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

The Oregon Coast Winter Steelhead season of 2010/2011 is in full swing! We still have a few late season dates left, but they won’t last long. To arrange a guide trip for Winter 2010-2011 steelhead action, give us a call at 503-515-3533 or email us! We’ll be fishing these agressive, acrobatic fish through April.

Click here or on the images below to view this month’s photo slide show.

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!

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!

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

I spent the day on the McKenzie with David from Kansas having a glorious time catching Rainbows and Cutthroats. Even with the sunny skies the hatchery rainbows were particularly aggressive and David’s rod was bent often. About halfway through our float, there’s a great riffle that always holds fish and is a favorite hang out spot for a pair of Osprey. Rich Youngers of Creekside Fly Shop has had client’s fish stolen on multiple occasions at this spot, but for whatever reason, it hadn’t happened to me. I had heard all the stories and saw all the pictures, so of course David and I were chatting about the birds as we approached and set anchor.

David made a cast with his streamer and instantly hooked up. I watched him as he fought the fish and just as I was about to reach over and grab the line to land it, a large splash startled us. An osprey was in the water, just feet in front of the boat. He took off with our fish in tow and now Dave had a 12″ rainbow and very large bird attached to his 5 weight! Awesome! “Break him off”, I yelled while laughing. He pulled back and away the bird went, back across the river. Now one less hatchery rainbow in the river… That alone was enough to make the day and certainly lightning couldn’t strike twice. As I tied on a new tippet and fly, Dave got out his camera to snap some photos of the other half of the Osprey pair, sitting in a tree across the river.

I finished the knot, stripped off some line and flicked a cast out the side of the boat, waiting while he finished snapping shots. As the fly swung in front of the boat (did I mention fishing was hot yesterday) the rod surged and now I had one on. “Get that camera ready” I said. And with that, she took off from the tree, flew across the river and started a dive on the fish. Not wanting to lose another fly, I shook the fish off right before she hit the water. Success!! She got the fish, I saved my fly and Dave snapped away. Count two for the Osprey. As she flew away, presumably to feed their babies, Dave and I chuckled as he made a cast and hooked another fish.

Now with the Ospreys fed, we can get on to catching more fish!

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

When Jesse invited me to scout with him the River, I asked him what time I should show up. He said between 4:30 and 5 AM. Even though I had to drive through cross-town Portland traffic and cross over the Willamette, there aren’t a lot of cars on the road between 3 and 4 AM and arrived up 3:55. Even so, Jesse was waiting by his vehicle, loaded and ready to go.

The only vehicles on the road were loaded logging trucks, zooming at or just above the speed limit, and never, ever, slowing down. I’ve always said that if you can keep up with an Oregon logging truck, you are driving too fast. I told Jesse they must load the trucks the day before so they can take off so early. Jesse said most logging truck drivers are done by 3PM.

There was snow on the pass through the Oregon Coast Range, a mere 1200 feet above sea level and still traces of snow when we pulled into Jesse’s favorite parking place, a giant mud hole on the side of narrow logging road. I was especially eager to fish this coastal river with Jesse because he knows the river intimately and guides scores fishermen there every year. Lots of people don’t realize how many times a guide scouts the same river before he brings in clients. What often appears to be preternatural knowledge of fish location is really the result of exhaustive preparation.

Steelhead, although they are in fact trout, don’t distribute themselves in the river the way trout do. Trout live in the river all year. They have plenty of time to find the best hiding and feeding places. Trout fishermen concentrate their efforts on these feeding locations. Steelhead are like 5 AM logging trucks. They are just passing through. They don’t eat; all they want to do is get to the spawning grounds. I’ve been told they can travel 20 miles in a day but like logging truckers, they have pull off at rest stops. The trick is to find these rest stops and be there when the fish are. My limited experience tells me there are two basic rest stops. One is in deepest part of the river channel and the other is behind or in front of big boulders where they can rest out of the current. Migrating steelhead are not very affable. The girls, until they are ready to lay their eggs, don’t want to be pestered and the boys don’t want competition. Both have teeth and use them to chase away others that get too close.

The weather was right, the water level was right and the water is a bright blue green, not too cloudy, not too clear. At the first stop we could see a pair of 20-inch fish waiting to spawn. Mamma was digging her redd (nest) and papa was impatiently milling around waiting for her to godammit get done. Ten feet behind were a pair of jacks (sexually mature, small fish) hoping to sneak in and fertilize mamma’s eggs when papa wasn’t paying attention. Papa may have been impatient but fully alert and eager to chase off the jacks if they got within 10 feet.

