Month: November 2021

Presidents Message December 2021

/ davekilhefner / Leave a comment

I hope everyone enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving. Fishing was challenging in November with the big rain storm that rolled thru in the middle of the month but some folks did well as you’ll see when I post the November fishing reports.

Clackamas Fly Fishers has reinstituted membership fees for 2022. However if you paid to be a member in 2021 it will be good for 2022 too. Here is the membership link plus I will be sending membership notices out to everyone. Last year I let membership tracking lapse so if you paid in 2021 you’ll need to let me know. That said, if you participate in the club I will guarantee you’ll get a solid value for the $35 you pay to be a member.

To get the membership value package started off right everyone that comes to the December and January meetings at High Rocks will get a free beer on me. This suggestion comes courtesy of Tom Flannery who helps Brad with the Fly fishing Challenge. BTW, the 2021 challenge is still going on. If you’ve completed the challenge please email me or Brad.

The “big 3” activities our club focuses on are meetings, fly tying and fish a longs. Looking forward we are going to have a few in-person speakers next year but mostly Zoom speakers on the big screen TV at High Rocks. Why? Zoom presentations cost much less because there are no travel expenses. Also, we can book speakers from all over the country & not just within driving distance. Fly tying will still be limited to monthly fly tying articles as COVID is still with us. Fish a longs will be expanded to include camping whenever possible as last year many of the people that came to the fish a longs camped too whenever this was possible. I’m still in the planning phase so if you have suggestions by all means let me know!

December is shaping up to be decent fishing month with the most dependable fishing available at the Oregon Fishing Club ponds for trout, especially after a warming trend. Here’s a good winter trout fishing primer from Vickie Loftus After that dang November storm blew thru we’ve had good water conditions and good timing is the key to taking advantage of winter fishing. You’ll need to be packed and ready to hit the prime fishing windows when they open up. Several coastal streams like the Necanicum and North Fork Nehalem get good early runs of steelhead. The Clackamas and Sandy get random shots of early winter steelhead too plus this year there are a good number of native, late running coho this year. Here’s a link to the PGE fish counts so you can see for yourself.

We don’t have a club Fish-A-Long in December but I put out the word that I’m open to helping folks with their spey casting and winter steelhead presentation basics. I’ve got 4 people signed up so far so if you are interested in this email me and I’ll put you on the list.

For several years now we have been posting monthly fishing reports. Looking back on them is a good way to get ideas for local fly fishing opportunities currently happening or coming up. I’ve tested it out and it works! Type the word December or January in the search box and you’ll get all the past reports for that month.

Now is the perfect time for Christmas shopping plus don’t forget to get your wish list out so you get all the stocking stuffers you want. Please remember our sponsors, they are the lifeblood of the club. Stop by their shops and let them know your appreciate their support. Better yet buy something or book a trip.

Dave Kilhefner

October 2021 Fishing Reports

/ davekilhefner / Leave a comment

October is a big fly fishing month and so we have a lot of good reports to share. As always, pictures are first with the reports below. Enjoy!

From Wayne Hughes: October day on the Willamette river featured both Smallmouth bass, Jack Salmon and Silvers during the float. White & blue Clousers caught everything that day. 


From Dennis Murphy: Towards the beginning of the month I was full speed on trying to catch a Coho. I spent a lot of time on the Clackamas and Sandy with no fish to speak of. I did find some great oyster mushrooms one day though!
 
It took me some time to get out to the fish a long and I caught the tail end, but I got a great euro rod lesson from Brad and got to spend the next day fishing with Richard. I got a handful of redsides, tons of whitefish, and towards the end a pretty big fish. After about 15 minutes of fighting this very lazy fish, it got close enough to Richard to confirm it was a near dead Chinook. It somehow got on my stonefly on 6x tippet so it was a fun/tiring fight until it finally broke off.
 
Going off my previous weekends success, I headed out to the Deschutes again. I tried a bunch of different spots and caught some great redsides as well as another chinook on the same stonefly nymph while Euro Nymphing. On my way home I stopped at Laurance Lake for the last day of the season and to bring home a few stockers. When I finally found a spot shielded from the wind I caught my fair share of fish on a black wooly bugger. Towards the end when I was about to cast, a bull trout lazily swam up and took the bugger. I took a minute to admire a species I’d never caught and sent them on their way.

From George Krumm: My annual trip to swing for Naknek rainbows went well. I also did a fly-out to Ugashik Narrows to fish for Arctic char. We caught lots of big rainbows. The char are Arctic Char & not Dolly Varden. Fish bit on a variety of flies like my LST (big-ass Leechy Sculpiny Thing) and flesh flies. I host a trip up there every year.  If anyone wants to join me next year, the dates are October 1st – 8th, 2022. I have 3 or 4 spots left.

