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 23^rd 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!

Dave Kilhefner

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 17^th.

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 20^th 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!

Dave Kilhefner

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.

Dave Kilhefner

Hope everyone enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving and was able to get out and do some fishing with friends.

Fishing in November was pretty good as you’ll see when the the November fishing reports come out next week. Also, I’m feeling excited as once these rains roll thru and the water drops it will be game on for Winter Steelhead.

It’s time to think about paying your 2024 membership fee. 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.

The “big 3” activities our club focuses on are meetings, fly tying and fish a longs.

I’m looking for input on the 2024 Fish A Longs schedule. With the warming trends and low steelhead returns, fishing opportunities are changing. Check out the 2024 fish a longs schedule and let me know if you’d like to see any changes; it’s not set in stone!

Last year we expanded Fish a longs to include camping. It’s not always easy as many campgrounds are booked up very early, especially state parks. But we did have some very successful camping/fishing outings, especially on the Deschutes, Metolius and Oregon Fishing Club.

December is shaping up to be decent fishing month. My crystal ball says the most dependable fishing will be at the Oregon Fishing Club ponds for trout, especially after this warming trend. The key to winter fishing is to be ready to fish when a weather window presents itself.

Several coastal streams like the Necanicum and Wilson 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. 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’m open to helping folks with their spey casting and winter steelhead presentation basics. 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.

Dave Kilhefner