During the month of October my mantra for fishing the Deschutes is “find the salmon and you’ll find the trout!” The weather can be bad, the White River can be blown but trout and whitefish can’t resist the egg bonanza when the Chinook are spawning.
Seven of us braved the chilly weather conditions and colored up water but the payoff was sweet! Everyone got into plenty of fish and most of us broke into double digits.
As an added bonus, the Bighorn Sheep were playing on the wall and Richard Harvey got a nice video of two rams chasing a ewe.
Thanks to everyone for coming! Next month we’ll try to hit the Kilchis River for Chum Salmon but if the water conditions are poor (like they have been the last 3 years!) we will go to an Oregon Fishing Club lake.
September was a difficult month with all the fires. In spite of everything, we have some good fishing reports to share. Thanks to everyone for sending them in! Pictures are first with the reports below.
Greg O’Brien was chasing Striped Bass in San Francisco Bay with his brother and got this Leopard Shark.
Greg O’Brien hit Willamette River for Smallmouth bass, landing some nice bass using an intermediate line and clouser minnow. Later in the month he landed a nice hatchery steelhead behind some spawning chinook then caught a Jack Chinook on the Deschutes while chasing steelhead.
Sadie Hibbard caught this huge bluegill in an eastern Oregon pond.
Ed Rabinowe claims he caught this beautiful Chinook trolling an October Caddis on his 3wt fly rod 😉
Darryl Huff fished the Deschutes at Warm Springs for some really good trout fishing and also hit the mouth for Steelhead.
Dave Kilhefner and George Coutts tried to fish the Deschutes at Warm Springs in late September but the smoke was thick, so they headed to Maupin and managed to land a few small trout.
George Krumm had a productive month on the Columbia, landing limits of Salmon and Crab.
Rhona Dallison got this great video of Chinook Salmon spawning in the Sandy River on Mt Hood.
Mark Bachmann of The Fly Fishing Shop sent in these “Steelhead Armageddon” photos from a very smoky Deschutes River. Kudo’s for sticking it out and making it happen!
Nick Amato provided these photos of the fire jumping the Clackamas River less than 1/2 mile from his home. It was a little too close for comfort!
My Friend Eduardo Barrueto Guarda from Chile put together a new video about his fly fishing lodge. It reminds me that someday life will get back to normal and that there are many beautiful places in the world to go and see.
It seems like about 20 minutes after I hit the send key for the September Presidents Message Clackamas County erupted in flames. I’ve lived here since the late 70’s and have never seen anything like the wildfires last month. Several of my friends homes were seriously threatened. Cheryl was very fearful our cabin on Mt Hood would be lost but then PGE wisely shut down the power grid for more than a week and this probably saved much of the Sandy River corridor. My daughter evacuated her home on Oregon City for a few days because the smoke was terrible.
In spite of all this, several of us still wanted to have a September Fish A Long but chose not to. With everything going on, the last thing the great outdoors needed was more non-firefighting humans poking around.
But this month on Saturday the 17th we are going to have our traditional October Fish A Long at Beavertail Campground on the Deschutes River. I’ll get the details out the week before we go. For November, we’ll likely go to an Oregon Fishing Club lake.
Because this has been such an unusual year, the board has decided to extend paid memberships thru 2021; if you paid to be a member this year, it will be good for next year too.
The 2020 Fly Fishing Challenge is still going on. If you’ve completed the challenge or need the details please email me.
If anyone wants a free subscription to Fly Fisherman magazine, I received one of those free gift subscription offers. The first club member to email me gets it.
For several years now we have been posting monthly fishing reports. Looking back on them is a good way to get ideas for local flyfishing opportunities currently happening or coming up. I’ve tested it out; type the word September or October in the search box and you’ll get all the past reports for that month.
Speaking of reports, next week I’ll post the September 2020 club reports and I’m happy to report we have some good stuff.
Please remember our sponsors this fall, 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.
July was a hot one but CFF members were able to get out, keep cool and have some good fishing. Thanks to everyone for contributing your fishing reports!
The Corona Virus has created some very crowded conditions in the great outdoors. When venturing out it’s important to be patient and maintain responsible social distancing.
Here are our July reports; pictures first with the report following. Enjoy!
From Trux Dole: (this got lost in my inbox, it’s a June report) 1st time fishing for Shad was a total hoot! Buddy took me out to Beacon Rock. It took 45 minutes to get dialed in on the right seam and then it was a fish per cast. Thankfully I was using two handed rod!
From Greg O’Brien: Clear Lake on the 25th turned on with a massive mayfly hatch at about 10 am and it was lights out fishing for about an hour. Fish rising and slashing for a 200 yard stretch.
