Fishing Whychus Creek

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Dave Dozer

We had a break in the weather yesterday and Mary Ann and I got the chance to fish Whychus Creek, a small local creek where some great restoration efforts have been going to help bring back the salmon and steelhead runs from years ago. The water was a little high and off-colored from recent rains, but still very fishable. A quick bug sampling showed a mix of small mayfly nymphs, a few caddis, and stoneflies. Mary Ann and I both took our 7′ 0″ 4 wt bamboo rods, perfect for this little stream. While we didn’t catch a lot of fish, we picked up a few on nymphs, including a nice 11″ native rainbow that took a #16 red serendipity. Here are a few photos from our afternoon.

A view of Whychus Creek from the bluff above.

Off-Color water but still very fishable.

Some of the bugs we sampled from the creek

A nice 11″ native rainbow I picked up

The Deschutes River

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Dave Dozer

Mary Ann and I got out on the Deschutes River this week searching for trout and steelhead. I targeted trout with small #18 nymphs and was very successful, with several nice 15″ to 18″ fish to the net. Mary Ann took out my 10′ 6″ 5 wt Micro Spey in search of steelhead, and although she didn’t find any, she still hooked a few nice rainbows and whitefish. A very nice day on the river.

A nice rainbow that took a #18 Pheasant Tail nymph.

This guy was happy to take a #18 tan caddis pupa fished on the bottom.

A monster +20″ whitefish putting a big bend in Mary Ann’s 10′ 6″ bamboo Micro Spey.

Bamboo on the Metolius River

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Dave Dozer

I just finished a new rod for Shawn from Portland. He’s a great angler, and this is the third bamboo fly rod I’ve built for him. He already has a 3 wt and a 4 wt rod, and this time he chose a 7′ 6″ 5 wt Signature Series Rod. I really enjoyed building this for him, and this week I joined him on the Metolius River to present the new rod to him….and fish a few hours. Lots of bugs were hatching and we were able to find quite a few rising fish, but, matching their dinner choice was difficult. We managed to tempt a few fish to our flies and had an absolutely great afternoon on the river. Here is Shawn with his new rod.

Getting ready to fish our 5 wt bamboo rods.

Shawn concentrating on a rising trout.

Crooked River Fishing with Bamboo Rods

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Dave Dozer

Mary Ann and I got the chance to get out on the Crooked River yesterday for a few hours. The water level has finally dropped down to a fishable level (350 CFS)…high but fishable and off-color. I was using my 8′ 3″ 5 wt Signature Series bamboo rod for some EuroNymphing with small nymphs. A bug sampling we took showed plenty of nymphs in the water…scuds, sowbugs, lots of mayflies, a few caddis, and even one stonefly. Although we didn’t get a lot of fish, the rainbows we picked up were nice sized fish. #18 Blue Zebra Midges and #16 Pheasant Tail Nymphs were the best patterns. Here are a few photos of our day.