Here is how our fishing adventures have gone since we last checked in Andrew: Rogue River Black Bear Ben, Cameron, Joe and I floa...
Here is how our fishing adventures have gone since we last checked in
Andrew:
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| Rogue River Black Bear |
Ben, Cameron, Joe and I floated the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River in Southern Oregon. While we were in the midst of a heat wave, we had not realized that the water temps were in the 70's. That would explain why we only caught the a couple of Northern Pikeminnow. It was super fun nonetheless, but fishing was not good. We will be doing a full post on that later. We cast a bunch of different rods while we were out there, including
Loop Evotec Medium/Fast and
Evotec Fast Acrion rods, a
St. Croix Bank Robber, the
new Redington Dually II and a prototype for a new rod model we are working on here at HQ. We paired those
Loops up with
Scientific Anglers' Amplitude Trout and
MPX lines respectively, and used a
Cortland Trout Boss on the
Bank Robber, and threw a
Rio Scandi 3D line on the
Dually.
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| Rogue River Camp |
Since the water temps here have been too a bit on the high side, I have not been fishing for steelhead much. I did get one quick float on a local river that runs mighty cold, looking for s some chrome. We caught a few trout, but no steelhead. I was swinging a
Max Canyon on a
Loop NXT Switch Rod. I have that line paired with a
Rio Scandi Short Versi-tip, which is a nice line when you want to change it up and get a little deeper. The cooler weather is coming, which will help improve our conditions and our catch rate soon.
Nikolai:
It's mid summer here in the Gorge and the weather has been hot! These days, it's a challenge just to find water temperatures that aren't too warm. I try to give fish their space when water temperatures get well into the 60s. Steelhead are swimming by our office, and moving into the Deschutes (in addition to other tributaries of the Columbia), but I may give it a couple more weeks before I head out there and try to link up with one. The days are getting shorter, so the water temps should be getting cooler, slowly but surely. For trout: I've been enjoying the upper stretches of the Clackamas River, where one can find Cutthroat, Brook, and Brown Trout (*in addition to Rainbow Trout, our most common here in Oregon). So it's been nice putting a few different species in the net. Here is a video of a rainbow we caught over the weekend.
Flies I've been throwing on the Clack' include:
Purple Haze,
Royal Wulff (Red and Chartreuse),
Parachute Ants,
PMDs,
Foam Wing Para Biot Adams, and
Mahogany Duns. I'll probably fish the Metolius in August, especially considering it's Spring-fed, and thus, stays cold! My buddy put a nice bull trout in the net the other day. We were on a deep clear pool, and it took some teamwork. With a spotter assisting with phrases like "jig", "swing", or "SET!!", we were able to put it all together. It's a moment of sheer excitement when a bull trout starts to chase your fly. They're a little subdued in the summer, but will eat if you are persistent (or put one right in front of their face). Sometimes they would move out of the way, to avoid our flies.
So all in all, we were very happy with netting that one bully. We were tossing big, heavy streamers like the
Sculpzilla, and
Drunk 'n Disorderly. Fishing for rainbows has been steady on the Met' this summer. They're picky, but are usually keyed-in on whatever bugs are prevalent. I enjoy the Metolius in the summer because the hatches are random, but certain to happen. So one must stay alert to their surroundings. Noon to 8pm is a great time to be there, with lots of dry flies handy!
Joe:
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| Rogue River's famous Blossom Bar |
Like the boys said up above the weather is warm, no HOT!! Like the scene in Ace Ventura when he is stuck in the Rhino in the African Desert. That being said I have turned my focus to late evening, early morning sessions for trout up in the high mountains. and if i could have one fly for Mt. Hood it would be the
Flying Red Ant #16 or #18.
CDC Griffith Gnats,
Foam Ants,
Suspended Beetles,
Foam Hi-Vis Beetles, are all going bonkers up there. Like little brookies, rainbows, and cutties be sure to beat the heat and try out those higher mountain lakes and streams.
The scenery is a great break from the heat and the night photography has been in full swing!!! Cheers and Fish On!
Rob:
Stable warm air masses may be uncomfortable to be out in but it does keep the winds mild, and if the wind is mild you can fly fish! The hot weather won't hurt the bass fishing any they are used to the warm water and their metabolic rate is just hotting it's peak That means they'll be eating as much as they can! As though perfectly timed, this peak in bass activity also coincides with the downstream migration of American Shad fry, Peak bass feeding and peak food availability can make for great fishing. Grab an 8 weight like the
Mystic Reaper and a line that will toss some big bugs like the
Cortland Big Fly Floating Line and actually have some fun while waiting for the rivers to cool.
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| Not a steelhead... |
Like everyone else however I am looking forward to the cooler days towards the end of the month when the Klickitat clears. When it does, swinging the
Beulah Platinum and a good
Scandi line will be a pleasant wind down to the summer, spending evenings after work hoping for a steelhead. Then comes SEPTEMBER!
Cameron:
Been out on the Deschutes at sunrise trying to fish the coolest water of the day, very unspectacular results, so far, but I love the Deschutes, so I will keep the faith and keep at it. Have been enjoying swinging flies with a
Loop OptiNXT 12'4" 7 wt, casts extremely well even when the downriver gusts come howling around the corner. Been experimenting with a series of heads, but really enjoying the shooting capability of
OPST Lazer Line. Even though fishing has been slow have fought a couple using the
Vosseler S3, which performs exactly how you would think a Vosseler should perform; perfectly.
Ben:
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| Maybe a foot a visibility in this river. |
I have been looking for some steelhead action every chance I get lately. It is slow... Weather is hot, water is too warm, most rivers have had horrible clarity. I have using my
Syndicate Aquos 7wt for my nymphing setup, love a 10 foot rod as it gives me some extra reach, and
Beulah Platinum Spey for my swinging. Lines I like on these rods are a
SA Andro and a
Rio Scandi Short. Even with the horribly dirty water (check out the background in the pic) trout are still to be found (even if the steelhead aren't). In short don't let the hot weather and poor river conditions discourage you from getting out there.
