Despite the windy conditions, I finally found my timing and rhythm for a scandi cast on my glass switch rod and was able to launch a decent cast into the tea-colored Rio Gallegos.  After a brief moment, I begin very short line twitches to pulsate the size 6, rubber legged, Taxi Cab moving along the river bottom. The curved, floating line begins to straighten out; BOOM!  A firm grab signaled my immediate hook set, one that only needs a tug from the wrist.  I quickly pray that the little hook would hold as an enormous brown trout hurled itself completely out of the river . . .
 
Sea trout are not a separate species but rather an ecological form of the brown trout (Salmo trutta) that like the steelhead rainbow trout, migrate to and from the ocean.    Fisherman most likely nick-named this brown trout habit that has been noted since the 17th century.  Sea run browns are native to the Atlantic and Baltic coastal waters of Europe, the United Kingdom, and Iceland.  Sea trout are also found in the Black, and Caspian Seas, as well as the Barents and Kara Seas in the Arctic Ocean.
 
In the early 20th century brown trout were planted in several major rivers on the Atlantic side of southern Argentina.  The fish were planted in the Rio Grande, Rio Gallegos, and Rio Irigoyen.  The Rio Gallegos received imported eggs in 1906 from Wales though it is uncertain of its success.  Eggs from Europe were introduced into the Rio Grande by John Goodall between 1935 to 1937.  Scientific research has shown that if brown trout inhabit a river that does not support their feeding needs, the trout will migrate to other places, which, can often lead to the ocean to feed on rich krill and other marine fauna.  No doubt, there were likely stray sea run browns roaming different rivers within the local region.
 
By the 1950’s, eye brow-raising reports were touting “giant” size, sea run browns being caught, most notably from the Rio Grande.  Joe Brooks, an angling writer for Outdoor Life, fly fished there several times and managed to hook and land an 18-pound sea run brown, a monster of a trout back then!  The rest is history as private individuals set up lease agreements from the estancias to develop accommodations to meet the needs of catch and release fly fishing anglers flocking in from all over the world!  And why not with average catches ranging from 8 to 12 pounds, 20 pounders being common and behemoth sea trout reaching 35 pounds!

While on a trip to Mongolia for taimen, I had the good fortune to share my camp and fishing with the Swedish founder of LOOP fly tackle, Christer Sjoberg.   It just so happened that he owns, Solid Adventures, a fly fishing destination company (his own lodges) for fly fishing adventures around the globe.  One of them is located in Argentina on the Rio Gallegos where the beautiful estancia, Las Buitreras, occupies 40 km of private river access with an extraordinary fishery of wild, enormous sea run browns!   By the end of our Mongolia trip chasing taimen, an invitation was extended to come to Argentina which I gladly accepted!
 
Having fly fished twice in the vast region of Patagonia, where wild trout flourish and few anglers are seen, the anticipation to go south again to catch salmon size, anadromous trout, was a daily count down of intense eagerness. But it comes with a price, that is, the long, arduous time and distance to travel there.  “There” is on the other end of the world, dang near the very end of South America!  From Portland, OR, International Airport to actually reaching the lodge is 2 ½ days with four airport exchanges.  It may seem crazy, but I’m not alone when it comes to taking extreme measures to catch the largest fish of its kind.  What an angler does to pursue their finny quarry can be unimaginable and to top that off with “catch and release” and there’s no guarantees catching the trophy sea run brown!
 
Christer Sojberg is a fly fishing maniac, who is not only a fantastic angler in international pursuits, but also an innovator in fly fishing tackle, travel and a conservationist.  He is been in the sportfish industry since the late 1970’s and was one of the pioneers that opened up Russia to the fly fishing world back in the early 1990’s.  When he has an interest in something, he doesn’t give up easily, if at all.  Prior to 2002 while conversing with an angling friend, he is shown images of giant sea trout.  The sparks were flying, as he drilled his buddy, “Where did you catch dem?”  Not reluctant to share, his friend tells him from the Rio Gallegos.  The river is already well known for its big sea run browns, but it was not on Christer’s radar.  Christer told me, “When I see the pictures of the big sea trouts, I say to myself, oh, oh, how do I get in contact with someone; maybe there are some options to do something down there!”  Long story short, after many contacts from one person to another and a lawyer who would lead him to the owner of the estancia, Las Buitreras, Christer finally had a foot in the door.  He immediately conducted a scouting trip to the Rio Gallegos in the summer of 2002.  His recollection of his first trip is rather humorous, especially after the owner of the estancia referred him to his trusted ranch manager, Roberto, who only spoke Spanish and shows up with two horses.  Christer only speaks Swedish and English and has never ridden a horse! 

Language differences aside, and Roberto’s persistence of a prompt riding lesson, Christer tells me they were able to make sense of each other as he laid out the grand idea of building a tourist fly fishing lodge.  After a leisurely trail ride on the river and property, Roberto gives his acknowledgment to the owner that Christer’s proposal is a good idea.  With a pending deal, it was time to test the waters for those big sea trouts!  Christer admitted he and his party had no clue what they were doing when it came to presenting their flies to the Rio Gallego sea trout.  His knowledge of fly fishing for Atlantic salmon proved ineffective for the sea run browns.  However, their luck changed when Christer sees two guys fly fishing on the other side of the river having success in catching fish and were obviously local anglers.  Christer’s attempts to wave down the anglers were ignored as he faintly hears one of them muttering something about “gringos” while hastefully departing the scene (perhaps not having permission on private property had something to do with it).  However, with a prospective tip from the ranch owner, it wasn’t too difficult in the nearby village for Christer to track down Diego and Francarlos whom he saw on the river.  After some persuading and perhaps along with a few Argentinian lagers, the two native fly fishermen signed on as the head guides for the first season at Las Buitreras in 2003.  In fact, to this day, Christer only hires Argentinian guides for his lodge, and same goes with the lodge staff.  The lodge was constructed from the remains of a foundation left from a fire occurring years before.  It is now a beautiful two-story lodge comfortably housing up to 14 guests.  The amenities are spectacular to say the least.  Located on the river only a modest distance upstream from the ocean, the lodge is in a prime position as fresh chrome sea run browns ascend the Rio Gallegos.  When I caught my first chrome sea run brown trout, it reminded me of the fresh salmon and steelhead back home.  Actually, the bright, sea run browns bare a resemblance to the Atlantic salmon.

Once Las Buitreras was up and running, Christer then turned his attention to the conservation on the sea run browns.  Even though the run size was relatively stable, Christer learned that there was a great deal of sport and commercial harvest going on, a practice that has proven to be fatal to fish populations if not managed properly.  At the time, when Las Buitreras first opened, Christer learned there were 55 commercial fishing licenses netting the lower Rio Gallegos for the sea run trout.  A stroll through the town exhibited many of these fish being sold in markets and restaurants. Also, more than 3,000 sportfishing licenses were sold locally to harvest these anadromous brown trout with minimal restrictions!  Christer began his campaign to educate the locals that eco-tourism through catch and release fly fishing would generate more revenue than killing the trout.  His guides were allowed to go to schools to educate the children on conservation.  Not long after planting the seed of eco-tourism and fish conservation with the locals, a delegation of international dignitaries from Buenos Aires just happen to show up locally.  Christer was actually able to meet with them to share his concerns on preserving the sea run brown trout using catch and release fly fishing while also bringing commerce to the local community.  It was a shot in the dark as Christer never received a response or sense of agreement after these politicians left.  However, something must have registered from Christer’s concerns advocating the preservation of sea run brown trout as little by little, a reduction of commercial fishing for the sea trout occurred along with a major change in the sport harvest.  The province changed the angling limit on sea run browns in the Rio Gallegos to only 1 trout per year and only during the month of February (February is a big holiday month)!    Also, the commercial netting dropped substantially to only 2 netters, but the primary target is now snook, which is fabulous to eat!  This change in taking the harvest pressure off the sea run browns has allowed a phenomenal catch and release fishery to flourish!

