One of my favorite outdoor programs to watch is Meat Eater for the simple reason that when Steve Rinella has an unsuccessful outing, he still makes the show. You come to realize you don’t have to catch a fish or drop an animal to enjoy the outdoors, just like our July Fish A Long.
The weather over the weekend of July 20th was very hot! Thus, all the lakes up on Mt Hood were very crowded, especially Timothy. The day started with a drive up the Clackamas to Ripplebrook, up the recently opened road to Lake Harriet then on to Timothy Lake. I tried finding some relief on some of the small streams in the area but due to time constrants and the desire to enjoy the air conditioning, mostly I scouted out good spots to try in the future.
Even without a fish to put a bend in my fly rod, it was a good day!
Every year it seems like summer will never get here but once it does it starts flying by! I find myself scrambling to squeeze in all the things I wanted to do once the weather gets nice. This summer I have some good fly fishing plans and hope you do too! These include hitting the Pacific Ocean for Rockfish to chasing trout in Oregon and beyond.
I’ll be giving a presentation on Euro Nymphing at our July 16th meeting at High Rocks. Many of us started Euro Nymphing around the same time and we’ve developed our own styles. The presentation will focus on both traditional and non-traditional flies & tactics. Social hour starts at 6pm and the program at 7pm.
The July 20th Fish A Long will be on the Metolius River at the Lower Bridge Campground. I may not able to attend so Rich Harvey will be hosting this Fish A Long. He’s been having good success on the Met lately.
We have several years of fishing reports logged on our website. Looking back on them is a fun way to get ideas for local fly fishing opportunities currently happening or coming up. Type “July” or “August” and 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.
We had another great Central Oregon Fish A Long hosted by Chris B. Thanks again Chris for the wonderful time!
On Thursday most of us arrived. Those that got there early enough fished Lava Lake. There were Callibaetis hatching and fish were rising…but they were a little tough to catch! It was a perfect summer day and the views were breathtaking. Our day ended with a delicious steak barbaque meal.
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On Friday we hit upper Hosmer Lake. Early the fish were mostly keyed in on Damsel nymphs. Rich was doing well on an olive brown micro leech that mimiced damsels and other tasty morsels. Both Chris and Stevie started doing well on beetles when the wind came up a little. I tried my trusty blue damsel and was rewarded with a couple good sized rainbows. We had an otter crusing around the lake for the better part of an hour that was fun to watch. We ended the day with a big spagetti dinner, the perfect meal for a bunch of hungry fly fishers.
Saturday morning we made the drive to Diamond Lake. It was the first time several of us had fished this lake and it didn’t disappoint. Rich got his first Tiger Trout in the morning. This fish stopped biting from 10 to 2, then in the afternoon Stevie started doing well on Callibaetis nymphs, and we caught several sizeable brown trout. Rich rounded out the day by catching a good brown on one of his big streamers. Tonights dinner was Mexican food in LaPine, a fine ending to a great day on the water.
On Sunday we had our traditional pancake breakfast before heading to East Lake. It was a little windy and the best fish of the day was Laura’s beetle eating brown trout, pictured at the beginning of this report.
The best flies this trip were; Olive Brown Damsel Nymph, Olive Brown Micro Leech, Callibaetis Nymph or flashback Pheasant Tail Nymphs, Beetles and Blue Dry Damsels.
Thanks to everyone who came and make this another fish a long to remember!
Hope everyone has been having a good spring. I just returned from a fun trip to the Deschutes at Trout Creek. The fishing was a little bit challenging but we got fish every day, plus it taught us a few new tricks and the weather was perfect.
Our speaker for the June18th meeting will be Joe Warren. His presentation will be on fly fishing in the Pacific Ocean. I had the opportunity to fish with Joe last summer and well did well fly fishing for Rockfish & Salmon.
We have a GREAT Fish A Long lined up this month. Chris B has generously offered to host a multi day fish a long at his place between Sunriver and LaPine. I am sending an email out with the details; heres a link to the 2022 report: https://clackamasflyfishers.org/2022/07/27/july-2022-fish-a-long-report/
This coming weekend is Free Fishing Weekend in Washington. Several years ago we had a Fish A Long on the Washington side of Bonneville Dam for Shad. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend but contact me for details (gear, flies & a fishing map). The water level looks good this year!
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 “June” or “July” and 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.
April went by so fast that its hard to believe May is here. The weather this year is much more stable than last year so it’s easier to find good fishing. A little online research plus paying attention to the river gauges & weather reports will yield good results.
Our speaker for our May 21st meeting will be Garrett Lesko. For something different, he will be giving a fly tying demonstration focusing on Stillwater fly patterns.
Usually we’d have the Fish A Long the weekend after our meeting, but that falls on Memorial Day weekend. Thus, we will move the Fish A Long up to May 18th at Lake Harriet. Just like last month, several of us will be camping. It will be a good time!
