Monthly Archives: May 2016

Getting Ready for a Northern California Fishing Trip.

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I’m heading down to Northern California in a few days for a “guys fishing trip” on Hat Creek, the Pit River, and several area lakes.  I’ve been getting together with the same group of great guys down there for about 30 years.  I’ll post a few photos when I get back.  I’m getting my fly boxes ready this week.   Got my stoneflies, callibaetis, damsel flies, caddis, midges, green drakes and buggers.  I realized this morning that I should have a few Tricos in my box so I tied these up this morning…size 22.  Now I’m ready!

#22 Tricos

#22 Tricos

Wild Women of the Water visit my shop

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Several members of the Central Oregon Fly Fishers Wild Women of the Water visited my rod building shop earlier this week as one of their monthly outings.  I got the chance to show them the different aspects of building bamboo fly rods.  We had a great interactive time, with everyone getting the chance to try out a few of the building steps.  I was quite impressed with their interest and skills in the workshop.  These women really know their stuff when it comes to fly fishing, and it was fun having them here. Here are a few fun photos of the event.

Discussing Splitting and heat treating

Discussing Splitting and heat treating

Jan trying her hand at flaming cane.

Jan trying her hand at flaming cane.

Susan starting a split.

Susan starting a split.

Eileen getting the perfect split.

Renee getting the perfect split.

Kari trying her hand with the power beveller

Kari trying her hand with the power beveller

Lynn demonstrating her expertise at hand planing.

Lynn demonstrating her expertise at hand planing.

Examining finished rods.

Examining finished rods.

 

More Salmon Flies…on the Lower Deschutes River

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Wow, we got out yesterday on the Lower Deschutes River.  Salmon flies on all the bushes along the banks but none were flying.  And, we tried hard with Salmon Fly nymphs as well as dries and couldn’t raise a single fish.  Fortunately, the rainbows were in the mood for smaller nymphs so we still caught several nice fish.  But, here is a “Salmon Fly Photo Essay” from yesterday.

I saw this guy in about a foot of water looking like he wanted to climb out.

I saw this guy in about a foot of water looking like he wanted to climb out.

I counted 15 salmon flies in this grass.

I counted 15 salmon flies in this grass.

Enjoying the sun.

Enjoying the sun.

Heavy with eggs, just waiting to fly.

Heavy with eggs, just waiting to fly.

Not a happy camper.

Not a happy camper.

A nice spot to hang out.

A nice spot to hang out.

Salmon Flies and Browns on the Middle Deschutes River.

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I’ve been hearing a lot of reports for the past two weeks of salmon flies on the Middle Deschutes River here in Central Oregon so I was finally able to get out today for a few hours.  I took my 7′  6″  5 wt Freestone Series bamboo fly rod.  Fish were quite hungry for both nymphs and dry flies, and I picked up several…the rainbows were between 10″ and 15″ and the browns were between 12″ and 18″.  The river is relatively small where I fished so the 7′  6″ medium fast action rod was perfect.  Here are a few photos of my afternoon.

Middle Deschutes River Salmon Fly.

Middle Deschutes River Salmon Fly.

#8 Orange Bodied Stimulator.

#8 Orange Bodied Stimulator.

 

Nice Middle Deschutes River Brown that took a #8 Black Girdlebug.

Nice Middle Deschutes River Brown that took a #8 Black Girdlebug.

A beautiful Middle Deschutes River Brown that took a #8 Gold Bodied Stimulator.

A beautiful Middle Deschutes River Brown that took a #8 Orange Bodied Stimulator.

 

Fly Fishing the Yakima River in Central Washington

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After attending the 2016 Washington Fly Fishing Fair in Ellensburg, Washington this past Friday and Saturday, I had Sunday off to play around on the water.  I hit the Troutwater Fly Shop in Cle Elum to get info about access and water conditions on the Yakima River.  Kudos to the shop staff…they were very friendly and knowledgeable, and were extremely helpful in pointing me towards access points on the river.  After that, it was all up to my skills and abilities to find cooperative fish.  The water is still running high and a little ‘coldish’ but the color was good.  Since I knew I would be throwing some large stonefly nymphs, I chose my 8′  3″  5 wt Signature Series bamboo fly rod for my day.  I managed to tempt several smaller smolts to the net, who were happy to take a #8 black girdle bug, and while I didn’t get anything larger, a day on the water is always a great time.  Here are a couple of photos of my day.

The Yakima River near Cle Elum.

The Yakima River near Cle Elum.

A pretty Yakima River fish.

A pretty Yakima River fish.