It's Fall at Big Y Fly Co!

It's finally happening!  The weather is cooling down, rain is standard issue and the days are getting noticeably shorter quickly.  Fal...

It's finally happening!  The weather is cooling down, rain is standard issue and the days are getting noticeably shorter quickly.  Fall is here and we couldn't be happier.

Sometimes I catch steelhead, mostly I don't

This is a great time to look back at the summer and reflect on the good times and great fishing that we had.  We here at Big Y Fly had a great summer getting flies out to our loyal customers, but we also had some great fishing along the way.  Our steelhead numbers were very low through most of the summer, so that forced us to explore some little streams, bass ponds and various other fisheries that get overshadowed by the mythical steelhead that have become the obsession of too many anglers.

We all caught a steelhead or two this summer, but it was the first time in years that chasing steelhead wasn't immediately the first choice when planning a day on the water.  It was a year to let a few fish get past us into the safety of the headwaters and spawning grounds far above the reach of anglers.

Its not a new story here, but bass fishing was fantastic.  I caught my biggest smallmouth to date and had several epic mornings using poppers.  I also enjoyed figuring out a little bit about our local largemouth bass fishery, although I never got into one of the magnum bass that I know live in the shallows of these ponds.

Nikolai is a trout crusher!

Rob spent quite a bit of time chasing American Shad as they swam past us by the thousands.  It took a few minutes for him to get it dialed in, but once he did, it was "fish on" every couple of casts.  These little 3-5 pound fish pull hard and take a fly well.  They run from the end of June into August in the Columbia, yet very few, if anyone fishes for them with a fly rod.

Nikolai spent much of his summer on the Metolius River, fishing for trout in one of the most beautiful places in Oregon (or anywhere for that matter).  This little river pours right out of a hillside and flows for a dozen or so miles before dumping into Lake Billy Chinook.  The fishing was great!  Spring creek style with fast moving water, nice rainbow trout and a few bull trout too!  Nikolai knows this river well and there are not a ton of people out there that can pull fish from it's waters like Nikolai.  

Cameron on his homewaters - the Deschutes

Cameron and Sharron floated the Deschutes quite a few times.  While it is famous for its Summer Steelhead, the Rainbow Trout fishing can be just as good.  While steelhead numbers were poor throughout the Columbia River ystem, the water temps were in good shape for trout, and they cooperated all summer.  Cameron also spent much of the summer learning to spey cast with his opposite hand, which was documented on our YouTube channel.

Ben has been finding that balance between fishing and fatherhood.  His boy is not quite old enough to be on the big water yet, so there were a few more days at the kids pond and a few less full days on the river.  He still managed to get a lot of evenings on the Klickitat and the Deschutes, where he has been improving on his spey cast and hoping to land an elusive steelhead, or maybe even a Chinook. 

Between all of us, there were quite a few small creek days, many trip the local lakes, and even a couple of days looking for carp, the golden northern bonefish.  Between all of us here in the shop, we covered a good chunk of the fisheries in our local area.

Now that it has cooled down, we are really excited to have salmon and steelhead fishing in full swing, and fishing has been great!  We have all landed a nice fish or two in the past couple of weeks and are looking for more.

A great summer for creek fishing!

October is a hard this time of year because there are so many great opportunities and only four weeks to get them done.  In Oregon and Washington, many of our popular trout lakes and streams close on Halloween, so we are desperately trying to get in days on those seasonal rivers, while still trying to swing a run or two for steelhead when we can.  Do I chase steelhead or try to find a big desert brownie before the creek closes in a couple of weeks?  Its a hard choice!  What about Muskie?  October is prime time here for them, and the smallmouth fishing can't be beat right now.  They are crushing topwater poppers like its nobodies business!  I know that November can be the best month for steelheading, and the trout rivers will be closed, so I want to chase trout, but it is so hard to drive past all of that good steelhead water to look for... smaller fish.

Whatever your dilemma, there really is one good option, and that is to go fishing!  Whether it is your home waters or somewhere completely new, it is time!  In a month or two, we will all be looking out at terrible weather and dark evenings wishing we had spent more time fishing when it was good.

So from all of us at Big Y Fly Co, thank you for your business and we will see you out on the water!