The Rio Gallegos is 230 miles long with its origin in the foothills of the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean in the province of Santa Cruz.  The river is named after Blasco Gallegos, one of the pilots of Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition in 1520.  A treeless landscape known as “pampas” flanks the river with grassland, shrubs and gravelly plateaus with basalt and lava.  It reminds me very much of the smaller, low gradient rivers in the western US like the John Day in Oregon or the Yakima in Washington.  There is hardly any development along this peaceful river except for barbed wire fencing to retain large sheep herds and some cattle.  In what appears to be an “empty” wilderness, it is actually thriving with a variety of interesting wildlife, such as, guanacos, foxes, armadillos, the elusive puma, the Andean condor, the lesser rhea, flamingos, swans, Magillanic horned owl, just to name a few. But best of all, are the robust numbers of resident and sea run brown trout in the Rio Gallegos.
 
Regardless of the weather conditions, you can always count on it being windy!  It is very rare for there to be no wind.  Everyone I have ever spoken with about fly fishing down there always brought up, “the wind”.  Howling winds pushing rolling white caps on the river is pretty much an everyday occurrence.  It can beat you up if you let it.  Fortunately, the guides know exactly what to do to minimize getting wind whipped.  Whether it’s serving hot, freshly brewed java, or changing pool positions, they work diligently to place you in the optimal casting lane.  If it’s blowing hard over my left shoulder, I like the unorthodox technique of sending my fly line up in the air and allowing the wind to carry it across the river!  Not a pretty cast by any means but it gets the job done.  However, good casting is critical as these fish are extremely skittish.  So skittish that I was told studded wading boots scraping the gravel bottom was enough to alert fish out of a holding area!  Whatever the case may be, the wind can be used to your advantage.  It can serve as a great mask for hiding your presence while wading, or that sloppy cast splashing on the water.  During the rare occurrence when there is no wind, it may seem very comfortable and allow for smoother casting, but a windless day is actually the most challenging to entice a strike, at least in my experience!

The river is mainly composed of pools and long, slow runs.  Catching the large sea run browns from a pool that’s smooth as glass takes stealth!  These conditions require long casts landing as soft as possible with a small fly and quietly wading while keeping close to the shore.  This is where the two-hand fly rod can really shine so long as you are a good caster.  Since fishing the pools tends to be a quiet stalk, the lodge guides are big fans of the scandi fly line. Scandi lines are designed for delicate presentations of smaller flies with long, tapered leaders.  In comparison, the skagit heads, which are shorter and more compact, are built for casting heavy sink tips and large, weighted flies with powerful, sustained anchor casts.  Its compactness definitely has more splash on the water, a major no-no for sea run browns on the Rio Gallegos.  From my experience on the Rio Gallegos, I think it’s a good idea to take both lines, especially if you are more experienced to casting a skagit head.  Honestly, I think using the skagit head on the windy days works fine and was easier for me to cast than the scandi line.  I had good catching success and landed my best fish of the trip while using a skagit head.  But I will admit, mastering the scandi casting definitely allows a quieter presentation, so it is worthwhile to practice, practice, practice before heading to Argentina!   
 
Two-handed fly rods are the most commonly fished on the river, be it spey or a switch rod.  Seven or eight weight rods ranging in 11 to 13 feet long are the most common.  When the shoreline is free of obstruction, a single-handed fly rod can be useful.  I took a 10-ft, 7 weight that I knew would handle the wind quite well and afforded long casts.  But more often than not, the two-hander seems to be the best choice.  With a fondness for glass, my fly rods used on the trip were the Echo fiberglass switch rods; 11-footers, in 6 and 7 weights.  I lined the 7-wt with a skagit line and the 6-wt with a scandi line.  Overall, the two rods gave me the versatility I needed for changing weather and river conditions to present my fly where it needed to go.  Being able to adapt when conditions change is key on Rio Gallegos if you wish to have your rod bent!  As mentioned above, the scandi line is best used with a longer leader system.  The Airflo Polyleader or Rio VersiLeader worked like a charm using the clear, intermediate sink version (20 lb), 10-ft long, followed by 5 feet of 15 lb. test leader.  I used Maxima Evergreen as my leader material.  When fishing in clear water, it may benefit to add a longer leader and a slightly lighter tippet as in 10-12 lb. test.  It’s also a good idea to pack polyleaders in sinking rates of 2 and 3 inches per second.  For the skagit tips, I like the Rio, 10-ft, Skagit iMOW tips.  Be sure to take a variety of sinking tips, e.g., 2.5ft float/7.5ft T-8 and T-11, 5ft Int/5ft T-8 and in T-11.

The fly pattern list for the Rio Gallegos is crazy!  Evidently, these sea run browns love rubber legged flies as just about all of the flies are fashioned with them!  Patterns like the Girdle Bug, Yuck Bug, EMB, Yellow Yummy, Taxi Cab, Zirdle Bug, and the list goes on.  Many of these flies have proven effective for my Western trout pursuits, so I wasn’t shocked to see them recommended for the sea run browns.  The sizes range from 6 to 12, and sometimes 14’s!  Assorted beadhead nymphs with rubber legs are very popular too.  Christer is a big fan of the old Sunray Shadow hair wing tube fly originated for Atlantic salmon and sea trout.  He is addicted to huge boils of lunker sea run browns attacking the fly just under the surface!  Sea trout will take skating flies too, so if you are inclined to have a trout take on top, bring surface skating patterns like the Bomber in sizes 4-6.
 
Fortunately, for the absent-minded angler who forgets something in their fishing arsenal, lost it, broke it, or just doesn’t have the right one, Las Buitreras has a mini fly shop!  And when you’re in Timbuktu, you’re very grateful to have it on site.  I found the fly selection most amazing as there were many patterns and sizes to choose from.  Popular flies sold fast, especially when the guides are boasting about the “hot” fly of the day (with 11 other anglers, the flies can go quick)!

In the Pacific Northwest, my presentations for trout, steelhead and salmon range from swinging the fly, dead drifting a fly, or simply stripping the fly aggressively.  None of the common techniques apply to the Rio Gallegos.  There’s a reason why rubber legged patterns are so popular.  It’s because they wiggle and jiggle and the sea run browns love the action!  After you make that 45-degree downstream cast, and wait briefly for the fly to sink, you then, “twitch” the line.  Twitching or stripping the fly line in 2-to-4-inch lengths at a not-so-fast rate as directed by your guide.  If there is enough current that swings the fly through the run without hooking the bottom, you then “jig” the fly in the same short intervals but you’re not retrieving the fly line.
 
There are two major defects I struggled with on this trip that prevented me from catching more fish.  My casting and hook sets suffered.  On the spey or switch rod casting, if you expect to catch sea run brown trout in Argentina, make it worth your while and properly learn to cast a scandi line.  Do whatever it takes to learn the cast!  Don’t limit yourself to just a single hand fly rod.  Even though I battled through many windy days with the two-hander, it was still the best choice of rod to use.  If you become frustrated, take a break and shorten up your cast or ask to fish a different place.  Secondly, ask the guide for his help on your casting.  They all cast very well and sometimes a demonstration can put you back on track.

I will be the first to admit that I have screwed up more hook ups on different types of fish because of my muscle memory and habitual reaction to the “Western trout set” (a very aggressive yank while lifting the rod up).  This does not work at all to hook the sea run browns nor does strip setting!  On the Rio Gallegos, setting the hook is a simple lift of the wrist as in a few inches.  You’d think a western trout angler could adapt to that simple technique, but not me.  Being pumped with adrenaline, every time I felt the tug, I just wanted to rip its head off!  Only when I calmed down after constantly being reminded from the guide, did I finally hook fish.  The physics of a small hook penetrating into the trout’s jaw takes very little force, even on these large browns.  Once again, doing what your guide tells you, can make all the difference on your success!
 
Las Buitreras estancia on the Rio Gallegos is a heavenly place that offers the most spectacular sea run brown trout the world can offer.  You can dream about catching the largest brown trout in your life and there’s a very good chance for it to happen!  Incidentally, Christer’s wife holds the lodge record with a sea run brown over 32 pounds!

