Life of a trout bum
I used to wonder why I never caught any fish and then I found the broken fly below in a bag I used years ago. Hmm, I wonder why I didn’t catch anything. An easy give away should have been the piece of nylon braided rope to attach your fly. Ok, ok, it isn’t that bad but it does feel like 20lb test line. Oh well live and learn. I still thought it was funny though.
I finally nailed the Stonefly hatch on the perfect day. I mean catching this on a big fat size 8 Chubby Chernobyl rocks:
So I hooked up with Alex early Saturday morning and we visited all the regular spots that we had found fish in before but only managed to find fingerlings. After a few hours of roaming around the river we headed to the car for a lunch break and we decided to head up to Dechutes Angler to try and figure out what we were doing wrong. After a pep talk from Amy and Travis we went back down to the river and hiked in to some of the water type that they were describing. The first place we found and “Fish on!” We found spot after spot and every one of them was good for at least one fish, some even put up half a dozen or more.
One spot in particular I caught a nice fish and Alex went right after and pulled another nice fish from the same hole. I went back over and tossed my line over the hole and this time Alex was shooting a little video for me:
This was the fish in the video:
The hole was good for almost a dozen fish with Alex and I switching off one after the other. One fish even exploded out of the water to try and take my fly before it even touched the water.
On Sunday we met up with White Fish Can’t Jump and hiked a less traveled part of the Dechutes. Not to long into the hike I got into that gorgeous fish at the top of this post and he fought like a monster. Zipping up to the shallow ledge and back into the deep pool he would rip line off and make my heart race at the sound and the feel of that power. Deschutes trout really know how to put up a fight. All three of us got into some really nice fish on Sunday and all of mine were on that same Chubby Chernobyl that I used both days. Here’s Alexs fish with the Chubby in the perfect spot:
If you want to tie a Chubby Chernobyl check out this link.
Oh, and careful in the tall grass. The Rattlesnake I almost stepped on was kind enough to hiss and rattle at me instead of biting me.
I will never tire of finding beautiful fish like this on the Deschutes. They fight so hard because they have to fight against such a massive river.
The only fish I found were hanging in the faster riffles and they were taking big flies. The one in the fishes mouth above is a size 8 Ice Dub Prince (learn to tie it here). I have had a great trout fix, now I am off to try for Steelhead again.
I have to get out and catch a good size trout. I try to bide my time through winter by tying flies, but now that the weather is getting spring like out the itch is getting bad. I may even run out to a lake this weekend and see what I can find.
I have been tying some great flies though. The most recent are a stock up of Parachute Adams in 14-18 with a great goose biot body that makes them super light and the biot will not hold as much water as a fully dubbed fly. I will try to get up the recipe and instructions for tying as soon as I can.
I started tying flies at the start of 2009 and by Christmas was feeling like I had gotten pretty good so I figured I would whip some up for my dad for Christmas. I ended up tying him:
24 – Brassies (beadhead and mercury versions)
16 – Quick Descent Trico Spinner (they have quick descent dubbing on the thorax to get right into the film)
12 – Amy’s Ant size 6 and 8 in olive (there the big ones on the left)
and a few RS2 thrown in for good measure.
I hope he enjoys them and catches lots of fish. Now I have to start busting out some flies for myself—March is just around the corner and I have to be ready come spring.
I finally got a new rotary vise! What a great Birthday gift, huh. Its a Renzetti Traveler 2200 with a material clip on the vise arm. Thats a small size 20 parachute BWO with a goose biot wrapped on the tail.
Since I had the new vise and was in Colorado I went to Charlie Cravens Fly Box and WOW! I have never seen such an impressive collection of fly tying gear. All quality products—I didn’t have to dig through dozens of bags of deer hair to find a good bunch. To top it off Charlie Craven himself was helping me and just from the information he was telling me while I was gathering supplies I feel like I had a lesson on fly tying. The goose biot BWO that is in the picture up above is from his large collection of online fly tying recipes. Switch out the BWO colors for adams grey and you have an impressive parachute adams. Also, the biot on the parachute fly makes the parachute fly really light and super waterproof as compared to the dubbing down the whole body (wait until you see the these Alex. We are going to have a blast with ‘em).
Alex and I headed up to the mighty Deschutes for a little spey practice. I say practice since neither of us found a Steelhead. This post would have definitely had a different title if we did. We stopped in at Deschutes Angler and picked up some intruder style flies and proceeded to two step our way down many a run. I got into one really gorgeous Deschutes Redside Trout in the 20 to 22 inch range. Once I coaxed the fish out of his hole and away from the fast current I got him right up to me and the second before I went to take a photo of the beauty it slipped my grasp. Guess it was camera shy. Oh well, Alex wasn’t camera shy—or if he was he was to intent on finding a Steelhead to notice me.
