The past 12-months I've done a good deal of spring creek fly fishing, most recently in Central Oregon. You just can't beat it, the crystal clear turquoise water, lava rock substructure, deep cut banks, weed beds and a cornucopia of aquatic insects create optimal living conditions for trout. Note: this is not the Williamson River which I posted on earlier, this is my little secret.!
Crane Prairie Rainbows and brook trout are planted regularly in this small Deschutes River spring tributary. Redband Trout from the Deschutes River along with large brown trout migrate into the river system to spawn in the spring and fall respectively. Some spawners stick around afterwards given the ideal habitat for trout coupled with an abundance of smaller trout to forage on. Given it was June, I surmised that the fish above was one that stuck around. The rainbow (below) is much more typical of what's in the river, though there are a few sections with rainbows in the 20-26" range, but these fish are incredibly difficult to approach let alone cast to or fool.
Oregon has many rivers and lakes designated Fly Fishing Only, not just barbless catch and release, but literally only open to fly fishing. Moreover, they won't allow weight (i.e. split-shot) other than weight built into your fly, so you have to use silly "tool" flies as if they were AB shot to get your nymphs down. Its one of the most asinine rules I've ever came across, I mean, if you're concerned with lead in the river, at least allow tin-shot.
Water is clear enough that if there were fish, you'd see them. That said, don't underestimate the abundance of cover these lava beds afford the fish, they're riddled with ledges, caves and cut banks that go back several feet. Each pool like the one above probably has a few large resident fish, the fact that you can't see them just means they're under cover. Either wait until dusk when they come out to feed or during the day run a streamer or nymph under the cut banks and deep ledges, you may be surprised at what you find.
The falls (pictured below) are about 8-10 feet high. Believe it or not, fish can somehow make it up and over to reach spawning habitat in the upper river. I'd suspect only the larger fish can clear these falls as a fish's ability to jump is in large part a function of their length, this is why they say that the largest steelhead live in the roughest and swiftest rivers, its a form of natural selection.
Below is a typical slick with a classic white sand bottom. This particular run had 4 large fish up to 24". Two hours of casting and changing out every fly and tippet I had resulted in one brief hookup but nothing to the net, but that's why I come, its the ultimate challenge!
There is a good caddis and a mayfly hatch in the evening right now, things are changing as fall is fast approaching and the fish are onto it. I've been out of caddis pupa for over a week now so I've been forced to try other flies. Low and behold pheasant tails are stealing the show. This guys was redemption from loosing a real toad only minutes earlier.
The most amazing part of the day was I actually managed to get some fishing in with 3 boys in tow.
The fish today weren't kid sized so they were bummed when I didn't exactly hand them the rod.
Well, with all the fly fishing clinics being offered by folks, I thought I'd start my own, its will cover topics such as not changing your leader from the prior day and releasing of nice fish from a very safe distance so as to not risk getting you or your net wet.
Its for novices and experts alike, please be sure to tell your friends. Pardon my expletive in the vid, losing the fish was total operator error and I kick myself for this one. I fished a day earlier in heavy pocket water dragging my leader/tippet across every abrasive rock in the river, then today I tell myself I'll change up once we get on the water....forgot and on my second cast...Murphy's Law strikes! Oh well, I had the opportunity to play him out and actually got to see him so I'm at peace.
We had a 3-snake record today, these garter snakes hatched earlier this year and were everywhere
The crays have recently molted, this is an example of a bit-sized specimen, tons of protein in this compact package. Super soft shells this time of year makes them difficult to handle but to a trout its like eating a tender filet mignon vs. a tough flank steak....they prefer the filet.
On Friday my pops and I hooked up with Matt "Gilligan" Koles for some spring fly fishing on the Truckee River East of Reno. I have to tell you, going with Matt makes it seem so easy to catch fish, but it ain't. The water East of Reno is tough to read and difficult to effectively fish without a boat, having the guide is a huge plus. We put a few nice bows in the net but lost some nice ones too. I had a healthy rainbow pop me in some heavy water and had a hot brown wrap me up around debris on the bottom, but hey, that's why they call it fish'n. All in all, it was a great day, great weather, and a great guide. Folks, if you want to know where the big dogs lie...now you know who to call.
After getting my butt skunked on a float East of Town last weekend, I had to get back in the saddle. Went to the old haunts...business as usual. Water today was over 500cfs due to the big rain storm we just had, water looked like tea with sub 12-inch visibility, but the fish were still midging. This brown is missing part of its tail...no doubt a mink attack survivor. Check out this log, a beaver had it for dinner, ate every inch of bark (inner bark that is). Inner Bark is what beavers subsist on during the lean winter months.
You know, the androgynous SNL character, well, I caught the fish equivalent today. Can't really tell species or sex, looks like an asexual cutty? Water is in good shape, its cold and flows are still relatively high for this time of year. Lots of mayflies and tons of caddis coming off. I had one nice fish come unbuttoned and popped a bunch of small rainbows and three chunky whitefish. Saw some nice fish rising in the fast water for caddis. Browns should be staging right now for their annual ritual. Its beautiful this time of year, so get out there!
News Flash: Though he doesn't want me to post the pic, I have a photo of a 12lb brown just landed on a fly rod in the Truckee Region, its a true trophy at 31.5". He doesn't want to draw undue attention to the area, so I'll respect his wishes, but I can tell you this, it didn't come from the Truckee. I can also tell you I had something similar hooked at the same location in June of last year...it was the biggest brown of my life and after about 10 minutes, it threw my barbless streamer as it made a crazy jump right at the surface!
Oregon has many rivers and lakes designated Fly Fishing Only, not just barbless catch and release, but literally only open to fly fishing. Moreover, they won't allow weight (i.e. split-shot) other than weight built into your fly, so you have to use silly "tool" flies as if they were AB shot to get your nymphs down. Its one of the most asinine rules I've ever came across, I mean, if you're concerned with lead in the river, at least allow tin-shot. 