. . . the Ahrex #6 hook held firm as my monster brown plunged back into the Rio Gallegos.  The mighty fish then raced upstream while I held on with a death grip to my fly rod praying that nothing would fail; by me or the gear.  The big brown was now into some serious backing, the more that goes out, the more I worry.  Finally, the commotion stops and the fish finally pauses.  The drag on the line is too much on the big fish as he makes a turn for downstream.  I reel frantically and try to keep as much tension on the rod as possible.  I’m gaining on the fly line which is a huge relief, but it’s still not over as the heavy brown trout blasts by me now heading downstream.  What a powerful fish!  I’m getting my butt kicked as time goes into slow motion while I focus on not losing this huge sea trout.  Good fortune is in my favor, the large trout has finally tired and only has enough muster to shake its big head for the last attempts to rid the hook.  The guide has the net ready and I’m finally able to tow my trophy to shore.  One big scoop and he’s in the net!  I’m shaking like a leaf caught by the pampas wind as I admire the incredible size of this sea trout!  The guide is excited too and many high five’s are delivered.  After some quick measurements, the Rio Gallegos sea run brown trout is estimated to weight over 17 lbs!  A trout of a life time has happened.

Best wishes in your fly fish pursuit!
Joe

For more information on this sea run brown adventure at Las Buitreras on the Rio Gallegos, Argentina, visit www.solidadventures.com

     More than five thousand miles on the other side of a remote part of the world, I made a lengthy cast towards the river’s shoreline with my Echo BAG 9 wt from the anchored jon boat.  At the end of my 25 lb test tippet is an obscure dry fly that was supposed to mimic a mouse or some small rodent.  As the current pushed the line to drag it downstream, I would elicit a twitch on the fly line to “jig” the fly causing more push and commotion on the water.  Suddenly, the quietness of the drift is erupted by an explosion!  KA-POW!  The river wolf has made a grab for the fake lifeform pretending to be a swimming rodent, but misses.  In the split second it happens, I’m processing what happened when, again, a second explosion occurs!  In the excitement of feeling the tension, I forget all about the proper hook setting and immediately respond with the Western trout set!  Uh oh, fish is gone and I look stupid.  Fortunately, there would be other chances.

     Many, years ago when I discovered what a “taimen” is, (as in the world’s largest salmonid) this vicious, freshwater predator was placed on top of my bucket list!  The taimen is not a trout or a salmon.  They are in their own group, Hucho, which is in the salmonid family (other groups include Huchen and Parahucho).  There are five types of this fish that are scattered over regions in Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia, China, North Korea and Japan.   There are a few options of places in the world to go to catch a taimen but after conducting thorough research on the internet, it became obvious Mongolia was the best place to catch one!

     Other exciting salmonids include the lenok trout and grayling.  The lenok can grow as big as 30 inches long but even a 24 incher can grab the mouse pattern with an ought size hook!  Unless you request fishing for the lenok and grayling, the guide will focus on the taimen.  If you want to try for the other trout, you are better off fly fishing in front of camp.  There are plenty there to catch.  Save the guided days for maximizing your chances on taimen!  On the fly out day, the plane arrives around noon-ish.  One of the guides told me if I wanted to fish, he had an extra trout rod and waders, so, heck ya, I fished for an additional 2 ½ hours.  I ended up catching a six lenok and one grayling!  Of course, I regretted not taking advantage of this during the week too.
     There are many interesting moments on the river besides the fishing.  Lots of cool looking horses roam the river banks.  I was told the owners gather them up when needed, but they do have the “wild” look.  A Mongolian man is seen crossing the river in his green flat bottom jon boat using a push pole to ferry people, motorcycles, camp gear, carts, etc.  Talk about a workout!   Another means for the local people to ferry the river was a big, army type truck with 4-ft tall tires.  It could also tow other vehicles across too.  There seem to be quite a few people moving to the other side of the river and when I asked why, I was told it was “pine nuts” harvest time.  Evidently, the pine nuts are in high demand and fetch a nice profit.

     Mongolia has Siberian taimen that inhabit the northern regions as well as in Russia and a small part of China.  They are the largest of the taimen group, reaching lengths up to six feet long and over a 100 lbs!  Russia is noted as having the largest taimen and they have been known to prey on adult chum salmon!  These fish are very long lived, some reaching 40-50 years!  They don’t even reach maturity till after 7 years!  The appearance of the taimen is pretty cool, large black dots over an olive and grey-ish body set apart with a striking red tail, anal and adipose fins.  Their head reminds me of a big bull trout but the taimen eyes are larger and positioned higher towards the top of the head to aid in those aggressive grabs of swimming prey overhead, be it fish, rodent, bird, or reptile.  If it moves, it’s dead!
     As mentioned previously, I landed four taimen with the largest one at 40 inches!  I was overjoyed to say the least and extremely satisfied for such a beautiful, large specimen.  But knowing there are bigger ones existing is enough to seriously consider a return trip.  But that taimen strike on top with a skater mouse, is something I’ll never forget!  While fishing with Christir, I witnessed him catching his largest taimen as it tore up his mouse three times before he was able to set the hook on it!  Phenomenal!
     Mongolia has thankfully adapted conservative regulations that restrict harvest of the taimen.  Poaching is still an issue but they are doing their best to minimize and eliminate it.  Fly fishing outfitters also help in the conservation of this mighty fish with portions of their earnings going towards conservation.  The fishing license, the most expensive I have ever purchased, is a whopping $450!  But it is for a great cause.
     The Mongolians are wonderful people and know how to survive and make the best of things and are grateful in what they have.  The taimen camp has 3-4 Mongolian fly fishing guides, who speak very good English. The camp also uses American guides.  It was very interesting getting to know the Mongolian guides, they all started their guiding careers going to a fly fishing guiding school in the US and learned the fly fishing trade from there.  Two of them have been doing this for at least 25 years!  They know the rivers and the fish extremely well and are wonderful teachers.
      Located on the wall of the dining hall is large poster board displaying images of taimen 50 inches and longer.  It’s called, the “50 Inch” club.  Though a 40 incher was fabulous, I still had that deep desire to be on that board!  It’s another bucket list item for sure!

Best wishes to your fly fish pursuit!
Joe

                                                                       Travel Notes:
--Traveling from Carson, WA, I flew from Portland, OR to Los Angeles, CA, then hopped on Korean Air for almost 13 hours to South Korean, Incheon Int. Airport, then to Mongolia.  I highly recommend Korean Air!  Plus as you travel to South Korea, you don’t have to recheck your luggage while resuming to Mongolia.  BUT, always double check!
 
--I highly recommend getting a prescription for Traveler’s Diarrhea!  I have never had a problem while traveling many times internationally, but this time it happened!  The prescription took care of my guts quickly and I was back in business in less than a day!
 
--For your first trip, I would not bother bringing flies and a lighter trout rod, the guides can set you up.  I packed 8, 9, 10 and 12 weight rods.  I brought a 12 wt. only because I was casting an extremely large rodent fly (might mouse).  Unfortunately, there were no takers.  Also tried a very large musky fly resembling a lenok.  If you are experienced with hooking and landing big fish, the 8 and 9 wt rods are sufficient.  If you have not had a lot of experience on large salmonids, in excess of 15 lbs, take a 9 and 10 wet. The majority of the time, I fished with my 9 wt.  Also, if you want to fish a two-handed rod, they have them at camp and there’s no need to bring one.  You always rig 2 rods, one with the floating line and one with a fast sink line.
 
--You can carry one your rods and reels going into Mongolia, but it’s a different story leaving the country!  They will not allow fly reels or any type of fishing line on carry on.  Don’t forget to pack these into your check-on luggage!  Also, no lighters, AT ALL!  I was able to carry one in my pocket on the way in.  It’s screwy.
 
--Jet lag was very serious when I returned home as I woke up at 2 am for three days in a row!  Fortunately, I am retired so adjusting back to my normal time zone worked out.  If you are on a working schedule, keep in mind this affect you will experience!

It's been a very long time since I last visited and tried to fish Diamond Lake.  Since then, the lake has transitioned both by biological factors and management.  In the last few years, the fishery has turned around substantially, making it one of the most prominent lake fisheries in Central Oregon.  Historically, its always been a reputable rainbow trout fishery, but another non-trout species was a major nuisance, the tui chub.  Fast forward to now, whereby, ODFW has introduced tiger trout (a sterile, intergeneric hybrid of a female brown trout and a male brook trout) and brown trout to rid the infamous, tui chub.  The arrival of aggressive fish predators did their job and cleaned out the tui chub!  Diamond Lake is now a substantial trout fishery with the likes of 3 species.  While fly fishing the lake, it is very common to catch all of these trout well over 20 inches!  You must release the tiger and brown trout but rainbows can be retained.