Even though the fish seemed crabby enough we couldn’t get them to strike. Jesse climbed up on the high bank told me where to cast and tried to guide my lure to the fish, but to no purpose. I was using a spinning rod and reel so that I could cast a heavily weighted lure that would sink into the deep fissures where I presumed the fish were. Jesse’s fly rig only allowed him to fish the shallower hideouts behind big boulders.

After lunch Jesse decided to fish a small relatively shallow lie upstream with his fly rod. I heard Jesse thrashing and I thought he had hooked a rock. His rod was bent into a fishhook shape and he was stumbling amidst hassock-sized boulder. The fish took off upstream, no small feat, considering the water was too fast to wade. Then the fish wrapped the line around a submerged tree limb. Somehow Jesse waded out into waist deep water, stuck his arm shoulder-deep in the water and freed the line. Then the fish took off again upstream through the boulders in the rapids. Jesse kept his rod tip, trying to keep the fish from wrapping the line around a rock. For 15 minutes Jesse stumbled but never fell as he thrashed after the fish. All I could do is pant along behind, hoping, but never finding a place where I could stand and help land the fish. Jesse didn’t need me and he brought the fish into a one by two-foot miniature sand bar between the boulders.

I came in handy after all. I had in my vest a disposable camera that I had carried in my vest for one month less than three years. I had half dozen pictures on the camera but hadn’t used it for at least two years, and didn’t dare develop because there was still a half roll of unexposed film. The battery was dead but I determinedly took pictures as fast as I could. The next day I had the pictures printed and Jesse digitized them.

There is a new steelhead calculation out to figure weight by length and girth ( L” x G” (squared) / 690 = weight. Jesse estimated the fish’s dimensions, using his hands as a point of reference and concluded the fish was about 34″ long by 17″ or 18″ around. Which would make it 15-16lbs. A truly gigantic steelhead is over 20 pounds. But I have never seen or heard of anyone landing such a ferocious, fish of this size is such a hazardous small creek as the one Jesse landed that day. Jesse has caught hundreds of steelhead and he said with nonchalance not typical of fishermen, that this was the largest he ever caught on a fly rod.

A week or so later I was embarrassed to realize I had at that time, in my vest, a small and flimsy tape measure, that I got for free at the hardware store, and I could have determined exactly how big the fish was. So far, I haven’t told Jesse.

I tried to get Jesse to go fishing with me to the Creek yesterday, but he was guiding a couple of fishermen on the Sandy and couldn’t come. Even fishing guides have to work. So I went by myself, to the same places where I caught my 32-inch steelhead several weeks ago and of which I have sent pictures to every mortal who might know who I am.

I fished every hole with no results. On the way back I decided to re-fish one hole with a spinner which I designed and made myself. It’s easy to make spinners if you have the parts, and I have hundreds. (How I came to have so many spinner parts is another story.)

I design my steelhead spinners to be unobtrusive. I consider most spinners to be so gaudy that they frighten the fish in clear water. My spinner is silver on the convex side, blue with a spot of white on the concave side and with a two inch white plastic tube-bait (don’t ask) on the hook. My logic is to provide a dark outline so the fish can see it against the sky if the fish is looking up and some color and flash so the fish can see it looking downward against the black rocks on the bottom. I had severe doubts about the shiny silver convex side, but the black tape I used to conceal most of the silver peeled off and I had nothing to replace it.

Whatever the reason, I hooked what I thought was a log, but turned out to be, praise the Lord, a steelhead. This time I remembered my flimsy tape measure. It lasted long enough for me to determine it was 35 inches long with a 17inch girth. According to Jesse’s formula that is a 14.65942-pound fish. I don’t believe in estimations. I brought with me a new disposable camera and the flash worked and I took four pictures. Which are safely stored in my fishing vest and which I will have printed when the roll is exhausted. (I only had Jesse’s pictures developed prematurely as thanks for inviting me to fish with him.)

When I got home I discovered the tape measure wouldn’t rewind and broke while trying to fix it. Reluctantly, I went to Fred Meyers to get a replacement. I found a small one in the hardware department but they only went to 36 inches. Remembering my last fish was 35 inches, I went to the sewing section and bought a seamstress tape that goes 72 inches. When I go steelhead fishing I like to be prepared.