Oregon Fly Fishing Report – Small Stream Outfitters & Guides

Long before the invention of high modulus carbon fiber, titanium and other space age materials there was bamboo. The world’s fastest growing grass has been used as a durable construction material for centuries. Its round shape and long tough fibers add to bamboo’s strength and flexibility. These characteristics have attracted anglers to bamboo for use in the construction of fishing rods since before the time of Isaac Walton.

Most anglers choose to fish graphite these days for obvious reasons, it is lighter, stronger and considerably cheaper than bamboo for a quality fly rod. Still, like the desire for classic cars and aged wine, a small passionate marketplace still exists for high-end, handcrafted bamboo rods. The reasons are simple; bamboo rods are beautiful, unique, functional pieces of art.

Last week we had the opportunity to spend a day with bamboo rod maker J. Douglas Blair fishing native cutthroats on the Oregon Coast. It was a pleasure to watch Doug toss fluffy dries with a 6 foot, 3 weight cane rod and swing streamers with a 7 foot, 5/6 weight. The slower rhythm of cane suggests a leisurely pace to a fishing day. A chance to step back, breath deeply and take in the tall trees, sunny sky, gurgling stream, the slurping sound of brilliantly colored cutts and remember what fly fishing is really about.

To view J. Douglas Blair’s bamboo art or inquire about a custom made bamboo fly rod please visit his website Old Trout Rodworks

To book a guided fly fishing trip this Summer or Fall contact Small Stream Outfitters at 503.515.3533 or Email Us.

Doug with a beautiful coastal cutthroat he took on his custom 6′ 3wt. cane rod.

Cane rod, constantly bent by native cutthroats under warm sunny skies, not a bad way to spend a day!

Each Summer, when the days are long, the grasses are tall and the creeks gurgle low and clear I am tugged by the childhood memory of fly fishing Coastal Cutthroats. These wiry, stunningly beautiful native trout were the object of my budding passion for fly fishing nearly 30 years ago. Since then, my desire to catch fish on a fly has taken me all over world to chase dozens of finned species. Yet, each Summer fishing season is not complete without of few days of chasing colorful, acrobatic cutts on small creeks and streams deep within the Oregon Coast Range.

Although the traditional coastal trout opener was memorial day weekend we delayed our pursuit of cutthroats until late June, due to the high river levels throughout Western Oregon. It was worth the wait. In our first few Cutthroat trips we’ve found overly eager (borderline kamikaze) fish that are a full 1″-2″ bigger on average than past seasons. Water temperatures are still cool for July (in the low 50’s) + good flows = great conditions. We’ve fished dries almost exclusively and have tempted even the biggest fish to rocket off the bottom of pools, runs and riffles to attack our flies.

Cutthroats are currently averaging 8″-15″ and anglers can expect to hook 20-40 fish in a day. With properly matched light gear (3-4 wt.) these fish are pure fun that will leave you smiling and wanting more. To book a guided fly fishing trip this Summer or Fall contact Small Stream Outfitters at 503.515.3533 or Email Us.

PS. Don’t forget, Less than 2 months before the first Sea-Run Cutts return! Book early for this outstanding fishery!

This nice 13″ Coastal Cuttroat trout fell to a #8 Royal Stimulator.

A true cutthroat classic, this solid cutthroat took a #10 Royal Wulff.

Yesterday marked the official first day of Summer on the calendar, but you wouldn’t know it by looking outside. Cool, rainy weather has dominated the calendar during May and June. June, 2010 is already the wettest on record with a rainfall total of 4.28″ to date, surpassing the old record of 4.06″ and there’s still over a week left to go. Coast and Valley streams were all blown out for over a week at the beginning of the month. The rain swollen rivers looked similar to a strong storm in January or February, certainly not June.

While the high water has made for some less than typical fishing conditions and some frustrating days of cancelled trips, the rain does have a few upsides. Sections of water that usually too low for drift boats this time of year are flowing nicely, allowing access to fishing grounds usually reserved for Winter. Fish of all species including Spring Chinook and Summer Steelhead have had free passage up river under moderate to heavy flows and dirty water. That has kept the fish far less spooky than normal and allowed us to fish bigger presentations and heavier leaders.

But perhaps the biggest upside is still to come… All this rain late in the season means increased river flows in July, August and September when rivers typically get low, warm and have decreased dissolved oxygen content. That’s good news for fish and fishermen who should enjoy good mid-summer/early-fall conditions for Summer steelhead, sea-run cutthroat, Coho and Fall Chinook. Fish should be less spooky, more aggressive and spread themselves out through river systems instead of stacking up in big dark pools with bad cases of lock-jaw. Only time will tell, but with the rivers now on the slow drop and approaching the magic 50 degree mark we are looking forward to a great Summer and Fall of fishing.

We are currently fishing Summer Steelhead/Spring Chinook on the Clackamas as well as the Nestucca. We are also guiding cutthroat and rainbow trout on the Clackamas, McKenzie and Coastal Rivers. To inquire about a guided fishing adventure email Info@SmallStreamOutfitters.com or call 503.515.3533

Tight Lines,
The Small Stream Outfitters Guide Staff

Spring is always a time of transition for Oregon fishermen and while it’s sad to see the Winter Steelhead disappear until next season, new exciting fly fishing opportunities abound. Rainbow and Cutthroat trout are now in full swing on Willamette Valley streams like the McKenzie; Coastal trout season opens this weekend; and the Clackamas already has good numbers of Summer Steelhead and Spring Chinook.

At Small Stream Outfitters we love to mix it up this time of year, go new places and try new techniques. As one of our new endeavors this Spring we’re going to try and find BIG schooling Sea-run cutthroat in their estuary Summer home. These fish are often targeted in these tidal areas on Washington’s Puget Sound but rarely on the Oregon Coast. We think we can find them and that it will provide another great opportunity for fly anglers during the Summer months. Who knows, maybe we’ll find a tidewater springer while we are at it.

In addition to experimenting a bit, prospects for our traditional Spring and Summer fisheries are good, if not excellent. Swinging flies on the Clackamas for Summer Steelhead has been very good and McKenzie trout fishing is always good this time of year.

To book a Spring/Summer Trout, Steelhead or Spring Chinook trip give us a call at 503.515.3533 or Email Us

Tributary Spring Chinook Salmon caught Mid-April, 2010 while Summer Steelheading. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good!

Winter Steelheading in March on the Oregon Coast provides a month of varied steelhead action. One just never knows what’s going to grab the end of that line. We caught some hatchery kelts, right along side chrome natives and fresh broodstock hatchery fish. Numbers of native fish seemed about averge. We caught good numbers of wild fish but not the crazy ridiculous fishing for hatchery brats we had in February. However, we would gladly trade a handful of hatchery fish for a shot at big natives over 15lbs. We hooked a few and landed one monster that made the month worthwhile. We finished up with a month-long average of 6-7 hookups for the boat in a day, nymphing most of the time and swinging some too when conditions were good. Sure beats working for a living. God bless Oregon, we love our State.

Thank you to all who joined us this 2009-2010 season, making it one for the memory books!

March Fly Fishing Photo Gallery

We’ll be fishing the Sandy and Nestucca for the rest of April and then start thinking about Summer Steelhead on the Clackamas and trout on the McKenzie. To arrange a guide trip for Spring and early Summer action, give us a call at 503-515-3533 or email us!