Check out our New September-October Photo Gallery. This gallery includes images from our October Grand Slam trips. It’s a rare chance to chase Steelhead, Sea-Run Cutthroat, Chinook and Coho Salmon in the same day all on a fly! View the Gallery

Stay tuned for our November Big Chinook Gallery coming next month!

Interested in a Guided trip? Our Booking Update is below:
We are currently booked through the end of November. We are now booking hatchery Winter Steelhead for Dec/Jan and Native Steelhead for Feb/Mid-April. There will be a rate increase beginning Jan 1, 2012. Any trip booked before Dec. 31 will honor 2011 pricing. Book now and save yourself some $.

Tight Lines,
Small Stream Outfitters

Just a quick Mid-Season Fall Oregon Coast fishing report before we head back out to the rivers. We’ve had 3 or 4 small to moderate rains so far this season. Each of which bumped area rivers like the Wilson, Nestucca and Siletz a couple inches. It’s certainly been enough rain to move the Sea-Run Cutthroat upriver. Sea-Runs are now spread out through all the coastal systems from tide water to 30 miles upriver, offering some great fly rod action. Our biggest to date this season is 18″, but we’ve had a lot of fish in the 15-16″ range . Numbers of fish have been excellent.

The early Fall rains also cooled the water down and put those upriver Summer Steelhead on the bite again. Steelheading has really picked up for us in the last couple weeks.

The Chinook are still mostly in tidewater although a fair number of jacks and a few adults have made it in to the river offering great sport on the fly rod. The adult Chinook will surely start to enter the systems in bigger numbers on the next big rain. The Coho are just now turning on in tidewater and numbers look to be good, but don’t expect the same giant numbers as 2009.

We’re booked up through October, but do have a few November Salmon dates left. We are also beginning to book Steelhead season, please give us a call (5036.515.3533) or EMAIL US to reserve your guided fishing trip. We’ll be fishing Winter Steelhead from Thanksgiving, 2011 to April 15, 2012.

Below are few pics from the last week of fishing.

We’ve had bursts of decent steelheading here and there, but numbers have generally been low. However, both Steelhead and Spring Chinook numbers have been getting steadily better over the last couple weeks. With the good flows I would expect fishing to improve in late June and early July.

Although Steelheading has been slow, Coastal Cutthroat fishing has been very good with anglers averaging a couple dozen fish per rod in the 8″-17″ range. It feels as if some of the sea-runs may be hanging in the river longer this year because water temperatures and water levels are still prime and food is abundant. On cloudy days, hatches last all day long and are a great mix of small stoneflies, green drakes and caddis.

As the valley streams drop into shape throughout late June and July we’ll be transitioning over to WV Summer Steelhead and trout. Give us a call at 503.515.3533 or email us to inquire about a guided fly fishing trip this Summer!

Tight lines,
Small Stream Outfitters Guide Staff

We are currently fishing the Nestucca, Siletz, McKenzie, Sandy and Clackamas. Give us a call at 503.515.3533 or Email us to book a Summer Steelhead and/or trout fishing trip.

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

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!

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

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

The bite has varied day to day with the changes in weather and fishing pressure. Yesterday, we were able to find some unpressured fish under cloudy skies and had a fantastic morning, hooking five and landing three. We weren’t able to get any to go on a dry line waking fly, but we’ll keep trying, remembering those moments of top water brilliance last Summer.

We were done steelheading around 10am, just in time to catch an incredible caddis (size 14 brown) and green drake hatch (size 8). The soft current edges came alive with rising trout. We broke out the 4wts and had non-stop dry fly action for the next hour. It was a blast and a great way to close out the morning!

To book a Clackamas River Summer Steelhead/Trout combo trip call 503.515.3533 or email us

The McKenzie is finally below 3.0 feet and fishing well. As usual it is heavily stocked and will fly fish well for hatchery and native trout all Summer. This is a great trip for beginning anglers, kids and families. Fish can be caught on a variety of methods and fly patterns. We love to fish hopper/dropper style or strip streamers for these fiesty trout.

To book a Summer Steelhead or Trout trip, please call 503.515.3533

Tight Lines,
Small Stream Outfitters Guide Staff