Eric with a upper teens wild steelhead. View more images from a great January, 2012 of fly fishing for steelhead on the North Oregon Coast.

SE Alaska Adventure
Posted May 17, 2012

Recently, five intrepid anglers set off for Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. Our mission, which we freely accepted… bum around the island looking for Spring steelhead, explore, find some cutthroats and/or dollies and catch some crabs, the dungeness kind. Mission accomplished.

We spent five days on the island, burned two tanks of gas steelheading, pulled crab pots nine times, ate lots of ferns, saw countless Sitka deer, scared two black bears, fished an outgoing smolt feeding frenzy for cutthroats/dollies and climbed the world’s largest logging claw. Not to mention other debacles. Five days was simply not enough. Read more...

Oregon Smoked Salmon Recipe
Check out the newest recipe in the mouth-watering section of our blog. Great recipes for Northwest fish inside.

We are Western Oregon's premier fly fishing guide service for Steelhead, Salmon and Trout. Guiding fly anglers since 1997, we focus on the Oregon Coast, Willamette Valley and Portland area streams including the Siletz, Nestucca, Sandy, Clackamas and McKenzie rivers. Our knowledgeable and friendly guides can help put you some amazing fish, like wild steelhead, sea-run cutthroat trout, and huge coastal chinook all on a fly rod!

From beginning to expert anglers alike, we have the perfect fishing trip to match your needs, desires, skill level and geographic location. We provide all tackle including flies so you don't have to think about it. We also serve great streamside sack lunches and love to create tremendous shore lunches upon angler request. Visit our rates and bookings page for more information!

We have spent decades fishing local waters and fine tuning our knowledge base in order to put you on the best fisheries when they are fishing their best. We cover a broad area from the base of the Cascades to the Southern Willamette Valley and a large chunk of the Oregon Coast. Famous coastal streams like the Siletz and Nestucca, and other smaller creeks prodvide incredible fly fishing opportunities including coastal chinook, sea-run cutthroats and steelhead. If time and travel is short and find yourself in the Portland area, the Clackamas and Sandy are excellent steelhead rivers and also fish well for coho and rainbow trout at certain times of year. For those anglers in the Eugene area or fisherman looking for the blue ribbon trout experience, the world famous McKenzie is a spectacular three season trout fishery. Whatever the time of year, there are always great angling opportunites on the rivers we guide. Let us help show you the Oregon Fly Angling Experience!

Featured Spring/Summer Species - Summer Steelhead; Oncorhynchus clarki clarki:

Summer steelhead share a lot of similarities with their Winter cousins on the opposite side of the calendar, but they also have many differences. The variations between the species keep sportfishermen on their toes forcing them to change and adapt techniques from season to season.

Summer fish begin to enter Coastal and Willamette Valley streams in May and continue until September, with runs peaking in June and July. Unlike Winter Steelhead who enter the river and spawn quickly, Summer Steelhead will not spawn until Fall. Since they spend so much time in freshwater during times of low Summer flows and warmer water temperatures, they react to baits quite differently than Winter fish. Our favorite technique for Summer Steelhead is to swing, but we will nymph on occasion. They require lighter leaders, smaller presentations, lighter tackle and generally a stealthier approach. Most often, if a fish sees you before you see it, the fish will spook or get a nasty case of lock jaw. Time of day also has a huge impact on these fish because of the long Summer days and often bright sunny skies. Early mornings and late evenings when the sun is off the water are best. Cloudy days of days with drizzle can extend the bite.

There are very few runs of native summer steelhead left in Oregon. In our area the Siletz has the healthiest population of native fish and smaller numbers of wild summer steelhead can be found in streams up and down the coast. However, hatchery runs are prevelant and provide excellent opportunites for multi-fish days on a regular basis. The Siletz, Nestucca, Wilson, Clackamas, and Sandy all have good populations of hatchery summer steelhead stock. These fish average 6-9 pounds with a few large fish in the low-teens. These fish are go absolutely crazy when hooked, often cartwheeling above and below water over and over again. A fight with one of these fish will leave you giggling all day!

Give us a call and find out just what the Oregon Spring/Summer fly fishing experience is all about! Ring 503-515-3533 or email us.

Summer Steelhead
Clackamas, Sandy, Siletz and
Nestucca Rivers
Now - October 31, 2012

Willamette Valley Trout
McKenzie and Clackamas Rivers
Now - October 31, 2012

Coastal Cutthroat
Central and North Oregon Coast
May 26 - October 31, 2012

Sea-Run Cutthroat
Central and North Oregon Coast
August 20 - October 31, 2012

Fall Coho and Chinook Salmon
Central and North Oregon Coast
September 1 - Thanksgiving, 2012

Call 503-515-3533 or email us to inquire about booking a guided fishing trip!

Our brand new clothing and outdoor gear is now in stock! Check out our new embroidered micro-fleece shirts and supplex fishing shirts. We also have a great selection of trucker hats, ball caps and beanies for sale.