A day on the Fall River Czech Nymphing

I had a few hours to get out on the Fall River yesterday to tempt a few fish.  There wasn’t any noticeable surface activity but some caddis and small mayflies were out dotting the water.  I tried Czech Nymphing with a small #18 black Psycho Mayfly pattern and a #16 Green Caddis Pupa pattern fished along the grassy banks in the fast water and picked up about a dozen rainbows, browns, and brook trout in the 8″ to 11″ range. I happened to have with me my 7′  6″  5 wt FreeStone Series bamboo rod, which is not exactly the best rod for Czech Nymphing.  Normally I would be fishing with one of my longer rods, typically in the 8′  6″  to 9″ 0″  range.  But, since I was working very close to me along the banks, the smaller rod worked fine. Sometimes it’s not about size of the fish…it’s just about getting out on the stream and trying some new techniques.  Here are a couple of photos.

A deep slot along a grassy bank. I caught 6 fish in the small area.

An 11″ rainbow that took my caddis pupa.

A nice little native brown

Fly Fishing the Fall River in Central Oregon.

Wow, it’s been a long time since my last blog post.  It seems that spending time on some home repairs from a water heater leak, getting taxes ready, and high water everywhere have just kept us off the water.  But, Mary Ann and I got out a few days ago to fish the Fall River here in Central Oregon.  The Fall River is one of our local spring creeks that isn’t impacted much by snow runoff.  I took out my 8′  0″  5 wt Spring Creek Series bamboo fly rod out for the day.   I managed to pick up a few cooperative rainbows on nymphs in the morning and dries in in the afternoon when a decent BWO hatch happened.  Here are a few photos of our day.

The Fall River in Central Oregon.

Fighting a nice rainbow that took a #16 prince nymph.

A nice, colorful rainbow to the net. This guy was about 14″.

Christmas Ideas for Anglers from RiverKeeper Flies

My good friend, John Kreft, has a wonderful WEB page and blog dedicated to fly tying.  He’s an awesome fly tier and has some great information, both historical and for tying, about flies and fly fishing.  He recently posted a great blog entry about fly fishing items for the upcoming Christmas holidays.  So, check out his latest post, as well as all the good content at:

http://www.johnkreft.com/2016-christmas-list-for-fly-fishers-and-fly-tyers/

John Kreft and RiverKeeper Flies

John Kreft and RiverKeeper Flies

 

Fly Fishing the Fall River here in Oregon

Mary Ann and I got the chance to hit the Fall River about an hour from our house a couple of days ago.  I took out my 8′  0″  5 wt Spring Creek Series rod and she chose her 7′  6″  5 wt Signature Series rod.  We found a nice BWO hatch in early afternoon and got to cast several different dries to rising fish.  Although these were mostly hatchery fish, they were surprisingly picky.  Mary Ann found the perfect fly…a #18 brown bodied hackle-stacker emerger dry that several of the rainbows liked.  Here are a few photos of our day.

Drifting dries on the Fall River.

Drifting dries on the Fall River.

A nice 14" rainbow that Mary Ann caught.

A nice 14″ rainbow that Mary Ann caught.

Ready for the release.

Ready for the release.

 

Fishing the Fall River with Bamboo

Mary Ann and I had the chance to get out on the Fall River in central Oregon a week ago.  Our bamboo rods were a great match for the slow, spring creek waters of the Fall River.  If you haven’t ever fished the Fall, you should add it to your list of waters-to-fish.  The gin-clear waters make it great for spotting up fish, and there are plenty to go around.  Try the uppper section near the headwaters for some solitude, or venture out on the waters near the hatchery for some great opportunities for rising fish.

Early Morning Photo on the Fall River

Early Morning Photo on the Fall River

 

The calm waters of the Fall River near the fish hatchery.

The calm waters of the Fall River near the fish hatchery.

I took out a 7′  6″  5 wt medium fast bamboo rod, while Mary Ann chose her progressive action 7′  6″  5 wt bamboo rod to cast dry flies.  We both rigged up with 50″ Furled Leaders from Cuttroat Leaders, and added 6 to 8 feet of 6X tippet.  The combination work well, and we got into several fish throughout the day.  There were plenty of rising fish mid-day with decent midge and BWO hatches, and small dry flies worked well.  After the surface activity subsided, small nymphs suspended about 2 feet under small indicators continued to attract hungry fish.  Here is a nice rainbow that took a #16 DD nymph drifted through a deeper pool.

Fighting a nice rainbow

Fighting a nice rainbow

NIce Fall River Rainbow

NIce Fall River Rainbow