STEELHEAD ON THE SPEY

Blog Change

2010-11-29T09:52:00.000-08:00

Just a heads up to everyone that we are slowly transitioning our blog over to a new site. This is going to allow us to do a little more with photo and video work as well as having some new people contributing to the blog. We have it started but will take a few weeks to get things going in the direction we want. Check it out at http://steelheadonthespey.wordpress.com

Go for the grab1
JH

Winter on its way

2010-11-23T23:03:00.000-08:00

Fall steelheading is drawing to a close and while there are still some late fall fish pushing in, early winters are right on their heels. Last week saw our first encounter with a bright early winter as well as some halfpounders and a few chunky summer/fall steelhead in the mix. Water temps have dropped and the rivers continue to rise and drop making fishing a little hit and miss. We have pretty much switched over to tips and some larger than usual patterns seem to be doing the trick. I have a handful of days left on the mid-lower Trinity and then switching modes to winter steelhead. With plenty of rain, snow, and wind the last week I am ready for some early winter chrome to push into many of our North Coast rivers. Happy Thanksgiving!

Truths of a rising river...

2010-10-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

There are a few things that happen with a rising river...
1. Stale fish perk up
2. New fish move in
3. Flows go up
4. The river blows
5. River drops
6. Fish are happy
7. This happens all over again 5 days later

In the last 8 days we have seen around 7" of rain in the Klamath/Trinity basin. Fishing picked up and was good until the rivers blew. It then dropped into shape and no more than a day later we get more rain. Rivers rise and now on the drop. I anticipate good fishing this next week. We should still have some good numbers of half-pounders around and some new big November freshies moving into the system. November can be a great time to hook up with one of those big late fall runs or even the bright early winter run steelhead.

Go for the grab!
JH

Steelhead Report

2010-10-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

Been on the water the last ten days now and have seen a variety of fishing conditions on both the Klamath and Trinity rivers. Fishing has been very hit and miss but we are finding fish most days. If you fish hard throughout the day, especially during low light periods you should be able to find a fish or two that are willing to move to a swung or skated fly. Hot flies the past week have been October Hiltons, Silent Assassins, Undertakers, and muddlers.

We are in need of a weather change to get rid of this high pressure that seems to be making fishing a little tougher. Temps are suppose to cool and even a chance of rain here soon. This should suck more fish into the system and perk up the ones that have been around for a little while. The next 2-3 weeks should see some of the best fishing of the season.

John Putnam with 1 of 4 he and is brother in law hooked the other day.

A hard pulling hen that fell to an October Hilton

October Sunset on the Lower Trinity

Fall steelheading in full swing

2010-10-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

It's go time! In the past week or so, big numbers of steelhead have moved through the lower Klamath and Trinity. Willow Creek weir counts the last 5 days have been well, REALLY GOOD! The Trinity has seen some good fishing in the past few days with some very nice fish coming to both swung wet flies and skated muddlers. The fish are moving upriver rather quickly and in some good sized pods. Find a pod of fish and you are most likely going to hook more than one! Low light periods have still been best, so look for shade through the morning and again in the late afternoons. Fishing is only going to improve throughout the next month. We will have another report and hopefully some video in the next few days.

Go for the grab!
JH

A few pics from AK

2010-09-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

Four months of guiding in the Alaskan Bush has come to an end. A few days of R&R and I will be back on the lower Trinity and Klamath running trips for Fall Steelhead. Just wanted to share a few pics from the summer.

Trinity and Klamath River Fall Steelheading is upon us...

2010-09-16T13:28:00.001-07:00

Fall is almost here and we are looking at another great season for steelheading on the Klamath and Trinity Rivers. We have seen good numbers of steelhead pushing into the lower Klamath over the last couple of months with numbers increasing in the last two weeks. We have seen some really nice half-pounders and adults taken on both the Lower Klamath in the glen and the lower Trinity below Willow Creek. As water temps begin to cool in the next week or so, there should be more fish pushing in making for some great swing fishing for steelhead. The early reports from the DFG weir in Willow Creek show very good numbers of both wild and hatchery steelhead moving through the lower river. As these numbers increase in the following 3 weeks we should see an excellent return of steelhead in the mid-lower Trinity river for Spey fishing in October and November. The same can be said for the Klamath. October and November are prime months for floating line fishing both the Klamath and Trinity Rivers. This is our favorite time of year to experience steelhead on skated dry and swung wet flies on or near the surface. We have a limited number of prime dates open in October to experience California’s finest Steelheading.

Available Dates: October 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30

Go for the grab!
JH

Steelhead on the Spey Classes and Schools

2010-09-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

We have just updated our classes and schools page on our website. We will be featuring Winter Steelhead Schools and fly tying classes for this upcoming fall and winter. For more information check them out http://www.steelheadonthespey.com/Site/Classes_%26_Schools.html

Trinity River Spey Schools

2010-08-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

Steelhead on the Spey Guide Service will be partnering up with Lance Gray and Company to host two spey schools on the lower Trinity River. These schools will focus on spey and switch rod casting and fishing. The school’s curriculum covers rods, reels and lines. The instructors will show you how to setup your rods to your advantages for different situations based on real hands on instruction during the school. We will cover flies, sink tips and poly leaders. The students will have the opportunity to use and explore other equipment. We also encourage the students to bring their own equipment to learn with and for us to tune up. Curriculum also includes reading water, locating holds and determining which technique should be used to make a cast to that fish.
This two day school is for four students. The school will give students one on one instruction with three different instructors.

Dates for the schools are –

December 11 & 12, 2010 Full
December 18 & 19, 2010

Cost is $450 for the two day school with lunch and equipment provided. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at speybum@gmail.com

JH

New Spey and Switch Rods from Sage

2010-08-05T20:38:00.001-07:00

Sage has just announced that they are introducing new TCX switch rods and VXP spey rods this fall. The TCX switches are going to be offered in 5-8 weight and are all 11'9" in length. They will be very well suited as longer switch rods or as I just like to say, SHORT SPEY RODS. From what I hear these rods are very smooth with a lot of power in reserve. They are going to make great rods for shorter skagit and scandi heads.

Sage is also going to be replacing the popular VT2 series speys with the new VXP spey rods. They will be offered in a 12'9" 6 weight and 13'3" 7 weight. This new series will be at a similar price point to the VT2 rods but with a redesigned blank and better components. If they are anything like the VT2's they will pretty much cast themselves! Both new VXP models will be great rods for steelhead fishing throughout the Pacific Northwest. Really looking forward to putting some time into the 6129!

Looking forward to playing with some of these new toys this fall on the lower Trinity and Klamath rivers.

JH

Reports

2010-07-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

California

I have heard a few nice reports coming from the Trinity for summer steelhead. The water is slowly dropping and around 750 cfs from Lewiston. These summer fish are headed for tributaries so I would focus ones efforts on the mid-lower river. Early mornings and evening are going to give you the best shot a a chrome wild summer run. I would fish anything from a skated muddler or dry fly to October Hilton's, Duck Turds, Silent Assassins, and Undertakers. Good numbers of fish are already showing on the Klamath and Trinity and we anticipate great fall fishing. I have some October dates still available for prime time fall steelheading on the Lower Trinity and Klamath Rivers. Email if you have any questions or to book a date.

Alaska

Fishing up here on the upper Nush has picked up. With more salmon entering the system everyday we are seeing better trout fishing. The egg bite has picked up in the last couple of weeks and the mouse and streamer fishing has been great! Thus far the hot streamers have been a natural BellyDancer, Hickman's Egg Stealing Sculpin, and Silvey's Sculpin. About the only mouse I have been fishing all season is Mr. Hankey but if I had another choic, the Morrish Mouse would be a close second. Will post some pics shortly. The only thing we could use now is some sunshine and warm weather. I have had enough overcast and rainy days until December!

JH

The Pros and Cons of living in the Bush!

2010-07-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

Cons

1. Bugs, they really are a bitch. Deet helps a little with the mosquitos but the no see ‘ems and white sox could give two shits about this stuff.
2. Cleaning out the shitters. I could just about throw up everyday I have to take the shitter bags out and clean the john’s.
3. The price of booze. $40 for an 18 pack of Bud Diesel and $40-60 for a bottle of shit Whiskey. Almost not worth a drink here and there.
4. What I wouldn’t give for a bagel, burger, or DiGiorno pizza right about now. The DiGiorno would go well with my $3 can of Bud Diesel.
5. Women worried about their hair and make-up in the middle of BFE! It really it kinda funny!

