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.

Bamboo Fly Rod Building Classes

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At the request of several folks, I’m now conducting one-on-one bamboo fly rod building classes at my shop.  I recently completed a class with Charlotte, a local Bend resident.  She worked very hard throughout the class and finished with a fantastic 8′  0″  6 wt bamboo fly rod from my Signature Series of rods.  Here is her entire rod building process documented in photos.

Getting started selecting the bamboo

Getting started selecting the bamboo

Marking the culm for splitting

Marking the culm for splitting

Making the first split

Making the first split

Making big strips into small strips

Making big strips into small strips

Running Bamboo Strips through the Bellinger Beveller

Running Bamboo Strips through the Bellinger Beveller

Handing strips to final dimensions

Hand planing strips to final dimensions

Gluing on the cork rings for the grip

Gluing the cork rings on the finished blank for the grip

Wrapp;ing the winding check and guides

Wrapping the winding check and guides

And the finished bamboo fly rod

And the finished bamboo fly rod

Testing her new bamboo fly rod out on the Fall River

Testing her new bamboo fly rod out on the Fall River

 

Half Pounders on the Rogue River with Bamboo

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Mary Ann and I got the chance to fish the Rogue River in Southern Oregon last week for a few days.  We had a great time at Morrison’s Lodge where they have a great fly fishing operation…and a wonderful lodge also.  We got out with one of their great guides, Stuart Warren, one day and threw for half pounders with our 10′  6″  bamboo trout spey rods.  Here is a little of our action:

Casting my bamboo trout spey rod.

Casting my bamboo trout spey rod.

Fish On!

Fish On!

A nice half pounder with my guide, Stuart.

A nice half pounder with my guide, Stuart.

Fishing Whychus Creek

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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.

A view of Whychus Creek from the bluff above.

Off-Color water but still very fishable.

Off-Color water but still very fishable.

Some of the bugs we sampled from the creek

Some of the bugs we sampled from the creek

A nice 11" native rainbow I picked up

A nice 11″ native rainbow I picked up

The Deschutes River

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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.

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.

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.

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