Fishing Report June 15th There are plenty of anglers wondering if there are fish in the  We really, really have to watch the water temperatures now. Salmon have been washing up dead in the (http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/06/more_fish_likely_to_die_as_hig.html) This is very bad news and a foreshadowing of things to come. The Enough of the doom and gloom, on to the report: American Shad are still moving in the Carp fishing is a great option right now. The fish are spawning in a lot of areas, but in places where they are not, fishing is steady. If fish are chasing each other or sitting still in super shallow water in groups, they are most likely spawning. It will be very difficult to get them to eat. They are finicky, so finding fish that are actively feeding is going to be the best way to get a fish. They act in a similar way to bonefish, so look for “nervous water” in muddy, shallow areas and get a Crazy Charlie in front of them. Rainbow Trout fishing on the Chinook fishing has been decent below Bonneville Dam, but not smoking hot. Numbers are great so far for summer fish. Summer Chinook are traditionally headed for the uppermost tributaries of the Sockeye Salmon numbers are great, but the odds are stacked against you as sockeye are definitely not into taking flies. Summer steelhead numbers are starting to pick up. While numbers are low for this time of year, we are not overly concerned about steelhead numbers through the dam at this point. August is when the bulk of the summer fish come through, so early numbers don’t mean a whole lot. Every local river has fish in it right now, but not very many. The The The East Fork Hood River is open for trout fishing, as well as the main branch of the river. It is a nice place to spend a day chasing small, wild, hungry trout. I would get out there now as the river is a good color and it is going to get too low to fish really soon. Standard dry flies like the Parachute Adams, Stimulator or Elk Hair Caddis work just fine. It requires a lot of walking (boulder hopping) to cover enough water to have a really productive day, but there is little pressure and beautiful scenery. HWY 35 offers most of the access all the way up to Forest Service Road 44, where the river gets a bit too small to fish above that area. The West Fork Hood River is always closed to fishing, except for the 100 yards or so between the confluence of the East Fork and Smallmouth Bass have been hitting topwater poppers on the Columbia River and Rainbow, Cutthroat, Brown and Brook Trout fishing has been great in the high mountain lakes. There are literally hundreds of lakes within a two hour drive of here. There are varying species, populations and sizes of trout in the lakes. Get out a map of the area and pick a lake… Eagle Creek near Bonneville Dam is a great place to spend the day fishing for cutthroat trout. Much like the As always, we are happy to talk fishing any time. Give us a call if you have any specific questions on local rivers, gear, and tactics, or if you just want some encouragement to get out of the office. |
Fish. ON!
Fishing Report June 15th
It is full-on summer in the Gorge, so it is time to get out and enjoy the vast amount of recreation opportunities in the region. Shad are the fish of the week here on the Columbia , while trout fishing in high mountain lakes is fabulous and smallmouth bass are eating topwater poppers just about everywhere they can be found. Always check the regulations before going somewhere unfamiliar, or just check to get a refresher on the rules.
http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01590/wdfw01590.pdf
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/docs/2015/2015%20Oregon%20Sport%20Fishing%20Regs_r12-11-14.pdf
There is a little redundancy in the report, mostly because not a lot has changed as far as opportunities and conditions go.
I got out once last week and hit a western river looking for steelhead. Ryan is new to the area and was looking for his first hot summer fish. We found one and it was a dandy. I watched it crush a black muddler minnow near the surface and then fought as hard as any fish. The look on Ryan’s face will show you how happy an angler can be after landing his first super hot summer steelhead.
American Shad are still running thick on the Columbia River right now. The majority of the action happens below Bonneville Dam, near Beacon Rock, near Cascade Locks and upstream near Rufus. If you can find them you can catch them. They are hard fighting fish that readily take flies and are tons of fun on a 5 or 6wt fly rod.
Carp fishing has been gaining popularity here in the area and there are finally a few anglers (besides Gabe) that have been getting out consistently. These big fish can be found in the Columbia , but fishing is tough when its been windy on the “Big C”. Wind kicks up silt and colors the water up, making it tough to fish. If the Columbia is murky, then try any of the small sloughs next to the highway. Any pond between Bingen and Lyle most likely has a productive carp fishery and easy access. Generally, fishing mid-day is good as fish move into the flats and “tail” in the mud for food. The fish can be easily found in shallow water and have not been moving out until late in the evening.
Rainbow Trout on the Deschutes River
Chinook fishing has really shut slowed down in the local rivers, but fish are still moving past us in the big river. There are rumors of the big “June Hogs” have been circulating though the area from the big boat guys fishing the big river.
The Cowlitz River
The Klickitat River
The Hood River Hood River
The East Fork Hood River is open for trout fishing. The access is plentiful along HWY 35, but it is a tough wade due to steep gradient and huge boulder fields. The trout are small and sparsely distributed, but they are hungry and rewarding due to the amount of effort it takes to get around all of the boulders. It is catch and release only and no bait is allowed.
Smallmouth Bass have been hitting topwater poppers early and late in the day on the Columbia River and John Day River
Rainbow, Cutthroat, Brown and Brook Trout have been eating flying ants in the high elevation lakes. The fishing has been really incredible in the past few weeks and should be good for the next few weeks, even though the ant hatch is waning. The big trout tend to gorge on them later in the day when the bugs start flying heavily. Damselfly nymphs and callibaetis are also working well, along with smaller chironomids. Damselflies, Callibaetis and Chironomids will be the primary food source for most of June until the Hexagenia hatch happens at the end of the month. Timothy, Clear, Trillium, Laurence and Lost Lakes are all great Oregon Lakes , while Merrill and Goose Lakes are great choices for Washington anglers.
As always, we are happy to talk fishing any time. Give us a call if you have any specific questions on local rivers, gear, and tactics, or if you just want some encouragement to get out of the office.
The next morning we walked down the street to the R. L. Winston factory. The Winston factory is in a steel building on the edge of town, not quite as big as I thought it would be. When we walked through the front door into the small entry way slash show room we were greeted by Adam. Adam is the person you generally get when you call Winston. Adam was busy answering the phones as usual. While we waited I took the chance to scan through the complete line up of Winston rods displayed in the front entry. I scanned the rods every once in a while seeing a model that I had not cast or fished yet, which now sparked my interest to fish that rod. With most of my fishing being with two handed rods for Steelhead, I realized I have never fished the Boron III LS 9’ 5 weight. That would change later that day.
At this point on the tour I can’t tell you much about what we saw. Let’s just say we got to see lots of cool stuff behind closed doors. Annette talked to us a lot about the design of a Winston rod, the tapers and the materials. I have to say Annette has an amazing amount of knowledge when it comes to rod design and the cool part is she is so humble about it. Annette even let us cast some prototypes that are in the works, can’t tell you anymore, but I can tell you that they are always looking for the next best rod!
It was sad to see the trip come to an end. The next day we all headed home, back to our families and work. I left this trip with a much more appreciation of Winston and their fly rods. I have always fished Winston’s and enjoyed them but now I really understand that extra mile put into the attention to detail to every Winston fly rod. That gives you that much better of feeling when you pick your rod up. Speaking of that I am going to grab my Winston and go catch a few big Crane Prairie rainbows!
