Oregon steelhead fishing (2010 - 2021)

this fish was my second winter and first hatchery of the year. River was low and clear right before we got out first good rain the blew the rivers out, took me and two buds out fishin in sear ch of some chrome I landed this nave hatchery fish and my two buddies got two hatchery fish as well, and one of them got his hatch fish and 3 Nates to release. Here is me and my fish. Then the pic below is of all three of our fish. Total of 7 fish on the bank this day. I was drift fishing pink and white Corkie with white yarn and some scent.

This was the seventh fish for this day lol. Took an all white yarnie that I made to resemble flesh or shrimp tumbling down river. Big ol nasty fire truck lol.

here is my first Umpqua steelhead that took this side drifted yarnie. first fish ever well steelhead on a yarnie anyways... love they way the smash them.

Great day on the Sandy...Finally brought home the CHROME!!!
Started out at Glen Otto in the dark and when I could finally see, it was still a bit dirty and the water was high, so after casting a spinner and floating a couple different things without any luck, I decided to go up river. So I bought some roe from Mark at the Snack and Tackle and decided I'd go to the Hatchery for the rest of the day.

Oh also I got signed up for a derby that Mark's is sponsoring ...Biggest fish and most fish..lots of prizes, and it goes til April..buy enough stuff from him and it's free, so start your next trip on the Sandy at Mark's and you may be rewarded with a smoker, or rod and reel etc. etc.... ok back to fishin'!

So I drove up to the Hatchery and being it was my first time I drove straight in and parked by the tanks and wondered which way to the water? So I see a guy that works there and he directs me down the path saying there's gonna be a lot of guys down there..Good Luck! Well I look around and there are only three cars there ..so I'm thinking eh ...lots of guy RIIIGHT. ( I didn't know there was another parking lot around the corner PACKED TO THE GILLS) So I grabbed my gear and started the hike...beautiful!!
Ok so i get there and there at least 50 guys I can see and no place to fish...I press on. I crossed the creek and start looking for a spot and then climb a goat trail and see the spot I want and The guys that are on it are packing up HALLELUIA!!
I shimmy down the bouldery mossy slippery wall and get to the spot just as the guy just upstream hooks up...tries to hand off to his lady...and she slack lines it and its gone...BUMMER.
I set myself up, gonna try the killer pink worm!! I slather it up with some krill/anise scent and I'm fishing!
After several cast I get my first BOBBER DOWN!!! and ...I missed it....geeez. but a few casts later BAM!! My first hookup in Oregon. Awesome fight and then in a flash my neighbor up the bank (Marvin) is at my side with a net and I am no longer a virgin!! Another HALLELUIA!!! A super clean Chromer!!!



So after re-rigging with same pink worm on a pink jighead I fished unsuccessfully for awhile, then switched to the deadly NIGHTMARE jig!! Three casts later I get another bobber down, and end up landing my second of the day and my biggest Steelhead to date!!! Pretty pleased with my bad self!!



Thanks to all you guys for giving me the guidance I needed to go out and feel confident I was doing the right stuff...OFF Rocks!!!

Heating up indeed...3 in a week.

Picked this up this morning at 7:

So I get a text yesterday, from bigboy, about him wanting to ditch the float rod and toss flies at steelhead. I think back and my first steel on the fly was September 2012. My second steelhead on the fly was September 2013. Hmmm, it's September..."Sure thing," I reply.

We meet on the Clack, fiddle around a little with some stuff, then saunter down to the tailout where I nabbed my first on the fly. Start in close, then work outward. In fairly short order, I actually hang up and have to break OFF. Sit down to retie and settle on the purple leech, reminiscent of my very first and from this very tailout. Within about 15 minutes, at the start of a swing, my line stalls. Pull very slightly taut, feel tension, lever the rod toward the bank and fish on! Bigboy convinces me to pose the obligatory 'rod in teeth' for posterity:



We gab some, I point out some details of how I like to fish the tailout, but eventually bigboy moves upward, and I decide to continue down this same tailout. Not too much longer, a further cast to a seam from some rocks more toward the middle, a quick mend and within a few feet of dead drift, my line starts to bend funny, I pull toward my shore, more tension, rear back completely, and fish on again! This one a bit heftier. I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the water when I saw this fish erupt as a fly-caught steelhead is indeed rare for me.