Pros

1. I don’t have to listen to latest news or political bullshit about how effed up our country is.
2. 24 hours of light
3. Wildlife: Bears, Moose, Wolverines, Eagles, and Osprey
4. Not having to deal with traffic or idiotic people. The only traffic within sight is that of another jet boat heading up or downriver of camp.
5. Leopard Bows
6. Huge grayling
7. Epic mouse and streamer fishing
8. Campfires, music, and Dave’s classic bush stories

Happy 4th of July: Bush Style

2010-07-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

Nush Bows on the swing

2010-06-27T19:33:00.001-07:00

Fishing up here on the Nush has been hit and miss the last few days. When it has been warm the fishing has picked up. Today was another one of those cold rainy days when the fish just weren't too grabby. We were able to find a few nice fish on the swing with a 6 weight switch rod. Most fish have been coming to olive sculpins and white smolt patterns. Lots of salmon smolt working their way out the system right now and the big bows and dollies are all over them.

JH

Too much rain...

2010-06-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

One thing that is getting a little old up here in the bush is the rain. Since arriving here at camp 3 weeks ago we have seen the sun for about 3 days. The only positive of this cool weather are very few mosquitos. The other major downside being the fishing. Water temps have been downright cold, ranging anywhere from 38-46 degrees making the trout somewhat sluggish. This is the time of year to expect great fishing on both mice and streamers and it just hasn’t happened. While fish are still moving, a little, to the streamers we are having better success dead drifting flesh and streamers. The mouse grab has been almost non-existent with maybe 4 four succumbing the fury rodent. Today was far and away the best weather we have seen yet. Bluebird skies and warm weather in the low sixties was a treat until the clouds of mosquitos arrived! If we could only have about five more days of this weather, the water should warm and the fury rodent fishing should kick off. If there is one thing I have been anticipating up here on the nush, it is mouse fishing for big leopard bows. Mr. Hankey, Morrish Mouse, and a new creation I have been working on are sure to see action here soon.

JH

Land of the Midnight Sun

2010-06-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

Land of the midnight sun! The last week zipped by working long hours into the midnight sun getting camp set up and ready for clients. The first few days up here on the upper Nush were spent working late getting weather ports (aka fancy tents), the main hall (Kimer’s cook house), and boats ready for jetting the river. Hours of “detailing” have been spent the last two days making this place look real good! Lots of weed eating, raking, and graveling walkways have this place looking like the Ritz Carlton in the bush. Wish I had some before and after photos to share but I don’t so just try to imagine.

The bush is a special place. After a week here I can now see why Kris is here for his seventh year of guiding and why Kim, Dave, and Camille have been running this place for so long. We are over 45 miles from the nearest lodge/camp, 100 miles from the nearest city, Dillingham (not much of one), and there is no one else around with the exception of a few bears, moose, wolves, and big hungry leopard rainbows. It is truly God’s country! We don’t have to deal with stop signs, red lights, idiotic drivers, or idiots from the outside world for that matter. You don’t get the latest news unless a client informs you at camp. You don’t have to listen the political bullshit such as healthcare and the BP disaster! The only things we hear are the birds calling, wolves hawling, the wind, and a little Neil Young thrown in here and there.

Speaking of bears, we have had one in camp for two days in a row. A pretty good size Grizz that snuck up behind us during our evening B.S. session by the fire. Kris and Nice turned around and the damn thing was less than fifty feet from us near the cook tent. We all ran for guns as the bear grew pissed. He snarled a bit and the hair on his neck stood straight up! We got hit to leave camp but not before he was hit in the ass with a rubber bullet. Damn thing showed up in front of the shitter the next morning but left before I got a look at him.

We have spent little time fishing but there wasn’t much too miss the first few days. Heavy rains brought the river up and blew it out. It has since been on the drop and clearing a bit and should only get better. The little fishing we have done has been under the midnight sun for an hour or so before bed. With cold, off color water, fishing has been tough. Head ‘boss’ Kris Kennedy hooked a couple of pigs on McGeary Creek during the first fishing hour but since then it has been a rainbow here and there with a few dollies in the mix.

We have had clients the past two days and they are great dudes. Everyone has hooked fish so far and it should only get better with warming water and weather. We have seen big leopard bows, dollies, and a couple of big grayling that have eaten #4 streamers. So far white smolt patterns and streamers have done the trick. If I was heading up this way in the near future I wouldn’t leave home without Garrett’s Natural Bellydancer and TFS King Smolt. Not only have these flies hooked some nice fish but the white makes it easy to follow and see fish react to your fly. Until next week, enjoy reality and I’ll be enjoying the bush!

A small detour to Trout and Salmon fishing in Alaska

2010-05-31T23:16:00.000-07:00

Haven't really done a good job of keeping up with posts this spring. A combination of work and getting ready to leave for Alaska has keep me busier than expected.

In the next four months this blog will detour away from steelhead and focus on my journies guiding for trout and salmon in Alaska. I will be working for Dave and Kim Egdorf at Egdorf's Nushagak Wilderness Camp. I am pretty stoked about this opportunity and it will be fun to chase trout with big streamers and mouse patterns. I will be in Alaska from June 2nd till about September 28th. Upon return I will start guiding the lower Trinity and Klamath rivers on October 5th.

Depending on how good of a satellite internet connection we have at camp, I am hoping to do a weekly post with pics on guiding/fishing in Alaska. More photos can also be viewed on my flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/42959397@N08

JH

Find what work's for you...

2010-05-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest challenges in the two handed game is finding a properly matched fly line for your fishing needs.

Guiding two-handed spey fishing and working in a fly shop part time, the biggest question that gets asked is the same one over and over again! What is the best line for my spey rod? Sometimes this can be tougher to answer than one might think. Let me first start by asking you a few questions to make this easier for both of us...

Where do you like to fish?
What time of the year?
Do you like a lighter load or a deeper, heavier load?
Do you like a more traditional longer length line or shorter shooting head line?
Do you want this line to be extremely versatile or excel in a specific area?

The reasons for these questions is that right now in the two-handed market there is a lot to choose from in rods, reels, and lines. While there are very few "bad" spey rods being built these days, there are spey rods that will feel/cast like shit when they improperly lined. The biggest key is finding the Spey line to fit your needs.

Let's now jump right into the various types of lines available to the consumer.

Old School, aka Long Bellies and Traditional Spey Lines:
These are the lines I learned to cast with almost 10 years ago. These are a more traditional spey line with head lengths in the 52-85' range. Great for casting flies longer distances on large rivers. They require a lot more back casting room and do well with flies in the #1/0-#10 range. Good luck with a big string leech or intruder though! These lines are popular on summer/fall steelhead rivers like the Deschutes, Clearwater, Thompson, and Klamath rivers. These lines have evolved a bit over the years and are now a little better to cast. Here are a few popular ones for anglers to consider in the 7-11 weight range.
- Rio Windcutter(old standby)
- Rio Powerspey
- Airflo Delta and Delta Long
- CND GPS
- Nextcast Winter Authority and Fall Favorite

Scandinavian Lines:
These lines are shooting head style lines that have a lot of taper to them. They range in length from 28-44' and are designed to have good turnover with small to medium size flies. These lines gained popularity in Europe and in the last few years have made a big splash in North America on rivers like the Deschutes, Trinity, and Klamath. These lines are easier to cast than traditional spey lines but not quite as easy and forgiving as Skagit lines. Here are some popular Scandi heads in the 5-9 weight range...
- Airflo Compact Scandi
- Beulah Elixir
- Guideline Powertaper
- Rio AFS
- Vision Ace

Skagit Lines:
Here's what I think can be some of the most versatile fishing lines on the market. A line for all season and all conditions. Skagit lines were designed to throw large flies on heavy sink tips in the Pacific Northwest. What many don't know is that if you take a lighter skagit head, add a 7.5-10' floating tip that is equal in grain weight to the skagit head you would use to throw sink tips and big flies, you get a great line for summer/fall dry line fishing. For example, if you throw a 450 grain skagit head for sink tip work, you would want the total length of your skagit head plus floating tip for summer/fall fishing to equal 450 grains. Skagit heads vary in length from 20-34' and can fit switch/spey rods from 5-12 weights. The following are some of most popular skagit lines on the market at the moment.
- Airflo Compact Skagit
- Beulah Tonic
- Rio Skagit Flight
- Rio Skagit Short

All of the aforementioned lines are great for the two handed rod. Some will excel in certain situations where other will struggle. The key is to find the right line for your casting style, where you like to fish, and the time of year you like to fish. Or, if you are looking for one line to do it all, then I would certainly recommend a Skagit line.