I was very fortunate to have my long time angling friend, Jackson Leong, along to show me the ropes at Diamond in the beginning of October.  He and is other buddies have been fishing the lake quite often.  The most popular area using fly rods is down on the south end of the lake, between the "pizza parlor" and the creek towards the southwest side.  A Forest Service boat launch is just south of the pizza parlor.  Note: The fee is $5/vehicle/day, and on site payment is not available!  You must purchase an online recreational pass before hand. 

The depth profile is quite interesting in that the lake is not super deep and has a shallow sloping profile from the shore towards the middle of the lake.  You can be hundreds of yards off the shore and still be in only 5-6 feet of water!   There is an abundance of aquatic vegetation with large sections of soft bottom.  We noticed these areas were particularly "fishy" as the trout often cruise around in the bare spots adjacent to the weed beds.  An intermediate sinking fly line is the main line of choice if you are going to streamer or nymph fish.  A type II sink line is nice to have for deeper places in excess of 10 feet.

Considering the time of year, I was surprised to see large hatches of tricos and bluewing olives, you know, the little guys in size 18's!  Because of the reputation of browns and tigers, I did not come prepared to finesse fly fish, tiny flies.  Instead, I brought the streamer boxes!  As it turned out, the browns and tigers were going to town chowing down on those little bugs, the whites of their jaws flopping open now and again.  We watched in frustration as they swam and fed leisurely around our boat picking off emergers and raising bugs.  And that was another thing, they were not the least bit spooked by the boat or us casting while fly fishing the shallows, weird.  In fact, I was able to entice a tiger trout to eat a small minnow pattern practically near the boat!

Jackson has a standby streamer method fishing a bugger and a softhackle nymph (the tailing fly).  He definitely has a knack for catching trout using this dynamic duo and I ate some serious humble pie.  Very interesting in his trout catching, sometimes the nymph was more effective and vice versa.  Hard to know why this was, but obviously having two very different type patterns produced results!

But, what trout I did catch, were in fact, very respectable.  The late evening worked best for me and my most effective fly turned out to be a size 4, balanced minnow in olive and white.  It has a killer action when striped.  Funny thing was, it was hot the first evening but that was it!  As you can tell, we spent the entire time striping streamers.  There didn't seem to be any one, hot fly.  When they wanted to eat, I don't think it made any difference.  Olive, beadhead buggers worked in size 8-4's, pick your poison on fly versions, I don't think it really matters.  As for streamers, smaller ones seemed to work better, 2-3 inches long, sizes 6-2's.

Even though the catching was kind of slow for me, I definitely like the quality of trout that Diamond can produce.  Interestingly, we did not notice any smaller size, minnow fish around.  If in fact the tigers and browns did their job in cleaning out the tui chub, I wonder if they will peak at a smaller size instead of reaching the trophy class size between 25 to 30 inches.  I don't doubt at all that some trout are already there, but how many?  Time will tell.  But for now, the lake is holding its own with very respectable, size trout!  I can hardly wait til spring to return there.  The lake is open year round but tends to freeze over in the winter.  BTW, the pizza parlor makes a great pizza and stays open till 9 pm going into the fall season for at least a short time.

Best wishes to your fly fish pursuit!
Joe

This past summer out of Depoe Bay with the fly rods aboard my 22 ft Pursuit was a blast as usual.  The predominate species, black rockfish are nothing short of aggressive takes and bulldog fights.  We saw some super, nice size blacks come to the boat.  Fish tacos anyone?  Ya, that's the best part, taking in a limit of these bad boys to cook up at home, my favorite being crispy, breaded fish chips!

     The presentation remains consistent using 300-400 gr sinking heads with an intermediate sink running line.  My preferred line is the Airflo DepthFinder.  I take a 300 and a 400 gr line out with me.  Most of the time I only fish in less than 40 feet of water and often find the schools of black rockfish are suspended in the water column as close as 10 feet below the surface.  Makes it nice when you can get away with the lighter sink lines, but this is not always the case.  It's also a good idea to have an extra rod rigged up with a floating line in the even the blacks are on the surface (which I am still waiting for)!

Eight weight fly rods are the best all-around rod choice, but a 7 or 9 works too.  A 9 wt. comes in very hand if you cast the 400 gr or heavier fly line.  Flies are easy, patterns with long bunny tails, or bucktail, rubber legs, some sort of bling like flashabou or Krystal Flash makes for all sorts of effective fly patterns.  All white, all pink, blue and white, green and white, chartreuse and white are good starters.  It is interesting to note that my buddy Dave fished a bucktail fly, kinda like a clouser in black and yellow with a hint of red, and it was lights out!  The dark and bright combo seem to really light up the sea bass, for a while he was punching out fish on every cast!  Saltwater style hooks in 1/0 to 4/0 are recommended.  You can tie flies ranging from 3 to 6 inches.  Its always good to bring heavily weighted flies to get down fast for the ling cod and cabezon!

On one particular day, it started out slow in finding fish and biters.  As the day wore on, the weather was gorgeous and the sea was calm!  I moved in to different place I had not fished before and found super aggressive biters.  Blacks were following the fly towards the surface and slamming before reaching the top!  You could actually see the follow and the grab!  The take was amazing and sometimes 2 or 3 bass would fight over the fly!  You just never know what you'll find or see while out of the salt and that's what I love about it.

The timing of when to fish for rockfish is when the ocean is calm enough to let you.  That means year round opportunities.  Keep in mind that big lings move in late winter to begin their spawning and often can be in less than 20 feet of water.  But I can hardly wait till next summer; never get tired of catching sea bass!  And hopefully other species might be in the picture too, like salmon, shark and tuna!

Remember, if you get out on the big pond, be smart and don't take chances!

Best wishes to your fly fish pursuit!
Joe

    A course of over 1,000 miles in nine days from buck brush country to the California giant redwoods to try and catch unique species of native trout in Southern Oregon and Northern California.  A collective, catch and release quest to add specimens for the California Heritage Trout Challenge and the Western Native Trout Challenge.

     Day 1--In my faithful '99 Dodge RAM diesel truck with a camper on top, I departed Carson, WA for my adventure into sage brush desert in southeastern Oregon.   Near the remote ranching town of Silver Lake, I would hopefully find my first specimen, the Fort Rock redband trout.  According to agency records and internet anecdotes which was most of my intel in finding these wild trout in the boondocks.  There are only several small creeks inhabiting this native trout.  Before starting this quest, I didn't realize that redband trout populations are in fact geographically isolated making them likely to be genetically distinct.  Thus, all redband trout are not the same.  To start off, though, the trout are small, rarely exceeding 10 inches, but the places where these tough trout reside are nothing short of spectacular!  And most of all, no other anglers were ever seen, except at one lake.
     At my arrival, I had about two hours of daylight left to fish.  I picked a small creek from the map and found a suitable place to park and access the water.  In these parts, there are many private ranches and sometimes that can put a hindrance on access.  Be careful, not all land is posted and a fence doesn't necessarily mean is private either.  The stream meandered through a small gulch with aspen and juniper along the way and thick maple vine-like brush on the banks.  This made casting a challenge.  When I casted my #14 yellow humpy into the first pool, I expect an immediate response.  More casts followed but with no takers, hhmmm.  Wow, I was already disappointed thinking it would be slam dunk in such a rural place.  Moving along, I find another nice run with a some down timber.  First cast, WHACK!  The anxious trout missed the fly (and hook, thankfully).  A second cast delivered another strike!  This time I connected but much to my surprise, it was a 8" brook trout.  I love brook trout in the right place and time but this was not one of them; it was not released.   I moved along to another slow pool, with classic grassy bank, scattered shrubs and a steep bank on the other side.  Suddenly, a trout slapped the surface and gave itself away.  The next cast did the trick and I was thrilled to land my first Fort Rock redband Trout!

