South Coast Oregon Steelhead Fly Fishing

After two days of tough fishing and low and clear conditions, when Jamie showed up for his trip I had to be blunt. We had the opportunity to push the envelope and find some un pressured water where the fish MIGHT be grabby. But it was going to be tough. I laid out my thoughts and Jamie agreed...

We got stuck - we hit rocks, we were in and out of the boat and behold, we caught bright fish! Thoroughly spent after our adventurous first day and with the looming weather front finally at our door, we opted for a more standard float, hoping the rising river would bring in some fresh salty fish for day two...

We started the day to rain, wind and a steadily rising flow. By mid-day we were into two small but bright fish, 50 mph gusts and sheets of driving precipitation. We uttered silent thanks to Gore Tex products for keeping us warm and dry and we kept at it. The river became an alluring emerald green, and as we got closer to the salt, we began to see them. First one in a tail out, then a pair on an edge. These were fresh fish, drawn up from the sea with the swelling river. Our excitement peaked with the first big fish, a hen, and an absolute gem.

We continued down, the tribs really pumping now and the green river looked exceptional. On our last run, the take out just a minute down stream, we found a buck to match our earlier hen, thick shouldered and dime bright! After fish like these, there's no need to make another cast, we let the sweet taste of a couple of great and hard earned salty fish linger as long as we could...

It's raining now, and the river is too high and to fast to fish. But thats the Winter Steelhead game. When it drops, I'll be here, ready to go. Let me know if you want to take a shot