Tag Archives: bamboo rods

Fishing on the Metolius River

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I got a chance to wiggle some bamboo rods two days ago on the Metolius River with my good friend Chris. My weapon of choice was a 8′  3″  5 wt medium fast action rod.  It was a cold and cloudy day on the Metolius but there were a few BWOs out. Saw a few fish rising around 1:00 PM in isolated spots and picked up a small rainbow on a #18 BWO Cripple. I also picked up a nice 12″ rainbow on a #12 Tellico Nymph drifted along the bottom…what a great fly for winter trout fishing here in Oregon.  And, because this fly is relatively unknown around here, I’m sure the educated trout in the Metolius River have never seen it. Here is Chris drifting nymphs through a popular run and one of my fish.

Fishing the Metolius River in Central Oregon.

Fishing the Metolius River in Central Oregon.

A nice Metolius River rainbow that took a Tellico Nymph.

A nice Metolius River rainbow that took a Tellico Nymph.

First Fish Of 2015 On The Crooked River

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Mary Ann and I hit the Crooked River yesterday for some January trout action.  It was a chilly 32 degrees but the sun shining brightly…you gotta love winter trout fishing in central Oregon!  The water level in the river was abnormally high due to some recent dumping from the reservoir but we were hoping the fish would still cooperate.  I chose an 8′  3″  5 wt bamboo rod for my day on the river.  There were no bugs out of any kind so it was time for nymphs with a EuroNymphing setup.  While my standard go-to zebra midges and bwo nymphs were of no interest to the rainbows in the river, I managed to pick up a few decent fish on a #12 Tellico Nymph.  The Tellico Nymph is a great imitation for a small golden stonefly nymph.  Here is my first fish of 2015, a nice feisty 12″ rainbow!

A Crooked River Rainbow in January

A Crooked River Rainbow in January – My First Fish of 2015!

The beautiful Crooked River

The beautiful Crooked River

Hand Planing Bamboo for Switch Rods

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It’s been a very busy past several days for me in the rod shop.  I’ve started two 10′  6″  5 wt switch rods and have been planning the bamboo strips for the butt, mid, and tip sections of both rods.  It always amazes me how much bamboo shavings come off these thin strips from the planning operation…a mountain of shavings!  And, using a small block plan to do this isn’t exactly an ergonomically friendly process so I take breaks often.  I finished the planning this morning…here is what it looks like!

Hand Planing Bamboo

Hand Planing Bamboo

The Crooked River and the Tellico Nymph

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I was looking through my fly box recently and realized that I was out of (and hadn’t even fished) a Tellico Nymph in a very long time.  It used to be a favorite pattern of mine but for some reason I had gotten away from fishing it.  Most of us on the west coast haven’t heard of this fly as it was originated years ago in the Southeastern United States.  A well known fly back east, it does a great job at imitating a golden stonefly nymph.  And, you can be guaranteed that the fish in our local waters haven’t seen this fly before.  So, I tied up several a few up a nights ago and Mary Ann and I hit the Crooked River yesterday for a few hours of fishing.

We got the river about noon.  The recent snows were mostly gone and it was a nice overcast day with temperatures in the mid 40’s.  Small fish were already rising for BWOs on the surface.  Mary Ann picked up several fish on dries but I decided to stay with nymphs.  The Tellico Nymph didn’t disappointment me and I picked up a handful of decent fish drifting this fly towards the bottom through the deeper runs.  Since I’ve now “rediscovered” this great fly pattern, it will again be a standard in my fly box.  Here are a couple of shots from the day, as well as my fly recipe for the Tellico Nymph.

The Crooked River

The Crooked River

A nice fall rainbow that took a Tellico Nymph.

A nice fall rainbow that took a Tellico Nymph.

The Tellico Nymph

The Tellico Nymph

The Tellico Nymph

Hook:  #8 to #12 – 1X Long (Daiichi 1560)

Lead:  15 turns of .015 Lead Wire Underbody

Thread:  Brown

Tail:  Grizzly Hackle Fibers

Body:  Yellow Floss

Rib:  2 Strands of Peacock Hearl with Fine Copper Wire Counter Wrapped

Back:  Turkey Tail Fibers

Hackle:  English Grouse

Early Winter in Sisters, Oregon

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We got hit pretty hard with an early winter storm for the past two days….temperatures in the teens and 18″ of snow at the house.  So, we’re not planning on going anywhere for the next couple of days.  I had to shovel my way out to my workshop this morning:

Winter in Sisters, Oregon

Winter in Sisters, Oregon

But, my shop is heated and it hasn’t slowed down my rod building.  I put on a 4th coating of varnish on a 7′  6″  5 wt. rod I’m building for Rudy H. from Eugene, Oregon.  Here is the rod hanging up in my drying cabinet.  It will get one more coating of finish, followed by a hand polish, and then gluing on the reel seat.

7' 6" 5 wt rod drying after it's 4th dip of varnish.

7′ 6″ 5 wt rod drying after it’s 4th dip of varnish.