JH

Eforts to save Southern California Wild Steelhead

2010-04-26T10:31:00.001-07:00

While I would love to see wild steelhead return to some of their natal Southern California rivers, it seems as if it might be a lost cause. Makeshift concrete channels running underneath roads and freeways seems anything but natural/wild to me, but maybe they'll work.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/nation/califs-costly-trout-recovery-effort-criticized-92049239.html

Photography

2010-04-20T23:33:00.000-07:00

Seeing that my steelhead season is pretty much over until late September I find myself dabbling a bit more into photography. While I love taking photos, I have a lot to learn. Here are a few sites with some pretty cool photography stuff.

Midcurrent has a nice page devoted to fly fishing photographers and links to their sites. Take a moment to check it out.
http://www.midcurrent.com/flyfishingimages/photographers.aspx

Catch Magazine

Chase Jarvis

Strobist

Fred Miranda

Tying the Crippler

2010-03-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

I know its the end of the season but I still have a one last rendezvous up north for late winter steelhead. Thought I would take everyone through the steps of tying the Crippler which kicked ass this year on the coast. This is a slight variation to my pattern that was featured in the February issue of California Fly Fisher. This fly is designed to be fishes in "soft" water, i.e. tailouts, glides, and slow inside seams.

First off, this fly can be tied on either a shank or a tube, with or without weight. I prefer to tie these on tubes both with and without weight. This allows for fishing in a variety of conditions.

1 1/2" plastic tube.

After attaching thread, create a large dubbing ball near the rear of the tube and tie in a collar of Arctic fox tail in front of dub ball. Easier to take tow small chunks and tie them in one at a time to evenly spread around dubbing ball.

Tie in a schlappen feather and hackle 4-6 turns closely through a dubbed body(I like Ice Dubbing).

Tie in a long thin stemmed marabou feather and make 4-6 turns, picking out and combing back marabou with each turn.

Take anywhere from 12-18 ostrich herls and clump them together. From here, wet them and then using a black sharpie color 6-8 bars to give the ostrich a barred look. Using 3-4 herls at a time tie them in and around the fly, evenly spreading out the herl.

Add some flash to the top of the fly. I prefer flashabou, krinkle flash, or krystal flash. All look good, another personal preference.

Tie in a golden pheasant tippet to create a collar. Schlappen can work as well but I really like the golden pheasant tippets because they are naturally barred and give the collar a unique look. Finish the head, burn the end of the tube and finished!

A few of the reasons the Crippler is so effective is the large profile created by the arctic fox and hackled schlappen. This allows the marabou to breath and keep a big profile in the current without collapsing. The other thing to notice is how the ass end of the fly with the dubbing ball/arctic fox glows in the light(see pic below).

Rob Elam photo

Another pic of a big profile in the water...the sink test!

2010 Winter Season comes to a close

2010-03-25T17:30:00.000-07:00

Our 2010 California Winter steelhead season has all but come to a close. While many of our rivers are still open till March 31st, fishing has slowed and very few bright fish are showing. It's hard to believe how fast our winter season went by. While we had some good fishing, this years water conditions made fishable days on some of my favorite rivers few and far between. If we could have had an extra 8-12 days of good weather during "prime time," I hate to think how many bright natives we could have hooked. That's winter steelheading though, we rarely get ideal conditions. The following are a few pics from the 09-10' winter season. More pics can be seen on the website in the next few days...

Rio to Introduce M.O.W. tips later this spring

2010-03-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

It has finally happened! With the help of Mike McCune, Scott O'Donnell, and Ed Ward, Rio is introducing unique sink tip system called the M.O.W. (McCune, O'Donnell, Ward). This is a tip system these guys developed over the years and guiding and fishing skagit lines and having to alter tips to meet their demands. I was fortunate enough to learn this tip system a number of years ago from Mike and have been fishing them for a couple of years now. The M.O.W systems consist of 2.5', 5', 7.5', 10', 12' sink tips and a 10' floating tip. For example, the 2.5' tip has 2.5' of T-11/14 integrated to a 7.5' section of floating line. 5' tip is equals lengths of T-11/14 and floating line. This was the 2.5', 5', 7.5', and 10' sink tips are all 10' in length helping to keep a more consistent anchor. This tip system is ideal for switch and spey rods in the 11'-13'9" range and will come in T-8, T-11, and T-14 varieties. Look for the T-11/14 systems to be available by early May and the T-8 by fall. All kits will retail for 149.95 with a leader wallet. These are a must for any two-hand angler.

For more info check out the link on speypages

The truth comes out...98% of Eel River water diverted to Russian River system during dry months.

2010-03-12T23:21:00.000-08:00

This is a week or so old but a must read!

A lawsuit filed by the Friends of the Eel River to take action against PG&E to stop diverison of water from the Eel River to the Russian river system. During the summer months, as much as 98% of Eel River flows are diverted through PG&E's Potter Valley Project. Hopefully something will happen here and flows will be restored to the Eel, at least during the critical warm weather periods when water is extremely low and warm. This would certainly help prevent some juvenile salmon/steelhead mortality and help increase numbers in future returns.

Keep reading article here

2010-03-11T22:17:00.000-08:00

Early March is hard to beat on the California coast. Not sure what it is about March but there are not many people out fishing. Good conditions + very little pressure = good fishing. Catching, well that could have been better. A few fish were around but was hoping for more considering the rivers were dropping and this is typically when the big late season nates begin to show.

A small front moved in late Tuesday and added a little rain and snow to the mix but did not seem to hurt the rivers at all. It actually gave the water a little more of that "steelhead green" we all like to see in the winter.

The grabs were soft and while we were able to connect to a couple, there were a few more that left us wondering, what if? Should I have set, not dropped the loop, or was it just not meant to be? That's why we love this sport. It makes us think every second on the water and then when you start to drift just for a split second, it happens!

Evolution of the Skagit line

2010-03-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

When some people mention Skagit lines, the first thing that comes to mind are heavy sink-tips, big flies, and winter steelhead. This is true, and was the only way I thought of Skagit lines until the last couple of years. Skagit lines are a great fishing tool on both Spey and switch rods and more people than ever before are using them year round.

I myself, have gravitated towards Skagit lines for almost all my steelheading be it spring, summer, fall, and winter. In the summer and fall months I just swap my sink-tips for a floating tip and 12-15' tapered leader and am ready to fish. Part of the reason for fishing these lines in the summer and fall months has to do with the number of anglers and pressure many of our steelhead rivers now see. I have had to learn and fish new water to try and escape some of the pressure "traditional" runs and riffles see throughout a given day. I find myself fish smaller, tighter spots that don't allow much backcasting room, forcing one to get the fly out there with a very limited to almost non existent back cast. The shorter, quicker load of a skagit line allows one to do this. The second major factor has to do with guiding first time Spey casters into steelhead. Skagit lines allow one to learn and understand the basics of the two-hand casting a hell of a lot quicker than any other line out there. What once cold have taken two weeks for one to learn a single cast, now only takes an hour or less. It simply allows many of guides to guide their clients into fish a lot quicker and easier.

The last couple of years have seen tremendous growth in the spey fishing world. More and more anglers are getting into the two handed sport which has placed an emphasis on technology, teaching, guiding, and fishing. Learning to spey cast with a two handed rod is now easier than ever. When I first started spey casting we were using 14-15' 9 and 10 weights with Windcutter lines. It took me nearly a month to feel confident enough to tie and fly on and fish a run without have to worry about hooking myself in the neck. Not that these outfits were bad, they just took a lot more skill and practice to learn the spey casts. As Spey casting grew, so did rod and line technology.

In the last 5-6 years we are seeing a growth in the use of the Skagit lines. There is a big reason for this, Skagit lines make casting and fishing two handed rods much easier and more enjoyable. Skagit lines were designed by the likes of Ed Ward, Mike McCune, and Scott O'Donnell on the banks of the Skagit/Sauk rivers while trying to find a line that was able to cast big flies on heavy sink tips. Little did they know, that the design of this line would make a huge impact in the world of steelhead fishing.

