Christmas Day Fly Fishing on the Metolius River

What Fun!!!!Christmas day….27 degrees….beautiful sunny day….8 inches of snow….and Mary Ann and I went fly fishing on the Metolius River.  She used her 10′  6″  5 wt bamboo switch rod to swing streamers, and I used my 8′  3″  5 wt bamboo rod  to Euronymph small nymphs.  We tempted a few trout to our flies, and got one nice rainbow to the net.  Here are a few photos.

Fly Fishing the Metolius River on Christmas Day.

Fly Fishing the Metolius River on Christmas Day.

Mary Ann with her Switch Rod.

Mary Ann with her Switch Rod.

Concentrating on my nymphs.

Concentrating on my nymphs.

A beautiful 13" rainbow that took a #18 Red Serendipity.

A beautiful 14″ rainbow that took a #18 Red Serendipity.

Fly Fishing on My Birthday!

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.

Fishing on the Metolius River

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

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

The Crooked River and the Tellico Nymph

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