October 2024 Fish A Long Report

This months Fish A Long was well attended. We had good weather, good food but somewhat challenging fishing conditions with a huge full moon (the pic below was taken at night!) and a spike in the water levels. Everyone got fish, but we had to work for them. Here’s a rundown.

On Wednesday afternoon I met Rich at Beavertail. Unfortunately the fire ban was still in effect. Thursday was a nice day but it was very windy in the afternoon. We hit the Macks Canyon boat ramp area and each got about a dozen fish. With the chilly wind we decided to drive into town for dinner.

Friday was another nice day and no wind. Perfect! People started arriving around noon and we hit the river. Then we had a fancy fireside dinner of fried potato’s, chili and grilled steak.

Saturday we got lucky with a second day of no wind. Ken brought delicious homemade egg rolls that we decided to have for breakfast. Since everyone is staying tonight we moved our steak lunch to dinner.

Fishing was good but not hot and we worked for our fish. I had a double on redsides and Rich got a 5lb steelhead down at the Macks Canyon ramp but these fish didn’t cooperate for the camera! It warmed up and the afternoon temp hit 70 degrees.

The bighorns were active in the canyon and put on quite a show. One strange coincidence is that 4 people needed jumps this weekend…lots of dead/dying batteries.

As expected the hot flies were smallish egg patterns in red, orange or pink. Ken had this cool new beadhead pattern called a Shlush Jelly Egg that worked well.

Best tactics were indicator nymphing with standard fly tackle and for euro nymphing drop shot rigs worked best. With the extra current and slippery rocks covering water was challenging but it did pay off.

Thanks to everyone who came and made this a great October Fish A Long!

September 2024 Fishing Reports

September is always a good month and this year was no exception. We’ve got some great reports to share; pictures are first with the reports below.

From Lane Hoffman: got this big rainbow sight casting in 3 feet of water below Fontenot Reservoir.

From Chris Brehm: fished Paulina Lake with my brother Stevie and we got several nice trout.

From Rich Harvey: hit the upper Blackfoot River over Labor Day weekend after fishing Rock Creek. Place is very remote. Did well on 10-12” trout in the evening.

From Darryl Huff: Good day on the lower Deschutes. Hooked 10 – six on bead, four on spinners. Landed 5 wild steelhead and one nook.

From Mike Shiiki: Saturday on Lake Harriett… Nathan landed an 18” and 17” brown… biggest we’ve seen there. I landed more browns than rainbows.

From Darryl Huff: We spent a week in the Glacier National Park area. Spent multiple days fishing the Flathead River. Very little aquatic life on the river so the fish feed on beatles, grasshoppers, ants, etc. Quite a few smaller Cutthroat were caught, but only a few in the 12 to 13 inch range. Scenery was beautiful!! 

From Matt Baker: Fished Marion Creek on the way home from the fish a long. Great little creek, a dozen fish in an hour. Good times. Got some fly tying help this month too!

From Rich Harvey: got some big bluegill at Howell Ponds in late September.

From Chris Brehm: was able to hit the Bighorn River this month.

From Wayne Hughes: Fished the upper Willamette river for Silvers and found success again this year. Also caught lots of both Largemouth and Smallmouth bass on surface poppers. 

From George Krumm: Fished the Naknek River for rainbows then went bear viewing at Brooks Camp.

From Rich Harvey: Fished the Gallatin and the Taylor’s fork of the Gallatin, Upper Firehole and the Gibbon. It was super cool to fish with my brother and nephew again

From Amanda Justesen (Justesen Ranch Lakes): We are now open for fall fishing and reports this week have been good. We are restocking several lakes this week.

Thanks to everyone for contributing reports!

Presidents Message October 2024

Summer is officially over and the cooler days of fall are upon us. These are some of the best times to spend on the water and CFF has some great Fish A Longs coming up.

Our October 15th meeting is at High Rocks. Social hour starts at 6pm and the program at 7pm. We don’t have a speaker lined up yet but I’ll have one soon and let everyone know by email.