From Chris Brehm: I was planning to attend the October Fish a long but got a last minute tip from a friend about fresh Coho in the Siuslaw tidewater near Mapleton. We landed and released 10 bright (but all native) Coho on Twitching Jigs and Spinners.

After reading the Fishalong report, I made the trip to Beavertail on the Deschutes on October 27th. Using egg patterns I was able to land a few up to about 14″ along with some whitefish. From there I drove to Bend to fish two days before the season closed on Crane Prairie. A buddy and I landed about 15 fish in good weather on Thursday and about 25 more in drizzly weather on Friday in  47 degree water. The fish were in prime fat condition, sized from 14″ to 20″ and were caught using various methods including my lucky Red Bead Pine Squirrel Leech pattern. The attached photo is from a previous trip, but illustrates why this is one of my favorite fisheries.

From Mike Shiiki: The day after the fish a long my son Nathan and I went back to Beavertail and then down above “Grumpy’s” on Sunday. He brought one of his friends for his first fly fishing trip & had a great day. Beavertail was the same as the day before, but we got into a Whitefish convention downstream at the Grumpy’s run.  I lost count down there, but ALOT of whities along with one lost steelhead that busted off my 3 wt euro stick after coming out of the water 3 times.

Other pics: October at Timothy Lake in the float tubes was really good – my son and I, and Darryl reeled in multiple 24″ size rainbows; I heard ODFW dumped in a load of trophy sized fish and I’m assuming we landed some of them. 

I hit the Molalla 1 day, and only fished about 90 minutes but landed a cutthroat, a couple whitefish and a little rainbow.

Also my son hit the Wilson River and landed a couple nice cutties last month

From Greg O’Brien: Got out with another club member a couple of times in October. We had a trout spey day on the McKenzie that was slow due to rapidly rising water but managed a couple nice trout. We also got into a couple Coho on SW WA rivers. 

From Tim Mahoney: I went to the Metolius for a few days mid month and caught a few nice rainbows and a small Bull trout for my first time euro nymphing. It was cold in the mornings, but nice that it wasn’t overly crowded.

At the fish a long I caught one white fish. The next day I went down River to Macks Canyon area and caught about 15, half redsides and half white fish. The biggest redside was this 18” long. I also had a steelhead on for about 15 seconds as he stripped off line and jumped in the center of the River before the 5X tippet broke off. That’s was exciting!

From Dave Kilhefner: the weekend after the fish a long I went back to Beavertail and met up with Mike Shiiki and Darryl Huff. Fishing had slowed down a little but we all got into several trout and redsides. We tried standard indicator & Euro nymphing tactics, but Darryl’s indicator & bead was the most effective method this day.

CFF November 16th Meeting

/ davekilhefner / Leave a comment

Our November 16th meeting will feature local author Dennis Dauble talking about the History of Fish and Fishing in the Columbia Basin.

You can attend either the in-person meeting at High Rocks or watch the presentation on Zoom. Dennis will be talking to us via Zoom, and we will beam that in to the Big Screen TV at the High Rocks meeting room. We did this last month and it worked very well and the picture above is from last month. 

Here is the Zoom meeting link: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84869996765?pwd=aldYeFMzMy9Xc0pmU1FTOW9FZ0h4UT09

I’ll be at High Rocks at 6pm for food, refreshments and conversation. The Zoom meeting will open up at 6:30 to get logged in and settled with the presentation starting at 7pm. 

We will also be awarding the 2021 Fly Fishing Challenge awards at this meeting. So far this year’s award winners are Dave Kilhefner, Mike Shiiki, Dan Molyneaux, Brad Jonasson, Gil Henderson, Tom Flannery, George Coutts and Paul Brewer. Award winners please try to attend in person. It’s understood there are Covid concerns, and some may opt out, but in-person presentations have several benefits.

We look forward to seeing everyone either in person or on Zoom!

Fly Tying November 2021 The Kilchis Killer

/ Jim Adams / Leave a comment

For the past few years our usual November Fish-A-Long venue has suffered from too little water, or too much water, and the event had to be canceled. This year our President Dave Kilhefner is optimistic that the conditions are shaping up nicely for an outing on Saturday, November 13th near Tillamook for Chum Salmon. The Kilchis River is our normal destination, although the Miami River also has a run of chums. If you have some extra time this month there are many more opportunities to catch chum salmon in Washington waters. Be sure to check out the Washington regulations if you plan to head up there.

Chum salmon are sometimes regarded as the “ugly stepsister” of all of the species of Pacific salmon. They can be chrome bright while still in the ocean but soon begin to develop characteristic markings as they prepare to enter freshwater. After entering rivers chum salmon are readily identifiable by their characteristic olive green coloration with purplish vertical striping and blotches along their sides.

