Maiden Voyage

After years of being a die hard bank angler, I finally succumbed to the allure of boat ownership.  For my 50th birthday gift, my dear wife Wendi decided to generously supplement my meager savings of mad money in my boat fund so I could go boat shopping right away, rather than having to wait until I had enough pennies saved on my own to put me in the ballpark for a decent drift boat.

Thanks to my good friends Tony Torrence, Craig Coover, Cory Dixon, Keith Tymchuck, and others, I got great advice on what to look for in a reasonably priced, yet functional boat.  I scanned Craigslist and watched our local area for used aluminum drift boats on the market.  I almost jumped at a deal on a 14' Alumaweld, but thankfully, a quick call to Tony Torrence kept me from making the mistake of purchasing a boat I would quickly find to be too small.  It seems all of my friends who are experienced with boat ownership were unanimous in recommending a 16' drift boat, probably 54" wide, though some, like Tony, still preferred 48s.

I found a listing for a 16' x 54" RB drift boat that had been on Craigslist for awhile.  I called the seller and the boat was still available.  I emailed the add to Tony to look over and he said "looks good".  I went to look over the boat and it seemed to be in decent, well used condition.  The trailer looked ok, two pairs of oars plus a spare, anchor, and many extras were included in the deal.  The only real issue I noted were a couple dents in the chine, but the seller assured me the boat didn't leak.  I made an offer which the seller accepted and arrangements were made to return with cash and to pick up the boat the following day.

 Go Ducks!

Dents in Chine - adds character

Today was the day set for the maiden voyage with my new/used toy.  My classic 74' Bronco had been sitting in my garage for the past few years (due to it's poor fuel economy) and now was it's time to be put back on insurance and enlisted for boat towing duty.  My old friend started right up after getting the carburetor fuel bowl filled and pumping gas into the cylinders.  It was great to hear the roar of dual Flowmasters behind the healthy 351Windsor, a sound I'm sure my neighbors hate.

I felt it only right to offer the first boat ride to my family.  My 21 year old son, (also named Todd,  TJ to mom and dad) and son-law Shaun decided to take up my offer.  Towing the boat and launching went without a hitch.  I think all the years of watching and helping friends with their boats sunk in and I was blessed that my father in law Jim Jones taught me to row in his 16' x 54' Willie in 1994 when we lived in Montana.

Today was a perfect overcast day and I was optimistic for steelhead and I figured TJ, who doesn't fish very often, would do well in fishing for trout.  I had the guys fishing out of the boat between spots and we would spread out when stopping at runs.  We were having a great time enjoying the new luxury of fishing out of a boat.  I found this drifter to be smooth riding and easy to maneuver, so I was thrilled to realize that I got exactly what I needed in a used watercraft.

We fished in familiar spots that are known to hold fish in this stretch of the Middle Fork Willamette.  Seeing this stretch of river by boat was all new to Shaun and TJ.  I felt so abundantly blessed as we drifted the river and fished our way to the takeout.  I don't get to spend a lot of time with TJ and I realized that acquiring this boat was an avenue for us to get out together more often.  TJ had only been out fly fishing with me a couple times before and I was amazed that his fly casting came back to him quickly and with some brief tips from me, he was throwing some pretty loops.  TJ was jazzed about continuing to do more fly fishing in the future and I was glad to hear that since TJ wasn't one who took to fishing as a child.

I'm hoping that today's memorable float is just the first of many to come.  For some reason today's fishing was unremarkable even in what seemed to be perfect fall fishing weather.  TJ got a small rainbow, Shaun got a small cutthroat and a tug that may have been steel.  As for me, I just continue with skunkitis.  I had a couple nice trout go after my skater but steelhead ignored me completely.  Great company in my new boat more than made up for the slow fishing with TJ's renewed enthusiasm for fly fishing a great bonus. 

Dry Line Fellowship

Just got back from spending a great couple days on the water with my good friend and brother in Christ, Adrian Cortes.  It was a glorious time of enjoying the beauty of God's creation as we marveled over our majestic surroundings and mused over all of the blessings in our lives including our wives, children (and granchildren for me), and the wonderful opportunity to pursue our favorite fish.  While Adrian and I reflected on our greatest blessing of all - being saved by God's Grace, we also stood in wonder that God orchestrated our friendship through our postings about steelhead fly fishing on internet message boards!

Adrian has also developed into a dedicated dry line steelheader in recent years, so it always great to have his company being that we speak the same crazy language!  Adrian may be even crazier than me in that he ties incredibly beautiful classic Atlantic Salmon flies (in hand), and actually fishes them!

