My first fish on a fly rod

J
jdflores311
Last year I caught my first fish (huge brown) on a buddies fly rod while still living in Utah . . . that's when I got the 'itch.' I later received a rod and reel as a gift when my family learned I would be moving to Oregon.

Unfortunately, I hadn't caught a thing with it since I moved here in July. This never frustrated me too much since I didn't put as much effort in to it as I did going after salmon with spoons, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't starting to get a bit discouraged lately.

Then last night it happened . . . I walked across the street to the South Santiam, gave it about 10 casts, and then . . . wham! Fish on! My first fish with my own fly gear, as well as my first fish with a fly rod in Oregon! I am obviously stoked!! Got a pretty good native cuthroat!

Now that I've scrathced the itch just a bit, I am back to wanting to try my fly rod out again asap. This makes me want to ask though, what are some good flies to use this time of year? I was using a simple elk hair caddis last night, but I was curious if someone might be willing to give me some advice as to what might be a better option. I think I have tried a few different hoppers, some buggers, crystal nymph, and western nymphs . . . and out of all these . . . only the one hit so far.

Any advice would be awesome!
 
T
troutmasta
What kind of fish was it???
 
J
jdflores311
troutmasta said:
What kind of fish was it???

I could be mistaken, but I am pretty sure it was a cutthroat.
 
Last edited:
O
OnTheFly
Hatches are starting to wind down so nymphs subsurface should work. May want to try a glo-bug too:)
 
J
jdflores311
OnTheFly said:
Hatches are starting to wind down so nymphs subsurface should work. May want to try a glo-bug too:)

Thanks for the advice!
 
R
redhawk50
Play the fun game of try to match the hatch or go subsurface with emergers or nymphs. I like to do what I heard coined "the Hoppercator" Use a decent sized hopper or stimulator with a nymph connected to that 2-3 feet below depending on water depth. Catch mainly with the nymph on that but it is two for one. Just check the regs to make sure two hooks are legal where you are fishing.
 
J
jdflores311
redhawk50 said:
Play the fun game of try to match the hatch or go subsurface with emergers or nymphs. I like to do what I heard coined "the Hoppercator" Use a decent sized hopper or stimulator with a nymph connected to that 2-3 feet below depending on water depth. Catch mainly with the nymph on that but it is two for one. Just check the regs to make sure two hooks are legal where you are fishing.

I've seen that tried, but with no success. That was a bad day though . . . we saw zero activity. It seemed to be a good idea though. What size line do you use for the trailer?
 
F
freeflyin
South Santiam success

South Santiam success

Hey JD,
Glad to hear you've joined the bug freaks of flyfishermen/women. I love the South Santiam and fish it weekly. It is slowing down but if you want to still catch fish on the surface in morning or evening there is still one pretty nice bug flying around, it's called the October Caddis(for obvious reasons). It's absolutely huge!! It almost looks like a butterfly, it's about 3/4 the size of one too. Mitch, down at Three Rivers Fly Shop in Albany, was telling me about this bug and I had not seen it until last week, and he was right, it's a monster. I would reccomend you going to see him and picking his brain about the South as well. Buy a few flies, check out his gear, and ask him everything you want to know about the South Santiam. He knows how to fly fish for trout as good as anyone on that river. I've only been fly fishing for about a year and a half and I've only known him for about 7 months and learned more in the first few months from him then I have from anyone in the previous months. He knows that river and the McKenzie very well too. Anyhow, prince nymphs and beadhead pheasant tail nymphs should work below the surface. Good luck!!
Troy
 
J
jdflores311
freeflyin said:
Hey JD,
Glad to hear you've joined the bug freaks of flyfishermen/women. I love the South Santiam and fish it weekly. It is slowing down but if you want to still catch fish on the surface in morning or evening there is still one pretty nice bug flying around, it's called the October Caddis(for obvious reasons). It's absolutely huge!! It almost looks like a butterfly, it's about 3/4 the size of one too. Mitch, down at Three Rivers Fly Shop in Albany, was telling me about this bug and I had not seen it until last week, and he was right, it's a monster. I would reccomend you going to see him and picking his brain about the South as well. Buy a few flies, check out his gear, and ask him everything you want to know about the South Santiam. He knows how to fly fish for trout as good as anyone on that river. I've only been fly fishing for about a year and a half and I've only known him for about 7 months and learned more in the first few months from him then I have from anyone in the previous months. He knows that river and the McKenzie very well too. Anyhow, prince nymphs and beadhead pheasant tail nymphs should work below the surface. Good luck!!
Troy

I'll have to pay Mitch a visit! Thanks for the info!!