Rio was one of the first company to design a Skagit taper. These lines were 27' in length and varied in grain weight, 350, 450, 550, and 650 grains. Soon there was a demand for more lines and Rio introduced more lines varying in 50 grain increments. Not long after, Airflo and Scientific Anglers followed suit and Skagit lines gained in popularity.

While many of these lines were great for the 13'6"-15' rods, many were having to modify lines to match some of newer, shorter, lighter Spey rods on the market. In the last couple of years, manufacturers have begun to design Skagits that were better suited to today's shorter lighter rods. Airflo was the first company to introduce a line of Skagits designed to match almost any Spey/switch rod starting at 360 grain @ 22.5' and going up to 720 grains @ 28.5'. Soon Beulah followed with the Tonic that ranges from 22.5 - 27' and match switch rods as light as 5/6 up to 9 weight spey rods. At the same time Rio launched their line of Skagit Shorts designed for switch and small spey rods. Rio's Skagit Short range from 275 grains to 525 grains and are 20' in length. As the popularity of Airflo's Compact Skagit grew, Rio soon followed suit with their new Skagit Flight than range from 425 grains @ 24'to 750 grains @ 31'. Now there are almost too many choices out there for an angler to choose from. This just shows the growth and popularity and Skagit and Spey casting.

While there are many options out there to choose from, it is extremely important to make sure you get the proper line for your Spey/switch rods. The other thing to remember is that not all line recommendations will work for you. Many anglers prefer different loads in their rod while casting. Some prefer a heavier, deeper load(more grains), while others like a lighter load(less grains) and cast more off the tip. If you have had any two-hand casting experience, you should have an idea which you might prefer. That being said, if you are a beginner and have not spent any time with a two-handed rod, it is best to get a recommendation from a reliable source and go with a line that is "middle of the road" as far as grain weight it concerned. Many fly shops have employees that Spey fish and can give an angler a good line recommendation. There is also a decent amount of god info on the internet but be careful not to always listen to the internet experts, aka(speypages forums). Shops such as Kiene's Fly Shop have some excellent and knowledgeable Spey information and can provide the correct Skagit line recommendations.

JH

Bobbers, Indicators, Floats, Balloons, and Sindicators

2010-03-02T20:15:00.000-08:00

All the recent talk about Idylwilde's new Sindicator has been both ridiculous and hilarious! Growing up I was taught the importance of learning to cast a fly rod, read water, and fishing dry flies. Hell, most people started fly fishing after seeing Brad Pitt/Jason Borger making beautiful casts and hooking fish on dry flies in a River Runs Through It. Years later, it seems as if this sport has become more about how many fish one can catch. Here's where the Indicator, Bobber, and Balloons come in.

It all started with ye old plastic red/white. Most of us started fishing ponds and lakes as kids with old red/white. Then some of us might have transitioned into a float, drifting marabou jigs for steelhead on a spinning rod. Now many fly fisherman seem to get into the sport with fly fishing's version of the bobber, i.e. yarn indicator, corkies, thingamabobbers, balloons, and more. The newest revelation being "trapped air technology" such as the Sindicator, Thingamabobber, and of all things Balloons.

With other blogs such as Blanco Honky and Moldy Chum calling the Sindicator "shameless" and "ripoffandduplicator," it makes me think of how many yarn indicators are on the market. My guess would be at least 5 or 6, but we don't hear much about how similar they are. Now there are multiple versions of a balloon, i.e. bobber using trapped air technology and the shit hits the fan. Get over it! I have no problem with people using a bobber, float, indicator, or balloon but it is just not for me. If I was to use one it would surely be on a spinnning rod floating down a seam with a jog underneath. While I would like to see more people swinging flies or casting dry flies to rising fish, most people just seem to get into the sport through indicator/bobber fishing. To me it has almost eliminated the essence of fly casting but for those who just care about catching fish, it does get the job done.

JH

Freeze frame

2010-02-24T20:48:00.000-08:00

The Release

2010-02-13T19:46:00.000-08:00

It's really exciting to know that starting March 1st there will be no take of wild steelhead on the Smith and the rest of California for that matter. The Smith was the last remaining fishery that allowed for the take of wild steelhead. Hopefully we will all be seeing a lot more of this in the future...

Smith River Regulations to change March 1, 2010

2010-02-11T22:59:00.000-08:00

I just saw this on Rich Zellman's blog and thought it would be good to post. It's about time they stop allowing people to kill wild steelhead on the Smith. A step in the right direction.

2010 Smith River regulation updates:
Below are freshwater sportfishing regulation changes for the Smith River that will become effective on March 1, 2010.

1. A North Coast Salmon Report Card will be required for the Klamath, Trinity as well as the Smith River.

2. No retention of wild trout or steelhead on the Smith River.

3. The daily bag limit will be 2 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead with no more than 4 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead in possession.

4. 1 Chinook salmon and no more than 5 wild Chinook salmon per year.

Good Work John Casali...Eel River Cleanup

2010-02-10T20:28:00.000-08:00

A great article about a man named John Casali who set out to clean up the Eel River. It is cool to see someone getting attention for taking the initiative to clean up a place he loves and calls home. It's unfortunate the river is getting more attention for the trash on its banks, rather than its beauty or fishing. Great read!

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_14356983

JH

New Idylwilde Website

2010-02-04T16:20:00.000-08:00

Idylwilde just launched their new website and it flat out rocks! Aside from being the best fly company in the industry, they also have the best and most innovative website I have seen. They added a new blog, signature tier pages, and some really cool photos. Make sure to read a few of the bios from Idylwilde's signature tiers. A few of these are pretty damn funny! Check it out and make sure to stop by your local fly shop and check out the newest Idylwilde patterns that feature premium skunk repellent!

Brief Coast Report

2010-02-04T15:10:00.000-08:00

We were able to get one day on the river in this week. With off and on rain showers and the river forecasts predicted to drop, things were looking good. Rain and showers on monday night and tuesday certainly did not help things. While the river was a nice steelhead green, the flows were just too high. We floated a 6 mile stretch of river that only allowed us to swing 3 runs due to the flows just being too high and fast. All things considered we did manage one good grab that didn't stick in one of the three runs fished. Looks like another big storm is moving in for the next few days and the rivers are predicted to jump big. Looks like it will be at least another week till something drops in.

The other downer of the day happened after we finished our float, we decided to walk into one last run before dark. Upon returning to the rig, I noticed someone had slashed my raft in two different places. In all my years fishing the coast, I have not had many run-ins till now. I have a pretty good idea of who might have done it, as the idiot was watching and heckling us most of the day throughout the float. Rest assured that if I see him again, things will not be pretty!

Not much has changed

2010-01-25T23:14:00.001-08:00

Yes, it's still raining. We had a break in the weather for a day or two but it has been raining for the most part. The rivers continue to rise and its hard to say when they might be fishable again. We are suppose to have another break in the weather towards the end of this week and it will allow the rivers to drop a bit. The bad news is that there is supposedly another big system working its way in for next week and that will keep us from fishing the coast for some time. The Eel is suppose to peak around 100,000 cfs and then it should start dropping. Lets just hope that we get light showers next week and not a big rain. Then there's a chance we could be fishing in a week or two. Until then, back to the vise!

JH

Rain = no coastal fishing for a while

2010-01-18T09:55:00.000-08:00

It's been raining pretty good down here for two days now and the rivers are on the rise. Just as a few of the smaller coastals were beginning to drop in, our big storm begins. They're calling for a big one but we'll just have to wait and see what happens. The Eel is predicted to jump to over 110,000 cfs on Tuesday night which could put that system out for quite some time. Let's just hope this storm doesn't materialize like they're predicting. Only good thing is that it will give many of us plenty of time at the vise the rest of this week!

JH

5 Winter Steelhead Flies You Cant Go Wrong With

2010-01-13T22:38:00.000-08:00

A common question I get this time of year both working in a fly shop and guiding are what some of my favorite winter steelhead flies are? That's a tough one to answer in a shop since most of the flies I fish in the winter are not commercial tied. That being said, there are a lot of great flies on the market that I highly recommend and even fish at times myself. These are in no specific order and are all great patterns that have produced fish in the past.

Silvey's Tandem Tube/Tube Snake: Two different patterns but somewhat similar. Two of my favorite winter patterns to fish. They are easy to tie, have a lot of movement, and flat out work. I guide and fish these flies myself quite a bit. Kudos to Brian Silvey for coming up with a couple of great patterns.

Morrish's Trailer Trash: This pattern works well on both chinook and steelhead. A large profile makes this a great pattern in off color water.