Chum salmon are sometimes referred to as dog salmon, with research showing two possible origins for that name. One explanation is that name comes from the impressive mouthful of sharp teeth seen in the males as they approach spawning time.

A second explanation is that the reference to dog salmon comes from the habit of Native Americans feeding the flesh of the chum salmon to their dogs. Chums are not known for their aerial acrobatics but they fight like bulldogs and are not brought in easily, so don’t go light in selecting your gear. And because of the imposing teeth, it would be a good idea to carry a quality pair of pliers.

One fly that has been shown to be very effective for chum salmon is The Kilchis Killer. Noted Oregon fly fisherman, author, and fly tyer John Shewey is credited with coming up with the design for this fly. The name of the fly might be a bit of a misnomer, at least for the state of Oregon, as all fishing for chums is strictly catch and release. Just consider it a killer fly for attracting the chums. The fly is normally tied in chartreuse. As Club member Lane Hoffman says, in regard to chum salmon, “it’s no use if it ain’t chartreuse”, regardless of the specific fly pattern you tie on. However, many anglers report that if the chums aren’t responding to chartreuse flies it is time to switch to something that is hot pink.

The Kilchis Killer is a relatively easy fly to tie and should be no problem for tyers of all levels of experience.

RECIPE

Hook: Heavy wire, size 2-6
Tail: Krystal Flash (chartreuse or pink)
Body: 1/2 Floss (chartreuse or pink), 1/2 Cactus Chenille (chartreuse or pink)
Wing: Krystal Flash (chartreuse or pink)
Collar: Hackle (Saddle or Schlappen; chartreuse or pink)

TYING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Lay down a base of thread wraps. (Now is the time to attach any weight, if desired.)
2. Add a tail of krystal flash.
3. Attach a piece of floss at the base of the tail. Wind the bobbin forward.
4. Wind the rear half of the body evenly with floss. Tie down the floss with thread at the midpoint of the hook shank.
5. Attach a piece of cactus chenille at the front of the floss. Wind the bobbin forward.
6. Wind the front half of the body with the cactus chenille. (Don’t crowd the front of the fly. Leave room for the wing, hackle, and thread head.) Anchor the cactus chenille with thread wraps.
7. Attach a clump of krystal flash in front of the cactus chenille, angling it back at about a 45 degree angle for the wing.
8. Attach a hackle feather at the base of the wing.
9. Wind the hackle forward, making each wrap just in front of the last one. Anchor the front of the hackle with thread wraps.
10. Form a head with thread wraps, whip finish, and add head cement.

Good luck fishing! This has historically been one of the club’s more popular trips. If the weather and river conditions cooperate, this is one Fish-A-Long where you really have a shot at catching a big fish!

Presidents Message November 2021

/ davekilhefner / 1 Comment

November is a very good fishing month as we transition from fall into winter. After several years of unusually dry fall weather we finally have some regular & normal rainfall!

When fall rains come often the rivers fill with leaves. When this happens I like to hit the Oregon Fishing Club ponds for trout, which are on the bite as the water cools down. If the mountain road conditions are good, trout fishing on the Deschutes is another top option. There is also rod breaking & hook straightening Chum Salmon in the Kilchis and Miami Rivers by Tillamook.

We’ll have another combination in-person & zoom meeting this month at High Rocks on Tuesday, November 16th. I’ll get an email out with the details next week.

The 2021 Fly Fishing Challenge is still going on and we have a very cool challenge pin this year-which is pictured. If you’ve completed the challenge please email me or Brad.

Last year Clackamas Fly Fishers extended paid memberships thru 2021. In 2022 we are going to resume paid memberships. If you paid to be a new member in 2021, it will be good for next year too. If you are a member and haven’t paid since 2020, you’ll need to pay dues in 2022. If that sounds a little confusing, don’t worry. We have a spreadsheet and are also pretty easy people to deal with.

We are shooting for Saturday November 13th for our Fish A Long. This date will be perfect for either Chum Salmon on the Kilchis River or for trout at one of the Oregon Fishing Club lakes. Unfortunately Wilder Lake was hit very hard by the hot summer weather and is not an option for a while.

For several years now we have been posting monthly fishing reports. Looking back on them is a good way to get ideas for local fly fishing opportunities currently happening or coming up. I’ve tested it out; type the word November or December in the search box and you’ll get all the past reports for that month.

Please remember our sponsors this fall, they are the lifeblood of the club. It’s not too early for a little Christmas shopping or putting together your wish list. Stop by their shops and let them know your appreciate their support. Better yet buy something or book a trip.

Dave Kilhefner