probably hire a seasoned guide for a float down some prime water. Sam Sickles just opened up his guide season on the Sandy River and already has been getting clients into some hot fish! Visit our guide page for more info.

Oregon’s North Coast has a couple rivers that come into shape fairly quickly after a blowout, while others take much longer. Nearer to us and in my experience, the Sandy River is generally good to go a couple days after an event, and the Clackamas shortly thereafter. If conditions are high and colored, I’ll often swing large unweighted and flashy flies right into the bank. If I’ve just got a brief window to fish, I might slip down to the local ditch for a run, but if I’ve got the whole day available, I pretty much always head West for winter-run steel. I love exploring new spots, and there’s usually somewhere with fish-able water. However, if all else fails then it’s probably a good excuse to tie up some new critters at the vise.

On that note- January 22nd starting at 6 p.m., we’ll be having a fly tying night at the shop. Bring your vise, feathers, and thread (or whatever you’ve got.) The night will be based around winter steelhead flies, where I plan on tying up at least one contemporary fly and one “classic” to add to the box. My goal is to have one or two of these a month as we progress seasons, species, and fly selections. If you can’t make this one, stay tuned...

A little spin on the classic G.P.

Trout- Winter trout fishing this time of year can actually be very good. Resident trout eat year round to keep their metabolism up, and the winter time is almost void of trout anglers. Blue Winged Olives hatch year round and usually on those gloomy days below the fast water. Nymphs however are the main program and little tiny ones get the job done as well as some larger golden stone nymphs too. I would try a double dropper section and possibly add some weight to get down deep. If you like throwing some meat, try some crawdad/sculpin streamers and you might just find the big boys!

Flows: The USGS sites give us real-time flows, while the NOAA site shows us predictions based on weather patterns. Both are invaluable tools.

Hood River:
USGS
NOAA

Klickitat
USGS
NOAA

Clackamas:
USGS
NOAA

Deschutes near Madras:
USGS

Deschutes at the mouth:
USGS
NOAA

Columbia River
Bonneville Dam Water Temps
Columbia @ Hood River (The mouth of the Hood backs up at 75 feet)

As always, we are happy to talk fishing anytime. 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. 

Gorge Fly Shop
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report - (12/4/2017)

Fishing Report:

Sorry for the delay to those out there who appreciate these reports! We’ve been pretty busy at the shop and escaping to the rivers when we can…

Gabe Cunningham locked and loaded. Wesley LaPointe photo.

On the steelhead front-

I’ve heard in a few different corners that this was “the best, worst year” for summer-run steelhead. A little bit ago I wrote an editorial piece on The Current State of Steelhead and how dam count numbers have been stirring the pot with angler expectations. The article’s purpose wasn’t meant to dilute the importance of protecting our fisheries and wild steelhead, but simply to say dam count numbers don’t always reflect fishing quality. The ebb and flow of steelhead numbers vary wildly, and naturally. Most importantly, it was to highlight that steelhead fishing should be regarded as challenging, fun, and appreciated on all fronts.

Pastel canyon colors to match rosey desert cheeks. Wesley Lapointe photo.

I’m the kind of guy who enjoys hitting the road to find new water or fish some old favorites. As the season progressed from Summer to Fall I’d been spending time on a variety of rivers. The vibrant fall colors, crisp mornings, and shorter daylight hours accompanied with aggressive steelhead willing to chase down tiny hairwings on floating lines is hard to beat... Fall steelheading is easily my favorite time of year!

A little extra coffee is always welcomed on chilly mornings...

My girlfriend, Chelsey with an unforgettable dryfly fall steelhead!

Fishing has been up or down depending on the day and the river. But, as is tradition for these migrating fish. The Deschutes has slowed down some now that it’s a little later in the summer steelhead season but some good fish are still being found. Remember, there is no winter-run on the Deschutes. Recently, the White River has given the Deschutes a tinge of color down in the lower reaches, along with the river as a whole settling into its fall/winter levels. Fish will be down deeper or in slower water at these levels and while the water temps have been good for dryline, a sink tip with small to medium flies might be the better option in the higher water. Fish are fairly well dispersed throughout the river and crowds are pretty unheard of this year so pick your favorite spot and swing some flies! The same goes for the John Day with a few fish also being caught out there in the slower, froggy water.

A feisty dryline desert steelhead.

NOTE: The Klickitat River closed November 31st and won’t reopen for steelhead or salmon fishing until June 1st.

