Friday's Featured Fly

Bugs have arrived, and the fishing is only going to get better!  The Salmon Fly Hatch is one of the most famous hatches known to anglers from all around.  We are lucky enough to have this right in our backyard.  The Deschutes Redside trout are hungry, big, and fun to catch.  We created our own Go to Dry Fly Kit so you don't have to think about it.  Our favorite flies for the famous hatch.  

Friday's Featured Fly RIO's Juicy Stone - Everything is lining up to have an excellent salmon fly season on the Deschutes River.  If you do not have these bugs in your box, we suggest you get yourself some.  We even created a kit for you, one-stop shopping with all of our favorite flies.   Deschutes Salmon Dry Fly Kit

Balanced Leeches are a critical part of any stillwater angler's arsenal.  Just in from our friends at Solitude, the Tungsten Balance Leech in Phantom.  Doesn't get any better than this one!  This is also part of our GFS Kit - Trout Stillwater Balance Leech kit.  

Friday Featured Flies are a tray of Mattioli's Trout Spey Buggers by Aqua Flies.  These flies are on their way to our friend in Great Britain.  We just updated our Trout Spey Rod Guide.  Here we break down trout spey rods, what size is the right size?  Plus, more questions are answered for you here.   Happy Spring!  Of course, always give us a call if you have questions.  541-386-6977

Today's featured fly is a new one coming in from Aqua Flies.  Stu's Barred Ostrich Intruder.   This fly is tied with Barred Ostrich, which is arguably the most successful steelhead colorway.  Send these baddies on your next Steelhead Adventure.  Need a Steelhead Rod for that next adventure?  Check out our Steelhead Spey Rod Buyers Guide

This week's Friday's Featured fly is coming to you in the form of a "Happy Meal"!  Well, kind of....meet our newest fly kit.  Our favorite Trout Stillwater Balanced Leech Kit.  The flies come in our logo pucks and are perfect to drop into your pack/bag or waders.  

Beck's Sili Legs Lite is undoubtedly one of the best bonefish patterns of all time. Call it a Gotcha with the huge bonus of rubber legs.  The "lite" version is tied with bead chain eyes for skinny water.  Don't go to the Bahamas without a fistful of these!

About what any steelheader needs.  A fistful of good leeches!  This one checks all the boxes.  Not too big.  Not too small.  Little bit of flash.  Hot cone.  Send it!  Aqua Flies Bunny Hare Leech in black/blue.  In stock now.  

All this dark weather means Blue Winged Olives!  The RIO's Film Critic is one of our favorite emergers.  The upright wing is just big enough to make it visible on gray days.  Fish it alone or trail it behind a bigger dry that you can see well.  If you are getting ready for Sping, check out our Five-Weight Buyers Guide

Catch Dirty PT Hot Pink Jigged - What doesn't this Nymph have going for it? A jig hook, soft hackle, Pheasant Tail, and a hot bead. A fantastic prospecting pattern that has a little bit of everything. We carry them in sizes 16 and 18

Some of the most effective bonefish flies could be described as "plain with a little pop".  Bonefish prey tends to be stealthily camouflaged to match the bottom and avoid detection.  This is where the "POP" comes into play.  RIO's Bone Doctor has an overall tan color scheme with just enough flash to draw attention.  This one works

Doesn't it look like it's about to crawl away!?  Here's RIO's take on the Flexo Crab in tan.  Made quietly famous in the Seychelles, this style of crab has caught the attention of Permit and other crab eaters across the globe.  Guides on Christmas Island love this one for triggers.

It's hard to beat a good cheeseburger!  The fly version has all kinds of great crabby characteristics.  Feczko's Cheeseburger is quietly one of the best bugs for Triggers.  Fun trick fly to try for Permit, too.  

Signature tyer of this fly, Jeffrey Feczkko, reached out to us and shared the story of how this fly came to life. We would love to share it with you.  6 or 7 years ago, in the middle of an atol in the middle of the Indian Ocean, he created what would end up being one of the best flies for trigger fish.  Jeffery is very humbled by the popularity of his fly and appreciates RIO for reproducing this fly.  To note Charlie tried bringing this fly in last year but was sold out!  We are excited to now have it in the shop.  

We want to personally thank Jeffrey for reaching out and sharing his story behind the scenes of this incredible fly.

RIO's Banana Stand. This little gem is slightly flashier than other Shrimp Patterns is a great pattern in less-than-ideal conditions for bonefish and redfish. Tied with materials that are subtle yet have a tad of flash, resulting in a highly visible and enticing fly for murky water and low-light conditions

It's dark and rainy here in the PNW.  Some warm Flats Fishing sure sounds good!  Today's Friday Featured Fly is RIO's Smelling Salt.  This one was originally intended for laid-up Tarpon, but works equally well for all things that live in mangroves! 

Big Bonefish in certain destinations love big Flies! These are a few of our favorites for the Bahamas and beyond. Saltwater gear sales have picked up recently.  Weather changes increase the desire to find warm tropical water.  Searching for the big fish that call it home.  If you have not hunted for Bonefish before, you should put this on your bucket list.  Check out Sage's Limited Edition Grand Slam Salt R8 rod paired with a Sage Enforcer limited edition reel.  Our crew has a ton of Saltwater experience.  If you have questions, give us a call. 