Day 2--I spent the night in downtown Silver Lake, OR, to fish another creek for the Fort Rock redband the next morning.  The trout seemed to be gathered in certain places, not necessarily where you'd expect them to be.  I found one good spot below a short waterfall from a jammed woodpile and caught four trout.  As I fished downstream very few trout showed themselves.  By this time mosquitos were eating me alive and it was time to bail!

     The itch to keep going was pushing on me as I pulled back out along the desert highway 31 in the Great Basin Drainage.  In numerous trips to Pyramid Lake, NV, I have passed the Cheuwacan River with a vow to return and try my luck.  Today was that moment and with a swift right hand turn in Paisley, I headed for trout water!  Unfortunately, the Chewy was high.  I drove about 12 miles upstream and found a small tributary through a large meadow.  I fished hard with no payback!  I then found a rough dirt road that took me to the main stem where I could access it, but it too, shut me out; no luck today.  So, there would be no Chewaucan redband trout on this trip, but return, I must!

     I continued my quest with the next redband species in mind, the Goose Lake redband trout.  These trout exist both in OR and CA are known to inhabit a number of creeks on the eastern flank of Goose Lake.  From the map, I found a random creek just off hwy 395.  Culverts always seem to hide a trout or two and I decided to give it a shot.

     With a small hopper, I gave it a short cast and instantly raised two trout but the hopper was a little too big to get a hook in.  I downsized to a #12 Humpy, made a cast and was stunned!

     Amazingly, this redband would be the largest trout of my trip!  Though the trout are not lunkers by any means, the solidarity of dry fly fishing in scenic places and seeing no one, is priceless!
     With about an hour left of daylight, it was time to press on to make camp at Lassen Creek campground in California and meet with my ol' college buddy, Erik, who would join me for the remainder of the trip.  Lassen creek (Modoc co.) is home to Goose Lake redbands, another notch for a redband in California.

Day 3--After another run back to Lakeview for missing items, I returned to camp to find my fishing buddy, Erik, chilling in the shade after his long haul from Woodland, CA.  It was great to see each other, but we made fast tracks to gear up and hit the water!

     We both geared up with fiberglass rods on this trip.  Erik with a Moonlit 3 wt and myself with a Cabela's CGR 2 wt.  The stream was slightly off color but the trout were still willing to raise up on a dry.  However, a small, gold beadhead type nymph about 18 inches under the dry was very effective.  We both scored for our Goose Lake redband!  Erik landed 8 trout while I was humbled with 4 trout along with a speckled dace, my first one on a fly!  There were a few bugs coming off, most noticeable were the micro skawla stones.  The trout devoured pretty much anything resembling an insect on the surface, non selectively, my kind of dry fly fishing!

Day 4--We continued our camping at the Lassen Ck to embark on the next search for the Warner Lakes redband trout.  From readings on the internet and speaking with a CDFG biologist, I was encouraged to take a look at a small portion of a stream that flowed from Oregon, into California and then back to Oregon.  It was called Dismal Creek.  One can only hope that the name would not reflect the experience of fishing it.  BUT IT DID!  Aaaaahhh!  We ventured in Erik's Toyota Tacoma 4x4 up the west side of the Warner Mtns only to be blocked by a big, snow berm!  Okay, so I check the map for another route to approach via the east side, surely, the snow was all melted over there.  We had to back track and then head due east to drop over the Warner Mtns on Fandango Pass into Surprise Valley where the ghost town of Fort Bidwell sits, about another hour's drive.  Once again, we pursued the climb to higher elevation, go around the corner and BAM!  Another snow berm.  It was "dismal" alright.  Without taking a huge detour into Oregon and arriving from the north, there was no other way to go.

     Erik was a trooper and remained calm in my navigation attempts, but he also was thrilled to use four wheel drive for the first time, in his new truck.  Now he is a real boonie bouncer!  Supposedly, small populations of the Warner Lakes redbands exist in the small creeks on the east side of the Warners.  It was a matter of time to find one.  On the way down the hill, we fished Bidwell Ck, and each caught a small chunky brown trout, which is fine with me, but not while pursuing native trout species.  With that, we move on to plan C.

     The pavement ended resuming on a dirt road as we headed north to another creek, Twelve Mile creek.  We arrived right on the CA-OR border in the middle of nowhere!  Unfortunately, private ranches surround the creek and we could not locate owners to seek permission to fish the creek.  A very short section at the bridge was accessible but there was no reaction to our flies.    Time to back track again, plan D.  Back to the map, I noticed a very small creek with no name draining from the highlands from upper creeks and since it was not far off the beaten path where we came from, we went to check it out.  I know from experience during my boyhood trout fishing that trout do not need a lot of water to survive, so small creeks or rather "tiny" creeks are not out of the question!

       On the first micro pool I cast to, a fish immediately crashed on my #14 caddis!  What appeared to be a redband trout, was now in the net!  Hallelujah!  However, this trout still needs a proper approval for authentication by a CDFG fish bio, but it sure looks like a Warner Lakes redband trout to me!

     I had a great time on this tiny creek having landed 8 trout!  Unfortunately, Erik did not fare so well and was not able to get on the board.  Compelled to see my friend score on a Warner Lakes redband, I had to find one more creek.  Back to Surprise Valley Rd, we hightailed it towards Cedarville in hopes of one more trout bearing creek.  We found a creek and checked it out.  It was kind of a steep gradient creek with small plunge pools, which at first did not yield any trout.  We pressed on climbing higher in elevation and then found the perfect spot right next to the road.  Erik bailed out of the truck with his trusty glass fly rod and I had the landing net.  It all came together, the perfect piece of stream, plenty of room to make that 10 ft cast and bingo!  A fatty of a redband came to the net!  Now Erik was on the board!

     It was a long day but well worth it!  We saw and fished some incredible country in the far northeast corner of California and had it all to ourselves.  Finding Warner Lakes redbands was a major hunt, but that is part of the fun.  Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.  But today we were winners!

Day 5--We broke camp early, hopped on 395 and headed south to our next trout destination for the Eagle Lake rainbow.  This trout is also listed on the California Heritage Trout Challenge as well as the Western Native Trout Challenge.  We set camp at the south end of the lake in Eagle campground.  One of my sources told me fishing was not so good and to fish the south end.  Erik and I talked to a number of anglers (no fly anglers) after our arrival only to hear the same story, no fish!  The situation was not looking good.  Having watched a video of a fly angler who fished another lake that was supposedly stocked with the Eagle Lake rainbow trout, we decided to make the hour long drive to that lake, Crater Lake.  In short, it was a beautiful lake, turquoise clear, you could actually see the trout swimming under you!  Best of all, the trout were busting ant patterns on top!  Good numbers but not so good in size, 12 inches tops.  I later found out from a CDFG fish bio that different stocks of rainbow are stocked in that lake making it difficult to discern the ID.  Furthermore, these trout do not count towards the CA Heritage Trout Challenge, but amazingly do count towards the Western Native Trout Challenge.  However, I would not consider entering a trout from this lake for the WNTC simply because it doesn't qualify for the CHTC.

     As you view the slide show below, you can see the variations of these rainbows caught from Crate Lake, CA, and they definitely have variable markings!

     Whether or not our catch would be an authentic Eagle Lake rainbow was not terribly disappointing given the fact it was a beautiful lake, few people/anglers and the action was pretty much non stop.  With still plenty of day left by the time we arrived back to camp, I just had to wet a line in Eagle Lake.  I waited for the last the two hours of daylight hoping for some surface activity.  The lake was virtually vacant of any boaters or anglers.  From my Water Master, I worked the rocky shoreline with a sinking line and a burnt orange bugger with no takers.  Then I switched to an olive scud trailed by a chironomid.  In just a few casts, the line came taught and after raising the rod, there was bucking action on the other end!  YeeHa!  It felt like a good fish and I couldn't wait to see my first Eagle Lake rainbow . . .

     No Eagle Lake rainbows were caught in the large alkaline lake this time but hopefully in the near future!  Not feeling confident about the fishing, we decided to head out in the morning to the next trout haven.

