Further information ...

09/19/12

fly fishing hawaii and beyond:

tough steel 2012.

 

as i eluded to in the last blog,  i headed back to my (other) home waters of oregon to get my steelhead swing on.  long story short fishing was tougher than tough.  i’ve always been known to like tough fishing and this trip did not disappoint.  i met up with my friends thuy (the dude) and mike from deschutes river outfitters.  our first stop was roseburg and the north umpqua.  to me, the north umpqua is the most beautiful river in oregon and maybe the world.  i have seen the river numerous times over the years, but had never fished it.  the north umpqua has somewhat of a reputation of being a hard river to wade much less fish so i was a bit apprehensive of actually trying to fish it.  the river did live up to its reputation as i slipped on a rock on the first evening and bloodied my shin.  it wasn't that bad and i pressed on just happy to be fishing it.  we hired mikes friend and long time umpqua guide tony wratney of summer run guide service to show us the ropes.  tony is a great guy and knows every run on the river intimately.  look him up if you find yourself in that neck of the woods, he is well worth fishing with.  the fishing was slow, as steelhead fishing often can be and we didn’t move a thing on that river.  no matter, i learned a lot from tony and mike about fishing the umpqua and was super stoked just to swing a fly through it (something i thought i’d never do).  i will definitely get back there and fish with tony again... maybe this winter if the boss (sean) will let me.

 

next it was off for a three day float in mike’s drift boat down the lower deschutes river.  once again the gods met us with more tough fishing.  i should say catching, the fishing was not that tough.  anyway in three days of pounding, i got one steelhead.  thuy also managed to get a steelie one evening and mike hooked one that went ballistic jumping and tail walking until it finally came unbuttoned.  the fish i got was a hot wild fish that tore down river and hung me on a big rock at the end of a curved tailout.  i knew that if the fish didn’t break my 10lb. tippet when it hung up on the rock, it might still be there much like bonefish when they wrap a mangrove on the flat.  i made my way down to the rock, cleared my line, and there it was.  like i always say, sometimes like that.  not only was it a beautiful wild steelhead, it would also turn out to be my only fish of the trip (sometimes like that too).

 

after hanging out and having a great time with thuy and mike, i fished six more days on the deschutes with my buddy harold.  the fishing remained tough. harold caught four fish and hooked and lost a few others.  i couldn’t buy a pull with my determined but admittedly novice efforts.  finally on the last evening and last run of my oregon 2012 experience i got another grab.  it was the kind of fast fishy “pull” that is hard to describe but all steelheaders know well.  i worked at that fish by making the fly swing through the spot at different speeds and angles.  i got it to grab one more time.  a good hard yank, then nothing more.  “just saying goodbye” i thought to myself.  i stood there in the dark for a while reflecting on the trip.  i couldn’t ask for more.  good friends, the "great" northwest, and the pursuit of a chance encounter with a  fish that travels from the same water that i myself came from.

 

yesterday i was out on the water again still with a double hand rod.  this time, however, i was back to chasing bones in the waters i grew up in.  back to being just a misplaced steelheader biding his time until the urge to once again make the journey becomes too great to ignore.  i’ll see you on the water.

 

this is what it's all about.

 

we both travelled for miles from the same ocean and met on this day at this spot in the river.  how amazing is that?

 

not exactly a steelhead.  a little too whitefishy.

 

not quite what we're looking for either... very pretty, though, and very ambitious.

 

now that's a steelhead.  harold shows how it's done even when the fishing is slow.

 

meanwhile back in beautiful hawaii...

 

 

deano's been going old school and pounding bones with bamboo.  one of the hi spey bros., deano will be swinging for steel himself soon.  i'm jealous.  i want to go back.

 

the kirkstafarian broke in his sage bass rod.  the bass rod is great for chucking streamers for whiteys (trevally).

 

yesterday it was back to the bones... but i couldn't put down the double hand rod.  this is the g loomis stinger glx and airflo rage 450gr head.

 

since the advent of the abel switch and spey reels (the only saltwater safe click and pawl reel that i know of), i haven't used any other reel for bones.  talk about fun.

 

very different from steelhead, but still very fun on any fly tackle.

 

special thanks to benny (force lightning), greg, harold, hayley, mike, thuy, tony, the thai elephant, dutch brothers coffee, and the steelhead (that did and didn’t bite) for another memorable oregon adventure.  i owe all of you big time.

 

clay.


Top of page

"Nervous Water Fly Fishers- your guide to fly fishing in Hawaii"