I fished a few pools before Adrian arrived on day one.  I managed to raise a fish to my green butted skater that would not come back despite my best efforts.  Adrian arrived by mid morning and we got situated with a campsite, then hit a familiar riffle.  This run fished nicely and with the lower angle of the September sun, it was mostly in shade even in mid day.  This was among the reasons that we both agreed that fall is our favorite steelheading season along with the cooler weather, the beautiful changing colors of the surrounding foliage, and most of all - steelhead grabby on the surface.

Adrian gifted me with this gorgeous Blue Charm, probably the nicest one I've seen:

Adrian's Blue Charm sitting atop his classy Reid cane rod:

Photo courtesy of Adrian Cortes

I decided to show Adrian the runs that I had already fished before his arrival since he had not fished these particular runs before.  At the first run, I made sure I laid out "Todd's rule" which is that whenever I show a friend a new run, they go through first.  Adrian hesitated, but I stood firm.  As Adrian worked his way down to the lower part of the run, I started in at the top.  As I began casting, I noted that Adrian was just past where I hooked and lost a nice steelhead a few weeks ago. 

After  I made a few casts, I notice Adrian's rod bowing and bucking.  At first, I couldn't tell if Adrian had a nice sized trout on, but by the increasingly powerful tug of war the fish was giving him, I knew it had to be a steelhead.  This steelhead didn't make long runs, but stubbornly fought in close.  Upon landing the fish, we found it to be a hatchery hen of about 8lbs with one of Adrian's classy wet flies lodged firmly in the corner of the jaw.  The fly pattern: the "Magic".  We were surprised that Adrian got a hatchery steelhead in an area primarily populated by wild steelhead.

Adrian gave me some background on his successful fly:

As far as the fly, it was the "Magic" a recipe I followed although in a low-water style from 1884. Here is what William Murdoch had to write about this pattern:

"Regarded principally as a grilse lure, is a first-
rate clear water fly, and used more generally in
dull than bright weather. It is, however, a good,
fair all-round killer. WM describes this fly as
“one of our own patterns”."

The Magic,  Photo courtesy of Adrian Cortes

In one of the next runs we fished, a run that is also fairly new to me, Adrian raised a steelhead to his skater, right in front of a mid-river rock in the tailout of the pool.  The steelhead gulped at the fly and missed, then Adrian saw the fish porpoise upstream after the rise.  Good to have confirmation that a newly "discovered" spot holds fish as suspected.

We continued on fishing a few more runs and as evening approached we selected a particular run for it's easy wading, an important consideration with the fading light at dusk.  I started up high and Adrian got in midway down and would fish to the bottom.  As I worked through the upper section, I struggled to track my fly through the choppy flow compounded by the low light level.  I was getting into the heart of the run, anticipating a surface attack when.....I hear Adrian holler with his Reid bamboo spey rod bent over with a good fish on!  I reeled up and started down towards Adrian to take photos and give encouragement (hopefully being helpful).  Adrian tells me that a good sized fish literally attacked his skater and was immediately off to the races.  I hear Adrian's old Dingley screaming and in the dimming light, saw the fish make a few jumps.  We were figuring a very nice sized steelhead was the cause of all the commotion coming from Adrian's equipment and also the reason for the sudden spikes in our adrenaline.  The fish fought downstream at first than it slowly came upstream, once making the quick "steelie turn", temporarily tricking us into thinking the fish was lost, then as Adrian reeled to take up slack line, the fight resumed as the fish bored upstream, seemingly at will.

No palming rim or exposed spool face on Adrian's Dingley - no problem, Adrian applies pressure to the inside spool to slow the speeding fish down:

As the fight wore on I thought to grab the trout net I had in the trunk of my car to at least get the head of the fish contained so I could attempt to tail the fish when it got close to shore.  I was relieved that Adrian still had the fish on when I returned to him.   The fish was tiring and Adrian was able to lead it into a perfect place for me to use the net to help corral it in.  Just as the large fish got close enough for me to take a swipe with the net, the hook pulled out.  I tried going after the fish as it slowly swam off and it was then that I saw a broad, slightly bronze side and realized this was no steelhead, but a chinook salmon!  The broad sided fish looked to be at least 15lbs and seemed to be in good condition considering it was probably a springer, and quickly approaching spawning.  The fact that this Chinook aggressively took a skater (a green butted model that I gave Adrian) and fought with speed and acrobatics, fooled both of us to assume it was a steelhead of a lifetime.  Nonetheless, we high-fived, and were overcome with gratitude for such a unique, exciting encounter with one of God's wondrous creatures.  A Chinook salmon attacking a skater and fighting like a steelhead - definitely an experience Adrian and I will treasure.

