Oregon Fly Fishing Report – Small Stream Outfitters & Guides

It’s been another great week on the coast! We’ve had some incredible weather this past week that was extremely pleasant for anglers, but makes guides wish there were a few more clouds around. Still, the early morning bite was great and there were some fantastic fish taken in shady spots throughout the warm, sunny afternoons. This is typical Indian Summer weather on the Oregon Coast and we’ll take advantage of the few remaining opportunities to guide in shorts and tee shirts.

The Chinook bite slowed this week and emergency ODFW sportfish regulations on the South Coast make us worry the Chinook run will be another bust this year. However, there are still fish to be caught and the patient, dedicated anglers will get their fish. The one bonus to the buzz of less Chinook this Fall has driven other anglers away and we’ve had the river mostly to ourselves. It’s a great feeling to have a day’s float to yourself, quiet and peaceful, casting flies to eager cutthroat.

The sea-run fishing continues to be great and there are more fish in the river everyday. The average size of the fish is also increasing as it usually does this time of year. We’ve seen some huge fish in tidewater of 3+ pounds, but thus far the monsters on fly have eluded us. Anglers this week saw consistent 20 fish days and fish ranging from 9-17 inches. We can’t wait to get back on the water and continue to enjoy the great action. To book a guided fishing trip give us a call at 503.515.3533 or Email Us. We are currently fishing the Siletz, Nestucca and Sandy. Below are just a few snapshots from trips this week.

A beautiful cutthroat from the Siletz, colored up from hanging out in tidewater

Alan took this and many other great sea-run cutts on a crystal blue sky day

Sunrise over tidewater, it never ceases to amaze us.

The recent labor day storm system was a bummer to many campers and recreation enthusiasts, looking to get in one last outing before the school year started. For Small Stream Outfitters and many other fishermen it was a blessing. We had great fishing over the weekend for Chinook, Coho and Sea-run Cutthroat both on the coast and in the Willamette Valley. The early trickle of fish has now turned into solid numbers and it’s time to get in on the action. Give us a call at 503.515.3533 or Email Us to book a fishing trip for Coho, Chinook, and/or Sea-run Cutthroats (blueback). Many of these species are available in the same section of river. We are currently fishing the Siletz, Nestucca and Sandy. Below is just a small selection of the finned creatures we’ve run into in the last week.

A nice Fall Chinook from the Sandy, we’ve run into a lot of these fishing for Coho. We don’t mind a bit.

Rich Youngers of Creekside Fly Shop in Salem took this beautiful little cutt on Monday

When you see a harbor seal in upper tidewater, you know there are more than a few salmon around.

August is now officially behind us and September is here. We welcome the cool nights, warm days and splish splash of the anadromous fish entering the coastal rivers. We spent the weekend on the coast fishing for sea-run cutthroats (blueback trout), while keeping our eyes open for the first chinook and coho of the year. Sea-run trout fishing was good as always. We hooked a few really big fish (up to 18″) and landed lots of smaller ones. It seems the bulk of the early fish are smaller on average than those that show up in the coming weeks, but still there’s nothing better than the vicious topwater strike of a hungry sea-run cutthroat. Successful patterns included, the ‘ol black and orange, reverse spiders, coachmen bucktails and black-nosed dace.

We also ran into a few bigger fish that made our day including the lovely little super jack chinook below. The Fall run has officially started and we’re excited to be on the water a bunch in the coming weeks. To get in on the Sea-run Cutthroat, Coastal Fall Chinook and Coho Salmon action call us at 503.515.3533 or email Email Us

Hi Anglers,

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

FALL SEASON RECAP
It’s been a busy time at Small Stream Headquarters, but that hasn’t included a lot of days on the water and for good reason. My wife, Sara gave birth to our first child in October. Noah Matthew was born on October 22 and weighed in at 8 lbs, 4 ounces. The past month has been amazing and I look forward to getting him out on the water soon.

As for the fishing… the Fall season was a mixed bag. Sea-Run Cutthroat fishing was very solid, although we didn’t see any massive 20″ fish like we did last year. The numbers of fish appeared to be very similar to 2007. Coho fishing on the Sandy was very good as usual and better than average at the coast. As for the Coastal Chinook… the season was a disappointment once again. Numbers appear to be very similar to last year’s poor return. We saw slightly better runs in some locations and slightly worse in others. Predictions are for above average returns in 2009 and 2010, but we aren’t holding our breath for that one.

NEW FLY FISHING FILM ON LINE
I took some time off from guiding in October to acquaint myself with Noah. While that kept me off the water, it gave me some much needed time in the office to finish up the editing on our second film. On November 4th, we released Chapter 1 of the Headwater Chronicles. N59 – A Journey to the Bering Sea is a short (5:45) film that tells the story of a wilderness fly fishing adventure. It chronicles the journey of nine anglers that float from a remote lake 55 miles to the Bering Sea. The film is available on our website The Headwater Chronicles and also on Hook.tv We are excited to produce more episodes and hope to shoot two in 2009 for release in late 2009 or early 2010. Stay tuned for more info on those!

WINTER STEELHEAD SEASON 2008-2009
With Chinook season tapering off, it’s now time to think Winter Steelhead. My personal favorite! Nothing is more exciting then seeing a 15lb chrome steelhead bursting out of the water tail walking across the river. We are now booking the 2009 season, so contact us early for the best dates. Any trip for 2009 booked before December 31 will honor 2008 rates. Beginning January 1, there will be a ‘09 rate change. We will be fishing coastal streams like the N. Fork Nehalem and Nestucca beginning in min-January and then we’ll begin to move over to the Sandy in March and will continue to fish that through May. Predictions are for an decent return this season, which translates to about 1-3 hookups per day.

From all of us at Small Stream Outfitters we hope you have a wonderful upcoming holiday season and are able to get out and wet a line!

Tight lines and best wishes,

–Jesse Sampson