Howell's Prom Dress: Another one of Scott Howell's great creations. This fly sports a large profile, good movement, and plenty of fish. Stay tuned for more info on this fly in a future post.

St. Pierre's Hobo Spey: This is a small and very sparse marabou fly that works well in low, clear water. It has proved to be effective in summer, fall, and winter and comes in a variety of colors.

These are just a few of the many great winter steelhead patterns on the market. All these flies come in different color schemes that all work. Some of the most commonly used colors would be blacks, blues, pinks, purples, and oranges for winter steelhead.

JH

California Coast Report

2010-01-10T18:11:00.000-08:00

This last week saw some good fishing conditions on a few of our California North Coast rivers. On and off rain helped stabilize water levels and keep the rivers that nice steelhead green color we all like. While fishing was not red hot, it was what you would expect for swinging for coastal winter steelhead. Hard fighting, chrome fish! I will let a few of the pictures do the talking...

With a good sized storm approaching and the predicted river levels significantly rising, we should see another good push of fish and good fishing once the rivers drop again. The season has just begun and we still have some great fishing ahead of us. Mid January through February are prime time on California's North Coast rivers. I still have some dates available and will continue to email those on the call/email list when I have open dates and fishable conditions. For more information or to sign up for the call/email list, email me at speybum@gmail.com

JH

Earthquake Hits California's North Coast

2010-01-10T09:56:00.000-08:00

As I was driving home last night I get a call from two friends who were fishing different rivers asking if I felt that. Felt what? A 6.5 earthquake hit about 20 miles off the coast of Eureka. Damn! I leave an hour early to try and get home a little earlier, and I miss it! Kind of wished that I had stayed until dark. One of my friends who was wading his last run of the evening said his feet sunk inches into he ground as the ground and everything around him shook for a while. A few seconds later a huge piece of clay/rock slide into the rivers causing the river from there down to blow out. No big suprise there, as I know of a couple of other slides that took place as well. Eureka lost power but it doesnt sound like anyone was hurt which is a good thing. Just have to wait and see what happens to a couple of the rivers now for the next couple of days.

JH

Intruders

2010-01-01T23:00:00.000-08:00

While I have never really geeked on Ed Ward's Intruder and other various Intruder style patterns, they seem to have peeked my interest lately. It may have something to do with the fact that winter steelhead are working their way upriver and I have never hooked a fish on an Intruder style pattern. For a while I think I shyed away from Intruder style flies because it just seemed to be a big fad. You look at speypages and it's all every internet junkie ever talks about. It's borderline ridiculous! I know they hook fish because there is no way guys like Ed Ward, Scott O'Donnell, Mike McCune, and Scott Howell would fish them often if they didn't. In the winter months, I just have a hard time fishing anything but marabous and rabbit strip leeches. These flies just have a lot of movement and flat out work. There comes a point when it's time to try something different.

With many of my favorite coastal rivers blown out and rain in the forecasts for the next week, it's time to sit down and work on a few different Intruder style patterns. I have tied both shank and tube versions and both seem to swim well. Using various materials such as Amherst tail, ostrich, arctic fox tails, and marabou all add "life" to the these flies when swimming in the current. I've been trying to keep these somewhat sparse to give them a translucent appearance with maximum movement. Once the rivers drop and the conditions are right, these flies will get their opportunity. Hopefully some chrome lip piercing photos will soon follow!

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T22:48:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe it is 2010 already! Right now many of you have probably made your new years resolutions and are ready to get after it and leave 2009 in the rear window. Good luck with all those resolutions and hopefully they make it past the second week of February because like many of us mine usually don't. The only thing I think everyone needs to try and do for 2010 is to get out and fish more. Happy New Year!

JH

California North Coast Winter Steelhead

2009-12-21T21:30:00.000-08:00

With our fall fishing complete, we can now look forward to winter steelheading on the rivers of California's North Coast. Last week brought a big batch of rain to the north coast and raised water levels considerably. The flows are fluctuating a bit with off and on rain but we should see fishable conditions here soon. I anticipate a very good season this year on the coast and we have already hooked a few fish over there in the last few weeks. Our trips will be focusing on the Eel, S.F. Eel, Van Duzen, and Smith Rivers. This year I will be running a guided trip "SPECIAL". To find out more information sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of our homepage www.steelheadonthespey.com or email me at speybum@gmail.com

A little teaser from the last few weeks

This Week's Bent Rod

2009-12-19T00:05:00.000-08:00

The "Kid" gettin it done on the Coast.

JH

Idylwilde Day at Califronia Fly Shop

2009-12-13T10:06:00.000-08:00

Idylwilde Day at California Fly Shop yesterday was a great success. A big thanks to all the folks at CFS and Jason Lozano for putting together this great event. For a day with less than ideal weather, we had a good turnout of people there to learn more about fishing, tying, and Idylwilde's new patterns for 2010!

Hogan Brown tied some cool trout flies and did a great presentation on tying and fishing flies for trout. Very informative and I really enjoyed his talk about mayflies, both tying and fishing 'em. Kevin Price tied and talked about Bass. Kevin has some really cool, new bass patterns out with Idylwilde this year that many of us are looking forward to fishing this upcoming spring. Mikey Weir tied some trout flies and had a lot of interest in his Hoppicater pattern. He also did a little preview for his Mongolia video. I was only able to see a couple minutes of it, but it is something to look forward to! I did a little presentation on fishing the rivers of California's North Coast and tied a few flies.

This was a great event and hopefully we can put together more Idylwilde days. Idylwilde has some of the most innovative tiers in the industry and by far the best tied flies. Remeber, Idylwilde Flies feature Premium Skunk Repellant!

JH

Idylwilde Day at California Fly Shop Saturday December 12th

2009-12-09T23:06:00.001-08:00

On Saturday December 12th California Fly Shop will have an Idylwilde day featuring Hogan Brown, Mikey Weir, Kevin Price, and myself. The event will feature tying demonstrations, a tying contest, FREE BEER, free swag, and plenty of good information pertaining to fly fishing and tying. The event will be from 11-3. Come by and check it out.

JH

A Word on Sinktips

2009-12-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

A month or two late on this post but better now than never. Since most are getting ready for winter steelhead, thought I might share my 2 cents on sinktips. Most people are on the T-14 program for winter which is great stuff but in my opinion T-11 gets down just as fast. It's thinner so it cuts thru the water better and is more enjoyable to cast. The other option for most are 15' sinktips like those that came with your ancient Windcutter or Delta Spey line ten years ago. Yes, these tips will work but there is not much difference in depth between fishing one that is 12-13' versus 15'. In recent years I have opted or shorter tips after much trial and error. Through the years I found that a shorter section of T-11 got down just as fast(and stays down) as any 15' tip. A lot of that has to do with current and the fact that the longer tips accounts for more belly in the tip, causing it to swing towards the surface throughout the drift/swing. Shorter tips seem to stay down better and have a hell of a lot less hinge and belly. So, if you're still fishing those 15' tips, think about cutting em back to 12' and making up some T-11 or T-14 tips to go along with em. Your flies will stay at a more consistent level and who knows, your casting with an ungodly 6" string leech might improve! These days I fish more 8-11' sections of T-11 than anything else, but thats just me. I would opt for 7', 9', 11', and 13' of that T material.

JH

Winter's Here

2009-12-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

Winter is officially here. Early winter steelhead are pushing into many rivers and we saw snow last night at 56' above sea level. That happens about once every ten years! The nights are freezing and the days are short. Only means one thing, these pretty gals and starting to show!

JH

Hmmm....

2009-12-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

Something pretty funny coming from Yurok country, aka(Klamath River)

Winter Tying Materials

2009-12-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

With winter steelhead season nearly here, I have been tying up a storm getting ready for the ghosts of winter to arrive. Over the years I find myself using more and more synthetics because they allow for tying a fly with a large profile without casting like a wet sock. Many are also tying and fishing flies upwards of six inches and while I rarely go this big, keeping your flies sparse and using synthetics can add movement and make casting much more enjoyable. Here are a few materials I have geeked on lately...

Foxx (Craft) Furr
This stuff can be used in many different ways and can be wrapped, spun, (or dare I say it) bunch tied. It comes in way too many colors and does not bleed. I have been having fun spinning it in dubbing loops and substituting it for marabou.

Polar Chenille
This is nothing new, but has all the good qualities in a steelhead tying material. It's lightweight and has a little flash and a lot of movement. I like to wrap this through the body of many flies instead of hackle.