Back at camp, we ruminated over the wonderful day we just had.  Adrian was still coming down from the adrenaline rush of hooking and fighting the Chinook.  He actually felt disoriented from the experience and it took a bit for him to get his bearings on what he needed to get done to settle in for the evening.  We just continued to reflect in amazement over the blessed day we had shared.

Dinner consisted of gourmet meals of the the "just add hot water" variety and we joked about how distorted a steelhead fly fisherman's priorities can become!  We buy the best equipment we can afford (or not afford), obsess over flies, lines, techniques, theories, and the mad pursuit of the mystical steelhead, yet we live like animals in camp in order to get every last minute of fishing in for the day.

Day two began with hitting the same runs we started on the day before.  It was another gorgeous fall day that ended up turning bright and warm, not what the weatherman had forecast (occasional showers throughout the day) .  At the run where Adrian raised a fish the day before, he hooked up while fishing one of his Jock Scotts.  The fish took higher and further out in the run than the fish he rose previously.  The fish grabbed solidly, started to take line, then was off as Adrian began sweeping his rod to the bank.  More confirmation of the fish holding properties of this new run.

At the first run, I ended up taking a dunking, not while wading through treacherous waters to reach for a prime steelhead lie, but while jumping up to grasp an overhanging branch to trim with my pruning saw, heroic stuff.  We continued to fish our way downstream as we enjoyed the warming day.  I showed Adrian a few more spots.  The forecast rain showers came late in the afternoon and it was time for me to leave so I could catch a few minutes with my little granddaughter before she went to bed that evening.  I stopped Adrian off back at his rig and we said our goodbyes and congratulated each other on a memorable trip.  Adrian continued on to fish another run before leaving the river to return home.  He later emailed me the following report:

"After you left yesterday, I fished one last run in the rain. Went through it with skater...no dice. Had enough time for another run through with a wetfly and had no action but it just felt so calming to be out there at that moment. The light pelting of the rain on my hat brim...the low clouds embracing the treetops...the gurgling of the river...remembering how much I enjoy well-executed snakerolls. I neared the end of the run, threw one more successful snakeroll as far as my technique would let me: A bald eagle rose from the treetops flying away downstream and a singular bright yellow maple leaf fluttered down from the opposite bank signaling to my senses that it was time to reel in. I just felt in tune at that moment."

Brief Encounter

Got out to a favorite summer river with fellow dry line steelhead enthusiast Terry Robinson a couple weeks ago.  I hadn't fished with Terry in quite a while so it was great to catch up as we took turns fishing through runs.  We came to a run perfectly made for the surface fly.  After coming through some rapids, the river breaks into a pool where the flow pushes towards the far shore with a perfect seam forming where the main flow softens on the near side.  I started at the head of this run, beginning with short casts and lengthening line until I was throwing my Ambush head and about 7 strips of running line.  I would cast several feet into the choppy main flow and gently twitch my green butt skater during the swing until it settled into the soft water below me.  On each cast, my anticipation would build as I'd watch my skater coming out of the choppy flow and swinging through the seam that formed the transition between the main flow the the slower inside water.

As I got through about a third of the way through this run, as my skater was coming through that fishy seam, a steelhead came up with a slashing rise to the skater and missed the fly.  I kept twitching the fly until it settled at the hang down and closely watched my fly for any follow up attack by the steelie.  Terry was standing about even with me on shore as he waited to get in behind me as I worked further down the run.  I told Terry that I just raised a steelhead.  Terry and I watched my fly closely after I made the same cast.  As my skater came through the zone that stirred my anticipation, the steelhead came back up and erupted at the fly.  A broad flash of silver with a hint of pink was seen as my fly disappeared in the showy rise.  I felt the initial pull and gently raised my rod to remove slack and to check if the steelhead was hooked.  The steelhead gave me a couple head shakes and as I was bracing to hear a screaming Hardy Perfect on the steelhead's first run, the line snapped back into my face in a tangled mess.  As I sorted things out, I realized that my fly was missing from the end of my tippet.  I noted a small curl about where I had tied the loop knot on my skater.  I wondered if I had tightened down too hard when tying the loop knot or maybe I had a wind knot on my tippet??  I was puzzled over the quick loss of the steelhead which looked to be a broad shouldered specimen in the 12lb range.  It didn't seem that this steelhead was yet pulling hard enough to break even a weakened knot at the fly.  Perhaps it just got the right kind of leverage and flopped it's body against the tippet just after the hookup to cause the break - no matter, my questions would not bring it back.

