Rivers on the Central and North Oregon Coast have come into shape nicely over the last few days after a couple big storms earlier in January, bringing with it a really nice push of Native fish as well as the tail end of those early hatchery runs. We are A OK with the transition, as we love to chase these treasured native steelhead. We still have a handful of guide days left in March to chase these monsters. If you are interested, please give us a jingle at (503) 515 3533 or shoot us an email.

Eric of Portland, Oregon took this great double stripe native buck steelhead on Feb 3rd. As most big fish do, it stayed deep and pulled like heck for a what seemed like an eternity before coming to hand. Nice job Eric!

It seems as though the rivers are either really high or really low anytime I get a chance to post. Funny how that works. And so we sit, staring at some pretty darn impressive current CFS numbers. The Sandy hit darn near 30,000 while the Siletz crested at almost 40,000 and reached moderate flooding. That’s some big water. Rivers will all be out at least through the weekend. The extended forecast looks wet, so it could be even longer before rivers are green again.

On the flip side, the last couple weeks fished great and there were lots of fish to be caught. Our anglers tangled with at least a hundred fish in the first couple weeks of January, including a day of 24 hookups and several other double-digit days. We found mostly hatchery fish, with an occasional native here and there. Natives have yet to arrive in any numbers and the hatchery run is still going strong. There will be another fresh batch of hatchery fish around once the flood waters recede.

Based on the moderate returns we’ve seen so far, this year’s run is average or better than average and fish are just a little late in arriving. We’re hoping for the latter, but either way fishing is good as long as those pesky streams come into shape. Drop fast little rivers….

Tight lines,
Jesse
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They don’t get much brighter than this fat 10-11 lb. hatchery hen. Nice job Mike!

Releasing a center-pin caught buck. The center pin was really fun until the actual center pin fell in the river. Good thing for back-ups.

Oregon Coast Winter steelhead season kicked off in typical fashion with a huge late November rain followed by a week of great fishing on dropping river conditions. However, since that rain event we’ve gone cold and dry with no moisture to speak of in three weeks. It’s a rare to have a conversation discussing the lack of rain on the Oregon Coast in December, yet here we are, staring at unseasonably low water levels. There are still Winter steelhead to be caught, but most of those are in the lower sections of bigger coastal systems. Fish are waiting patiently for the next freshet and fishing is certain to catch fire after the next good rain.

If the early December push of steelhead is any indicator of run strength we are looking at another great season on the Oregon Coast. We are now booking hatchery and wild Winter steelhead through mid-April, 2012. Give us a call at 503.515.3533 or email us to inquire about booking a guided fly fishing trip.

Sean displays a reallly nice early Winter steelhead

Justin shows off a nice late season North Oregon Coast Chinook

Take a peek at some of the great fish customers landed during the month of February. The weather was at times, a challenge, but well worth it for some spectacular days of steelheading.

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.

The river we fished stayed in shape more days than it was blown out and for December, we consider that a success. We had to move a few trips around early in the month due to high water, but during the second half of December, the river stayed fishable. It even got a little on the low side after Christmas, but it kept kicking out coastal chrome.

We are just getting started with the Winter Steelhead season of 2010/2011 and as you can see it looks to be a good one! The big native fish will soon be on their way!!! 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.

View the photo gallery here

It looks to be an excellent run this year and we’re excited to get everyone out on the water. We only have a couple days left in December for those anglers looking for early hatchery fish, but we still have availability during the bulk of the run (Jan-mid. April). Give us a call at 503.515.3533 or email us for more information.

Tight Lines,
Jesse
Small Stream, LLC.

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!

After a rainy January, the weather pattern finally broke and we were into a warm February with moderate rainfall. Great conditions for coastal steelhead fishing. We were rarely blown out and the water level never really got too low. When it would threaten to drop too far and the fishing would just begin to slow down, here came another small storm to bring it right back up. We got pretty wet a few days, but boy was it worth it. 10 fish days became common place instead of a rarity and everyone’s confidence soared. We had a high day of 21 hookups between 2 anglers after a good storm at the end of the month that brought a huge surprise push of late hatchery steelhead and it was game on!

As the Alsea hatchery stock winds down for the year, Nestucca broodstock steelhead have begun to fish well, although the river has been a bit crowded for our tastes. A lot of quality magazine press has sure increased the fishing pressure in that river. However, at times it’s worth it. There are occasions that river fishes better than anywhere on the Oregon Coast.

The native steelhead are showing well and we’re now catching more wild steelhead than hatchery. A normal pattern this time of year. We haven’t caught any 20plus pound fish yet, but we’ve seen a few pictures and hope our turn is next. The next 6 weeks will tell…

We have a few late season steelhead guide days still available. If you’re interested in fishing big wild steelhead on flies or bobber fishing, give us a call at 503-515-3533.

Tight Lines,
Jesse

Chrome winter steelhead taken on the the swing (purple/fuschia string leech).

Sea-Lice bright winter steelhead taken on a salmon river MVP.

Early Winter brought with it a LOT of rain and mild temperatures. Over a 4-5 week period in December and January the Oregon Coast Rivers were only in shape a handful of days. If you were lucky enough to be on the water, there were plenty of early Winter Steelhead to be caught. The weather finally settled down the last week of January and we went to work, making up for lost time of the water. Steelheading was as good as the Oregon Coast gets. Guests hooked 40 fish in 5 days of fishing that week including lots of hatchery fish and a few incredible native fish.

Luckily, the season doesn’t end January 31. As we enter February we’re beginning to see less hatchery fish and more angry native fish, which is just fine with us. We look forward to the challenge of doing battle with this big, wild fish through the end of April. Give us a call and come experience these incredible fisheries. To book an upcoming Winter steelhead trip, call us at 503.515.3533 or email us!

See Photographs