Tag Archives: bamboo switch rod

Bamboo Switch Rods on the Salmon River, Idaho

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I’ve been out on the Salmon River this week with my 10′  6″  5 wt hollow-built switch rod trying to entice some of the larger fish that might be lying to ambush a fly presented in ‘just-the-right-way’ to them.  I’ve been swinging weighted streamers on intermediate leaders through the deeper runs.  I’ve also been trying skating an assortment of large dry flies on the surface with furled switch rod leaders from Cutthroat Leaders through the calmer water.  Here are a couple  of the fish I was able to get to the bank for photos.

A nice Bull Trout that took a #6 Black Wooley Bugger with a weighted gold conehead.

A nice Bull Trout that took a #6 Black Wooley Bugger with a weighted gold conehead.

A beautiful native Cutthroat Trout that took a #12 foam bodied Black Caddis skated across the surface of a shallow run.

A beautiful native Cutthroat Trout that took a #12 foam bodied Black Caddis skated across the surface of a shallow run.

First Fish on a Bamboo Fly Rod.

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I got one of my bamboo fly rods in the hands of one of our good friends, John, from Colorado recently.  John is relatively new to fly fishing, but he didn’t have any difficulty picking his first fish swinging a black wooly bugger on my 8′  3″  5 wt rod.  Here is John in action:

Swinging a bugger on the Salmon River.

Swinging a bugger on the Salmon River.

Fish On!

Fish On!

A happy angler.

A happy angler.

Swinging Buggers with a Bamboo Switch Rod on The Salmon River

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I got out my 10′  6″  5 wt Bamboo Switch Rod today and tried swinging some large wooley buggers through some of the heavy, deeper water downstream from town a ways.  We’ve had some unusually hot weather for the past several days so I was thinking some of the larger cutthroats might have moved into the faster moving, more oxygenated water.  I chose a weighted #4 Black Wooley Bugger with a gold cone-head.  This proved to be a good choice and I was able to pick up a few nice cutties.  Here is a sample of my day.

A #4 Black Wooley Bugger

A #4 Black Wooley Bugger

A nice 16" Cutthroat that couldn't resist my wooley bugger on the swing.

A nice 16″ Cutthroat that couldn’t resist my wooley bugger on the swing.

Hat Creek/Pit River in Northern California

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I headed down to Northern California last weekend for my annual “guys fishing trip” with some friends from the San Jose Area.  We’ve been making this trek every Memorial Day Weekend for the past 30 years.  Hat Creek is a great little stream that gets pretty low fishing pressure in the lower stretches.  One evening, using a 7′  6″  medium fast action 5 wt bamboo rod, I picked up several fish on March Brown dries and Golden Stonefly nymphs.  Here I am getting started and a typical Hat Creek rainbow:

Hat Creek - May, 2015

Hat Creek – May, 2015

Hat Creek Rainbow that took a golden stonefly nymph.

Hat Creek Rainbow that took a golden stonefly nymph.

We also fished the Pit River one evening.  The Pit can be a treacherous river to wade, and it was a little on the high side last weekend.  But, we found a spot we could safely access the water and tried some dries.  I used my 8′  3″  medium fast action 5 wt bamboo rod.  The fish weren’t all that selective, and were happy to come up for orange stimulators, large salmonfly immitations, PMDs, and green drakes.  Here is the group of 3 great anglers, Ted, Ken, and me, and a nice fish that took my favorite parachute green drake dry.

Ken, Ted, and I getting ready to hit the Pit River.

Ken, Ted, and I getting ready to hit the Pit River.

#12 Parachute Green Drake

#12 Parachute Green Drake

A Pit River Rainbow

A Pit River Rainbow

 

The Middle Deschutes River Yesterday Evening

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It’s not always about big fish.  Mary Ann and I hit the Middle Deschutes below Bend yesterday evening for a couple of hours for some dry fly fishing with our bamboo rods.  She chose a 7′  0″  4 wt rod and I used my 8′  0″  5 wt slow action rod.  Blue Winged Olives, March Browns, Small Caddis, and a few Golden Stoneflies were out.  While we didn’t get into any large fish, we had a great time throwing dries for smaller rainbows and browns.  When you have a great fishery like this less than 30 minutes from the house, it’s so great to just get out for a couple of hours in the evening.  Here are few photos of our time on the river:

Mary Ann stalking rising trout on the Middle Deschutes River.

Mary Ann stalking rising trout on the Middle Deschutes River.

A nice Brown Trout that took a March Brown dry fly.

A nice Brown Trout that took a March Brown dry fly for Mary Ann.

A smaller Brown Trout that I picked up yesterday evening.

A smaller Brown Trout that I picked up yesterday evening.