Flashabou and Angel Hair
Both are offered in a variety of colors and add movement and flash for more steelhead appeal.

Then there are always the natural materials that I can't do without.
Arctic Fox Tails
Lady Amherst Tails and Tippets
Ostrich
Marabou(I am starting to like the barred stuff but wish the stems were a little longer!)

I know I am forgetting some, but these are just a few that came to mind. Would love to hear of any other cool stuff you out there like to use as well.

JH

Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T14:07:00.000-08:00

Seeing that my family went to Chicago for Thanksgiving and I hate travelling around the holidays, I ventured north to spend a couple of days fishing. One of the great things about Thanksgiving and Christmas is that very few people are out fishing as they are spending time with loved ones stuffing their face full of all that holiday goodness. Meantime I fished a number of runs in search of early winter chrome with no one else around. Only downside being everything on the way home was closed for Thanksgiving with the exception of one Safeway where I picked up a sandwich for dinner. Not that great turkey dinner we have all come to love on the last thursday in November, but its hard to pass up a day of early winter fishing with fresh chrome pushing upriver!

JH

Bent Rod of the Week

2009-11-22T22:52:00.000-08:00

We all love that feeling!

JH

Rivers Of A Lost Coast out on DVD

2009-11-20T23:56:00.000-08:00

With Rivers Of A Lost Coast out on DVD now, those of you who haven't seen it yet, have no excuse. Picked up my copy today and just finished watching it for the ninth time and it still sends chills down my spine. Part of me wishes I was 70 plus years old so I could have experienced some of California's world class salmon and steelhead fishing back in its hay-day. This is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen and is destined to be a classic.

Check it out at www.riversofalostcoast.com

JH

River Etiquette...

2009-11-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

Went out to the local river this morning to fish a run that sometimes holds early winters this time of year. Waded out and was working my way down a run when another fly flinger steps in 30 yards below me and started fishing. WTF?

So here's my etiquette rant for the year...

1. In most places if there is someone fishing a run, go somewhere else. Plenty of water even on many small creeks. North Umpqua comes to mind here.
2. Never step in below another angler working down a run, be it a bait chucker, bobber jockey, or spey guy. If your going to at least ask first.
3. If they say yes after you ask, then at least give them some room!
4. Keep moving. Stand in one spot for 10 minutes and I can guarantee my fly will get a little too close to you for comfort.

So much for a good start to my day

Steelhead on a Sea Run Brown Fly?

2009-11-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

With relatively tough fishing on the Trinity River this past week, one of my clients Rudd Corwin, a veteran of fishing for sea run browns in Argentina each winter wanted to give one of his sea run brown flies a try. What the hell, steelhead will just about take any fly when in the mood, so lets give it a try. The EMB is certainly not eye catching but has a little flash and movement, certainly making it steelhead worthy. Not more than 20 casts into the run, Rudd hooked and landed a strong buck on a floating line and EMB. Sea run brown flies do work on steelhead!

Fishing with Jeff Bright

2009-11-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

I was able to spend a couple of days last week with Jeff Bright on the lower Trinity River. For those of you who don't know Jeff or have not visited his website, Jeff is one of the most passionate steelhead fisherman I have ever met. He hosts trips each year to the Dean River, the Skeena River system, and the Deschutes River. Places many of us only dream of! Jeff has also spent a lot of time on the rivers of California's North Coast, especially the Trinity. It had been a while since Jeff had last fished the Trinity and I was thrilled to get to spend a couple of days with him.

We fished long and hard and managed to land a couple of fish the first day including a brilliant hen going 30" on the tape. The second day started out tough, but ended with a bang. In two runs, Jeff managed to HOOK four steelhead on his shadow hilton, but all four came unbuttoned. Three fish came out of one run and after losing all three, Jeff has a new run named in his honor "Jeff's Silver Sombreo." Something that will not soon be forgotten!

Through the course of two days we managed to fish some amazing water, take some cool photos(at least Jeff did), and talk all things steelhead. To check out some of Jeff's photography and his hosted trips visit his website at www.jeffbright.com

Random Thoughts....The Grab

2009-10-25T23:06:00.000-07:00

It's what we long for. Many hours of fishing or as I like to refer to it sometimes as "casting practice," in hopes that a steelhead will grab our fly. We can go days without a grab. Sometimes thinking it will never happen. Fishing some of the best water you have ever seen. Asking yourself too many questions. Are the fish here? Do I have the right fly. Is the bite off? If so, why? Then comes a time when you cant do anything wrong and next thing you know, by the end of the day you have hooked four steelhead. What did I do different? How did I hook more than one? Questions we ask ourselves even on good days.

It's called steelhead fishing. And the reason many of us do it is for the grab! For those who don't care about the grab and are only interested in catching as many fish as possible, well I'm sorry. You don't know what your missing. Once it happens, you will it want more! The grab doesn't come easy. You have to put your time in. Steelhead are often called the fish of a thousand or ten thousand casts. Sometimes you get that grab on the third cast and other times it comes on the 13, 191st cast. When it happens, you'll know. Your heart may skip a beat or the rod almost gets yanked out of your hand. Either way, you keep coming back for more. More abuse, because last time I checked it has been three days and I need a fix, how bout you?

Andy Guibord Photography

2009-10-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

Last week I was fortunate to spend some time on the the river with Andy Guibord and Ryan Miller. Andy is one of the best striper fisherman in the valley and is also an employee at Kiene's Fly Shop. He also has quite the eye when it comes to taking photos. Here are a few shots he took last week out on the Trinity River. You can check out more of his photography at http://andyguibord.zenfolio.com/

Steelhead Weather Part 2

2009-10-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

It finally happened, the Trinity River blew out late this morning from just above Junction City down to the mouth. The river in Willow Creek and Hoopa doubled in size overnight and is still climbing at 1500+ cfs. The good thing is the big part of the storm is gone and we are just seeing some light showers now. The river should crest at any time and begin to drop shortly. As soon as it begins to drop and clear we should see some fresh fish pushing up the river and good fishing for the next couple off weeks.

On a more positive note. I spent the last couple of days with Ryan Miller and Andy Guibord. We had some good fishing until the river blew. All fish have been very bright and are a blast on light spey and switch rods. Here are a few pics from the last couple of days...

Steelhead Weather

2009-10-13T22:41:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. I have spent the last couple of days on the Trinity River with good friends Ryan Miller and Andy Guibord. Fishing has been good as we have connected with a few fish each day, all of which have been dime bright and full of spunk. We also received a ton of rain last night and all day today. Towards the end of the day, the river came up more than a foot but still had decent clarity. As I write this it is raining hard again and I would not be supprised to wake in the morning to a blown out river. Will have to wait and see. Pics to come....

JH

A few pics from the past week...

2009-10-04T16:43:00.001-07:00

Here's a few fish pics from this past week. There are some nice fish in the system and very little angling pressure. The next several weeks should provide some of the best fishing of the year on the Lower Trinity River.

Guides Day Off

2009-09-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally had a day off today so I decided to do a little fishing. Two runs, two fish. The first a small Jack Salmon on a #8 Duck Turd. The second, an acrobatic hatchery steelhead that came to a #8 silent assassin on a floating line.

The Silent Assassin will soon be available thru Idylwilde Flies in their 2010 catalog. Also, check out my other patterns, the Duck Turd, Skinny Spratley, and October Hilton that have been top producers on the Trinity/Klamath systems the last couple of years. Yes, I know, shameless self promotion! But the royalties are much needed for new tying materials to come up with new winter patterns for 2011!

October is almost here....

2009-09-25T12:03:00.001-07:00

and i hope that it is going to bring cooler weather than we have had up here on the Trinity in September. It has been too damn hot, which has made the steelhead fishing a low light game for the last couple of weeks. Every once in a while we have hooked a fish mid day but almost all our action has been first or last light. Water temps are still in the mid to upper 60's and once they drop, the fish should become even a little grabbier!

This past week saw a few big pods of salmon and steelhead move into the river. Most steelhead were of the hatchery variety but Rick Anderson managed to land this beautiful wild buck on a floating line.

The same day Jim Zech managed a nice fish on a skated muddler.

The following three days Rudd Corwin landed his first ever steelhead on a spey rod swinging flies. One of the hottest steelhead I have ever seen hooked in the lower Trinity. Rudd managed to land two steelhead and a handful of bright half pounders. A successful trip for his first time swinging flies on the lower Trinity River.