Earlier in July my wife and I made a road trip to Montana for a couple days of fishing with a guide (a package she bid on and won at her school’s fundraising auction). We fished the Clark Fork one day and the Big Hole the second day. Fishing was good on the Clark Fork for scrappy rainbows, and excellent on the Big Hole for cutthroat, rainbows, browns and also a few whitefish.
Also got a nice Smallmouth Bass on the Willamette.
From Darryl Huff: Fishing on the lower D has been great. This year’s return has produced a lot of fish in the 8-10 pound range. So far it seems that 75 percent are natives. Also, we are starting to hook a few salmon as well.
From Carson Taylor: Just got back from a family vacation at Sunriver. Fishing wasn’t great but this nice brown trout fell to a muddler minnow fished along the west bank across from Sunriver. Also caught a cutthroat caught on a Carey Special at Hosmer Lake.
From Lane Hoffman: Went to Badger Lake, a beautiful lake east of Mt Hood. The fishing was really good, caught 25 plus trout from 6 to 18 inches. Really fat & strong fighters, nice fish. Very few visitors because the last 12 miles of road is really rough. Went to Lost Lake for the Hex hatch in the evening but the hatch never really materialized.
From Rhona Dallison: Went to Badger Lake with Lane Hoffman but the wind was very strong. We couldn’t use our float tubes and ended up catching a few small ones from shore.
From Dave Kilhefner: I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to catch a spring chinook in the upper Sandy River. Glacial runoff from the hot weather has made conditions difficult.
One of the big challenges to hosting a fish a long is finding a place that will accommodate approximately 10 anglers. With the pandemic it’s at least twice as hard to find a good place as the great outdoors has become a lot more crowded and the Mt Hood Lakes were especially crowded this weekend!
Earlier this month we brainstormed and came up with a new format for having a Fish A Long; basically we pick an area with several fishable waters close by and agree to meet somewhere for lunch. If possible we keep in touch with a group text. While it’s not perfect, it was was reasonably successful as we were able to spread out and have a fun fish a long. We had 11 members attend and while we didn’t catch a ton of fish, it was a really nice day and we all fished some beautiful waters. Here’s how we did:
Tom was supposed to start at Timothy Lake but couldn’t make it. This was probably for the best because after lunch Paul & Lane tried to show new members Rhona & Laura places to fish at Timothy and also the Oak Grove Fork but it was too simply to crowded.
Dave & George hit Clear Lake first thing in the morning. The water was very low so they opted to fish from shore by the dam after talking to two anglers that used Tenkara rods to dapple flies over the weedbeds with fair success. Dave got a fat 23” rainbow on a Green Devil down by the dam.
Anglers were putting in float tubes at the Clear Lake boat ramp so we went to see if it was anyone from the club and ran into Greg and Hugo, who were camping with their families.
When the sun hit the water the fish activity died and we went to check out Frog Lake. It was pretty crowded so we headed out to find Paul & Lane at Barlow Creek.
Paul & Lane started at Barlow creek and got some small but colorfully marked trout on dries. Then Paul, Lane, Dave and George spread out along the upper White River by the bridge but didn’t have any success. After this it was time to meet everyone for lunch.
Jim Adams tried Clear Lake in the morning and said no matter where he took his tube, the water was very shallow. Clear Lake has been drawn way down due to irrigation demands.
New members Rhona & Laura fished the Salmon River at the rock climbing wall a few miles up the Salmon River Road. It’s a beautiful spot.
New member Jim Bennett tried Clear Lake and then Frog Lake.
Red hit some small creeks and got several small trout on dry flies.
The Frog Lake Sno Park area was incredibly crowded at lunchtime so we opted to head across the road where the chain up area offered reasonable parking, plus we could put our chairs in a shaded old growth forest rather than a baking hot parking lot. It was a good move!
Next month we are talking about having a get together at the Westmoreland Casting Pond plus we are also looking at places for our August Fish A Long. Suggestions are always welcome!
Ok everyone, we are really going to have a fish a long this month, its NOT going to get cancelled but it will be a little different.
What is different is we are not going to meet at one specific body of water, but rather a general location: Mt Hood. This will allow us to travel alone or in small groups to maintain our social distancing plus fish where and how we want to during “the new normal.”
After fishing in the morning, we will plan on meeting at the Frog Lake Trailhead & Sno Park area to have lunch and trade flies and lies. If you aren’t familier with this area, its a large paved parking area where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses Hwy 26. It has plenty of space and bathrooms. To maintain social distancing, plan on bringing your own chair and lunch.
Some of the fishing locations available within a half hours drive are the Salmon River, Still Creek, Trillium Lake, Clear Lake, Frog Lake, Timothy Lake and the upper White River.