This months October 19th Fish A Long will be at Beavertail Campground on the Deschutes River. This is one of our most popular Fish A Longs. It’s become a tradition that several of us go a few days early, camp out and have a steak BBQ. Hope to see you there!

It’s time for someone to think about becoming the new club president. I’ve been the club president since March of 2020 and can continue for another year or two, but not forever. If you’re interested in talking about this let me know. Naturally there are some obligations but it’s also alot of fun plus has it’s perks 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 “October” or “November” in the Clackamas Fly Fishers website search box you’ll get all the past reports for that month. 

Good fishing! 

Dave Kilhefner

September Fish A Long Report

Rich and I arrived on Wednesday afternoon. That evening we were greeted by the Harvest Moon, one of two “supermoons” to appear in 2024. While a full moon is great for camping, it’s been known to shut down the daytime fishing. Thus, we expected the fishing might be a little slow and were not disappointed!

After a good nights sleep Thursday morning dawned brisk and sunny. We had some coffee then went to the Camp Sherman store to talk flies & lies at the fly shop counter, check out some premium tackle then get a breakfast burrito. After that we found some unexpected entertainment by watching 18′ to 22″ trout slam Cheetos drifted under bridge. Then we drove into town as the hatch really doesn’t get going until the early afternoon. We got back around 2:30 and a few fish were rising. Fishing was on the slow side and after missing some trout on emerger patterns, Rich decided to throw his Kelly Galloup “Triple Articulated Boogieman Streamer.” A huge bull trout crushed it on the 4th cast and promply broke a 13lb tippet off. We think a sharp rock may have helped it!

I spent Friday morning drinking coffee and organizing flies. I decided to stick with dry flies today. Haven’t done that in a while so it took a while to find the groove. Had about a dozen misses & refusals on drake emerger patterns. By the end of the day I had 3 respectable trout in the 14” range. A very fun afternoon!

Friday evening we had a good turnout that made for fun evening conversation. We couldn’t have fires so we sat around Riches lantern. Not as nice as fire but on the bright side there was no smoke to dodge.

Saturday morning was chilly; the overnight temperature got down into the 30’s. We walked down to the rivers edge by camp and discovered a couple nice trout working under the trees & brush. It was impossible to get a cast in there, but by wading carefully and feeding line into the current it was possible to drift a foam beetle into the zone and a healthy 17” specimen gobbled it down. It was the kind of catch that makes the whole trip worthwhile.

Hatches were sparse today but managed a few whitefish euro nymphing egg patterns. That’s about as down and dirty as you can get and still be fly fishing!

Rich and Dave hit the Bend Whiskey Fest in the afternoon and said it was a lot of fun. Then they fed more trout with Cheetos at Camp Sherman on the way home.

Sunday was another nice day. We had coffee, talked about the fishing then went down to look at the river. That nice trout from yesterday was back under the trees sipping on whatever the current would bring it. It was hungery for everything except our flies. Another time!

Thanks to everyone for coming and making this another great Fish A Long!

Best Flies:
Whitefish: #12-14 Red Glo Bugs, #12-14 Olive Hares Ear
Resides: #12 Green & Grey Drake Cripples, #14ish Foam Beetle
Bull Trout: Big articulated streamers (6” +)

August 2024 Fishing Reports

This August had good and varied fishing so we’ve got lots of good reports! The photos are first with the report below.

From Tom Phipps: landed my first steelhead on the Deschutes about 45 minutes into my first ever attempt with a two handed rod. And everyone kept telling me how hard it was!

From Timothy McSweeney: backpacked and fished for 32 miles thru Yosemite.

From Dave Kilhefner: hit the Pacific Ocean out of Depot Bay with Joe Warren & Lane Hoffman for Black Rockfish, Lingcod and Crab.

From Rich Harvey: Sea Run Cutthroat are making an appearance in coastal streams.

From Dave Kilhefner: the Coeur D Alene River had steady fishing for cutthroat trout plus a few whitefish.

From Chris Brehm: my brother Stevie and I fished with Joe Warren out of Depoe Bay for Rockfish.

