<<First Name>>,
Humans don't, or at least we shouldn't!
This is the time of year we hear people talking about how they are "winding down" for the year. If winding down means spending more time on the vise, we are here to support you, but honestly, I have never understood taking it easy in the late fall/winter months. I have fished many rivers to the east when the outdoor temps were less than 10 degrees, and the fishing was amazing. Sure the roads are a little more challenging than dry pavement, but head east and you will be richly rewarded. My favorite rivers after the western shutdown are the Deschutes, Crooked, and Metolious. All three of these make for solid nymphing in the morning and evening, with a solid likelihood of a Blue Winged Olive hatch around midday.
With salmon getting ready to do their thing in the Deschutes you can also have an epic day fishing by staying well behind the spawners with various different egg patterns. The point? Just because the temps are cold and the days are shorter, it doesn't mean you need shelter in place. This time of year you can typically own any piece of water you like. So, bundle up, fish with good gear, and enjoy your time.
This week Gabe and I had a steelhead trip booked with Eric. After many reports of low numbers, we finally settled on the Deschutes as the water of choice. While we saw many steelhead rolling in the water we would expect them, we simply could not get a solid take. As a consolation prize, Gabe did catch perhaps the largest Bull Trout I have ever seen caught on the Deschutes:
When you catch a fish like this, you cherish every single moment, as quickly as possible. This amazing fish was quickly photographed and then released back to the Deschutes riffle where it came from.
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Quick photo and quick release
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Spending time with a guide like Eric with his extensive background in all things fly fishing is honestly an absolute blessing for me and my sons. I have caught my fair share of steelhead on the Deschutes and many other rivers, and yet I still struggle to stay focused when I know there are trout around. I know this is sacrilege, and Eric hated seeing it, but I had to get some trout time in too...
Many trout were caught on a standard dry dropper. This time of year I love to fish a chubby with some perdigon variation, all of which are currently in stock at the fly shop. If you are headed out you of course should also be fully stocked and ready with salmon fly/stonefly nymphs, pheasant tails, hares ears, green rock worms, as well as Blue Winged Olive variations.
While the river did not yield a steelhead to hand, it did offer many other amazing fish. This truly is by far my favorite river and canyon to fish. I spent a large amount of my childhood fishing this river with my dad, and now it is an honor and dream to share that with my sons!
The rest of this newsletter brings a new class with Eric ( Intro to Winter Steelhead Fly Fishing) which provides (2) fly fishermen every week the chance to learn from one of the best in the industry. In addition to that update, Joseph provides us with great feedback on the Upper Clackamas (keep in mind this is only open until the end of the week), we once again are given an update from Brian who has been chasing trout with clients, and of course another great fly pattern from Jeff. We have had some changes to fly tying classes as we are trying to coordinate schedules so stay tuned for that.
While there was no steel brought to hand, I am incredibly proud to have my son int his class. If you need help, look no further. Our guides and program will get you up and running quickly.
We hope you enjoy the rest of this email!
Sincerely,
NWFFO Staff
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New Class Added
Intro to Winter Steelhead Fly Fishing
Our Intro to Winter Steelhead Fly Fishing 2023 schedule is official and this course is unlike any other in the metro region. Our professional guide Eric, an ambassador to many brands, will take you out for a hands-on experience that will prepare you to fish the upcoming winter steelhead runs. In Intro to Winter Steelhead Fly Fishing, we are teaching all of the fundamentals of this wonderful sport so our clients have a solid foundation to build upon in their journey.
Our class includes:
- 1HR In Store Class Covering
- Fly Fishing Gear (rods/reels)
- Fly Lines
- Understanding Flies
- Casting
- Reading water
- Knots
- 1 Shared River Day (2 people/Pro Guide)
- Apply knowledge from in-store class
- Practicing casting in real-world scenarios
There truly is no better way to learn how to fly fish for steelhead than with NWFFO! Call and book, or book online by clicking one of the links below.
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Fishpond Thunderhead Submersible Lumbar
With the word submersible in the product, the mind immediately goes to one of those scenarios where you lose your footing and dunk, or you are wading to the extreme to try and get a perfect cast to that one fish.
While all of those are true, there is another reason in our mind why this is a great pack, and that is rain. In ther PNW we are blessed to have rain, yes I said blessed, but as you know getting many of our products prematurely wet can cause all kinds of headaches. We love this Fishpond product and so will you!