What- Trout
Where- Mt Hood Lakes and Creeks
When- First light until 1pm lunchtime
Saturday, July 25th
Things to Bring:
Lake and small stream tackle for Trout
Float tubes for lakes
Layered clothing
Folding Chair + your lunch
A positive attitude
Directions- take Hwy 26 for 7 miles past Government Camp to the Frog Lake Trailhead and Sno Park & look for familiar faces. Its a large paved parking area with restrooms.
RSVP to Dave Kilhefner (Dave@kbi-ins.com) so I can put you on the group text list. Hope to see you there!
This month’s Fish A Long will be held Saturday, February
22nd on the Sandy River. The location is Dave K’s place about halfway between
Sandy and Welches.
What- Winter Steelhead
Where- Sandy River
When- 8am until lunchtime, Saturday, February 22nd
Equipment-
Spey or Switch Rod
Skagit Line & sink tip(s)
15lb tippet material
flies, bright patterns and dark patterns
waders & wading staff
rain gear
warm, layered clothing
Directions- take Hwy 26 like you are going to Mt Hood. 10
miles past Sandy, turn left onto Sleepy Hollow Drive (there’s a big sign) and
then take the 1st left. It’s a steep gravel driveway with a black
metal gate.
We will have coffee, donuts and a hot lunch. This fish a
long will focus on spey casting and swung fly presentations. Questions; email
or call Dave Kilhefner. Hope to see you there!
This month’s Fish-A-Long will be held Saturday, January 25th on the Clackamas River. We’ll meet at the
lower boat ramp at McIver park at 8am.
Please RSVP to Dave Kilhefner (Dave@kbi-ins.com) so we can get a head count for food.
What- Winter Steelhead
Spey Casting plus Winter Whitefish Euro Nymphing
Where- Clackamas River
When- 8am until lunchtime, Saturday, January 25th
Steelhead Spey Equipment-
Spey or Switch Rod
Skagit Line & sink tips
15lb tippet material
flies: bright patterns and dark patterns
waders & wading staff
rain gear
warm, layered clothing
Euro Nymphing Equipment-
Euro Nymphing Rod or standard
9’ 3 to 5 weight outfit
Small Nymphs
I will have plenty of
leader material to share
Directions- go to McIver Park. Take the 1st left and drive down the hill. There will be a
few turn outs—just keep to the left until you reach the lower boat ramp area.
We will have coffee, donuts and lunch. This fish a long will focus on (1) spey casting and swung fly presentations and (2) Euro Nymphing. Questions; email Dave Kilhefner (Dave@kbi-ins.com). Hope to see you there!
This month’s speaker is Rick Newton of the Rainland Fly
Casters in Astoria. He’ll be talking about his club’s self-guided trip to
Juneau, Alaska. The trip was set up so the total expenses would come in at
about $1500 per person for a week of fishing.
It will be an interesting and informative presentation
you won’t want to miss!
This November featured some chilly weather but the fishing was hot at times!
From Brad Jonasson: Fished the Deschutes and netted 5 Redsides, 2 rainbows & 1 large Whitefish, all on a French Style Nymph.
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From Greg O’Brien: My brother and I did some flyfishing in the California Delta for Striped Bass with guide Bryce Tedford (who has PNW roots in Puget Sound). The fishing was tough to do all day as we had to throw 9 weight rods with fast sink lines & big weighted flies. We each got a lot of fish, mostly in the 14-20” class with a few bigger ones mixed in (up to 14 pounds).
From Darryl Huff: Found a hand full of steelhead and a few bull trout while fishing the Deschutes near Warm Springs this month. Best patterns for me were the prince nymph, blue perdigon, and egg patterns. Steelhead on the 6 wt. are a lot of fun but not all were landed!
From Hugo Jim: 22 months ago, I decided to chase a Steelhead with the Spey. It took many classes, trips, trials and errors but with the help of Sam from Steelhead Outfitters I hooked, landed, and released a Wild one on the Klickitat River with a fly that I tied myself. I did it!
From George Coutts: Spent three days on the Deschutes at North Junction, mostly Euro Nymphing. It was clear, cold and, at times too windy to cast but I brought some nice Rainbows to hand and one sizable White Fish.
From Dave Kilhefner: Fished the Deschutes on the Warm Springs Reservation side with Elke Littleleaf. Fishing partner Robert Campbell caught 2 steelhead on spinners and I caught a couple nice redsides on beads.
From Bob Beswich: My friend, Neal Rea from Newport but formally from West Linn and I went to the Deschutes for a couple of days (11th and 12th). Around Beavertail, we found a few trout feeding on salmon eggs and caught them on glow bugs. We did fished for Steelhead with one hatchery landed on a weighted small purple at the boat landing at Nena.