So, I didn't really intend to put on a clinic and nab 2 within an hour, making up only my 3rd and 4th steelhead on a fly, but hey, it's September, remember? LOL

I guess I'm gonna have to ditch my bargain rod, bargain reel and ratty wool glove and buy a Sage, a machined titanium reel, some brand new, never been dirty Simms gear, a wading staff, and maybe a monogrammed sweater and cashmere tailing glove so I can truly fit in...

So in recent months I haven't touched a fish of any kind. So seeing coho coming in and went coastal last weekend thought I would give them ago localish. Josie and I decided to ask a friend Shawnie along for the ride, she was all game. Make the plan the night before thinking happy thoughts of Chrome and Blood!

After deciding where to meet up we fish around a bit and there in their rolling all over the place! YES I'm gonna catch my first coho today! Well that did not happen! We motor around awhile a lil here and there then looking at a spot I realize fish are not gonna move through this, go lower! On a gut call we head back to a spot I've heard very good things about!

Get there and get a feel haven't fished this spot at these water levels so we hike up as far as we can and start going to town. Then I look up and think dang it getting hot out fish are gonna be hiding, I look down river and spot some shade on the river another gut feeling so we jet down there.

I studying the river vigorously and know we are running out of time! So I thought.... I am able to make out a slight depression on the shade line I point to Josie (the misses) and tell That line right there! She cast out and I'm watching and bump something weird, da fuq?!?! was that I see there something small attached by the way the rod was moving. I peek into the water see her bait and not even two feet behind it a FISH I say drop it!!! not knowing she somehow hook a rock, yes a rock very small but a rock. She reels to her feet and the fish spooks and darts back to the depths I wanted to cry! So I get the small rockfish off and toss the a$$ into the bushes.
Go to get her some more bait and crap last chunk of eggs a lil smaller then I'd like but enough I though. Get it on the hook and have her pitch it out once I was clear. I was heading to my rod when something told me to about face and I did just in time to see Josie's line do thump thump....I see her lift feel for tension and set the hook like a god damn freight train! BAM!!!! FISH ON!!!!!
I'm thinking finally!!! then I grab my glove (thanks chez) and run over and this fish is all over the place screamin drag flash flash Chromer coho! Again I was wrong she got him close enough and he wasn't done! Did a head stand and saw that redline a summer?! That when he started to fly! Yup defiantly a summer!!! Get it up over the small rock ledge and grab for the tail bam got him! So we bleed him all that our friend shawnie came over to watch all the excitment. So she heads back to fish and I point a spot out to her cast nada cast nada third cast theirs a knock at the front door WHAM! HELLO! FISH ON! At this point I see more chrome a lil smaller I'm think ok a small coho then it made one run and I knew ANOTHER summer! :yikes: In the excitement (and her inexperience) she was trying to horse him in got her to calm down with a lil coaching and landed him a few mins later a bit smaller then Josie's but still great colors.

So In light of the recent outings I've came to the conclusion I QUIT! lol :lol: IDK who was more excited me or the ladies. It's defiantly a diffferent type of thrill "guiding" but knowing those fish we're right where I point and on the bait I chose I felt pretty damn good!

Josie's fish taped at 29" and Shawnie's was close to 26" and I caught a couple pike minnows
EPIC DAY!!

Fish

OK, I gathered some from 2014.

As long as we are going back in time, here are the results from our two guided trips on the McKenzie last summer. This was part of my sinister scheme to get my wife interested in fishing.

This ain't no monster steelhead by any measure, but it is my first ever. So I guess I can be rightly proud of it.
Caught 10/7/14 from the Willamette river in Eugene, drift fishing from the bank a bit of yarn, a hook and a corky float.

One more this morning

Add two more lol

Hey guys haven't been on in a while finally got this app set up on my phone makes it a lot easier. Here's some of the steel we got back in June on the clack.

Got 2 this week on the swing...

Beautiful Jon T are you using a switch or spey? Im looking to get a setup and a complete newb!

Oh took Josie cousin out and got him into one

Jan 1 2015
Wife's first steelie!
Pink worm and egg sack under a float.
TFO 9' spinning rod
Mitchell 300 pro spinning reel
Maxima 15 lb main line
Maxima 10 lb leader

12/31/14 with tanners guide service! My first steelheads ever!