Month: October 2022

Presidents Message November 2022 

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November is a very good fishing month as we transition from fall into winter. After the unusually dry fall weather we are finally getting 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; the bite is on as the water cools down plus they’ve been recently stocked. If the mountain road conditions are good, trout fishing on the Deschutes is another top option.

It’s time to think about renewing your membership for next year. If you are a new member and didn’t join until the 2nd half of 2022 then your membership will carry thru 2023. Contact me if you have any questions.

On Tuesday, November 15th we’ll have another combination in-person & zoom meeting at High Rocks. I’ll get an email out soon with the speaker details.

We’ll have our Fish A Long Saturday November 12th. The plan is to go back to Beavertail for more trout fishing. It was hoped we might go to the Kilchis for Chum Salmon but the water is extremely low this fall and we have to ”make the call” with enough time for folks to get gear together and plan a day trip out of town. While we are getting some rain, it hasn’t been enough to raise the water level and the ground is soaking it up.

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.

Here’s a couple announcements:

The Orvis Lake Oswego Store is looking for several part time sales associates through the holidays. The commitment can be as little as 1 shift a week (6-8 hours), starting as soon as possible and going through mid-January. Seasonal help gets the amazing 50% off Orvis discount! 

If you are interested, you can apply through the Orvis.com website: https://www.orvis.com/careers.html and this link will take you directly to the Lake Oswego positions: https://us63.dayforcehcm.com/CandidatePortal/en-US/orvis?q=Oregon

Columbia Sportswear has created a new access day for Sporting License holders.  All current license holders for hunting, fishing, clamming and crabbing are invited to show their license on Monday’s for access to the Columbia Employee Store. 

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

October 2022 Fish A Long Report

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This fish a long report could be summed up on one sentence: lots of whitefish but not many trout! Still, we had some great highlights. A good number of us camped out, enjoying nice weather while it rained on the west side. It was possible to have campfires and with clear nights and a dark moon the stars were nothing short of spectacular. While trout fishing was a little slow, several nice trout were caught and Darryl even landed a steelhead.

The water conditions featured prime 54 degree water temps, stable flows and good clarity. On Sunday the White River threw a little color at us but not enough to dampen our confidence.

For the most part the wind stayed down until the afternoons, but by then most of us had flogged the water enough and it was time to relax, enjoy happy hour & snacks before dinner around the fire.

The road had been freshly graded all the way to Beavertail but it was rough going further downstream. And of course, the word was the fishing was better 7 miles downstream at Mac’s Canyon.

On the drive home it was good to see a layer of fresh snow on Mt Hood.

Thanks to everyone for coming! Next month our fish a long will be on November 12th. We will try to hit the Kilchis River for Chum Salmon but if the water conditions are poor (like they have been the last 5 years!) we will come back to Beavertail as everyone enjoys this location this time of year.

CFF September 2022 Fishing Reports

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September had some big wildfires in Oregon but we had some good fishing too! As always, the pictures are first with the member reports below.

From Chris Gardiner: Spent 3 days on the Metolious with a couple fishing buddies. There were a ton of hatches going on, including Green Drakes and October Caddis. Caught a fair amount of decent sized Whitefish and a few healthy Redsides. We definitely put in the work to get the hook-ups. Lots of hiking and crawling in and out of the river. My buddy flew his drone for a few minutes just for fun. Pretty cool view of the Met from above.

From John Silkey: Did my first float of the Deschutes where I was behind the oars. Drifted a slow two nights from Buckhollow to Mack’s with a friend from AZ. He was targeting trout, I was after Steelhead. Neither of us did much of anything, yet it was still a gorgeous journey. The one trout we pulled in was on my spey rod (gobbled up a redneck revenge.) Didn’t see a lot of bug activity on top of or under the water. Reports from other anglers echoed our slow performance but did hear of at least 2 steelhead landed on that stretch.

From George Krumm: Pretty much all I did this month was hover fish for salmon. Fishing was good! Spent a lot of days in Drano lake and at the mouth of the Klickitat. One evening in Drano Marcus and I caught 17 kings!

From Chris Brehm: Fished three days on the lower Umpqua for Coho & only netted two. (No Pics) Lots of jumpers but few biters. My friend went back the following week and did well.

Tried to fish East Lake but the water was too low to get my boat in, so I Fished Paulina Lake twice and caught mostly small Rainbows on Baetis Nymphs plus a nice Brown on a Beetle.

Finished the month with two days at Diamond Lake. Fishing was slow overall but got a few very nice Browns on Leech Patterns, and my very first Tiger Trout on a Chironomid.

From Darryl Huff: did well on steelhead in the lower Deschutes, including my biggest hatchery steelhead to date; it weighted 16lbs.

From Dave Kilhefner: Inspired by a report from Chris Gardiner (see the June reports) I hit northern Idaho and had some good fishing for West Slope Cutthroat & Whitefish on the St Joe River by Calder.

Thanks to everyone for providing these reports!

October 2022 Presidents Message

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For the last couple months I’ve really been fishing a lot, almonst more than I actually want to if thats even possible! However, all that water time caused me to fall behind getting website reports and fly tying articles published so I plan to make up for that in October. Expect to see more content than usual.

Joseph Beare from Northwest Fly Fishing Outfitters will be our October 18th speaker talking about local trout lakes and streams that are open year round. It’s an original and timely subject. Like last month, we will have an in person meeting and also broadcast the presentation over Zoom.

This months October 22nd Fish A Long will be at Beavertail Campground on the Deschutes River. Historically, this has been on of our most popular Fish A Longs.

Justesen Ranch is opening up fall fishing October 3rd. Amanda says the fish are rising and in good shape!

For several years now we have been posting monthly fishing reports. Looking back on them is a fun way to get ideas for local fly fishing opportunities currently happening or coming up. Type “October” and you’ll get all the past reports for that month. 

If there is anything you want to see on the blog or if you need a copy of a presentation or article shoot me an email.

Please remember our sponsors, they are the lifeblood of the club. Stop by their shops and let them know you appreciate their support. Better yet buy something or book a trip. 

Good fishing! 

Dave Kilhefner