Nevertheless, winter-run steelhead might be on the mind of some and they certainly are on mine. I mean c’mon, thick mature fish wearing heavy winter coats, ocean camouflage, and sporting a big fly hanging from their mouth sounds kinda good to me… I’ve heard a few reports of some early fish being found on a couple Columbia tributaries already, but nothing to write home about yet. The Hood River is at the far East of winter-run steelhead range, and as expected the fishing begins a little sooner with proximity to the coast. Time to tie some big sink tip flies and dial in your winter steelheading gear! Speaking of tying flies, if you’re interested in learning some new patterns or want to share your own, email info@gorgeflyshop.com with the “FLY TYING” in the subject line. Once I get an estimate of interested people, I’ll figure out a good date and we can get together at the shop after business hours.

Trout:

Much of the trout fishing has closed this time of year in the mountain lakes and streams. Check with ODFW or WDFW if you’re ever unsure. However, the Deschutes river can fish great for trout this time of year. On those balmy overcast days, Blue Wing Olive hatches can provide some good dry fly action below rapids and in the softer water. Though a heavily weighted stonefly and a smaller bead head trailing behind would be my recommendation for more regular success. Streamer fishing can be good too if the water temps aren’t too cold- which they haven’t been lately- and we love to use trout speys for swinging soft hackles or fishing streamers on the Deschutes! Speaking of trout speys / microspeys / short speys / or whatever you want to call them, we’ve got plenty of rods and lines to match in the shop. Come in and we’d be happy to chat about the benefits of using these rods on our local waters as they’re certainly not a “one trick pony.” In fact, I’ve been out playing with the shop’s IMX Pro Short Spey from G. Loomis and have come to the understanding that I not only want one, I need one. First world problems I guess. Regardless of approach, open water and hard fighting wild resident trout sounds fun to me.

Warm water species:

Uh, what warm water? Obviously, our warm water species are pretty seasonal and fairly lethargic once water temperatures drop. Some of the small lakes along Hwy 84 can fish okay this time of year if you get out on a nice day and a few were even recently stocked, however the fishing is still pretty slow.  

Gorge Fly Shop
541.386.6977

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Report (2.22.16)

Ryan with nice little rainbow trout

Fishing Report

Winter Steelhead fishing has been good throughout the area.  The number of anglers will reflect that just about everywhere that these fish exist.  Fourteen anglers were fishing in one run at the mouth of the Hood River this morning (Sunday).  The Sandy and Clackamas have both been great; we hear more reports from the Sandy as it is closer and has more fly-friendly water (and more anglers).

Ryan with a rainbow
that ate a stonefly nymph

Rainbow Trout fishing was great on the Deschutes.  Ryan and I went out there on Thursday.  Despite 40 mph winds, sleet, snow, rain and colder temperatures, fishing was pretty good. We each caught a fair number of fish, nothing of any substantial size to hand, but a really fun day was had by all.  We were both very appreciative of our surroundings.  There were zero other anglers on the river besides a guide boat that floated by just before dark.  With all of the pressure on the steelhead scene this time of year, we were both very happy to be alone on one of the most beautiful stretches of river in the world.

I threw a double nymph setup under an indicator for most of the day.  A peacock-color rubber leg #8 was catching fish consistently.  I also used a #16 copper john and a red #18 copper john with equal success, as well as a #18 hare’s ear, a #18 Barr’s BWO emerger, and a #18 flashback pheasant tail.  In some areas, all of the fish were caught on the rubber leg, in some areas had all of them eating the small nymph and a few spots produced fish with both flies.  I hooked either an extremely large trout or a steelhead on the rubber leg.  It ran into the middle of the river, put me well into my backing, jumped a few times and broke off the 3x tippet.

We ran into a big pod of nice fish that we could see from the trail above that were working Blue Wing Olive nymphs about 2:00 pm.  It was really windy and they were not eating the adults on the surface, but Ryan did land one on a #18 red copper john before I put a cast well into the bushes during a big gust and put them all down while removing my flies from the shrubbery.

While there was a decent BWO hatch, we never saw any fish consistently working the surface, and despite throwing a dry pattern through a couple of fishy backeddies and riffles, we did not hit any fish on dries, but immediately caught them on nymphs after making numerous casts with the dries.  The heavy wind probably had a lot to do with the lack of surface action.  They were definitely eating the nymphs and fish came very quickly, usually on the first cast or two into a spot.

Blue Wing Olives

Ryan spent most of the day throwing streamers on his Winston 4110-4 MicroSpey.  While the bulk of the day was fairly slow for streamer fishing, there were fish eating streamers in a lot of spots.  Many of the fish early and mid-day that ate streamers were small and non-committal to the fly, nipping at the tail and occasionally getting hooked.

