December 7, 2010

Winter steelhead are here. The water was ideal for fly fishing and we managed to hook a few fish before the heavy rains started. Fishing should be fairly good after this latest bout of rain. Fish the lower river for a higher percentage of hatchery steelhead.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: March 19, 2010

Fishing continues to be good. With the water dropping and clearing and the sun shining, fishing tends to be a little difficult during the middle of the day. Hopefully the it remains good well into April.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: March 8, 2010

The last three days have presented some interesting angling challenges. With the low, clear conditions, coupled with the bright, sunny skies it felt at times like I couldn't keep the boat far enough away from the good holding water to give my anglers the proper chance at hooking fish. Despite my best efforts we worked our way into a pretty descent day on Saturday once you factor in those less than ideal scenarios. Sunday was much easier as some heavy cloud cover had moved in making the boat less of a threat on this low clear water and it showed in our catch numbers. Monday brought another fun challenge with some blustery winds that seemed to fight me at every opportunity and sometimes at the most inopportune moments, but again, the fishing was great, so great in fact that my guest forewent a second pass and decided to call it an early day. Thanks Mike and Derek for a great three days.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: March 5, 2010

River was in great shape, a little too clear in my opinion, but we managed to hook some really nice fish. One of the guys had never hooked a steelhead, let alone fly fished, and he landed a pair. This has been a great steelhead season so far and should continue through March. Call now to book a trip.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: March 3, 2010

The only problem that one might have with the last two days of fishing is which photo to include with the report. Our coastal rivers are in great shape and are fishing quite well. It's a good mix of hatchery and native stock and at times have a difficult time differentiating between the two before we have a chance to catch a glimpse of them, their fights being equally ferocious. There is still the month of March and some of April to take advantage of these great fish and with the Valley springer rivers heating up it's pulling the crowds eastward. Call now to book your trip.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: February 18, 2009

The rivers continue to drop and along with their drop so goes the angling pressure. There are not as many fish around as there has been and with the heavy boat traffic people are having to work hard for a couple fish. We launched later, behind all the, "gotta have first water guys," and did really well while fishing flies. We put three fish in the box and long-distance-released a few others. Not a bad way to spend a gorgeous day fishing on the Oregon Coast.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: February 13, 2010

The river was in good shape when we launched this morning and was in perfect shape by the time we got off the water. Pressure was a little heavy, but we hooked some fish while side-drifting roe. The fish we hooked were hot, making for some entertaining, in-the-boat, antics. The forecasted weather looks to be fairly mild, allowing the coastal rivers to stay in shape.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: February 12, 2010

While coastal rivers maintained their tenuous grasp of fishable conditions we took advantage of the situation and caught some steelhead. Seems that the possibility of dirty water and some nasty weather kept a lot of people off the river. We hooked a fair number of fish today including a couple for the fish box and tested our fortitude as squall after squall assailed us throughout the day.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: February 10, 2010

Oregon Coast rivers remain low and clear and the fishing remains consistently good. We caught some really nice fish on flies today including a great broodstock that took us through two runs until we brought it to net. By mid-morning the rain was coming down pretty hard bringing hope that the river's forcasted rise will occur, bringing in a fresh batch of fish. The fish we caught were found throughout the system keeping the anticipation levels high until we reached our takeout point. Give me a call to take advantage of what is turning out to be a great winter steelhead season.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: February 1, 2010

Rivers on the Oregon Coast are really starting to clear. As the water continues to drop the steelhead are slowing down in their march up stream, but as you can tell from this photo some fish are not to be deterred. Until the rivers bump up I'll be concentrating my efforts lower in the systems. We were fly fishing today and again had a fairly productive day indicator fishing. So far this winter steelhead season has been outstanding and have rarely experienced a slow day. I have had a mixed bag of broodstock and native fish and of the hatchery steelhead we have landed all have been large, strong fighters. Give me a call to book a trip and take advantage of what is shaping up to be an incredible winter steelhead season.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: January 29, 2010

Fishing was incredible today, again. What else is there to say. The water was perfect and the fish were where they should have been. I didn't have a trip today so I took advantage and took a friend down the river. Book a trip to enjoy some amazing fishing.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: January 27, 2010

Fishing was exceptional today. We hooked into double digit fish and put a couple of nice, bright hatchery fish in the box. The conditions were perfect and it seemed that the fish were feeling it to. Today was one of those day where you felt that you could do no wrong. Give me a call to reserve space for a great winter steelhead trip.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: January 25, 2010

Fishing over the weekend was outstanding with the water levels at the perfect height for any techniques. Although angling pressure was fairly high we had great success, boating some hard fighting, chrome steelhead. With the forecasts not predicting any significant rain the good fishing should continue.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: January 22, 2010

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the coastal rivers are back in shape with steelhead waiting. There was plenty of boat traffic today, but that did not seem to matter as we hooked into plenty of fish. Water clarity improved throughout the day making great conditions for the weekend. Call now to take advantage of this great fishing.

Oregon Coast Fishing Report: January 8, 2010

When the rivers are too high and off-color to fish I take that time to replenish my stock of flies and jigs, tie worm leaders, put fresh hooks on my plugs, whatever it takes to pass the time until I can be back on the water. All of my posts thus far have pertained to fly fishing, which is an oft overlooked or scorned method of catching winter steelhead. I read too often that with the water temperature down around 40 degrees the steelhead are less likely to bite flies. That might be the case if you are swinging. When the water is that cold, unless you are able to fish a heavy fly and shooting head in a run of appropriate depth, putting that fly close enough to entice a reaction, then you are better off indicator fishing. Here are a couple of my favorite and most effective flies to fish under an indicator for winter steelhead.