I was so glad to be able to share in the excitement of that brief hookup with Terry as he was able to watch the whole thing unfold as I made a comeback cast to that steelhead.  Terry was at a slightly higher vantage point and he was actually able to see that the steelhead had "nosed" at the fly a couple times in the choppy flow before attacking the fly in the softer seam where it come up initially.

This brief steelhead encounter left a burning image in both mine and Terry's memories that will last at least until our next surface steelhead encounters!

The Loaded Run

When one pursues steelhead on the surface, it is often the case that long periods of blank hours/days of casting can take place between grabs.  Every now then, conditions come together to provide the unique window of opportunity that cause steelhead to look up.  I had a memorable day of surface steelheading recently, which was great after all the skunkings I had this season.
 

I typically work four ten hour days a week so fridays are usually my fishing days.  I had an unexpected opportunity to do even more fishing than my usual friday when my lovely wife tells me one recent saturday morning, "you have a free weekend, go fishing" so, I did as I was told.
 

Upon arriving on one of my favorite pieces of water, I noted that the run just looked perfect.  Of course I'm fishing surface flies all day, so I have one of my #6 Green Butt skaters on the line. When I get to the lower section of the run, a steelhead explodes at the fly near the dangle. I keep twitching, but no come back from the steelhead. I make another cast, nada. I changed to a yellow/orange skater, still nada,  I changed to a riffled steelhead caddis, nothing.   I tied the GB skater back on, made a couple casts as I continued down the run and a steelhead explodes on the skater again.  I keep twitching the fly, feel solid resistance, and the fish is on. I  feel some headshakes, then on the first run, while I am enjoying the rush that comes from the electric energy having of a steelhead at the end of the line, the hook pulls out..........dang!


I wondered to myself "what's the chances another fish is in here??" I continued fishing down, a couple casts later, a steelhead explosion comes again, but no hookup. Another cast, nothing. One step down, cast, another explosive rise comes to the fly and the fish is on.  I get some  some throbbing headshakes, thrashing on the surface, and as the steelhead starts to run, fish off!!   Can't remember if I was able to see the fish on the rise or just after it got hooked, but it looked like a good one, maybe 10lbs.


By then I was a mess of nerves, but it was no time to stop fishing!   I made another cast and another steelhead exploded at the fly, but no hookup resulted. Another cast, one more rise, again, no hookup. Another cast, nothing.   Next cast, the fly swings around and as the skater settles at the hangdown, a steelhead comes up and gulps the fly, fish on!   I'm never confident of hookups on the hang down, but this steelhead seemed to be hooked solidly and after easily coming in for a bit then giving a few nice runs and bulldogging, I was able to drag her into the slower shallows up higher in the run. I had her at my boots and tried to get a hold of her, then she flopped over and broke the tippet and got away. She was about a 28" hen with a bit of color, just a beauty of a steelhead.  Darkness was approaching and it was time to call it a day after about 30 minutes of blissful, fast-paced surface steelhead action.  It was with the greatest reluctance that I left that run.  I would bet that if I had more time, I could have raised more fish on a second pass.

Besides a couple days I experienced in BC, that was some of the best surface steelheading I've ever had.  It seemed the overcast weather and impending thunder storm got those steelhead looking up.  It is certainly true that such a weather change in summer gets steelhead active and on the bite.  The consistent, explosive rises from those steelhead certainly indicated aggressive responses and such rises were so exciting to see.  I felt like Christmas came early this year.   It also seems my little Hardy Perfect has been a lucky piece of fishing equipment for me since I've purchased it.

That day was the kind of fishing day I live for - aggressive surface grabs from steelhead stacked in a single run - a day that will live in the memory for a long time.

Living For the Surface Grab

I definitely live for the surface grab.  During summer and fall, if I'm not out fishing, I've got images of surface- grabbing steelhead on the brain.  I have a tough time fishing a wet fly during the dry fly steelhead season since I want to maximize my chances of experiencing the next surface attack from a steelhead whenever I am out on the water. 