From Chris Brehm: got some good beetle action on Hosmer Lake. Weather was cool and fish were looking up! Caught a few good sized Redbands in Agency Lake on leech patterns; thanks to Lane Hoffman for the tip! East Lake produced some nice browns right before dark on Beetles. Closed out August with a Euro Nymphing lesson from Chris Gardner on the Deschutes. He outfished me big time but we had fun!

From Rich Harvey: made a late August trip to Rock Creek in Montana. Water was low & clear and afternoon temps were in the 90’s with bright sunshine. Fishing on the lower creek was slow so moved upstream and did pretty well. Got to wave at a Grizzly Bear as it crossed the creek about 75 yards above me….Yikes! Most fish were 10″ to 12″ but did get a couple 16″ to 17″. Had a dang red fox come into camp, sit down about 12 feet away and watch me eat dinner. I shared a little of my chicken, which he enjoyed.

From George Krumm: had some good gear fishing for Chinook in the Columbia Gorge.

From Bob Beswick: spent a couple of days fishing East Lake with my friend Tom. Had some luck with nymphs and chironomids below surface film with some wind aid. Hooked a brown that I never saw on my 4 weight.

From Matt Baker: It was another productive month fishing small creeks in the Mt. Hood national forest. Lots of fish and a few surprises. 

From Mike Shiiki: Nathaniel and I had a couple good days at Crane Prairie with some nice Cranebows and a bunch of little bass landed.  Nathan also caught an XL whitefish that we weren’t expecting. On another day I was tossing poppers for bass at one of the OFC lakes and caught a few nice rainbows instead!  That was the first time I’ve had that happen. 

Thanks to everyone for contributing your reports!

Presidents Message September 2024

As summer winds down my favorite fishing season, fall, is almost here. It’s the best time of year to be on the water and CFF has some great Fish A Longs lined up the next three months.

Our September 17th meeting is at High Rocks. Our speaker is Spencer Pelham from Northwest Fly Fishing Outfitters. His presentation will be about the varied fly fishing opportunities on our very own Clackamas River. Social hour starts at 6pm and the program at 7pm.

The September 21st Fish A Long will be held on the Metolius River. Several of us are planning to go a few days early and camp out.

It’s time for someone to think about becoming the new club president. I’ve been the club president since March of 2020 and can continue for another year or two, but not forever. If you’re interested in talking about this let me know. Naturally there are some obligations but it’s also alot of fun plus has it’s perks 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 “September” or “October” in the Clackamas Fly Fishers website search box you’ll get all the past reports for that month. 

Good fishing! 

Dave Kilhefner

2024 July Fishing Reports

July has a variety of fly fishing options, thus we have a lot of good reports to share. Pictures are first with the report below.

From Lane Hoffman: Gil Henderson & I had a great trip fishing Klamath area lakes & rivers with guide Craig Schumann.

From George Krumm: Tom Larimer and I made the trip to the Togiak River in western Alaska to swing flies for Chinook. Despite high, cold water we landed kings and chums every day.

From Chris Foster: Fished the Metolius in late July. Had 6 takes and landed one small but beautiful Redside on a size 14 Parachute PMD. There was no major hatch going on. Saw a few Golden Stones on the bushes and a few females dipping the water, depositing eggs.

From Matt Isham: Caught some real nice rainbows on double beaded peacock herl stone nymph on the Clackamas at McIver Park.

From Wayne Hughes: Spent a week in the Thompson Falls area of Montana catching Trout, Bass, and yes Pike.

From Jim Behrend: My wife and I floated the McKenzie a couple weeks ago and had good fishing.  She used a couple big caddis flies and did well, while I did indicator and Euro nymphing with good success. 

From Chris Brehm: July was full of family and Grandkids. Fished Paulina with Granddaughter Reverie. She out fished me with some rainbows and a nice Kokanee for dinner. Got a limit of delicious Coho in the ocean outside of Astoria

From Matt Baker: Been getting out on a lot of small streams in the Mt. Hood national forest. Lots of small fish eager for a dry fly with a few surprises thrown in. I have really been enjoying fishing some out of the way streams. Don’t expect big fish or easy access but the rewards are there.    

