The Softshell fishing jacket is a custom embroidered windproof, water-resistant jacket, made of storm-bloc material and is the perfect jacket for a windy drizzly Fall fishing day. Available in sage or black.

The Mirco-fleece is a quarter-zip custom embroidered, soft, fast drying, durable shirt. It makes a great mid-weight layer for Fall or Winter fishing and is embroidered with our custom purple peril logo. Available in black or driftwood.

For more details on this great new clothing and to see available sizes and colors, please see the fishing jackets and shirts page on our website.

The Fall fishing season is nearly upon us. It’s that time of year when fishing opportunities abound around the state. As the days get shorter, the leaves begin to change color and the first rains arrive, rivers and streams in the area cool off and the fishing gets red hot!

We’ll begin targeting the first to arrive of the Fall fish, the Sea-run cutthroat (Blueback Trout) on the coast next week and then progress into Coastal Fall Chinook, Coastal Coho and Willamette Valley Coho in the coming weeks. We generally begin having good salmon fishing by September 15 that will often last until the 1st or 2nd week of December on various streams and rivers.

The buzz among anglers this year is of a record coho run. Based on the number of coho jacks present last year as well as adults that prediction may very well come true. Even if the run is half of what scientists are predicting we’re going to have a great run of coho on rivers like the N. Fork Nehalem, Nestucca, Siletz, some coastal creeks and especially the Sandy! Last year the Sandy fished the best of all Coho fisheries and we look forward to many more days of bent rods this fall.

We expect sea-run cutthroat fishing this year to remain consistently good as it has for the past several years. 20 fish days are very common for trout ranging from 10-18 inches. They readily take swung and skated flies and are spectacular sport on 4wt fly rods.

The Coastal Chinook run will probably be the weakest of the three fisheries as it has been for the last 2 seasons. However, we expect a slightly better run than last year, but still not up to historical averages. We keep a close eye on the strength of the run and keep our anglers posted on chances to land one of these massive fish.

It looks to be another great Fall and we’re all set for the action to come. To inquire about a Guided Salmon or Cutthroat Trout trip with Small Stream Outfitters please call us at 503.515.3533 or Email Us!

Tight lines,
The Small Stream Outfitters Guide Staff

Lately there have been a few requests from single anglers to split the cost of a boat with others single anglers. We welcome the idea, so I thought we would post it more formally and compose a list of singles in order to match them up with angling partners for the day. It’s a great way to meet other friendly fly fishermen and save nearly half off the cost of a guided trip! If you’re interested simply send us an email with the species and/or river you would like to target, along with the dates you are available. The more flexible you are on dates, the better the chance we can match you up with another angler.

Cost per angler is $225.00 and includes all the regular services: Lunch, Beverages, Flies, Instruction, and Rod/Reels if necessary. This offer is good through the rest of the Summer and the 2009 Fall angling season. Offer applies to trout, steelhead and salmon trips on both the Oregon Coast and the Willamette Valley.

Tight lines and we hope to see you on the water!
Small Stream Outfitters Guide Staff

As long as the heat wave continues concentrate efforts first thing in the morning and again when the sun is off the water. Smaller, darker patterns and lighter tippets are key. We are officially into summer conditions.

Contact us to book a Clackamas River Summer Steelhead and/or trout trip. 503.515.3533

Since this meal was so delicious, I thought I would pass along the sushi process, which is surprisingly easy and oh so tasty.

Spring Chinook Sushi
Preparing the fish. Make sure you bleed the fish immediately when you harvest it and keep the fish whole and on ice until you filet it. Filet each side as normal leaving the skin on but removing the rib bones. For sashimi, I like the area of the fish just behind where the pin bones stop and before the tail gets too narrow. The slices from a 15-20 pound fish in this area are just the right size. Take a single filet and slice down the lateral line and then remove the skin. 1/4 of a fish will feed 2-4 when served with rice. Trim the filet a bit to make a more uniform piece of fish, in this process remove and bones and dark grey flesh. The remaining meat should be firm, full of color and odorless. Wrap the filet in cling wrap and freeze overnight. Some people like to brine the fish also, to kill additional bacteria. It’s really your choice, but if you brine make sure you rinse the filet throughly before serving. The next day thaw the filet slowly in the fridge. When almost thawed is the best time to slice it. Using a very sharp knife cut 1/4 -1/3″ strips at a 20 degree angle off the filet. The angle will give you those lovely fat rings. After slicing, place the springer slices in a bath of ice water. You can use a little fresh lemon and rice vinegar in the water if you wish.