It's tough to describe the excitement that comes from the sudden bulge of water at your skater and the open-mouth explosion that follows.  Sometimes you get a more subtle gulp and your fly is gone or sometimes you get the toilet bowl flush followed by a screaming reel.  In slower water, I've had steelhead come from 10' away as I watched a wake coming to my fly and then being punctuated by the heart stopping shark attack grab.  I also remember a few surface steelhead from last season, again in slower water, that slowly came up, gulped the fly, and as I mistakenly waited for the line to come tight expecting the fish to turn with the fly, the fly just bobbed back to the top and continued skating - should have set up more quickly on those!  You never know what to expect when a steelhead comes to the surface to grab your fly, but one thing is certain - it's the most exciting sight in all of steelheading to me. 

Often times steelhead come up short for the fly with a big bulging explosion of water.  If one's nerves hold up, one will continue allowing the fly to swing without jerking the fly away from the fish.  Many times the steelhead will come back multiple times before the end of the swing, leaving one a frazzled mess of nerves.  Again, it is important to let the fly sit for several seconds at the dangle and every now and then the steelhead will grab with the fly hanging directly below - unfortunately the hooking on the hangdown is usually the lowest percentage hookup due to there being no angle left in the swing to put the fly in the corner of the steelhead's mouth.  However, some steelhead are so aggressive, they will literally overtake the fly and be hooked solidly.  In fact, I'm surprised at how many deep hookings I've encountered with fishing surface flies for steelhead.  Luckily most of these deep hookings were on my local hatchery fish so they were bonked anyway, but these deep hookings indicate to me a pretty aggressive response, even coming from pellet heads.

Those steelhead that come up and miss the fly and keep coming back can be the most fun.  These player fish afford one multiple opportunities to get a steelhead on the hook.  Once you get a steelhead to come up to your fly, it's anyone's guess what the ultimate outcome will be.  A hookup could come on the next cast with the same fly and same length of line.  Other times, shortening up and working back to the fish will bring it back.  Sometimes changing to a smaller skater or a riffle hitched muddler or steelhead caddis will get the fish hooked.  Probably the surest, but my least favorite way to get a player hooked is to go back with a small, sparse wet fly.  This method usually eliminates the visual element of the grab that I seek so dearly so I save the small wet fly closer as a last resort.  Sometimes, after changing flies multiple times, I've given up on the fish and as I continue working down the run, a steelhead comes up and grabs my fly within the next few casts.  I think that a fish that has been risen to the top may startle itself and then drop down the run a few feet, or who knows, I may just be encountering a whole different fish that was holding lower in run as I move down. 

Speaking of players, I recall one particular steelhead that I raised in the shallow, upper section of one of my favorite local runs a few years back.  This fish lunged at my skater on the dangle, just before I started stripping in for the next cast.  I allowed the fly to sit still and the steelhead came back again.  I would sway my rod toward mid stream and back and ended up raising this fish 10-12x!  I was able to prepare myself to drop the rod on several of these rises, allowing the skater to be sucked into the steelhead's mouth, but somehow, I could never hook this fish!  I'm assuming this was a hatchery steelhead since non finclipped summer steelhead are very rare on the Willamette - whatever the case, this was probably the most nerve wrecking player I've ever encountered.

As of late, steelhead on my home water have started to look up.  I've raised several to the top and hooked and lost one last week.  I don't know what causes the switch to go on with my local hatchery steelhead, but I don't typically start raising these fish to the top until late summer at the earliest.  I've continued to make efforts to raise steelhead to the top on my outings to the North Umpqua, but the NU has been a tough nut to crack for me this year.  I've raised a total of one steelhead to a skater so far for the season down there.

My friends have been much fishier than me with most of them them raising and hooking steelhead on top much more regularly than me.  Such is this game of random rewards we play.  On the upside, I have been tying a green butted skater that my friends seem to like so I've been regularly having these flies picked out of my boxes - good thing, I'd rather give my flies to friends than lose them to  branches along the river.  The irony is that these flies have not been raising/hooking steelhead unless I put them into the hands of my friends.  The reports have frequently been "hey, I hooked/raised a steelhead, by the way, with your green butted skater".

Here's Cory Dixon with a steelhead caught on top:

 

 

There's that fly in the mouth:

 

 

Cory also reported that he also got a steelhead on a yellow/orange version of my skater on his first pass on the Deschutes last week.  The guy is unstoppable.  I'm just glad my flies work for those who recieve them.

