November fishing transitions from fall to winter. It presents many good opportunities and can be the very best month to catch a steelhead or catch good numbers of trout & whitefish getting ready for winter.

With the holiday season upon us we will have the Fish A Long early on November 11th so it doesn’t conflict Thanksgiving weekend. Once again we will be at Beavertail Campground on the Deschutes River. Several of us usually go a few days early and camp out. We will have a BBQ steak lunch again as we still have steak from last month. Gotta love the Chef store!

Several members have asked about Chum salmon fishing on the coast. We used to always go there in November but the unpredictable fall rains prompted too many cancellations the last 5 years. That said, if you want to catch one of these bruisers in the fly the best option is to head over as close to the November 15th season closure as you can and be ready for crowds. For more info hit one of our local shops or type “Chum Salmon” in the search box to get our past reports and fly patterns.

Our November 21st meeting at High Rocks will be a “flies and lies” format. We did this last year and it was a great time, so bring your fly tying vice to tie some flies & tell fishing stories. Also, I recently acquired 79 dozen flies from a closed fly shop. They are available to members for $1 each. As always, social hour starts at 6pm and the program at 7pm.

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 “November” or “December” in the Clackamas Fly Fishers website search box you’ll get all the past reports for that month. 

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