Tough start to the season

yesterday me and a few friends took a day trip to a small stream int he coast range for opening day,we ended up doing alot of hiking to scout out new water,it was brutal but we did find some cool new spots. The water was moving pretty fast still and the fish were not very willing but i managed to catch two pretty little cutties and i hooked two others that didn't stay hooked and also missed a few bites and one of my buddies  caught one fish and hooked another.  It was a rough trip for me. my hat cam failed witch ruined my short film,a drop of water  screwed up my only fish pic of the day i managed to take before said camera failure and i lost almost all of my nymphs and indicators somehow plus my tippet..also lost my net. despite all of the screw ups it was still a fun day hanging out and catching a few trout also watched a huge march brown hatch come off in several stretches. here are the very few pics i managed to take before the cam failure

Andrew trying to entice fish to bite his nymphs

andrew re-rigging

upstream view

failure of a fish pic

the water has warmed

The weather has been excellent in the valley lately so i hit a local pond hoping for some warm water species on the fly. Only fished for 3 hours and ended up with 50+ bluegill  All very aggressive,hard fighting and most were very fat and quite large. I was also surprised with a half dozen crappie nice and a perch. I saw fish moving around in shallow water, eating damselfly nymphs and such. Most effective areas were shaded spots, coves and weed lines i would just cast the fly and use slow long strips or simply pull my rod towards my side and the fish would smash my fly. Fly of the day was a #12 possie  bugger,also caught 2 fish on a peacock soft hackle, They were not very willing to take dries But man it was a blast.  I want to say that The  Pictures do not do most of these fish justice..  They were a handful on my little 4wt it was bent in half with every fish! i got so bored with taking pictures so eventually i turned the camera,But here are a few decent ones and some of the smaller fish  this will keep me held over for the trout opener next saturday..atleast i hope

stocking the box

Ive been tying like a mad man lately- Lots of  nymphs for fish stuck to the bottom of the river. One of my favorite smaller streams opens on the 28th and i already have a trip lined up.. The tying is also keeping me busy so i don't go insane waiting for that day for the most part. I haven't Really fished since march and im dying to get out. Here are some pics of a few of my recent ties

 

Pheasant tail nymph size 14

possie bugger size 12

bass fly

summer steelhead fly

salmon & steelhead fly tying

im going to take a stab at a little fly tying post for my viewers, This post is about the fly i caught my steelhead on last saturday,  It is a huge part of my success in my first season fly fishing for winter steelhead.  I came across this pattern while browsing the fly pattern library at the Oregon fly fishing blog, i was looking for an alternative fly to use because it seemed alot of the water i was fishing needed a larger presentation that had movement rather then two egg patterns.  i picked a body and head color and started tying away, after switching over to The fly i had a few more hookups and alot more takes then before.  eventually i was able to get one to stick and landed that 20lb monster.
so here it is, a little bit different then the original (i used different eyes ).  it is called the shortly dubbed egg sucking leech




                                               Shortly dubbed egg sucking leech
 This fly deserves a place in every salmon and steelhead fly fishermans box  because you can tie it in dozens of different colors and sizes to best match the conditions you will be fishing. I caught my first winter steelhead on this particular color combo. for best results fish this fly off an indicator  for coho salmon and steelhead. tie it in darker colors for summer steelhead and brighter colors for winter steelhead and coho except when the water is low.