No doubt about it.  Some of the best trout spey flies come in natural color schemes.  Aqua Flies' Trout Spey Intruder is a scaled-down, unweighted pattern tied in an intruder-style.  Buggy and wiggly.  This one gets it done!

Cooler fall weather has our minds wandering to the Caribbean. Salt season is upon us! Here’s one of Andros Island’s unofficial official bonefish flies.  The beefy RIO's Gotcha Clouser in size 2.  Simple and deadly!

It's getting deeper into fall, and many of the rivers in the northwest are filling up with coho.  If you're looking for a fly to strip on a single-hander or jig throughout the swing, check out the Starlight Leech Pink.  Heavy eyes to get down and work the twitch that love.

Friday's Feature Fly

New Fly - Rio's Balanced Jelly Leech Stillwater season is fast approaching.  The effectiveness of balanced leeches is undeniable.  This one has all of the right stuff!  Available in black and  brown/olive.   Must have for your fly box!

Shop Jelly Leech Here

Shop our Buggers/Leeches here

Shop Freshwater Fly Lines here

"The Gorge"

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Friday's Feature Fly

Tungsten Jig Naughty Bunny

This jig has a lot going for it.  The hot bead and a pearl rib for flash.  Spikey hare's ear body.  It's a winner anywhere cased caddis are a big part of the program.  Available in size 14 and 16.  

Shop Solitude's Naughty Bunny Fly

Shop Euro Nymph Flies

Shop Most Popular Euro Nymphing Rod

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"Let us Fill your Fly Box"

You have heard the saying "Let us fill your cup" often used by wineries and brew pubs.

Well here is our Gorge Fly Shop Version 

"Let us fill your fly box" 

With one of the biggest selections of flies for any/all applications we are your go to shop!

P.S. there are more flies in our backroom.

 

Not sure what flies you might need, give the shop a call and let us create a custom fly box just for you. 541-386-6977

Shop our flies here

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It's Caddis Time!

Dead drift ‘em, skate ‘em, twitch ‘em, swing ‘em…..it’s Caddis season!

Contact the shop if you need assistance restocking your fly box!

Shop Dry Flies

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Friday's Feature Fly - RIO's Film Critic BWO

Hands down one of the best mayfly emergers in the game, the Film Critic shines on technical waters, especially spring creeks. It represents a hatching mayfly at its most vulnerable stage, giving trout an easy meal. Tied on a scud hook for added realism, with a tail that looks identical to an empty body casing as the insect emerges. A segmented body and forward-facing poly wing provide an accurate silhouette, and the top hackle of the thorax keeps this fly riding in the surface film.

Shop RIO's Film Critic BWO

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Solitude Hale Bopp Leech

The Hale Bopp Leech has been around for quite awhile and is the standard go to fly for fishing trout in high mountain lakes.

Hale Bopp Leech

Colors: Black, Grey, Brown, Olive, Wine

Fish these on floating or sink tip fly lines in and around structure or over drop offs

Hale Bopp Leech Bead Head

Also comes in Bead Head

Deep troll or slow strip this fly and hold on.

Hook size #8

Shop Stillwater Flies

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RIO Flies

Wait a minute! RIO Flies?

We got our first look at the All New for 2019 RIO line of Flies. Got to tell you you they look great! Many traditional patterns as well as a whole bunch of new patterns.

We brought in a few patterns that match the current season. More to come soon.

Summer Steelhead Patterns

Copper Top

Last Call - Black

RIO's Rerun - Black / Chartreuse

Last Call - Purple

Trout Flies

Paradrake Hex

Crystal Tail Hex Cripple

Hexagenia Nymph

Stay tuned for more...

See our collection of RIO Flies at "The Gorge"

"The Gorge"

Gorge Fly Shop Team - 541.386.6977

GorgeFlyShop.com  |  Join our Team |  Contact Us

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Plenty of Options - Deschutes Salmonfly Season

Well, word’s out

The big bugs are crawling around on the lower Deschutes River. That means 2 things, the river is going to be crowded with a bunch of people and a bunch of giant puffy dry flies. The average angler is going to see plenty of fish rising, but also see plenty of fish refuse their fly. In my opinion, when I think of the average guy fishing salmonflies, I picture someone who throws the same fly all darn day. Sure that will get you consistent fish, and you’ll be happy at the end of the day, (most of the time).

Now picture an angler that has 3 rods rigged up and 4 fly boxes full of every different bug in the river. This is a very dangerous man to have fishing in front of you, because he is going to be prepared to make 4 different presentations with lord knows how many different patterns in a stretch that the average man throws a few casts with the same fly in and leave. Here’s a few things that will help you pick up more fish behind the average guy on the water in these beginning weeks of the hatch.

Know your bugs

This doesn’t mean you have to know the scientific name of anything, it just means you should know the life cycle of a few bugs and what patterns to throw to replicate them in a few different stages of life.