     Day 6--On the road again following hwy 89 to the northwest towards Mt Shasta with our next stop on the upper McCloud River for the McCloud redband trout.  Once more, the scenery was incredible.  We set camp at another forest service campground called, Cattle Camp campground, conveniently located close to the river.  It is interesting to note that most of the information on finding redband trout pointed to tributaries to the McCloud, so that's where we started our hunt.  However, things were not what we expected!

     Talk about disappointed!  Not far from this dried up creek was supposedly another stream, Ash Ck.  It did have water, but it was literally a trickle that was obvious run off from Mt. Shasta.  Check those two off the list!  We continued driving from creek to creek but one thing kept repeating itself, major bush wacking!  The riparian vegetation was like major vine maple, so dense, you could barely see the water let alone step foot in it!  Access was tough.  I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, but we finally ended up on the McCloud River.  It had its fair share of heavy vegetation but at least there were more open places to cast!  It is a beautiful trout stream to say the least.  There's a nice trail following the stream for quite a distance making it very convenient to bail off and fish open water when suitable.

     The first few catches were brook trout (not released) and I began to wonder if any redbands existed.  Erik also landed a small brown trout too.  Eventually, we caught our first McClound redband rainbows and let's just say some places were better than others even though we fished habitat that looked very fishy.  This stream is loaded with a diversity of aquatic insects with the likes of caddis, stoneflies, and mayflies.  I think the trout are in good shape!

     Day 7--A great day to relax and catch more trout from the McCloud.  The stream is nothing short of spectacular in its scenery, plus perfect weather, and again we had the stream to ourselves.  An amazing sight was the stream teaming with numerous species of butterflies!  I've always been kind of a entomological nerd, but butterflies are high on the list.  As if having a tea party, there was a large gathering of butterflies sucking up minerals from the moisture in the stream side gravel beach.  I couldn't help wondering how the area is such an attraction for these colorful insects.

     The McCloud River presents itself as wild and scenic along with aggressive trout rising to the dry fly.  I can't wait to return . . .

Day 8--Up in the morning with the rising sun to hit the road again.  The next and final stop is the Smith River in the California redwoods for the coastal cutthroat trout!  A good four hour drive to arrive there going north to Grants Pass, OR, then jagging south back into CA.  If you don't have camping reservations for a state or federal campground on the west coast, you're out of luck.  However, in the small town of Hiouchi, we found a comfortable base camp at Redwood Meadow RV Park.  Still mid morning, we anxiously loaded our gear into Erik's road worrier and went trout hunting.  We started on small tributaries in the lower main stem Smith River.  It's not uncommon to find cutties in the smaller tribs and if you're limited on time, this can be profitable.

     Mill creek is well known as a cutthroat stream, but you earn your catch on this drainage!  It has limited access due to heavy vegetation and steep drop offs.  Even when you do reach the stream and try wading the shorelines, it eventually turns into deep pools with rock walls on both sides making it impossible to wade further (unless you swim)!  Lots of hiking to find angling places on this creek!  We caught a few rainbows (likely juvenile steelhead).  We fished the main stem of the Smith later in the evening and I caught my first coastal cutt from there, in an ideal riffle with excellent seams and glides where trout wait for their prey.  Dry fly and dropper did the job just fine!

The giant redwoods are breath taking and unbelievable.  Erik on the left, me on the right.

Day 9--The evening before, we met our neighbor, a young high school teacher who was a born and raised in the area and he was fisherman!  He gave us  great information for better access to Mill Creek and to check out the So. Fork of the Smith.  But it was one clue that really fired me up; the cutthroats love crayfish in the Smith River!  I love streamer fishing and it just so happened that I brought my crayfish fly box! 
     We headed back to Mill Ck to one of many hiking trails our new friend told us.  The hike itself was amazing, again with redwood trees towering over us.  Once on the water, the fly rods went to work.  My effort yielded zilch, which was hugely disappointing after going through classic pools and runs.  However, Erik, clicked right in with catching trout and scored on his coastal cutthroat!
     I still wanted a shot on the river fishing a crayfish fly so we packed up and headed for the So. Fork Smith R.  Once again the access was few and far between until we came upon a trail access to the river.  The water caught my attention immediately.  I would have never expected such clean, crystal clear water and clean, smooth rocks.  It looked like the streams I'd seen on videos in New Zealand!  Wow!  You just wanted to crouch down a take a big drink, it looked so good.  Since I would be upping the presentation a bit, I broke out the McFarland 8'8", 5 wt, a custom glass rod that is a dream to cast and fish.  I used a type III, 20' sink tip with a short leader to a crayfish fly with dumbbell eyes.  It started out kind of slow, but to be expected for the first time in a new area.  On the third hole, I made a quarter cast, let her swing to the end of the outlet and then striped the fly back in the slower holding water.  Half way through, KAPOW!  Super aggressive take from a feisty and decent size cutty pulling with all its might.  The fish was a nice, 13 incher and the largest cutthroat for the last stop.  It was an epic moment to close the final chapter.

     This was a special and amazing DIY fly fishing trip.  To venture from mule deer country to giant redwoods is one of the most incredible journeys a fly fisher could make.  I caught five species of redband trout and the CA coastal cutthroat.  The virtues were many, but most of all not encountering any other anglers or people for that matter on the creeks and streams we fished.  I know some anglers could care less about catching 6" trout but it's what they are and where they live that make it worth while!  The travel and camping was great, me with a motel on wheels and Erik with the shuttle truck to easily take us to out of the way places.  A great combination to have!  I think the most challenging trout was the California coastal cutthroat trout followed by the Warner Lakes redband trout.  We caught a total of 4 cutthroats, the least number of species for each given group of trout.  With the Warner Lakes redband, it was persistence that paid off.  You have to be willing to go into the unknown.  The other challenge was the bush wacking!  Many of these trout streams are covered by thick vegetation.  Trying to get a cast in or a short line dab proved to be difficult at times.  Again, you just keep poking and prodding until you hit the sweet spot and an amazing wild trout comes to your net.  Ya, with all that hard work, who wouldn't get thrilled in catching a wild 6" trout!

Best wishes to your fly fish pursuit!
Joe

To be perfectly blunt, it was a very tough 6 days of fly fishing.  The trip was, as they say, "great fishing but lousy catching!".  I traveled to Nevada with 4 other anglers and the company was great, which definitely helps take the edge off during a lack of catching!  We also joined up with long time Pyramid Lake fly angler and retired guide, Doug Oullette.
     The first day was spent at Sand Hole that resulted in 2 fish caught out of our party of six.  The next five days we went south and hit the marina (zilch), Windless (1 fish), and Pelican Beach (10 fish).  Even the North Nets were dead according to reports.  Needless to say, we spent the most time casting from Pelican.  The better bite, if I can call it that, was in the evening.  We made no rush in the mornings as we later learned hardly anyone was hooking up.  We don't bobber fish so everyone was stripping flies.  Majority of the catches came on the o'l, reliable, Popcorn Beetle.  Secondly, we didn't bring any of the jumbo cutts to the net.  So in 6 days, I caught 4 trout, which tied for the worst trip I've ever had to Pyramid, but that's way fishing is.  A colder than usual water temperature might of had some effect and supposedly, and a decrease in trout plants are suspect as well.  From my landings, my best fish were two, 9-pounders and a 6- pounder.  All from two days out of six, ouch!  After we returned home, my buddy texted an instagram of a spin fisherman who, five days earlier landed a 25-lber from Pelican Beach.  That's Pyramid for ya, some days you can't do anything wrong and some days you grind and grind and maybe hook up once.  But if that one time comes from a 20+ pound leviathan, then the long miles to drive there is a huge success!  Obviously, this is the Pyramid Lake dream we want to experience!

Best wishes to your fly fish pursuit!
Joe

     It didn't even seem a like a winter day on Lake Billy Chinook once the sun popped over the canyon rim.  To have a bluebird day can be rare on LBC let alone in winter, but, it didn't do much for the bull trout that's for sure!  Fishing with long time angling friend, Jerry Ewing, we started fishing on the Deschutes arm.  It was the first trip out for both of us and we were eager with anticipation.  Casting the usual 3 to 4 1/2 inch streamers, we made one cast after another with very little to show for.  By the time 10 o'clock rolls around and you haven't brought a fish to the boat, you begin to wonder.  Not a whole lot going on.  Like saying goes, great fishing, no so good catching . . . .

