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.