Tag Archives: Crooked River

Trying Out a New Bamboo Rod on the Crooked River

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Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been out fishing….been real busy in the shop with rod building.  Mary Ann just finished building her second bamboo rod, a beautiful 7′  9″  4 wt Progressive Medium-Action rod.  What a great taper…casts dries like a dream.  She cast dry flies hard for a few hours while I took out my 9′  0″  3 wt Czech Nymphing rod with #20 zebra nymphs and Bead Head Pheasant Tail Nymphs.  I picked up several fish on nymphs, but there was nothing hatching and she was fishless on dries.  But, she eventually went over to small nymphs, and her new rod handled them great.  And….she got several fish to the net.  As her first fish on her new rod she picked up a nice 13” whitefish.  After that, several feisty rainbows. Here are a few photos from our day.

Here we are on the Crooked River this past week.

A nice little rainbow that took my #20 black Zebra Midge.

Mary Ann putting a bend on her new 7′ 9″ 4 wt rod.

Mary Ann with her first fish on her new rod.

 

Christmas Ideas for Anglers from RiverKeeper Flies

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My good friend, John Kreft, has a wonderful WEB page and blog dedicated to fly tying.  He’s an awesome fly tier and has some great information, both historical and for tying, about flies and fly fishing.  He recently posted a great blog entry about fly fishing items for the upcoming Christmas holidays.  So, check out his latest post, as well as all the good content at:

http://www.johnkreft.com/2016-christmas-list-for-fly-fishers-and-fly-tyers/

John Kreft and RiverKeeper Flies

John Kreft and RiverKeeper Flies

 

Getting out on the Crooked River with our Bamboo Fly Rods

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Mary Ann and I took advantage of the great weather this week and hit the Crooked River yesterday for some November Fly Fishing…yep, here in central Oregon we get to fly fish year around!  She took out her 8′  0″  5 wt Spring Creek Series rod and I choose a 7′  6″  5 wt Freestone Series rod for the day.  The white fish are spawning in the river now so small orange egg patterns were the go-to fly for the day.  We caught an equal ratio of whitefish to rainbows, and lost track of how many fish came to the net.  Here are a couple of photos of our day.

A couple of anglers happy to get on the river with our bamboo fly rods.

A couple of anglers happy to get on the river with our bamboo fly rods.

Fish On! A 14 inch rainbow.

Fish On! A 14 inch rainbow.

A nice 12 inch rainbow that came to my net.

A nice 12 inch rainbow that came to my net.

Bug Sampling on the Crooked River

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I’m a firm believer that it’s a good idea to “check out the bugs” in the river nearly every time you fish, especially if you’re doing a lot of nymph fishing.  Mary Ann and I were on the Crooked River last week fishing a spot we fish often and started with a bug sampling.  We have a small net that is about 15″ x 15″ that one of us holds in the water while the other turns over rocks upstream.  We then transfer the bugs in the net to a white bowl that aids in viewing and identifying.  For the particular spot we sampled, there were very nigh numbers of olive/tan scuds in sizes ranging from about #18 to #10, as well as black mayfly nymphs that were about #18 and #16 in size.  We both used euro-nymphing techniques for our fishing for the day.  Using #14 and #16 gold or tan scuds, #18 Psycho Mayfly nymphs, and #16 Black Beauties produced a lot of rainbows in the 6″ to 14″ range.  So, knowing the bugs in the water and matching those bugs certainly helped us.  Here are a few photos of the day.

Bug Sampling from the Crooked River

Bug Sampling from the Crooked River

Scuds and mayfly nymphs.

Scuds and mayfly nymphs.

Our fly choices for the day.

Our fly choices for the day.

A nice 14" rainbow that took a #16 black beauty nymph.

A nice 14″ rainbow that took a #16 black beauty nymph.

 

 

Crooked River Fishing with Bamboo Rods

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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.

The Crooked River at 350 CFS.

The Crooked River at 350 CFS.

Bug Sampling from the Crooked River.

Bug Sampling from the Crooked River.

A good bend in my 5 wt bamboo rod.

A good bend in my 5 wt bamboo rod.

A nice Crooked River Rainbow that took a #18 Blue Zebra Midge.

A nice Crooked River Rainbow that took a #18 Blue Zebra Midge.