     In the afternoon, we switched  up location and ventured over to the Crooked arm.  My luck finally changed with a very stout, 24 incher!  Ah ha!  I thought this would be the start of something big for both us.  Unfortunately, things remained cold and our arms were becoming fatigued.  By late afternoon, we each picked up a mid-size brown and Jerry an additional rainbow.  Not the kind of bull trout action we had hoped for on such a nice day, but it was great to get out and blow the cob webs off.

     Opening day of the Metolius arm opens up this Friday and it will be interesting to see what happens.  The water temperature is still in the low 40's and might delay a good bite.  But, one big bull makes a great day!  As the water warms up so should the bite.  I'll look forward to getting back out and hopefully wrestle a 30 inch bull as the beginning of 2024 continues.

Best wishes to your fly fish pursuits in 2024!
Joe

     This report comes a little late as time slipped away due to higher priorities.  None the less, 2023 went out with a big "bang" on an epic fly fishing trip on the Naknek River, Alaska, which closed my fly fishing season for the year.  But WOW, was it stellar! 

     I joined up with George Krumm, editor of Fish Alaska and Hunt Alaska magazines, on
his annual group trip to Katmai Trophy Lodge on the Naknek during the last week of September.  To be quite frank, the rainbows in the Naknek have to rank in at least the top two if not all time best rainbow trout fisheries in the world.  I mean, just look again at that top photo!  These are "resident" rainbows hailing from the enormous Naknek Lake, upstream.  I have caught steelhead like these large resident rainbows but never inland rainbows of this magnitude!  But the most important fact remains about these trout; they are 100% native and wild!  Some do reach over 20 pounds! 

My stay was booked at the Katmai Trophy Lodge (KTL) located on the Naknek River.  The package included 6 days of guided angling.  One of the nice options at KTL is that they offer other fly fishing excursions at no extra cost (as of last year).  You can choose to fly fish the lake for Artic char, a trip I did the first day to catch my first char, or a trip to the Brooks River for more rainbow fishing and/or bear viewing.  Google Katmai Trophy Lodge for more details.

     The focus of the trip is for the rainbows.  But as mentioned above, I did take advantage of pursuing Arctic char since I had not ever caught one.  It's a long boat ride but the char are a nice size fish ranging from 24 to over 30 inches.  Since it was the tail end of the coho run, the char stayed close to lake tributaries offering spawning salmon, to feast on eggs and perhaps salmon flesh.  A 7 or 8 weight rod is good for this fly fishing using a floating line.  Bring a short, quick-sinking tip for back up.  Stout tippet is best, at least 12 lb, as you will likely foul hook salmon and you need to get your fly back!  Streamers such the famous egg-sucking leech or rabbit strip leech patterns worked very well.  Have some with cone or dumbbell eyes too.  A productive color is purple, by itself, or mixed with colors, pink, fusia, fl orange, etc.  If you have an egg sucker, the egg can be fl pink or fl orange.  I also caught a few coho while char fishing, but they colored up and pretty tired.  In the river, there are quite a few grayling, so if the rainbow fishing is slow, ask the guide to put you on a grayling hole and pull out the 5 wt.  The standard indicator with nymphs works great or if they're on a hatch, dry fly fishing is good too.  I noticed size 12 caddis coming off the river.  O good 'ol olive, elk wing caddis will likely do the trick.

     The rainbows are the star of the river and for good reasons.  The river itself is a pretty good size, much larger than any of the western rivers I'm used to except for the Columbia.  There are multiple tactics to use while fly fishing for the trout, however, using the long, spey or switch rod is the way to go in my opinion.  I was pretty rusty on my spey casting not to mention having to cast from a boat.  I did practice before the trip, but thanks to George and the guides, I was able to make decent casts.  You don't have to be the most accomplished spey caster and you don't have to cast a mile to reach the fish!  In fact a well placed 30-40 ft cast will do the trick!  The most crazy tactic I have ever experience was when to set the hook!  Just the opposite, you don't actually set the hook, you let the fish hook itself.  Naturally, I botched the first strike as I over reacted with the classic "trout-set" and was promptly reminded of my mistake.  Soooo, as the fly swings through the current and a fish takes, you freeze!  Then you watch your fly line depart from the reel as it rotates about 3-4 or more revolutions.  Finally, you simply raise the rod to an angle towards the bank you are fishing next to!  I have never experienced this type of hook-setting and it can drive you crazy.  But the technique is very effective and the hook generally sticks in the corner pocket (i.e. corner of the mouth) as my buddy, George says, and it's game on!  These rainbows are turbo charged, so when hooked, you're in for a big fight!  Seeing the backing come off the reel is common as they take advantage of the big river's current.  Some times they are even acrobatic.  I had a 29" hen jump 6 times, and was clearing the river 2-3 feet on every jump!

     For the rainbow fly fishing, I used Echo, 6 and 7 weight, 11 1/2' fiberglass switch rods (my buddy George fished graphite 7 & 8 wt switch rods in about the same length).  I used skagit heads on these and carried a wide range of 10 ft. tips from T8 to T18.  I used a floating skagit head on the 6 weight for shallow or slow water and an intermediate sinking head on the 7 wt.  I carried various size split shot to add on for those "just in case" moments for deep or faster water.  About six feet of 15 lb tippet on the end is all you need.  Do not go lighter or you will sob when a +30" bow parts your fly from the leader.  On the flies, a #2 hook is recommended, note the tail lengths past the hook in the above image.  These trout will short strike.  On the tandem fly patterns, only the rear hook is necessary.  I was told that these rainbow prey on small lamprey.  The bunny tail type flies in black worked well for me as did the tandem flesh fly or more commonly known, Lady Flesh fly.  Olive, brown and copper color versions are very good too.

     As for the catching, it can be a bit like steelhead fly fishing.  You might catch 2 in one day, zero the next or have a big haul with 6-10 fish.  Your chances of hooking a big rainbow are very good.  I'd say the average rainbow ranges from 22-26 inches, but the ultimate catch is the 30 inch mark.  I never go to a place with big expectations, but I was fortunate enough to land some very large rainbows, the biggest ever in my life, as a first timer to this famous fishery.  It speaks volumes.  For weather, we had fairly decent days, some were sunny, some overcast and some drizzle.  We were fortunate not to be in big winds, which are common as the season progresses into September and October.  I think our group did very good and this was George's first time to try end of September as he usually fishes in October.  There is excellent fishing in October if you can brave the weather.

     As you run up and down the river in your guide boat, you notice some anglers wade fishing.  We did very little wading and our best fly fishing was swinging flies from the boat.  It took some getting use to (two guys casting switch rods from a boat), but for a river of this size, it sure makes for easier fishing.  The guides know exactly where to place you for the best presentation possible.  Their boats have both oars and a motor to maneuver the boat on a dime and put you on the fish!

     No matter what level of trout fly fishing you like, this one needs to be on your bucket list!  Even more so if you are a trophy trout hunter.  Steelhead fly fishing in the west is straining to say the least.  The Naknek sustains a very healthy population of rainbows that is not going anywhere (catch and release only).  With all five species of salmon returning to the Naknek to spawn, it's no wonder how these trout grow so large.  Even though this trip was my last for 2023, it was the beginning of a new relationship with the Naknek!  Ya, I love it!

Tight lines on your fly fish pursuits,
Joe

"Red sky at night, a sailor's delight"!

     Wow, the evening at Depoe Bay was gorgeous promising the next day to be just as calm!  The marine forecast over a 6-day span was the calmest I've ever seen in my 23 years of fishing out of Depoe Bay!  Seeing 3 days of flat ocean is pretty special but 6?  That's a miracle!  For fly fishing out of a boat on the Oregon coast, you couldn't ask for better conditions and even the fish cooperated as well.  I hope days like these are not far off for the rest of the year.
     It didn't take very long at all as I found a nice shallow reef when fly fishing friend, Dave Kilhefner, hooked up.  His fly rod more than doubled, and I knew right away it was not a black sea bass!  Dave managed his rod perfectly without breaking it or the leader to keep the deep critter from going back into its rocky hole.  Only two fish pull this hard and that is either a lingcod or a cabezon.