 

I spent a wonderful day on a beautiful river with Ty Holloway on 8/9/13.  We sought surface grabbing steelhead, but ended up just being content with having a great time on our favorite water:

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

Conditions seemed perfect for some surface activity with overcast in the morning and more overcast in the afternoon., but just being out in God's creation is always enough.   Fishing with Ty was a pleasure.  We had an easy paced and relaxing day, sharing water and taking in the beauty of the North Umpqua.  Ty is a young man that totally gets it about chasing surface steel.  He is easy going, non-competitive, respectful of the resource, and great company.  Ty works at the Caddisfly shop in Eugene where he guides and provides quality customer service.  He and brother Clay have also begun thier own guiding business, check them out:  http://hollowaybrosfishing.com/



 

 

 

 

 

 

First Surface Steelhead for Summer 2013

I'll say it again, it's been tough going for me on my local flow this summer.  The hot, dog days, huge rubber hatches, and lower than average numbers of  summer steelhead over the falls has made the Willamette seem more like a huge, moving swimming pool rather than a place to chase steel.

Despite the difficulties, it was a time to fish, so I gladly accepted an invitation form Cory Dixon to hit some evening spots after work yesterday.  Cory is a friend I made through the Westfly board back in 2009 and we have recently reconnected and decided to get some river time in.  After navigating past droves of rafts, kayaks, tubes, and swimmers at the ramp, we shoved off in Cory's 19' sled and we were able to hit multiple spots up and down from the put in  before darkness set in.  I quickly realized the advantages of a sled compared to my lowly pontoon boat - being able to move quickly from spot to spot, no shuttle - quite a nice deal.

We started at a nice run upstream.  Cory offered me the choice of water so I headed to the upper section of the run as I tend to do because of my dry fly tendencies.  I had previously floated past this water in my pontoon, but never really fished it until then.  Cory pointed out structure that has held fish for him.  I fished my way back down towards the sled with no steelhead encounters.  Cory walked back up to the top of the run and got in above where I started.  A few minutes later, I heard Cory yell over to me that he had a fish on.  Sure enough, being the fishy guy he is, Cory picks my pocket with a hairwing wet.  He lands the fish, a cookie cutter hen of about 28" that would have been sitting in water I had just skated over.  Sometimes getting a few inches under the surface makes all the difference.

We jetted down to another run that I'm familiar with and gave it a few casts before moving on to another spot.  In the next run, the sun was shining directly upstream into my face, but at the back of any fish that might be holding there.  Cory graciously pointed out holds in this innocous looking piece of water that has produced for him.  Knowing of my dry fly problem, Cory insisted I go through first and he would follow with a wet.  As I studied this water, I realized how fishy it actually looked.  As I worked down into the heart of the run, a steelhead come up twice to my green butt foam skater before the fly settled straight below on the hang down.  I was pleasantly surprised to raise a steelhead under the unlikely conditions.  I made another cast, but the fish wouldn't come back. 

I got my wits about me and changed to a #6 McMillan Steelhead Caddis with an orange body.  I put a riffle hitch on the fly and made a cast to the same spot where I raised the fish.  I could barely pick out the drab fly gently skating across the moderately choppy surface, but I was able to visually follow the fly tracing it's arc while it swung across-  no grab came on that cast.  I figured to reel a couple strips of running line back in, just in case the fish moved closer to me.  Cory patiently waited to continue fishing down as I went through my fly changing/comeback routine.  I made a few more casts until I was back to my original length of line, still no fish.  I resigned myself to the fact that the fish was probably one of the Willamette's common, one time risers.  I turned to Cory and told him I'd leave that fish for him to pick up with his wet fly. 

Rather than changing back to a foam skater, I continued fishing down with the Steelhead Caddis to avoid further delays for both of us moving through the run.  On my next cast past where I initially raised the fish, a perfect head and tail rise came to the riffle hitched fly and the fight was on.  I think due to the 65 degree water, this fish didn't exactly make my Hardy Perfect scream it's guts out, but hey, I'll take a dry fly steelhead whenever I can get one!  I managed to beach this little hatchery buck, which was just a bit smaller than Cory's hen.  It was so satisfying to see the little steelhead caddis lodged in the upper jaw of that steelhead. 

It was interesting to note that if this fish was indeed the same one that initially come up for my foam skater, that it had dropped back down in the run about 5-10'.  The same thing happened with the last steelhead I got just over a month ago where the steelhead ended up getting hooked further down in the run after the initial rise.