As soon as the Deschutes drops a little it should be game on. The big bug action isn’t happening just yet but nymph fishing is always dependable this time of year. Lane fished Rocky Ridge Lakes recently and had a good day. There are a few summer steelhead reports coming out of the Clackamas and Sandy Rivers; early summers are the best fish of the year and worth the work you have to put in to get them. For something different panfish and bass are starting to come on strong too.
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 “May” or “June” and 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.
Weather folklore says if March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb; it was sure true this year! Steelhead fishing last month was surprisingly decent and you’ll be seeing a few steelhead pictures when the March fishing report comes out.
Now that it’s April, my mind shifts to trout fishing. The OFC lakes are coming to life as the water warms plus the Deschutes and other local streams will pick up too.
Our April 16th meeting at High Rocks will feature Erich Leininger as our speaker. He’ll be talking about fly fishing for Carp. This is something I’ve wanted to try for years and I’m looking forward to his presentation.
Our April 20th Fish A Long will be at Schmedeke Pond. We went there last year at this time and there was a great hatch of bomber midges coming off. Everyone had a great time and some big fish were caught. Heres a link to last years report to whet your appetite.
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 “April” or “May” and you’ll get all the past reports for those months.
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.
This month marks four years as your club President. I’ve been having a great time running the club and going to all the Fish A Longs. This year, steelhead fishing is much better than last year and a few of us are already on the board. It’s also a great month to chase Bull Trout, something I’ve wanted to try but neglected over the years.
We’ll have a regular meeting Tuesday, March 19th. I’ll be talking about our upcoming 2024 Fish A Longs along with “the how and the why” of how we choose our fishing locations plus the art & science of how to choose good fishing locations in general.
March signals the beginning of spring and many local fisheries begin to wake up and turn on. Trout in our local lakes will begin to get active as water temperatures rise from the low 40’s to the high 40’s. The Deschutes will have good fishing if water levels are stable & warming. Last but not least, March is the best month for trophy steelhead so keep flinging flies with your spey rod. If anyone wants to get out and chase some steelhead this month I’m an easy mark.
Our March 23rd Fish A Long is up in the air as we have higher than normal water on our usual March locations of the Crooked or Deschutes Rivers. If this high water persists we’ll hit an Oregon Fishing Club lake for trout.
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 “March” or “April” and you’ll get all the past reports for that month.
Please remember our sponsors this, 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. Good fishing!
The best word to describe this months Fish A Long was WINDY! It was very windy…and COLD! However, we all kind of knew that would happen so we planned for a good meal in a warm cabin. Most of us opted to stay inside, talk fishing and eat really good smoked pork Taco’s courtesy of Rich and his portable Traeger Ranger. Good times were had by all. Thanks to everyone that came and made it a fun day, in spite of the cold & windy weather!
Now that January’s ice has melted it’s time to get out there and try to catch a steelhead. The warmer weather & rain will both pull in fish and make them more active.
One of the consolations during these slow years is most of the fish you do see caught are bigger than average, so when you do get out there beef up those tippets with at least 12lb Maxima or 15 Fluorocarbon. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard sad stories of big steelhead lost to light tippets.
January’s snow & ice storms forced us to cancel last months “steelhead school” so we will have it this month on Saturday, February 17th.
This months speaker will be Lane Hoffman. He’ll be talking about all the little things you can do to care for and maintain your fly fishing tackle to keep it performing at the highest level. It’s a really good subject and we hope to see you at the February 20th meeting.
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 February or March in the search box and you’ll get all the past reports for that month.
Please remember our sponsors this, 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. Good fishing!
Happy New Year! I hope everyone was able to enjoy holiday festivities and quality family time.
I’m looking forward to the New Year and have a couple “fishing resolutions” to share. First is to go on 4-5 cool fishing trips and I already have a couple on the calendar. Next is to continue to improve our Fish A Longs calendar. Fishing opportunities have changed over the past several years and it’s important to change with them.
Our January 16th meeting will feature a run down of our planned Fish A Longs for the coming year. While we have a schedule, it’s not set in stone so if you have any ideas email them to me so we can discuss them at the next meeting.
Our January 20th Fish A Long will be at my place on the Sandy River for a “steelhead school” with some hands on instruction on Spey Casting plus swung fly and nymph fishing presentations. In the past we’ve had this Fish A Long at Oxbow park but it gets pretty dang cold, so we’re having it at my place so we can warm up by the woodstove if the fishing is slow, and lets face it Winter Steelhead fly fishing is always slow!
As I’m typing this the water conditions are good but the steelhead are scarce. Still, a few fish are being caught and since nobody can cast far enough to get one from the couch you gotta get out there and pound the water!
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. Type the word January or February in the search box and you’ll get all the past reports for that month.
It’s time to think about paying your 2024 membership fee if you haven’t already. However if you joined as a new member in 2023 it will be good for 2024 too; we are on the honor system so please let me know. Here is the membership link plus I will be sending membership notices out to everyone. If you participate in the club I will guarantee you’ll get a solid value for the $35 you pay to be a member.
January is a great month to get good deals after Christmas so get out to your local fly shop buy all the stuff that Santa forgot. 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.