                               Thread: ultra thread 170 white
                             
                               Hook: mustad 3366 or daiichi x510 sizes 2-6
                             
                               Body: shrimp pink crosscut rabbit strip

                               weight : chrome plated lead eyes  large

                                head: sts trilobal  fl.flame             

Oregon coast winter steelhead On the fly

small coastal stream

Today i headed to a small stream in the coast range with my buddy to catch and release wild winter  steelhead on the fly (or try at least)  sadly as i feared the upper river had already cleared for the most part and i knew it was going to be a difficult day of fishing so we set off to start at the last hole ebfore tidewater and worked our way up. At last pool above tidewater i ended up getting a nice fat searun cutthroat on the swing, he fought damn good considering i was using an 8wt rod. after that we headed upriver and hit pullouts  without any luck until we hit the lower part of the upper river  (does that make any sense?) we came to a spot that was deep and fast with alot of converging currents, i figured there were no fish to be had but brad seemed to think so.. he was right. on first cast  with one of his custom steelhead jigs (he gear fishes) there was a bobber down, a chrome flash and then gone.. this was the first steelhead brad had ever lost. after fishing that same area for a while we in worked our way upriver, missing a few  hits but nothing sticking. we headed to the upper river knowing it was clear but hoping to find fish. after a few fishless clear holes we found it. a nice walking speed run shaded all day and not pressured by anyone. Brad hooks a fish on the first cast But breaks off while im trying to land it (wrapped the line around my legs) i sat for a minute while brad re rigs i decide to  pick up my rod and try a few casts. first cast was crappy,but got it out there, then on the second cast it happened. towards the end of my drift my line went tight,indicator was gone and i had a fish on. for the first five minutes of the fight he stuck to the bottom and used his weight like a big old chinook. then i finally gained on the fish, it saw brad and went nuts, the fight really began. 3 sets of rapids and one river mile.this fish wanted off my line.. my reel was screaming and my rod was bent. i didnt know how much more my 10lb test leader could take. i stumbled through the fast and cold water up to the top of my chest waders keeping my line tight and following close behind the fish with my heart pounding and my arm aching as it attempted to snap my line by putting my leader under a rock.. it  shot through two more pools after that and when i looked back for my buddy he wasnt there..around 2 minutes later he came around the corner and replied with "i fell in the water twice " the fish tried to head down more fast water but eventually it tired and we got a hold of its tail.This fish was estimated to be 18-20lbs. took a pic and sent him to the river to go do his thing with the ladies. this was a fish of a lifetime and i will never forget it. i worked hard for my first season hiking probably 20+ miles total along coastal rivers and losing my 6 first fish.  This leaves me excited for next season.  for those who don't know, wild fish are very important and should be handled with as much care as possible while being cradled for a pic and you should always revive them after a long battle. 

my very first winter steelhead on the fly,a fish of  a lifetime.

Stocking up

Next month one of my Favorite streams opens for trout, my favorite place to hike along. Rarely seeing anyone else fishing and nobody killing the precious wild fish that swim in its waters.Nobody tossing bait,just fly fisherman and a few lure fisherman catching and releasing wild cutthroat trout. even though there is a 2fish a day 8 inch minimum length bag limit most people that fish this smaller stream see it as a gem and release its trout to be caught another day. It is a very healthy system with cold and fast flowing water throughout the year witch results in a very very good amount of aquatic insects  that the fish feed on.
although there are tons of different bugs the fish can slurp as they float by (topwater and subsurface)
I have always had success using subsurface attractor patterns below i will explain why. Since the water is flowing at a fast rate a trout only has a split second to decide if it is going to bite the fly or bug that is going by them because it goes by so quickly. This is where an attractor pattern will shine. an attractor pattern may have the general profile of one bug, maybe several bugs,or doesn't look like a bug at all, but it always has buggy qualities, most attractor patterns have one of these qualities. flash: some sort of tinsel or flash to get the fishes attention.  Color: a color the fish commonly see float by can be put on an attractor to con a fish into biting. and the final and most important..movement. Rubber legs, marabou, you name it. any type of material that makes a fly more lifelike is a good contribution to an attractor pattern. the combinations are endless, experiment with it.

Here are some attractor nymphs i tie for trout. (pictured below)

Hot Wire Mega Stone

Nymphs i Tie for trout fishing

  

a new fly rod

Today in the mail i received a new combo, a 5wt rod, a 4/5 reel with a scientific angers gpx line, a tube and even an extra rod tip.. it is from the fly shop out of redding, ca and is their  signature line of gear.the reel is a ross reel stamped with their logo on it and has an excellent drag system, It does not stick when  the drag starts and stops  its very smooth witch is something i need when battling large trout in some of our larger water bodies. the rod is a 9ft 5wt 4pc rod, a dark forrest green blank with green/ black wraps and silver hardware and a dark wood reel seat.. the cork is high quality and feels perfect when casting. the rod loads perfect and shoots 50 +ft of line with ease and lays it out nice and soft..  could not have asked for a better setup