At 4:00, we both started fishing streamers on our switch rods in a nice waist-deep riffle and fish immediately began coming to hand. The action was consistent for the last hour or more of daylight.  We caught several rainbows and each of us landed a bull trout (both were our fish Deschutes bullies).  Both of them had what appeared to me to be Black Spot disease.  It may not be, but it sure looks like it based on my experiences.

I was always told Black Spot disease was a parasite that was often a result of being exposed to warm water for too long, which certainly happened this past summer.  I have heard all sorts of theories of as to how they get it: from eating snails to being exposed to bird feces… I saw this guiding on the lower Teton River in Idaho, where every cutthroat in the river was covered in the same spots, and that water reached the mid 70s every summer.  I am unaware of whether this is a new problem with these fish or something that has been recorded in the river there before.

Smallmouth Bass fishing has been very slow so far this year.  Surface temps in the Columbia backwaters have increased to 47, which should get the fish activated, but locating them seems to be the problem, or maybe it’s just getting them to eat.  He seems to be marking appropriately-sized fish on the finder, but who knows if they are bass or not.  All he knows is that they are not eating anything he throws at them.  The water is only 42 going through Bonneville.  Bassmaster Ryan is perplexed, but is putting in an inordinate amount of time trying to figure it out.  I told him that I will go out there with him once he has it dialed and it is good fishing, then I will let you all know about it.

Just hangin with a fish that ate a stonefly nymph

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 Fishing Report"

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report (2.16.16)

Jeff and my dog Hendrix on a coastal stream

Fishing Report

Local rivers are on their way back up, and we will have another good opportunity for anglers to hit winter steelhead as the flows drop.  All of the local rivers should see an influx of fish when the levels peak.  Our favorites within an hour drive are the Sandy, Clackamas, Washougal, and the Hood.  Within two hours, we can hit the Kalama, Cowlitz, East Fork Lewis and the Santiam.  Portlanders have a nice location as all of the coastal rivers are within a reasonable drive. 

Jeff forgot his wading boots.  Gorilla tape is key

Rainbow Trout fishing has been great on the Deschutes.  If you are looking for a nice change of pace and are overwhelmed with the number of steelhead anglers on seemingly every river, take a day to go trout fishing on the Deschutes.  It is open all the way up to Pelton Dam now and there has been very little pressure. 

Trout are eating Skwala nymphs, March Browns in both nymph and adult stage, along with Blue Wing Olives.  The Skwala nymph should be a go-to for most of the day because of the large size and easy target; they provide a ton of calories quickly.  Fish a Skwala nymph doubled with a smaller mayfly nymph to be doubly effective.  The March Browns and Blue Wings are not entirely consistent as far as hatches go, so they may or may not provide any dry fly fishing on any particular day.  March Browns tend to hatch when it’s warm and sunny, while the Blue Wings tend to hatch on cloudy days.  Blue Wings also often hatch in back eddies and in soft water near the side of the river, where March Browns are more of a typical mayfly and hatch in and near riffles. 

Swinging and twitching streamers can also produce some nice fish this time of year.  Sculpins and leeches are good food for trout, and presented slowly their imitations can be very productive. 

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 Fishing Report"

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report (2.8.16)

Outcast OSG Commander: Command the Water!

Ready for your Fishing Report? 

Go Fish!

We are moving into a little bit of a warm and dry spell here, which will be great for the trout fishing on the Deschutes; maybe not so good for the winter steelhead crew.  It has been a great winter so far as far as water levels and snowpack, so a week of low and clear should be welcomed. 

Winter Steelhead:  Rivers are dropping; hit them before they bottom out.  Most look like they are clearing up significantly and many could start to flatten out by the end of the week.  Low, steady flows are not ideal for steelheading, but it should be great in most rivers for the early part of the week.  The rain looks like it will return next week and rivers will bump back up, bringing a wave of new fish in. 

Rainbow Trout fishing should be absolutely stellar this week.  Sunny, warm conditions may not be good for steelheading, but they will produce nice mayfly hatches during mid-day.  Fish should eat dries during the warmest part of the day.  March Brown and Blue Wings Olives could be hatching, so be prepared for both.  Warming water temps should also create great conditions for nymphing and streamer fishing.  Nymph with a small, dark rubber leg doubled with a mayfly nymph in size #14-20.  If you want to swing/twitch a streamer, keep it low and slow through slower runs and tailouts as the water is still cold and fish are not terribly active, but they are warming and will move more than when it is just frigid out. 

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"

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"