Tag Archives: nymph fishing

Fly Fishing on My Birthday!

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I got out with Mary Ann last week on my birthday for a little trout fishing here in Central Oregon.  We hit the Crooked River about an hour from our house.  It was a chilly 18 degrees when we left the house but by the time we got to the river it had warmed up to the mid 40’s.  The whitefish were spawning in the river so a lot of fish were pretty active.  We both picked up about 20 fish on small egg patterns using euronymphing techniques.  We didn’t get anything large, but it was still pretty fun hitting the water with bamboo.  Here are a couple of photos of our day.

The Crooked River in November

The Crooked River in November.

A feisty rainbow that took a #16 orange egg pattern.

A feisty rainbow that took a #16 orange egg pattern.

My Bamboo Switch Rod for Steelhead.

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Mary Ann and I just got back from 3 days of camping on the Deschutes River in search of steelhead.  We met up with a great group of folks and camped at a Rebar Campground.  We had a wonderful time but the steelhead action was very slow.  Among 12 accomplished steelheaders, only 2 steelhead were landed over 3 days…none by Mary Ann nor I.  I took along my 10′  6″  5 wt Hollow Built Bamboo Switch Rod for the trip, and split my time between swinging hairwing streamers on sinking leaders and nymphing with large stonefly nymph immtations.  I manged to pick up a handful of nice rainbows, two whitefish, and one very large sucker nymphing but had no success swinging.  Overall, not great fishing success but we had a great time camping out with group.  Here are a few photos of our trip:

Our campsite at Rebar Campground.

Our campsite at Rebar Campground.

Swinging through Steelhead Flats Run.

Swinging through Steelhead Flats Run.

Nymphing below Halfway Bar Island.

Nymphing below Halfway Bar Island.

A decent rainbow I caught right at camp that took a brown stonefly nymph.

A decent rainbow I caught right at camp that took a brown stonefly nymph.

Bamboo Rods on the Deschutes River

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Mary Ann and I got the chance to camp for a few days on the Deschutes River last week.  She spent 3 days searching for steelhead…she hooked two steelhead…lost both of them!  I spent my time with my 8′  3″  5 wt bamboo rod tempting trout.  I didn’t get many but did manage to pick up a few nice rainbows on stonefly nymphs. Here are a few photos of our time on the Deschutes.

Our campsite at Grassy Camp.

Our campsite at Grassy Camp.

Fighting a nice fish.

Fighting a nice fish.

A nice rainbow that took a #6 orange and brown Jimmy Leggs Nymph Pattern.

A nice rainbow that took a #6 orange and brown Jimmy Leggs Nymph Pattern.

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

 

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.