Tag Archives: Oregon

Fly Fishing the Fall River here in Oregon

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Mary Ann and I got the chance to hit the Fall River about an hour from our house a couple of days ago.  I took out my 8′  0″  5 wt Spring Creek Series rod and she chose her 7′  6″  5 wt Signature Series rod.  We found a nice BWO hatch in early afternoon and got to cast several different dries to rising fish.  Although these were mostly hatchery fish, they were surprisingly picky.  Mary Ann found the perfect fly…a #18 brown bodied hackle-stacker emerger dry that several of the rainbows liked.  Here are a few photos of our day.

Drifting dries on the Fall River.

Drifting dries on the Fall River.

A nice 14" rainbow that Mary Ann caught.

A nice 14″ rainbow that Mary Ann caught.

Ready for the release.

Ready for the release.

 

Fly Patterns – Barbell Eyes on Top and Bottom of the Hook Shank.

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Here is something for all you fly tiers out there.  Mary Ann and I were tying some streamer flies recently and she asked me about the impact of tying barbell eyes on the top vs. the bottom of the hook shank.  My comment was that I thought it was Bob Clouser with his Clouser Minnow patterns who emphasized the position of the barbell eyes:  1) Eyes on the top of the hook shank would make the fly turn over in the water, and 2) Eyes on the bottom of the hook shank and the fly would ride upright in the water.  So, we tried an experiment.  Mary Ann tied up two rabbit strip streamer flies on #8 2X long, down-eye hooks.  One fly with the blue body had the barbell eyes tied on the bottom of the hook shank…the second fly with a chartreuse body had the barbell eyes tied on the top of the hook shank.  Our next trip out on the river we shot underwater photos of each fly in the water.  Our findings…Bob Clouser was right.  So, if you really want your minnow streamer patterns to look realistic, it’s important to make sure where the barbell eyes are tied on the hook.  Check it out:

Barbell Eyes Ties on the Bottom of the Hook Shank - fly rides upright in the water.

Barbell Eyes Tied on the Bottom of the Hook Shank – Fly Rides Upright in the Water.

Barbell Eyes Tied on the Top of the Hook Shank

Barbell Eyes Tied on the Top of the Hook Shank – Fly turns Over in the Water.

Another Beautiful Day Fly Fishing on the Metolius River.

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It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday so Mary Ann and I got away from the house for a little fly fishing on the Metolius River.  We’re so lucky that this wonderful free flowing stream is open all year and only 30 minutes from our house.  With 4 inches of snow on the ground and 29 degrees, we fished the stretch known as the “water wheel area”.  Although there were a few BWOs and midges out on the water, we didn’t see any surface activity so it was a nymphing afternoon.  Here we are on the river, and a feisty native rainbow that Mary Ann landed on a stonefly nymph imitation.

Dave and Mary Ann on the Metolius River.

Dave and Mary Ann on the Metolius River.

The Metolius River in January

The Metolius River in January

A nice little native rainbow

A nice little native rainbow

 

Christmas Day Fly Fishing on the Metolius River

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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!

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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.