News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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Fasten your seat belts! There's a great steelhead run on its way up the Deschutes River. We first started seeing the signs clear back in July while we were still trout fishing in the upper river. On three separate occasions we had steelhead take our trout flies. On lighter trout tackle, only one of these fish was actually brought to the bank. That was a nice five or six pound native hen. The others gave us enough of a run and jump that we knew for certain they were not just overzealous trout. Unfortunately, in true steelhead... Full story
It's fascinating how much a river can change from one day to the next. On Monday it's dead; you struggle for each and every fish. On Tuesday, for no apparent reason, the water has come alive. Why does the river change so much? Some of the factors are weather, barometric pressure, hatch or even the river flow. Sometimes fluctuations occur for no apparent reason at all. Under some circumstances you can predict these changes; other times it's a surprise. This season - the year of weird weather and high river flows - has been... Full story
We climbed to the top of a little earthen bluff about 30 feet above the Deschutes River. From there we had a perfect view down into the eddy below. At first we didn't see any fish. Then someone exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! There they are!" Three or four nice rainbows had converged on a foam line. They were slashing at the helpless insects trapped there. By the time we finished scouting, we had spotted close to a dozen fat, native, redside rainbows actively feeding. There was room for only one person to fish, so my guests had to... Full story
I met Sylvester Nemes once. He was guest speaker for the very first Oregon Trout banquet. While he was in the state, arrangements were made for him to fish the Metolius. I was privileged to be selected as his guide. At the time I didn't know much about Syl Nemes or the soft hackle approach to flyfishing. Soft hackle is an extremely old form of fly fishing. It originated in England and hearkens back to the wet fly days before modern nymphs or dry flies were even invented. As newer approaches have come into fashion, the older... Full story
We could see the fish through the grass and bushes. He was right in front of us - so close his spots and fins and even the pupils of his eyes were plainly visible. Every so often he would move up and slide out of sight behind a grass clump, but in a couple minutes he would come back to his station opposite us. His food was drifting on the slow backwaters of the eddy. We could pick out the individual caddis and small yellow mayflies that were trapped there. We watched as they came into the fish's range. He moved in a... Full story
With so many biological and geological phenomena locked into one tiny region it is small wonder the Metolius River has become one of the most studied rivers in the state of Oregon. Research has advanced our understanding of the river and moved us to new perceptions. It has made us aware of aspects of the Metolius that we might not have otherwise seen. But science has fallen well short of ultimately understanding the Metolius River. Through the scientific eye we see the river in bits and pieces. We look at the native fish and... Full story
The Metolius redside is a magnificent animal. The fish is greenish gold over the back, with a brilliant red/orange side stripe. It shades toward lighter buff and gold on the underbelly. The spots are enormous. The colors shimmer and shift in the sunlight. It truly is a living rainbow. The larger specimens are 18 or 19 inches long. On occasion I have seen a few even bigger. They are thick, girthy fish - heavy for their length. In your hand, they feel muscular and solid. I can still remember the first time I ever caught one. I... Full story
It was a classic Metolius situation: There were half a dozen nice fish down there in the bottom of that deep hole, but nothing I tried was getting my fly even close. It was an eddy with a log jam at one end. The fish were buried down among the obstructions. I reeled up and backed off a little. I found a comfortable spot to sit and watch the fish for a while. They were nice looking rainbows; the biggest one might have gone 18 or 19 inches long. There were a couple of others in the 14- to-15-inch range. They were certainly... Full story
I'm looking at my calendar. I don't have too many cash-paying trips left. The season is almost over - there's a possibility that my waders might actually get dry. But, I won't count on it too strongly. The fishing is still awfully good. Late fall and early winter have always been a special time of year for me. It's the guide's time of year, when I get to do a bit of my own personal fishing. Because of the deteriorating weather, most of the other anglers are gone. Nobody wants to chance booking a trip. I go out with the idea t... Full story
There are magical moments when steelhead just seem to appear on the end of your line. This habit of showing up unexpected has earned steelhead the nickname "ghost fish." A good steelheader continues to fish no matter what the luck and in spite of conditions. He knows that he is just one cast away from a fish. But when you've never caught a steelhead it is very difficult to escape the feeling that something is wrong. You start second guessing. You feel as if you need to do something different - change the fly, change the water... Full story
When you think of classic dry fly fishing - upstream casting to a free rising trout - you are almost certainly picturing a mayfly hatch. Mayflies, with their delicately curved bodies, their upright wings, and their habit of drifting for long distances on the surface of the river, are well suited to the sport of flyfishing. You can see the hatch, figure it out and then match it. You have the pleasure of watching your imitation, floating just like a natural. When the head and tail rise comes, it is clean and pure - you have... Full story
This has been a rough steelhead season. Problems started early when a thermal barrier developed in the Columbia. At the start of the run in July, things were fairly normal. The numbers were starting to build and steelhead fever was growing. Then, through August, the hot weather just went on and on. Temperatures in the Columbia began to creep up into the mid-70s. Warming water slowed the run; by mid-August, the fish movement had ground to a complete stop. Fishing on the Deschutes was so poor you could have popular runs like... Full story