From Bob Beswick: Did some lake fishing last month. Fishing was not great and the wind made it a little more difficult.

From Dave Kilhefner: Rich Harvey & I hit the Trask for cuttroat. Fishing was a little tough but after a some searching we managed to find a pod of willing cuttroat that made our day.

From Dave Kilhefner: George Coutts & I made our annual trip to Pacific City to fish for rockfish & salmon with Connect Outfitters. We limited on rockfish by 8:30am plus I landed my first lingcod on the fly. Then we chased silver salmon the remainder of the trip. George landed one silver & we lost the rest.

Thanks to everyone for contributing your reports!

Presidents Message August 2024

Hope everyone has been enjoying summer! In spite of the occasionally very hot weather there has been some outstanding fishing opportunities. Recently I was able to land a Ling Cod on a fly out of Pacific City. It was a hard fighting and very good tasting fish!

August is a “bye” month as we don’t have anything scheduled as many members are on vacation or simply can’t make it with all the things on their calendars. Our next meeting will be September 17th.

It’s a good place to point out September, October and November are our most popular and productive Fish A Longs. (click the link for the schedule)

Just because we don’t have an “official” fish a long in August doesn’t mean we don’t have some fishing plans in the works. Personally I like to go after Smallmouth Bass in the Willamette, Rockfish in the Ocean or explore small streams for trout. If you are interested in jumping in let me know.

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 “August” or “September” and you’ll get all the past reports for that month. 

If there is anything you want to see on our blog, shoot me an email and let me know.

Good fishing! 

Dave Kilhefner

July 2024 Fish A Long Report

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!

June 2024 Fishing Reports

June is a busy fishing month and we have a lot of good reports to share. Pictures are first with the report below.

From Joe Warren: Had a very productive trip to the upper Columbia, caught many trout and some nice ones too!

From Steve Brehm: While fishing Crane Praire I found a Stalcup damsel in my fly box and actually caught a fish on it. Just one but fun!

From Matt Baker: I was able to get out and fish a good amount this month.  Hit the Clackamas, Collawash, Willamette and Salmon rivers.  I also got on a couple creeks in the Columbia gorge.  Elk hair caddis fly was my friend this month.

From Craig Kerschen: Had a chance to fish the MO near Craig, MT.  Shared the river with these pelicans and managed a few nice rainbows. I’ll be going back sometime this year if anyone wants to join me.

From George Krumm: Caught springers and a sockeye on gear.

From Dave Kilhefner: I was able to fish the Coeur D’Alene river in Mid June. Water flow & clarity was perfect. Caught a nice trout & lots of whitefish in 3 hours of fishing. Saw some big trout in a slow deep eddy but couldn’t get them to take anything. Next time!

From Rich Harvey: hit the Metolius before the June Fish A Long. There was a nice gray drake hatch yesterday where I was standing. Got 18 before the hatch stopped. Water higher than it was in the fall & you can’t walk out on those logs they are less stable. Hatch has been starting around 3pm but the caddis fishing is pretty steady before that though.

Reports without Pics:

From Phil Hager: Went up to Timothy, north arm. Slow but a few in the 12”-15” range. Took them all on my Brick Leech fished near the bottom. Saw a couple others catch a few but don’t know what they were using. One had a dry line the other intermediate. Large count of ants crawling around at the ramp and quite a few on the water. I think that’s what most of the rises were hitting. No grasses, only small amount of algae growing in the channel above the lower island and only saw 3 rises up there. Didn’t see many from full width travel from the ramp to above the islands so no “gatherings” found. 

From Darryl Huff: Was able to fish western Montana. Best action was on Rock Creek. Hard to find fishable water as everything was high. Spotted a slot on the far side; wading was tough but worth the effort. Reached back after hooking the first fish and realized I had not hooked my net back on my waders!

From Mike Shiiki: FYI the Forest Service road 57 from ripplebrook to Harriett lake is back open.  I went up there Sunday afternoon before the 4th; the parking lot was full for the first time since the fires…I couldn’t find any big fish.

Thanks to everyone for contributing reports!