After landing my fish, we jetted to another beautiful run, fished it with great anticipation until near dark with no fishy feedback and called it an evening.  We couldn't complain of two steelhead landed on a hot summer day that seemed more suited to tubing and swimming than steelhead fishing.  I was very appreciative of Cory guiding me into my first dry fly steelhead for the summer and showing me new water.  I reflected on how cool it is to see how uniquely different each of us approaches the same stretch of river with our individual perspectives and styles of fishing.  I also realized that for a guy like me who catches so few fish with my chosen methods, that every single fish caught is a blessed event (even worthy of becoming blog fodder), never mind that this kind of celebration of individual fish taken on dry line methods may seem  pitiful to those who catch steelhead with more regularity.  I will say that for me, having to work so long and hard for the rare surface steelhead encounter makes the reward sweet.

                                                             Two for the table.

North Umpqua Gathering

Finally putting this late report together about a wonderful trip that I helped organize on the North Umpqua (NU for short) in mid July 2013.  The plans begain with Adrian Cortes and I talking about taking a trip to the NU.  Adrian thought to invite fellow in-hand salmon fly tyer/feather merchant Aaron Ostoj, then Marc Willamson (president of the Christian Fly Fishing Roundup) was added to the list along with my regular fishing friends Craig Coover, Keith Tymchuck, and Tony Torrence.  Group emails went back and forth and the plans came down to Aaron and Marc going down on Sunday, with Adrian and me going down on monday, and Keith and Craig going over on tuesday.  Tony was not going to able to make it due to scheduling issues.

I went over early Monday morning, leaving my home in Springfield at around 3am (insanity?).  I arrived at the river at daybreak and hit a few of the lowest pools in the fly water with no signs of fish.  I continued up to the campwater and fished a couple more pools before catching up with Aaron and Marc at the campground and was able to to get a campsite right next to them.  Aaron reported that he raised a fish to a muddler the day before in the campwater, but couldn't get it to come back.

I got my tent setup and and settled into a mid-day break as we waited for late afternoon for the evening fishing session to start with shadows on the water.  Aaron came over and took out his fly tying kit which fits in an old cigar box as he set out to tie a "Golden Olive", a traditional Irish pattern,  in hand:

Talk about amazing skills!

We set out at around 3:30pm to hit the evening session.  I guess I was a bit over anxious as sun was still on most runs, so we started at one the popular access points in the lower fly water that I recalled came into shade early.  I ran into long time NU guide Tony Wratney and we chatted and got caught up on the current fishing conditions.  I think Tony knows all the spots where fish live on the NU so I took as many mental notes as possible and we exchanged skaters.  The next spot we hit was a popular riffle, then we headed to another spot where I put Aaron and Marc in another shorter choppy riffle and I hit the tailout of the pool below.  I managed to raise a fish, midchannel in this tailout, and while my adreanline and hopes were high, two fly changes and repeated casts would not bring this fish back.  Adrain arrived monday evening and got his one man tent set up as we got caught up and discussed our plan of attack for the following morning.  Talks of a 4am wake up call and starting low in the fly water came together.  Adrian had just purchased a beautiful Reid cane spey rod, a 12' 6/7 wt, and he was anxious to put it through it's paces on one of the most famous steelhead rivers.

4am Tuesday morning came quickly and three fanatics - Adrian, Aaron, and I emerged from our tents and ready to chase steel.  I cooked a quick breakfast of bacon and eggs and we were off.  "Nevada Bill" was at Famous, so I showed Aaron and Adrian the flats and we proceeded to hit a few lesser fished runs.

 In one of these spots, I was chatting with Adrian as he was fishing a skater in the lower half of the run.  I was standing on a gravel bank a few feet above the water and as I glaced at Adrian's skater coming across, I saw a steelhead of about 8lbs casually tracking the skater from below.  I told Adrain about this and he would have had no idea that a fish was following his fly from his vantage point.  Subequent fly changes and repeated casts didn't bring the fish back, but Adrain did feel a pluck at a wet fly on the handown so the fish may have settled in right below him.  We fished til about 11 am then returned to camp to cool off.

Keith Tymchuck and Craig Coover showed up and grabbed another campspot together.  As we visited, "Nevada Bill" came over to talk.  If you fish the river much, you will see this guy around - he is in a red Chevy pickup/w camper shell, with Nevada plates.  He stays in Idleyld for 4 months each year and fishes the NU daily during that time.  Bill went on to tell us that he had gotten into 3 fish since 6/20/13, including one he got that day in one of the lower fly water pools.  He revealed that he fishes a riffle hitched muddler.  He shared his opinon that "chugging" skaters puts down fish and has ruined the river.