I have, at times, been accused of being selfish, of promoting wild fish and catch-and-release for my own personal gain. "You fly fishermen just want it all for yourself," folks said. That attitude has slowly died away. As the biological evidence has mounted and education has spread, more and more people have come to see the value of naturally producing fish in their own natural environment. When the Metolius River was finally changed over to this form of management, it sent a message that a broad and diverse group of people... Full story
It's always the first question: "So, what fly did you catch them on?" "An Elk Hair Caddis," I replied. I was a little surprised he bothered to ask. The answer to his question seemed so obvious. The swarms of caddis were everywhere; as we spoke he was swatting them away from his face. "I tried that earlier," the man announced. "I didn't have any luck, so I've been fishing hoppers." Unfortunately, the search for the magic fly, that special pattern the fish absolutely cannot resist, is seldom the key to success. Granted, fish ar... Full story
The reports were not good before we left on our trip to the lower Deschutes. According to the fish passage center, we would be looking at a below-average run of steelhead. Throughout July, the numbers had been down slightly, but well within acceptable levels. In early August, with warming in the Columbia, the migration had all but stopped. In the lower Columbia, thermal barriers like the one that has stopped this season's run, are not at all uncommon. During the heat of summer, migrating fish start their long journey inland w... Full story
"I want to do some fly fishing," the voice on the phone announced. "Can you tell me where I should go and what I should do to catch some fish?" I made some suggestions on flies and places to fish. I also added that I thought the best hatch time was probably in the mid to late afternoon. "Can't do that," the voice explained. "I've got a tee time. I'm going to fish from 11 'till 2, but you think I'll really catch some fish with these flies, huh?" I didn't have the heart to tell the guy what I really thought. Rivers aren't like... Full story
Conditions were not what I expected. The trout were not up and feeding in the eddies as I had hoped they would be. Normally, on a trip down the Deschutes in early summer, you will float through clouds of emerging caddis. Today there was only a handful of bugs in the air. Earlier in the month, around the Fourth of July, there had been a small spate of caddis activity. I thought then that the hatch was starting, but it never actually materialized. It was as if the hatch had begun but then simply died off. We experimented with a... Full story
Not long ago I had a client on the river, a most pleasant older gentleman. He had fished for years on many of the best rivers and with the most knowledgeable guides. When I told him we would be fishing mostly with nymphs he made a face. But he was enough of a fisherman to know that, when it's time to nymph, you nymph. It only took a few minutes of watching him fish to understand why he, like so many other fisherman, had an aversion to nymphing. He had never developed the same sensitivity for a nymph that he had for a dry... Full story
We came upon my son from downstream. He was fishing the pool at the big bend. I had sent him ahead, hoping he would find the right spot. Sure enough he had been drawn to it like a magnet. "Look at his casting," my friend commented. "Isn't that beautiful." Brian was out on the very tip end of a log jam. He was well out in the river; all around him, rooted in logs, the wild flowers were in bloom. The loops of his line were silhouetted against the darker green of the forest canopy behind him. He cast with a smooth fluid motion.... Full story
If you fish long enough, sooner or later you will have one of those magic moments. You'll find a place where the feed, the fish and the fisherman all fall into synchronization. For a moment you will know that everything is absolutely perfect. These events are usually fleeting - it may last only an instant. In that instant you know everything is right. Your next cast is thrown with absolute certainty. It simply has to reach the water to catch a fat, healthy native rainbow of which any angler could be proud. In recent weeks... Full story
I slid the fish from the water and turned it in the fading light to catch the changing colors. There was an almost neon, iridescent purple where the red side stripe should have been. That color on something man-made would have been incredibly gaudy, but the fish wore it well. When I set him back I was very careful. I hoped he could feel the kindness and gentleness in my touch. "Thanks," I whispered softly as he shot away back into the river's current. That fish gave me pause to think about what a lucky man I really am. In... Full story
Here's a little casting trick for all you rodeo cowboys. The circular motion of this cast and the way you manage the line in the air will fit right in with all your roping skills. The technique is called live-line roll casting. It is actually a variation on the old traditional Scottish Spey casting except this cast is done with a single-handed rod and a dry fly instead of a large two-handed rod and an Atlantic salmon fly. Live-line roll casting is ideal for many of the tight casting situation you are likely to find yourself i... Full story
Cold, wet, weather and high water go along with the salmonfly hatch on the Deschutes. It is, after all, the first major hatch of spring. It is normal to get some sunshine and some cold, wet weather. The river levels are usually falling right during the hatch. The insects emerge with the water up pretty high - by the end, when they die off, it is low and clear. This year has been a little bit ridiculous on all fronts. Our efforts to catch the early, mid-May, hatch below Sherar's Falls in the area from Mack's Canyon to the... Full story
I'm often asked to tell "guide stories." Usually I'm reluctant to do it. I like my customers. I don't enjoy exposing their weaknesses. But this one is simply too good to pass up. The client (we'll call him Bob), wasn't very organized right from the start. It took us a while to get going. The first few stops with the boat were all on the right-hand side of the river. We were nymph fishing. I taught him some things about casting and reading water in order to get him fishing better. Pretty soon he fell into the routine of it.... Full story
Ephemerella Proserpina - the Green Drake. Perhaps it seems strange that a guy could wax poetic over a bug, but these creatures really are quite special and quite beautiful in their own way. They have the a graceful long slender curved body, thin delicate tails, and tall upright slate gray wings. The thorax is a dark green, the abdomen lighter olive, with a very distinct dark green banding. On many specimens there is a splash of yellowish orange right at the base of the wing. If you handle them carefully they'll sit quietly... Full story
