Half Pounders on the Rogue River with Bamboo

Mary Ann and I got the chance to fish the Rogue River in Southern Oregon last week for a few days.  We had a great time at Morrison’s Lodge where they have a great fly fishing operation…and a wonderful lodge also.  We got out with one of their great guides, Stuart Warren, one day and threw for half pounders with our 10′  6″  bamboo trout spey rods.  Here is a little of our action:

Casting my bamboo trout spey rod.

Casting my bamboo trout spey rod.

Fish On!

Fish On!

A nice half pounder with my guide, Stuart.

A nice half pounder with my guide, Stuart.

Fishing Whychus Creek

We had a break in the weather yesterday and Mary Ann and I got the chance to fish Whychus Creek, a small local creek where some great restoration efforts have been going to help bring back the salmon and steelhead runs from years ago.  The water was a little high and off-colored from recent rains, but still very fishable.  A quick bug sampling showed a mix of small mayfly nymphs, a few caddis, and stoneflies.  Mary Ann and I both took our 7′  0″  4 wt bamboo rods, perfect for this little stream.  While we didn’t catch a lot of fish, we picked up a few on nymphs, including a nice 11″ native rainbow that took a #16 red serendipity.  Here are a few photos from our afternoon.

A view of Whychus Creek from the bluff above.

A view of Whychus Creek from the bluff above.

Off-Color water but still very fishable.

Off-Color water but still very fishable.

Some of the bugs we sampled from the creek

Some of the bugs we sampled from the creek

A nice 11" native rainbow I picked up

A nice 11″ native rainbow I picked up

The Deschutes River

Mary Ann and I got out on the Deschutes River this week searching for trout and steelhead.  I targeted trout with small #18 nymphs and was very successful, with several nice 15″ to 18″ fish to the net.  Mary Ann took out my 10′  6″  5 wt Micro Spey in search of steelhead, and although she didn’t find any, she still hooked a few nice rainbows and whitefish.  A very nice day on the river.

A nice rainbow that took a #18 Pheasant Tail nymph.

A nice rainbow that took a #18 Pheasant Tail nymph.

This guy was happy to take a #18 tan caddis pupa fished on the bottom.

This guy was happy to take a #18 tan caddis pupa fished on the bottom.

A monster +20" whitefish putting a big bend in Mary Ann's 10'  6"  bamboo Micro Spey.

A monster +20″ whitefish putting a big bend in Mary Ann’s 10′ 6″ bamboo Micro Spey.

Bamboo Rod Builder Get-Together

I had a great group of area bamboo rod builders get together at my shop today, Randy Beard, Skip Hosfield, Claude Darden, and Jeff Smith.  We had a great time casting bamboo fly rods, sharing techniques, and “Talking Bamboo”.  We don’t get the chance to do this very often, so we’re all hoping to have more of these get-togethers in the future.

Bamboo Rod Builder Get-Together

Bamboo Rod Builder Get-Together

What do rod builder do when they get together....cast each other's rods.

What do rod builders do when they get together….cast each other’s rods!