Decisions, decisions, decisions:
This is one heck of a indestructible pattern for a fly. It’s a little confusing to tie in the beginning but once you get a used to the shuttle weave (also known as polish weave) they come off the vise pretty quick. I was using two strands of brassie size wire on each braid but medium wire would have worked better. This seems like a solid alternative to the harder versions of caddis flies that I have been tying. Those were the OH MY GOD! I LOST ONE! S**T! type of flies and when you are nymphing hard for trout and loose several flies in a day that is probably not the best type of flies to be tying. I am going to tie some of these in larger sizes to use as stoneflies also—maybe a nice golden stone, hmmmm. Just need to run to the fly shop for larger wire first.
It photographs terrible but in real life it look great. The Mylar tinsel under the wire really makes it shimmer. You could also under coat the body with Ice Dub and that could be really cool.
Shuttle Weave Nymph
Hook: Daichi 1150 size 6-18
Bead: Gold (sized to hook)
Thread: Uni 6/0 (use one of the body colors, I used olive for this fly)
Body: Two contrasting strands of Ultra Wire
Under body: Mylar Tinsel, Large and a few wraps of Lead Wire
Thorax: Dubbing (I used Ice Dub)
There is a good photo tutorial here and a video here:
I just got six free 1/4 ” Unibobbers from Caddis Fly Shop so that I could enter a fly pattern for their contest. If anyone out there has an idea for a fly that is in dire need of a small bobber being attached to it for extra float drop me a line or leave a comment.
By the way, Hareline (maker of the unibobber), you really should market these as a UniFloats. I think lots of fly fisherman are just turned off of them because they have bobber in the name. Just like fly fishers don’t want to use a San Juan Worm because it has the name worm in it.
I thought I would throw together a quick list for all those out there who are looking for gear for the fly fisher in the family this holiday season. Some of these products I own and some are items I would like to own, but all win the Fishkamp seal of approval.
C&F Design – Waterproof Boxes – around $50
These boxes are amazing. There are small grooves that you can slide the bend of the hook back into so you aren’t poking holes into foam every time you remove or replace a fly. My less expensive boxes that you poke the sharp part of the hook into are fine but after a year or so there are so many holes in the foam that several flies fall out while I am walking and then when I am on the river I see the loose flies fall out and drift off. The Large size box with 12-rows seems a good fit for Oregon as it is made to hold size 8-14 flies. Someday I will replace my Scientific Angler fly boxes (which are not waterproof despite what they say)
with C&F boxes but for now I will have to do with my streamer C&F box.
Patagonia – Men’s Active Classic Boxers – $32
That’s right underwear. Nothing says comfy like gettin water over the top of your waders and having your underwear dry out so your legs don’t get chafed on the four mile hike out of the Descutes River. And guys, don’t forget your ladies. No women likes to wear hot cotton boxers when she hikes with you in the rain for 12 miles in and 12 miles out—just ask my wife.
Sage – VT2 Series Rod – around $475
Bauer – MacKenzie SuperLite – around $300
I have a 3 weight 8’6″ Sage VT2 that I have paired with a Bauer MacKenzie SuperLite M1SL and it is great. The rod has a great light touch for gentle presentations of the smallest dry fly. The reel is perfect for the 3 weight line and I mostly just palm it instead of using the drag. This set up is a great for smaller fish. If you want to step it up the Sage TXL is a really great rod also, I just got a killer deal on the VT2 or I probably would have stepped up to the TXL.
Patagonia – Guidewater Jacket – $400
I have one of these and man is it comfy. I put it through it’s paces recently on some of our rainy days here in Oregon and it shines. The pockets are plentiful and large enough for several fly boxes and my camera. There is a D-ring on the back for connecting your net and a small area up high on the chest for attaching a zinger and your forceps. Plus there is a flip out rod holder so you can stick both hands in the up-high fleece lined pockets on those cold days. There is also a ladies version.
Orvis – Safe Passage Reel and Gear Case – $59
This falls into the category of not being necessary but sure being handy. I would love to have all my reels and boxes organized like in the picture instead of just thrown into my Patagonia Guidewater Duffel (which I love). There are more expensive versions out there from Patagonia, Sage, and Simms but they are mostly for use in a boat and since I don’t have a boat I will settle for the $59 version.
Clackacraft – 16′ Low Profile Fly Pod – A lot
Since I am on the idea of a boat I will take one of these also. Santa can just stick it in my garage—or better yet just hook it up to my vehicle and I will take it out bright and early the next morning. It can’t hurt to dream big, right?
Tiemco – Ceramic Bobbin – $19
Only $19 and I still put up with my bobbins. Ahhh, a new ceramic bobbin. Makes fly tying me happy.
Olympus – Stylus Tough 8000 – $379
I actually have last years version of this camera, called a 1030 SW, and I love it. Slim enough to use every day but having the BIG plus of being waterproof. Almost all the photos you see on this blog are taken with this camera. The only downer is that it is slow between taking one photo and the next. Maybe they fixed that in the newer version. There is also a less expensive 6000 version that slips in $100 less.