Big Stoneflies

Lets start with the big boys, salmonflies and golden stones. It may not seem like it, but the lives of these 2 creatures are vastly different, with the exception that they hatch at nearly the same time. Larger stoneflies like salmonflies and skwalas, will take part in what we call behavioral drifts every few months or so, such as this month when they stage near the banks and shallow water preparing to hatch. During these drifts, the nymphs very easily become dislodged and end up bouncing off the rocks right into a hungry fish’s mouth. This is one of the reasons that we fish stonefly nymphs deep down on the bottom, because they have a very heavy body and will actually crawl out of the water to hatch unlike mayflies which are much lighter and can simply swim up to the surface.

Golden stones are a very different bug in their nymph stage. They are constantly moving around looking for smaller critters to munch on, which makes them a great year round pattern. Later in the hatch when the stoneflies have already emerged and mated, they begin dying off and their carcasses will end up back in the water to complete the circle of life, this is a great time of year to dead drift or swing adult stones under the surface of the water, because unlike most lighter insects that float upon being spent, dead stones are at the mercy of the current.

Mayflies

When it comes to mayflies in most rivers, there are 3 main behaviors throughout most species, clingers, swimmers and burrowers. If you flip a rock over and see a nymph crawling around, 90% of the time it’s a clinger mayfly. These nymphs are often anywhere from size 14 to all the way down to 24 with some species. Some mayflies such as blue winged olives hatch 12 months out of the year, so fishing a mayfly nymph can work 12 months out of the year, but, sometimes different species of mayflies are keyed in on more by trout than others. Say it’s mid afternoon on the Deschutes in summer, you saw some bwo’s on the water in the morning, so you tied a drab olive dry fly on and caught a few fish, but now the brunt of the bwo’s are done moving for the day. You might get on a few fish that are still keyed in on them, but a majority of fish will happen to begin to feed on different insects. You could fish to 10 different fish that are keyed in on 10 different species or stages of insects in a day on rivers like the Deschutes. This is why having so many different variations of flies and patterns is important. I’ve had instances in a 20 yard stretch of water where I’ve had to swap flies every time I hook a fish due to the vast variety of insects hatching at the time.

Emergers

Emergent mayflies are often very overlooked. We all seem to pay attention more to duns on the water that we can see more than emergers under the surface. Soft Hackles are a deadly weapon that I rarely see used. They are like streamers in the sense that you can play with and use a wide variety of retrieves and presentations. I see dry dropper rigs often used with hoppers or stoneflies with larger heavier nymphs, but a small parachute pattern with a weightless soft hackle as a trailer is one of the best combos to have on the river during smaller hatches. Soft hackles can also be used in the trout spey side of the world if you’re more particular to a swung fly presentation (see: ‘Trout spey chronicles’ for more reading on swinging soft hackles).

Caddis

Spring time caddis are the second largest forage for fish this time of year, and they are often seen throughout the day, though more prevalent in the evening hours. If you see a fish ignore a stonefly completely, and perform a splashy take moments later, chances are that fish is eating caddis. Fish are a tad more aggressive and opportunistic to caddis due to the fact that upon hatching, their wings are creating quite the commotion on the water unlike a mayfly who sits still while pumping fluid into their wings before flight. Caddis on the other hand are frantically attempting to get off the water as soon as they emerge from pupa form, which allows the beginner fly fisherman to be able to fish a little sloppy at first. Fish expect caddis to make movement on the water, so if you’re just starting out and you’re having a hard time with presenting a drag free drift, tie on a caddis. Dead caddis patterns later in the afternoon on a hot day prove very effective, these are often adult dry fly looking bugs with either beads attached or lead wrapped around the hook to break surface tension, another option would to be adding sinkant to a normal dry fly.

We have plenty of every pattern and a ton of components that you want to have if you want to be more effective than the next guy on the river. Learn about your bugs and when and where they hang out, and you’ll be meeting plenty more trout this season. For more questions or info on hatches, flies, or tactics, give us a call or an email at the shop.

Tight lines and happy hunting.

Gorge Fly Shop

Jacob Noteboom | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Winter Fly Hatch: The Midge

Fishing for trout during the winter definitely has its challenges, but it can often be worth the effort. It might take a few more layers of clothing, a bit more trudging through snow, a little more ice chipping and a few more lost steps, but it all helps to craft the change of the seasons. The trout still live there and eat there.

Although most aquatic insects do tend to hatch from April – October, there are flies that hatch during winter months. Midges, otherwise known as Chironomids, hatch in coldwater temperatures. These flies can be extremely small which means that when trout get to feeding on them, they tend to eat a lot of them! There are many different types of midges, but most of them that are found in river habitats are quite small. Sizes 18-24 are pretty typical and yes, they can be hard to tie on as well as to see on the river. Fishing these small flies may necessitate using very small tippets, like 6X so as just to thread the eye of the hook. There are times however when these teeny flies hatch in mass and become clustered together on the surface of the river. A Griffith’s Nat mimics this sort of cluster and they are more manageable to fish in sizes, 16-18.