While fishing is not quite as hot as the weather, we have had steelhead to the fly 5 of the last 6 days. A good push of half pounders has shown as well and are also adding to the mix. In the next couple of weeks, we will see big pushes of steelhead into the Trinity and this is the best time to chase these fish on skated dries and swung wet flies. The grabs are exhilirating and the fish are hot. I only have a few dates available in the next few weeks which should see some of the best floating line steelheading on the year!

Lower Trinity Report

2009-09-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay. Been having some issues with posting photos here on the blog. Some of you may noticed a couple of test photos put up here earlier in the week. Most of the photos have been looking washed out. Any ideas? If so, drop me a note. Until then, you will have to do without a few photos for a little while.

This past week saw good fishing on the lower stretches of the Trinity. The high water releases from the Hoopa Boat Dance a couple of weeks ago brought in a good slug of steelhead and a few salmon. In past years we have seen this push of high water bring in a mixture of hatchery and wild fish but this year we have been seeing more wild fish to the fly. All fish landed we chrome bright wild steelhead in the 3-5 lb range and full of spunk! With the water being low and clear, skated dry flies and small wet flies on floating lines have been the key.

One of the highlights of the week for me was watching from a high bank, a steelhead take a skated muddler. The fly passed in within three feet of this fish on three separate drifts only to take the fly on the third drift when it looked to be right on its nose. Another cool thing is that this fish took a skated fly off the surface at about 10:30 with the sun directly in its face. Just goes to show that the most aggressive fish don't care about the the sun!

Fishing is only going to get better from here on out as we will start to see bigger pushes of fish in the next two months. The next 40-50 days is prime time fishing on the lower Klamath and Trinity rivers for classic floating line fishing for summer/fall run steelhead. To stay up to date with current reports, available dates, and trip specials, sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of our homepage www.steelheadonthespey.com

JH

Cloudy waters, blue skies, and the wild summer runs of the Deschutes River

2009-09-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

Just over a week ago I hosted a group of five anglers on a four day, three night camp trip on the Deschutes River thru Deschutes Angler Fly Shop. A few days prior to the trip, the areas around the Deschutes were met with triple digit temperatures causing a large chunk of the glacier on Mt. Hood to melt. Driving over the White river on Sunday, it was flowing rather quickly and looked like white mud.

After seeing the White river and knowing we were probably going to have to fish sink tips and larger flies, I have to admit I was a bit bummed out. My dreams of hooking wild Deschutes river summer runs on floating lines and skaters under the low light of the rivers canyon walls would probably have to wait till next trip. Oh well, its steelheading, how often do we get ideal conditions when we want them! Heck, if we ever did, steelhead would not be called the fish of a 1,000 casts!

We loaded up monday morning and were off for a four day, forty mile float down to the mouth of the Deschutes. In the course of four days we witnessed a variety of wild life from Bald Eagles, Bighorn Sheep, and bright wild summer run steelhead. We had many grabs each day. Some were nice fat Deschutes redside rainbows and others were just short plucks from an unwilling steelhead. We all had quite a few non-committal plucks from these ocean run rainbows. Part of you would think for a brief second, was that a trout? Only to put another cast in the same spot and get slammed by a streak of silver. When the fish really wanted it, they took the fly with authority. Many of us were blessed with hard grabs and long runs from these summer run torpedos. Bill Carnazzo hooked one of the hottest fish of the trip a chrome bright wild buck in the 9-10 lb range that had him in his backing before he could blink. Kudos to a great fish Bill!

Over the four days we had fish take a variety of flies from #6 sparse hairwing summer patterns to 4" long purple and black Intruder and marabou style patterns. A few fish were hooked on floating lines but a majority of fish were taken on sink tips. Fish were hooked in slow moving boulder stream tailouts, walking speed riffely runs, and fast pieces of pocket water not many would think to fish. There is a reason this place is so well loved. The Deschutes has everything someone would want in a river filled with grabby summer steelhead!

All things considered I think we had pretty good fishing considering the conditions. Visibility ranged anywhere from 2-3' and varied from hour to hour. Every time we thought the river was clearing, we would wake up from a nap after lunch only to find the viz had almost gotten worse. Keeping a positive mindset and fishing sink tips and bigger flies most were able to connect with a fish or two each day. By the end, everyone on the trip had landed at least one fish.

A big hanks goes out to John and Amy Hazel from Deschutes Angler for the opportunity to host a trip. They have an amazing fly shop and guide service and anyone on their way to the Deschuutes should check out! Another big thanks to our camp host and guides Harley, Gordon, Charles, and Travis for working extremely hard everyday putting our group of anglers onto fish. Not to mention the entertaining jokes and conversations they created around the dinner table each night. The trip was fantastic! We had great campsites each night, good company, and amazing food. A big thanks to John and Harley for the meals. The chicken with the mango salsa is one of the best chicken dishes I have ever had and I am hoping John will share the recipe! Thanks to Bill, John, Fred, Kevin, and Spencer for joining me on the trip and hopefully we can do it again next year.

More pics to come...

JH

North Umpqua and the tales of Fred Giusti's forever lost 40+

2009-08-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

The first leg of our trip up to Oregon was to the famed waters of the North Umpqua. We thought this would be a good stop not only because it was about halfway to the Deschutes, but we always love a good a$$ kicking! Spencer had never fished the N.U. and we were meeting Soft Take and his dad there. In the first run the next morning I had a boil to a skated muddler but could not get the fish to come back to the fly. Fishing half a dozen more runs neither Spencer or I could bring another fish to the fly that morning.

We headed out to see Lee Spencer in the afternoon and chat about all things steelhead. Lee said there were about 260 wild steelhead in the pool and that fishing on the river had been tough lately due to warmer temps and a lack of fresh fish moving up the system. Even Lee has had tough fishing lately only bringing two steelhead to his version of a muddler without a point.
The evening fishing provided a bit of excitement. With soft take and his dad now on the river we all split up for the evening session. Spencer and I headed down to a favorite tailout where Spencer had risen a nice fish to a dry and then briefly hooking one later in the run on a hitched muddler before getting trigger happy and giving it the old farmer john! Here's where it gets good...

On our way to the next run we run into soft take and his dad Fred. Fred was up on the road next to the truck stringing up a new rod in disgust. We pull up and he's got his hands up in the air shaking his head. "Fred, what's up?" His response, " That damn steelhead just took off with my fly line. my fly got ripped and took about 10-15 feet of line off the reel and bam!" So you got spooled? Fred pulled out what was left of his 40+ floater and said, "the steelhead took off with the floating head and it snapped off where the running line and head are connected." So your telling me there is a steelhead swimming around out there with a 35' piece of green floating line connected to a fly in its mouth? " Yeah" Spencer and I were laughing so hard we were almost crying. I know of guys that have lost some shooting heads before to snags but not to a summer steelhead. Too funny! That run will be forever known to me now as "Fred lost his 40+ run."

Next up, the Deschutes report. Stay tuned....

JH

North to Oregon!

2009-08-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

I will be leaving today for a 9 day trip up to Oregon. August 24-27 we will be hosting a 4 day camp trip on the Deschutes thru Deschutes Angler Fly Shop. With record dam counts and good numbers of fish entering the Deschutes it could line up to be a good trip. We will also be fishing the North Umpqua and maybe even the Rogue on the way home. Stay turned for a trip report the first week of September.

JH

Trinity River Report

2009-08-16T19:08:00.000-07:00

Just back from two days on the lower Trinity river. Fishing was respectable for the hot days of mid August. As usual with this time of year, there are a decent number of wild summer run fish available. In two days on the river we saw good numbers of chrome bright steelhead but many were reluctant to take a fly. Part of this can be attributed to extremely warm water and air temps, giving anglers a small window of opportunity first thing in the morning until the sun hits the water. Water temps ranged from 68 in the morning to upwards of 73 degrees in the late evening.

The good news is that we managed a couple of grabs first light with one good hook up. Unfortunately we were unable to land this chromer but it put on quite the fight, jumping twice as it screamed downstream before coming unbuttoned.

It is shaping up to be a great fall on the Trinity. With good numbers of wild summer run fish in the system and many more wild and hacthery steelhead moving into the Klamath river, we should see some great fishing from now through November. Go for the grab!

JH

Newsletter and Website Updates

2009-08-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

Steelhead on the Spey Guide Service is now offering a monthly newsletter. We will be providing fishing reports, guided trip specials, and articles/reviews. We are only offering any guided trip specials we might have through our newsletter. To sign up for our monthly newsletter visit our homepage at www.steelheadonthespey.com and scroll to the bottom of the page.