     After going back and forth on the reel, a good sized, cabezon (aka cabie) finally revealed itself.  With those giant pectoral finds and broad tail, they possess incredible pulling power!  Much to my surprise, Dave's cabie is the first one I've seen caught on a fly.  But then again, lingcod eagerly take flies, so why not a cabie?  These are delicious table fare, a bugger to fillet but are well worth it!

     The fly fishing was pretty consistent and the fish were spread all over the water column from 10 feet below the surface to the bottom.  We fished in 30-45 feet of water.  The sonar showed good numbers of suspended blacks which eagerly take a fly when you drift over them.  Big schools of black rockfish typically means a fish every cast as long as they're under or around your boat.  However, if you want a shot on catching a ling or cabie, you have to wait a bit longer for the fly to reach near the bottom before you start your retrieve.  One technique to reduce casting is, once you strip your line in and you come to the fast sink tip portion (usually 30'), you can just start stacking your fly line back into the water and as you drift, the line will straighten out and likely be near the bottom.

The ocean was like a like a lake!

     We used the same flies as last time, all white with flashabou; works very well.  My friend, Dave, fly fished with a 9-ft., 6 wt fly rod using a 300 gr Airflo Depth finder and easily held his own on hooking up.  But if you have a 7, 8, or even a 9 wt fly rod, I would go a little heavier.  A short, 20 lb test leader, four feet long works great.  It also allows you to handline the fish into the boat easily.  But you should have a larger, salmon size net just in case you hook a big ling or cabezon!  I actually experimented with a steel leader attaching a Mustad quick connect to change flies instantly.  The leader worked great but eventually the end became kinked but that didn't stop the fish from grabbing the fly.

     I spend a lot of time researching the marine forecast.  No one likes to fish in a rough ocean or waste a trip over only to find you can't get out and you certainly don't want to miss a good ocean.  I like to use several websites and apps.  www.weather.gov/portland gives you the NOAA forecast.  Type in the location in the upper left hand corner.  Then scroll down to the little map and click a spot offshore from the destination you chose.  You should get a forecast on marine conditions but it only gives you about 4-5 days out.  This forecast is typically on the aggressive side.  Another one I really prefer is Windy.com.  Get the Premium subscription.  This will give you 10 days out on the marine and weather forecast.  I also use tides4fishing.com and the app called NAUTIDE.  These have many tools to use for ocean conditions and fishing.

     As calm as it was this last week, I wouldn't have hesitated to take out a 14-foot boat.  But also keep in mind that Depoe Bay is very popular with the kayakers, although I don't know how feasible it is to fly fish from one in the ocean.  Just make sure you a have marine radio which is required for exiting and entering the harbor!

Hope you give this fishery a shot, it's a blast!

Best wishes on your fly fish pursuit!
Joe

    

     It's always a crap shoot on what the ocean is going to bring you in the way of weather.  As I began to monitor the marine conditions, I finally see an open window and hope it will be close to accurate!  I anxiously ring up Tracy Peterson from Hareline to tell him, "now is the time"!  This is the first trip of the season to take the Josie Mae over to Depoe Bay and start the season, only this time with the fly rods!  I've waited a long time for this and having fly fished many times in other locations on the coast, I would finally fly fish in my own boat!
     Nature has a way of telling you that you that a good day is before you.  As we cleared the Depoe Bay rocky gateway, a young grey whale gently porpoised off the starboard side only a few boat lengths away.  Very gracefully as if to say, "you're gonna have a great day boys!"  First thing in order is dropping off the crab pots.  With fresh shad for bait that was caught only a week prior (see shad fly fishing post),  we scatter four pots at various depths.  Now it's time to find the sea bass and whatever else lurks from the reefs!
     I've been fishing out of Depoe Bay since about 2000, rarely missing a season whether it was for rockfish, salmon, halibut or tuna fishing.  Most of these trips were with my father, Jim.  But one fateful day, he didn't come back from the ocean.  In September of 2017 his boat capsized and he and his fishin buddy did not make it.  I was fortunate to have fished with him only 3 days before the accident.  I learned many tactics and techniques from my dad and have been blessed to continue catching!  I didn't miss a lick on going back to Depoe after my father passed away.  I bought my own boat the next year and kept fishing ever since.  The first few years I continued taking out guys who regular fished with my dad and we recalled the good o'l days, fishin with Jim!  It was also with my dad on his boat out of Charleston, OR, many years ago, that I caught my first black rockfish and lingcod while fly fishing.  He and my uncle couldn't believe how fast I out fished them!  Frankly, I was rather surprised myself.  Fly fishing can be very deadly!
     There are basically two options for fly fishing the Oregon/Washington coast.  From a jetty or from a boat.  I've done my fair share fly fishing off of jetties and it's not for me.  Kudos to those of you who are good at it, but quite frankly, I find it a hazard.  The boat fly fishing is my game.  The key to fly fishing from a boat off the Oregon coast is knowing the reefs and shoreline paying close attention to the depth.  Fishing with gear first is a good way to learn locations.  Next is picking a day or days when the marine conditions are calm enough to cast and fish with a fly rod.  If the drift is too fast, forget it!  Yes, you can strip out fly line without casting, and let the drift take it down to the fish as long as the sea bass are in a big area, otherwise you might lose out on drifting past them before the fly has a chance to reach them.

     I always take two rods, one with a 400-490 gr sink head connected to an int. sink line such as the Airflo Depth Finder and Sniper and the other rod with a floater or int. sink line just in case the fish are on top!  Other comparable sinking fly lines are the Teeny T-series, Cortland Compact and the Orvis Depth Charge.  I like to use an 8-wt fly rod, in glass of course, but rod weight really depends on how heavy your fly line is.  My rod can easily cast 300-490 gr, so this gives me a lot of leeway on making sure I can reach the fish.   Leaders should be stout!  I highly recommend at least 20 lb. tippet, 4-6 ft long.  I made the mistake of starting out with 15 lb and hooked into something very large, likely a ling or cabie, and before I could get the boat moving, it broke me off.  Wire might not be bad idea either if you're in ling or cabezon territory.  Another trick we used to make sure our flies sank quickly was adding a 1/8 oz tungest sliding bullet on the leader.  No doubt this makes for some serious, "chuck n duck" casting.  Bring a hard hat :)  Also you can use the Popvic's Jiggy Head, a tungsten cone on the fly or again let it slide on the leader.
     Flies don't have to be fancy, good types are oversized buggers (use rabbit or schlappen for the tail), Clouser minnows, basic streamers that imitate an anchovy or sea lance, rabbit strung flies, like or close to a Dolly Lama, on size 1/0 to 4/0 hooks.  White or pink flies seem to draw a lot of strikes and are usually my first pick for a pattern.  A fair amount of flash on the fly is always good too!  Be sure to throw in a few poppers (pink n white or blue n white) just in case the blacks are on top!

     Good electronics is your best friend when hunting for fish and saves time!  The weather can change instantly, so the sooner you get on fish, the better!  The primary candidate is the black rockfish or sea bass, which are found in many locations and depths.  A suspended school is what you hope for.  For example, if you're in 40 feet of water, hopefully the rock fish are in the first 15 feet of the water column.
     If you allow your fly to sink close to the bottom, you stand an excellent chance of hooking up to lings, cabezon, greenlings and other species of rock fish.  Earlier I mentioned fishing next to rock shorelines, which, can attract many fish especially if there is kelp and sometimes never get touched by anglers.  But beware of ocean conditions and make sure you have two motors!  Keep a respectable distance, getting slammed against the rocks is a high risk!
     Last but not least, is the harvest!  All of these fish are delicious and I love sea bass tacos!  There are no size limits on the blacks but you can be selective, I would toss back any bass under 15-16 inches.

     And in case you are wondering what that green fly rod is that I am holding in the top image, it is a custom built fiberglass 8 weight on a Gary Loomis Northfork blank built by George Krum.  It rocks!

Good fishing in your fly fish pursuits!
Joe