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Summer is gone, Fall is here, and fishing is good. Now is the time to get out and fish. We fished the McKenzie last week and had a very good day of fishing. The fall colors are out in full bloom almost as if you are floating down a stream in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The fall foliage will continue for the next couple of weeks and the fishing will continue to be good throughout the fall into the early winter. We started with dry droppers at the beginning of the day, moved to swinging flies as the day began to warm up, and finished with dry flies. Now is the time to get out and fish the McKenzie. I still have a couple of dates open if you are looking to fish.
If you are interested in fishing private lakes this fall, let us know. We are the booking agents for the Justesen Ranch Lakes in Grass Valley. There are 15 lakes ranging in size from 2-20 acres with trout that can exceed 20”
On another note, our last Beginning Fly Fishing Class of the season is coming up. We have one space open. This is a great class if you have always wanted to learn how to fly fish, want to gift the class for another, or are looking to shorten the learning curve, or are coming back to the sport after a few years off. Our classes are small with a 3-1 student-to-teacher ratio.
Interested in the class for you or someone else? Sign up for this last day by clicking HERE.
Brian Light
Guide, Instructor, and he can cook too!
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Upper Clackamas River
The Upper Clackamas River boasts some of the most pristine waters in the state, but as a trout fishery, it has gone through some ups and downs. Many regulars at the shop can easily recall when the Upper Clack was open to trout fishing year-round and generously stocked by ODFW. Others fondly remember the river’s robust hatchery summer steelhead program, long discontinued. Today, the Upper Clackamas is managed exclusively for wild fish. Fishing for anadromous species is prohibited year-round, while trout fishing is only permitted between late May and the end of October. As with any major change to habitat, it has taken some time for nature to re-stake its claim, and as a result, the Upper Clackamas has become somewhat of a forgotten trout stream.
The 2020 Riverside fires that torched much of the river canyon and its surrounding hills have pushed the Upper Clackamas seemingly further off the map for most locals. It took more than a year for cleanup crews to get the corridor even partially reopened to recreation, and access is still difficult at many previously well-developed locations. The portions of the river unscathed by fire are many miles upstream from North Fork Reservoir, where the stream is steep, fast, bitter cold, and dangerously clear. On these upper reaches, life is hard for both fish and anglers. Most folks I talk to who attempt this section give up after a few bad falls and a handful of five-inch trout. Many assume that the fishing downstream can’t be any better, where groups of swimmers and river rafters crowd the riverbanks all summer.
In fact, the best trout water on the Upper Clackamas is actually the closest to Portland. Above North Fork Reservoir and below Hole in the Wall boating access site, the Upper Clackamas might be one of the most underrated trout streams in the Willamette Zone. Though the fires have made access a bit tougher, they’ve also served to make the trout fishery far more robust. The instability of the surrounding land sends slides and nutrients into the water in massive quantities. Undergrowth along the riverbanks, once choked out by massive pine forests, now provides a riverfront home for thriving insect life. Worms, ants, and other terrestrials work tirelessly to return the charred remains of fallen trees to the earth and find themselves washed into the river with each passing storm. Where small cutthroat trout once dominated, larger rainbows now hold power, signaling that more juvenile steelhead are choosing to remain residents rather than out-migrate — a clear indicator of increased food availability.
PGE also plays a part, for better and for worse. Hydro projects in the Upper Clackamas watershed, like Three Lynx, help keep flows and water temperatures consistent in both the cold of winter and the heat of summer. While these mini-dams undoubtedly disrupt passage for native chinook, coho, and steelhead, they also keep the lower reaches of the Upper Clack fishing well for wild trout pretty much all season long. And in our corner of Oregon, tailwater fisheries almost always grow bigger trout than freestone streams.
A good, peak-season day on the Upper Clackamas can yield 100 fish by lunch. While many are small, ranging from 5-10 inches, it’s not as many as you’d think. I rarely make a trip to the Upper Clackamas these days without encountering at least a handful of fish in the 12-14 inch range. Fish 15-18 inches are less common but encountered with enough regularity that I wouldn’t call them rare. Without question, there are larger specimens lurking, too. Every time I fish the Upper Clackamas, less than 45 minutes from my front door, I think, “Why don’t I come here more often?” The answer, almost always, comes back to limited access. With so few developed recreation areas reopened, it’s tough to keep the river feeling fresh after a few visits in a short period of time. But this season, I wanted to make it a point to learn our best local trout stream a little better, and decided the best way to explore it would be by boat.
The vast majority of the Upper Clackamas is beyond my skill level on the oars. It’s popular with whitewater kayakers and rafters, especially in spring when flows are high. As summer progresses, the water becomes too low for a full-sized raft in a few places. Low flows reveal boulders and hydraulics that are difficult to navigate, though it always looks like the kayakers are having a great time. From Three Lynx down to Moore Creek Boat Ramp there are class IV rapids and significant drops that only the most experienced should undertake. But from Moore Creek down to North Fork Reservoir, only Class II rapids and boulder fields stand as obstacles.