After a bit, I noticed that I had gotten a text from Tony Torrence - he was making it down after all.  I texted back our camp spot and he arrived a bit later with Ty Holloway who works at the Caddisfly shop.  I introduced everyone to each other and it was great having us all together.  Tony and Ty would be spending the night at the Dogwood motel and they would check in with us periodically.

After our midday break, we set out for the tuesday evening session.  Aaron and Marc would take a break and Adrian and I would get out in my Honda and Keith and Craig would set out together in Keith's truck.  Tony and Ty would be checking in at the Dogwood then hitting a few evening spots.  I took Adrain up to one of the famous campwater pools and after fishing through the upper sections, I stopped along the trail on the way back to the car to see if any steelhead were holding in the tailout.  I spotted one fish alongside a rock in the tailout and offered Adrain to fish to it while I spotted for him from above.  I helped guide Adrian's swings until he was putting his wet fly right in front of the fish multiple times, no dice.  I suggested Adrain change his fly - again multiple swings right in front/over the fish, nothing.  Adrian did feel a tug at one point which could have been the fish nipping at the fly, but no hookup resulted.  The fish never spooked from it's position so perhaps the bright conditions discouraged this fish from making a full committment to the fly.

I showed Adrain a few more pools just below the campwater and in the middle fly water until evening approached.  Neither of us raised any fish, but Adrain was having a wonderful time experiencing the NU for the first time and I was enjoying sharing my little bit or river knowledge with him.

At camp that evening, we compared notes and found that Craig Coover had a fish charge at his skater twice and then on his third cast, the fish jumped out of the water, taking his skater on the way down!  The fish, which appeared of decent size, gave Craig a good battle before coming unpinned.  Craig had a witness as Keith attested to seeing it all unfold.  Well, that was all the encouragement the rest of us needed.  Before turning in for the evening, more fish stories were told and  a few of my foam skaters were given to my friends who give me the honor of actually fishing them, even despite their own high caliber tying skills.

Alarms go off at 4am Wednesday morning and Adrian, Aaron, and I emerge for another morning assault on the river.  Bacon and eggs were cooked again and we jumped into my trusty Honda and hit the water by daybreak.  Neveda Bill was in his usual spot so we split up into the two pools below. 

After hitting the lower pools, we decide to head to the campwater to look around, especially since Adrian is brand new to the river and Aaron has just recently started fishing the NU.  It is mid morning so I figured "Station" would be open and it was.   We negotiated the tricky wade out to what is probably the NU's most famous of pools.  I put Aaron and Adrian through first to split up the little run and Aaron hooks into a half pounder sized steelhead.

We hit a few more the the famous campwater pools before calling it good for our morning session.  Back at camp, it was time to compare notes again.  Tony and Ty came by and Tony had "the look".  I'm like "ok, Tony, tell me the story"...  Tony recounts that he was fishing one of my foam skaters at daybreak and a fish charged at his fly but he didn't see it.  Ty was watching and had actually seen the explosion at the fly so Tony tries again, but the fish wouldn't come back to the skater.  Tony goes back with a small purple muddler and the comeback fly does the trick.  Tony feels a sold pull on the fly and gets a few headshakes before the fish is off.  Tony is totally jazzed and determined to get his first topwater steelhead.

After breaking camp, I bid goodbyes to my good friends and hit one last pool, a new one to me, on the way home.  Not surprisingly, I just got casting practice in a new spot, but on the drive home I reflected on the blessed time I had with a wonderful group of friends on one of the most beautiful rivers in God's Great Creation.  I also enjoy solitary fishing, but our first NU get together was very special and likely to become an annual or bi-annual event!

Adrian and Keith continued on until the following day, thursday.  They fished a couple spots together before splitting off to fish independently.  Keith had hooked into a good fish on a muddler which came unpinned and in another spot, Adrian later emailed that he had a fish come up to a foam skaker I had given him that took a few clicks off his Dingley, then was off.

Just this past week, I got a text/call from Tony that he landed is first dry fly steelhead on the NU - congratulations to Tony on what I hope is an event that will change his fishing for good!  I think he may understand my conviction with fishing surface flies a bit better now.  Tony was fishing with Craig Coover and Craig proceeds to hook into two more surface steelhead and unfortunately both got unbottoned after a good fight.  Wished I could get Craig's fishy mojo to rub off on me - think I need to start smoking some of his cigars.