What stretch of the river do you typically fish, if you don't mind me asking?
 
R
redhawk50
For the trailer I usually use 6X or 5X. I started out tying it to the hook part of the hopper but because I tend to fish barbless I was losing a good amount of nymphs as they were dragged across the bottom. I now tie it off directly to the eye of the hopper and have managed to hang onto the nymphs and the fish that have hit the nymphs better. Have gotten a few more tangles that way on the cast but better then losing the fish or nymph.

You could use a big old foam orange october caddis as the dry and trail a nymph off of that.
 
J
jdflores311
redhawk50 said:
For the trailer I usually use 6X or 5X. I started out tying it to the hook part of the hopper but because I tend to fish barbless I was losing a good amount of nymphs as they were dragged across the bottom. I now tie it off directly to the eye of the hopper and have managed to hang onto the nymphs and the fish that have hit the nymphs better. Have gotten a few more tangles that way on the cast but better then losing the fish or nymph.

You could use a big old foam orange october caddis as the dry and trail a nymph off of that.

Sounds like one I am going to have to try out! I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm thinking I need to make a trip to the fly shop and wait until this wind settles down a bit.
 
S
Sage_Flyguy
Hey JD... Welcome to the forum....

I have recently got into fly fishing also... I live in Sweet Home and noticed you live in Lebanon so close proximity... I have been up Quartzville several times and have had tons of success each time.. I would have to assume that with the recent weather getting a little rainy and what not the fishing should improve.. Good Luck man hit me up sometime if you are wanting to make a local trip... I am always looking to go fishing

Jer
 
J
jdflores311
Sage_Flyguy said:
Hey JD... Welcome to the forum....

I have recently got into fly fishing also... I live in Sweet Home and noticed you live in Lebanon so close proximity... I have been up Quartzville several times and have had tons of success each time.. I would have to assume that with the recent weather getting a little rainy and what not the fishing should improve.. Good Luck man hit me up sometime if you are wanting to make a local trip... I am always looking to go fishing

Jer

I will have to make a trip up there one of these days in the near future. When I do, I just may hit you up and see if you feel like showing me a few spots . . .
 
F
freeflyin
Parts of the South

Parts of the South

JD,
It's actually Two Rivers Fly Shop, my bad. And I usually fish right there at Gills landing. Go upstream a couple hundred yards of the boat ramp and you will find a couple really nice spots. Mitch will tell you to go to McDowell Creek Park. You don't actually go all the way there to the park, you go to the bridge and park on the side of the road. Honestly, I never care about sharing info about spots or what fish are eating. I love hearing about guys catching fish and being willing to share where it all happened. Anyhow, I heard the Crooked is going off right now and I'm trying to convince my wife that it's a great idea to go for a weekend vacation to Prineville, any advice on that? Good luck man.
Troy
 
J
jdflores311
freeflyin said:
JD,
It's actually Two Rivers Fly Shop, my bad. And I usually fish right there at Gills landing. Go upstream a couple hundred yards of the boat ramp and you will find a couple really nice spots. Mitch will tell you to go to McDowell Creek Park. You don't actually go all the way there to the park, you go to the bridge and park on the side of the road. Honestly, I never care about sharing info about spots or what fish are eating. I love hearing about guys catching fish and being willing to share where it all happened. Anyhow, I heard the Crooked is going off right now and I'm trying to convince my wife that it's a great idea to go for a weekend vacation to Prineville, any advice on that? Good luck man.
Troy

Sorry for the delayed reply, been away from the computer for a few days.

I heard the crooked is insane right now also! Did you end up talking the wife in to going out there? If so, how was it??

I hit the S. Santiam a few more times last week . . . got 4 pretty good cutthroats. I'm starting to get the hang of it . . . I think ; )
 

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