Preparing the Rice
Cook as much premium grade sushi rice as you need using 3 parts rice to 4 parts water. This recipe is for 3/4 cup of rice and 1 cup water.
In a separate pan combine 1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp caster sugar (I used organic cane sugar), and 1/2 tsp salt. Warm until the salt and sugar dissolves. Mix the vinegar mixture into the rice and let cool.
Preparing the Sushi
With all your ingredients at the ready, pat and dry your pieces of fish with a paper towel and dab the underside of each piece with a bit of wasabi (a little goes a long way) Then form the rice using your hands or a bamboo mat into shapes slightly smaller than your pieces of fish. Arrange and have wasabi, soy sauce and pickled ginger at the ready.

Enjoy and keep those platters coming, your guests can’t get enough.

Tight Lines,
Small Stream Outfitters

We switched over to an assortment of size 14 brown and black caddis dry flies around 10:00 and had a blast catching rainbows on 4 weights. The trout were extremely aggressive yesterday and we literally caught dozens of trout between 10″ and 13″. We even caught a 15″ whitefish on a dry. Now that’s looking up!

It was another great day on the water! To book a Summer Steelhead or Summer Steelhead/Rainbow Trout trip on the Clackamas River call 503.515.3533 or email info@smallstreamoutfitters.com

For us the 2009 Winter Steelhead Season, despite it’s ups and downs finished right on par or slightly better than the last couple seasons. We averaged over two fish per trip on flies, the mark we set for ourselves as the gold standard for fly fishing Winter steelhead. All in all it was a great season! Thanks to all the friendly anglers who came fishing with us. We enjoyed your company and hope to see you on the water in the future! Tight lines and best wishes from Jesse and the rest of the Small Stream Outfitters team.

We are now booking Clackamas Summer Steelhead/Trout, McKenzie River Trout and Summer Sea-Run Cutthroat. Call 503.515.3533 or email us to book a trip. We look forward to hearing from you!

VIEW STEELHEAD PHOTOS FROM FEBRUARY AND MARCH

Angling pressure for these coastal coho has remained light, due mostly to the fact that it is a catch and release fishery. For fly fishing guides that live on catch and release, this is great news. We love to strip flies for these silver bullets in tidewater. It’s tremendous sport. For those that like to take a couple fish home the limit on the Sandy river has been increased to 3 hatchery fish and will remain that way in future seasons. We haven’t had trouble garnering limits and on many days have released lots of fish just to continue enjoying the amazing action. Photos of these beautiful fish can be viewed at this Coho (Silver) Salmon Gallery

The chinook run on the Oregon Coast run got a nice shot of chromers early in September, but the action has slowed throughout the month with low and warm water. There are certain to be additional shots of fish throughout October and November, but overall expectations are for a fair season with average to slightly below average numbers. We’re seeing increased numbers of jack chinook which should translate to better returns in 2009 and 2010.

Coastal Sea-run cutthroat fishing continues to be good, although in certain areas the smaller cutthroat have been pushed to different holding areas by the chinook and coho. Good numbers of fish can still be found and on cloudy days the fishing has been excellent.

To book a fly fishing trip for Chinook, Coho or Sea-run cutthroat call 503.515.3533 or Email Us

We went fully expecting to catch nothing and to enjoy a nice float down the river. Still an enjoyable day on the water with the sun shining, shirt sleeves and 80 degree afternoons. There are worse ways to spend a day. The water was low, so we took the white water raft, some extra rope and a handful of fly rods. The raft was a good choice as we both agreed the driftboat would have gotten us into some serious trouble.

We got an unusually late start, perhaps around 8, but the sun was still low and off the water in most of the river canyon. Four deer crossed the river in front of us as we shoved off. Always a good omen. We fished two nice looking holes in the first half mile of the drift and came up empty. Not surprising. The next run we came to was long and wide with a nice choppy riffle at the head and smooth steelhead looking tailout. We pulled the boat over, hopped out and made a couple casts. Seconds later my angling partner’s rod surged and dove as a chrome silver came up tail walking. Fish On!!! Eventually the hook pulled out after several minutes, but the fish left us excited for the day’s prospects. We were not to be disappointed. We hooked four more fish in that hole alone including a Fall chinook and a couple chrome coho jacks.

Once the sun hit the water, the action slowed. However, we did manage to hook one more pig chinook late in the day that swam off with a hook in his mouth. 20-25lb fish are hard to land on 8lb. On a day we expected nothing, we were more than pleasantly surprised. It’s game on for these buggers and it’s only September 6. What is it going to be like in two or three weeks?

To take a crack at these hatchery and wild salmon give us a call at 503.515.3533 or Email Us.

Tight lines and good fishing,
Small Stream Outfitters Guide Staff