The water is fast and narrow. Precision is required to navigate around and between boulders that sit just below the surface. The gradient is steep, and it’s physically much harder to row and maneuver than the wider, slower stretches of the Lower Clackamas between Barton and Riverside. Though my friend and I were cautious and scouted all of the major rapids on foot before beginning our float, we were still surprised by a few that held hidden obstacles. One wave train, in particular, looks completely tame from the road — but as we floated through it an enormous hidden hole opened up below us, sending gallons of water into the raft before it shot us back out like a bullet.
We stopped often to fish on foot, catching primarily small rainbows on both dry flies and dropper nymphs. I was surprised to find that the fish were generally uninterested in October Caddis, but would readily attack a mini chubby or ant pattern. Apparently, the fish aren’t quite done with summer either and are still in terrestrial mode. Periodically, we’d come across a rapid we weren’t confident about, and portaged around it. As we drifted peacefully around the last few bends to meet the slack waters of North Fork Reservoir, we saw hundreds of spawning chinook thrashing, jumping, and preparing their redds. Behind them, thousands of largescale suckers followed in search of their annual caviar buffet. It was like floating over an aquarium.
Overall, we spent nearly seven hours exploring a 4.5-mile stretch of the river, and by the time we reached our takeout, I was more sore and weary than I had been in many years. Though the fishing wasn’t as good as it can be on the Upper Clackamas, it was still rewarding and enlightening to see our local trout stream from such an intimate perch. The whole stretch between Moore Creek and the reservoir is just packed with fantastic trout spey and dry fly water, and at slightly higher flows I think it would have been an easier float requiring less frantic work on the oars. Put it on your list for next June, when temperatures are on the rise and high spring flows are still strong but starting to drop
Joseph Beare
Wordsmith, Wanderer, and Wadered Up
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Beaver Brassie
Hook: Wet Fly #12-16
Thread: Black Veevus 8/0
Body: Hot Orange and Black small or medium Uni-Wire
Thorax: Black-Orange Spirit River Sparkle Flash Dubbing
Wing Pads (optional): Black Goose Biots
Hackle: Black saddle, one or two wraps
Few fly styles are as satisfying to crank out as soft-hackle wets. With no hard tying steps and no expensive, specialty materials, one can produce infinite variations by simply making simple changes in dubbing, ribbing, thread, hackle, and weight. No need to fret over exact tail length or balanced wings—soft hackles shine when they are a little sloppy.
Unfortunately, I don’t fish them nearly as often or as effectively as I should. This likely stems from a simple lack of confidence in their appearance. The features at the vise—simplicity, suggestiveness—turn into bugs (no pun intended) on the stream when facing trout keying in on a specific insect. During an emergence or spinner fall, I’m more likely to turn to dead drift a sunk adult or floating nymph that matches the natural than swing a wet.
That leaves non-hatch periods with no rising trout as my preferred time to toss out a soft hackle. This makes me lean on more “attractor-style” soft hackles with hot spots or bright/dark contrasts.
A little bit of weight with a soft hackle can make a huge difference, helping the fly dive a little deeper on the dead drift and swing. When fish aren’t super active, just a few inches can be just the ticket to pick up reluctant fish. I like this bi-color version of a Brassie, which this month is Black and Orange, but can easily be Black and Silver, Maroon and Blue, or gasp, even Green and Yellow.
The trick to tying this one is tying in both strands of wire over a thin layer of super glue. This will keep the butts from twisting around the hook shank and distorting the body. Also use longish strands of copper wire, as it is easier to keep the tension on the wire as you wrap them in tandem. You can use this tying technique for mayfly nymph and stonefly nymph patterns if you’re looking for an easy way to create a neat abdomen with flash and color variegation.
The thorax should match the color scheme of the copper wire body. I prefer a flashy dubbed thorax, combed lightly with a toothbrush, but peacock herl can work well. The wing pads are totally optional, though they make the pattern a little “busier” and elicit just enough confidence for me to keep it on my line for one more swing.
Jeff Morgan
Author, Tyer, and all-around Fly Geek
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Raising Up NexGen Tying
Ethan at the age of nearly 15 is already learning how to tie big bass bugs, and with the help of his brother and others in the shop they are turning out amazing. If you must hibernate, this fall/winter, get yourself prepared for Spring. We have all the tying materials you need!
Sincerely,
NWFFO Staff
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