Yep, sometimes it happens!

I did a stupid thing fishing the Middle Provo River two weeks ago. I put my bamboo rod down along some bushes so I could help a friend net a fish. I wasn’t paying close attention when I went back to pick my rod up…and broke the tip section. Sometimes…it happens. Time to make a new tip section.

Fishing the Middle Provo River

Mary Ann and I were in Utah last week attending the Wasatch Fly Fishing Expo for a few days with our good friend, John, from Colorado. We extended our stay so we could fish the Middle Provo River in Heber City. Although it was in the low 40’s and raining, fishing was a blast with browns rising to midges and BWOs all day. It made for some great dry fishing. Our friend John was new to fly fishing so we put him on 9′ 0″ 5 wt Winston graphite rod. I fished my 8′ 0″ 5 wt bamboo and Mary Ann fished her 7′ 9″ 4 wt bamboo. Here are a couple of photos of our time on the Middle Provo.

Mary Ann fighting a nice brown with her bamboo fly rod, bamboo trout net, and bamboo wading staff.

A nice brown for Mary Ann that took a #20 BWO.
A nice little brown that I brought to the net.
John with his first brown from the Middle Provo River.

Fall Fishing on the Metolius River

I’ve been getting out on the beautiful Metolius River over the past couple of weeks before the closure at the end of October.  The Kokanee have come up from Lake Billy Chinook to spawn in the river and are very numerous in the shallower areas of the river.  While the Kokanee will occasionally take nymphs, we don’t target these fish and let them do their “spawning thing”.  Here is a quick video of the Kokanee doing their thing:

With all the fishy activity in the river, the rainbows also get active.  Earlier this week, I got out on the upper portion of the river with my good friend and local Sisters resident, John, for a few hours of afternoon fishing.

Dave and John on the Metolius River

The river is pretty small in these upper stretches, and the fish tend to be a little smaller than in the lower sections of the river.  But, I took out my 7′  0″  4 wt bamboo rod, which worked great to high-stick some nymphs through the shallow riffles.  The resident native rainbows were very happy to take my #10 October Caddis Pupa and my #20 Rainbow Warrior.  Here is a nice little fish from our day.

Rianbow from the Metolius River

Bamboo Rod Fishing at Yamsi Ranch

I just got back from 3 days of fly fishing on the Upper Williamson River in Southern Oregon with my good friend and fishing buddy Bill.  We stayed a great place, Yamsi Ranch, which has 8 miles of spring creek water flowing through the ranch.  Ranch guests are the only ones who have access to the river so there is plenty of water to get out and fish.  John, Gerry, Dayton, and Sally are fantastic hosts at the ranch, which has been around for over 100 years.  Fishing is for native brookies and rainbows on miles of beautiful spring creek water.  Fishing in the river was non-stop action for Bill and I…small bead head leaches in the mornings, mahogany dun dries mid-day, and hoppers in the afternoons.  Bill and I lost track of how many fish we caught.  I fished most of the time with my 8′  0″  5 wt Signature Series medium action bamboo fly rod, but went to my 8′  0″  6 wt medium fast action Freestone Series rod for the afternoon hopper sessions.  We also got the chance to fish for a few hours in Hyde Lake on the ranch.  It was loaded with huge rainbows…nothing was under 21″.  Again, leaches worked great for these big rainbows, as well as callibaetis nymphs stripped slowly along the weed beds.  What a great trip we had.  Here are a few photos:

Bill and Dave’s excellent adventure at Yamsi Ranch

A beautiful 14″ brookie…we caught A LOT of these guys.

Bill working a nice bend in the river.

Stripping bead head leaches.

A nice rainbow I picked up our last morning.

A big rainbow from the ranch’s lake.

What Is The Best Reel For A Bamboo Fly Rod?

I get asked occasionally “What is the best reel for a bamboo fly rod?”  Well, there is no one answer to that question.  But, a lot of the modern day reels are very light weight and don’t balance a bamboo rod very well, while many of the older reels that were made years ago are heavier.  And, there is just something about putting a reel with a “classic look” on a fine bamboo fly rod.  When I’m out fishing, I usually have an older classic reel on my rods.  I have several old Hardy reels and Pflueger reels, and also have a very nice Saracione reel and a Bellinger reel for my two-handed Trout Spey rods.  Here are a couple of photos of my set-ups:

A beautiful old Pflueger Gem Reel on my bamboo 3 wt Euro-Nymphing rod on the Metolius River.

A classic Hardy Sunbeam on a 7′ 0″ 4 wt medium action rod on Whychus Creek.

A Hardy Perfect on a 7′ 6″ medium fast action 5 wt rod on Silver Creek.

Casting an 8′ 0″ slow action 5 wt rod with a Saracione reel on the Metolius River.

Again, my old Pflueger Gem reel on my Euro-Nymphing 9′ 0″ 3 wt rod on Hat Creek, CA.

My old Hardy Sunbeam on the Upper Deschutes River.

My Bellinger reel on my 10′ 6″ Bamboo Trout Spey rod and a beautiful Cutthroat from the Salmon River.

My Hardy Lightweight on my 8′ 3″ Medium Fast Action 5 wt rod on the Salmon River and big Cutthroat.

Incredible colors on this nice cutthroat taken on my 8′ 3″ medium fast action rod with my Hardy Perfect reel on the Salmon River.