We have also updated our website in preparation of the steelhead season. Check out our updated Articles section and Photos page. We will also be adding a new page on schools/classes we will be offering this fall and winter. All schools/classes will also be previewed on the blog as well.

JH

Red Wine Summer Fly

2009-08-02T11:23:00.000-07:00

The Red Wine Summer fly is just another variation of any standard skunk or hairwing steelhead pattern. Hairwings are simple flies that are both easy to tie and provide a good silhouette in the water. Another bonus is that the white wing makes this fly easy to follow from a high bank, allowing one to see if a steelhead follows the fly. I tied this particular fly for the Deschutes River but it has been a very effective fly for summer and fall steelhead pretty much everywhere I have fished. Last fall , this fly accounted for numerous steelhead on both the Klamath and Trinity rivers.

Pattern Recipe:
Hook: TMC 7999 #4-8
Tag: Small flat gold tinsel
Tail: Golden pheasant red breast feather
Body: Claret seal or Angora Goat
Rib: Small oval gold tinsel
Collar: Purple saddle or schlappen
Wing: Pearl krystal flash under polar bear or bucktail or kid goat
Head: Red Danville 6/0 unwaxed

One of the key things to remember when tying this fly is to keep it thin and sparse. This allows the fly to have maximum movement and swim naturally. Give it a try and hopefully you too will find similar results...

Go for the grab!
JH

Simplifying Spey Lines: Skagit vs Scandinavian

2009-07-21T08:35:00.001-07:00

In the last few years we are seeing a huge growth in two handed, spey casting/fishing industry. As more and more people enter the sport, we are seeing a bit of confusion between the differences in shooting head spey lines. Skagit and Scandinavian shooting heads are gaining in popularity, as there are more enjoyable and easier to cast than your average 55-65' Spey line. I wrote the following article to help anglers understand the difference between Skagit and Scandinavian lines, hopefully making your choice on what line to buy or fish a bit easier.

Simplifying Spey Lines: Skagit vs Scandinavian
by: Jason Hartwick

JH

While were on the topic of dry flies...

2009-07-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

I don't think enough people fish dry flies for steelhead. Skated or waking dry flies are one of most effective methods of taking summer and fall steelhead throughout the West Coast. These fish are extremely aggressive and will move quite a distance for a fly, especially one that is creating a disturbance on the surface. Plus, there is nothing better than seeing a fish push water and go crazy over a fly skating across the current. While they might not always take your offering, just seeing a toilet bowl swirl on your fly is enough to get the adrenaline flowing!

Like anything else, there are a variety of different dry flies and skaters. In the last ten years, foam skaters have become popular since they ride high on the water and create a good size wake without having to riffle hitch the fly. My personal favorite is a riffle hitched muddler. It is an old standby and they push a lot of water when hitched and create a big wake with a buggy profile. Put the sink tips and wet flies away! While you might not raise a fish the first couple of times out, stay persistant and it will happen.

Jason Hartwick

Dry Fly Love

2009-07-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

So I was finally able to sneak away from work for a few days and hit a favorite summer run stream to the north. It has been far too long since I last visited these fabled waters and skated a dry through its boulder strewn runs and tailouts. It's not a place with big numbers of fish but what is there is a special race of wild steelhead that give their heart and soul if hooked. Key word being"if"!

I have spent many fish less days on this river. There are also days where 5-6 fish might rise to the dry fly only to refuse it, causing your heart to skip a beat. You think that she might come back on the next cast in hopes that the fly sticks and the Hardy starts to sing. Nothing happens, but that's fairly typical here.

Your mind often starts to wander and the process of cast, swing, step gets repetitive. Just as you think it might be another one of "those" days, the atypical happens. Your fly is skating through a ledgy tailout when all of a sudden the water erupts in the vicinity of the fly. The fly is gone and a split second later, line is being ripped off that signing Hardy at a high rate. At the same time, the fish is cartwheeling out of the water at almost head height. How the hell do these fish jump that high while still pulling backing off the reel. The fish finally stops once the line is wrapped around a rock. All you feel is tension on the line and nothing is moving. Did the fish wrap you around a rock and come loose? Only to approach the rock and change the direction of pressure does the fish scream downriver into the backing again looking for more rocks to hide around. Minutes pass and not much line is gained.

Do these fish ever give up? Not easily. A couple of more jumps and head shakes and she finally breaks for some softer water. Here is my chance, after following this fish 150 plus yards downstream over ledgerock and boulders, does she finally start to tire in a slower pool. As she nears the bank, it is one of the strongest, most hard fighting wild hens I have ever landed. Something I will never forget, until maybe another fish falls to a skated muddler!

Jason Hartwick

Spring Steelhead: Nicholas Dean Lodge April 11-17, 2010

2009-06-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that next Spring I will be hosting a trip through Angling on the Fly to Nicholas Dean Lodge April 11-17, 2010. Nicholas Dean Lodge is one of the premier salmon and steelhead fishing lodges in British Colombia. Located on the banks of the Skeena River, Nicholas Dean offers spectacular steelhead fishing on a variety of Skeena River tributaries as well as a few other well known drainage's. April is one of the prime months for big winter and spring steelhead that British Columbia is known for. This is a prime week for steelhead that also offers a chance at tangling with an early Spring Chinook.

This will be a 6 night, 5 day trip to Nicholas Dean lodge. Trip cost is $3695 cad per angler for 5 days of fishing and 6 nights lodging (double occupancy/boat). If you book before October 1, 2009 you will lock in the 2009 rates of $3695. After October 1, you would be charged the 2010 price. The trip includes guided fishing, lodging, meals, and transportation between the lodge and airport. The trip excludes your airfare to Terrace-BC, fishing license/permits, and gratuities. If you have any questions or to book a trip please contact myself or Keith Kaneko at Angling on the Fly.

Jason Hartwick

Already thinking about Summer Steelhead!

2009-04-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

'Upstream Battle' Removing the Klamath's Dams and saving Wild Salmon and Steelhead

2009-04-29T22:55:00.000-07:00

This is an inspiring short video clip from Ben Kempas about Native American tribes and the impact of PacifiCorp's Klamath River dams. This would be the largest dam removal in history and could help restore the declining runs of wild Salmon and Steelhead on the Klamath River.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mSrgbvko_o

Rivers of a Lost Coast

2009-04-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

I was able to attend a viewing of Rivers of a Lost Coast this past Wednesday at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento. I was fortunate to attend the show with a few fellow employees of Kiene's Fly Shop that were part of the making of the movie, Chuck Campana and Joe Shirshac. It is pretty cool to know and here stories from these two old time California steelheaders.

What a great documentary! All I can say is WOW! Justin Coupe and Palmer Taylor did a hell of a job putting this movie together. It was better than I could have imagined and I cant wait to get a copy when it comes out on DVD. Having Tom Skerritt narrate the movie along with the classic footage and photographs make this a very special documentary for California salmon and steelhead fishing.

A few minutes into the movie and I had chills running down my spine hearing how much California's coastal fishery had an influence on salmon/steelhead fishing throughout the country and how quickly it was lost. This shows how important conservation and protecting our natural resources are. In the coming weeks I will be posting a few articles on conservation and what we as anglers can do to make our fisheries better. Please stay tuned!

Jason Hartwick

Spey-O-Rama 2009

2009-04-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

Spey-O-Rama is taking place this next week April 17-19 at the Golden Gate Casting Ponds inside Golden Gate park in San Francisco. This is a great Spey event that features many of the industries top manufacturers and a distance casting competition. I will be at Spey-O-Rama on Friday and Sunday with the guys from Beulah Fly Rods. Come by and cast the new Beulah Platinum Series Spey rods and elixir and tonic lines. Come by and say hello. I will gladly help anyone with their casting, line/rod questions, or just talk about Steelhead on the Spey trips for the upcoming season. I look forward to seeing ya'll there.

Jason Hartwick

Winter steelhead season has come to a close...

2009-04-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

It came and went. 2009 was somewhat of a dismal winter steelhead season. We did get some great conditions on the mainstem Eel River in mid January which provided some good fishing for many. February was a pretty wet month and while we needed the rain and snow, it kept many of our coastal rivers blown for most of the month. Though when they were fishable the numbers of returning fish were down and many were hoping the season would just be late. In March we had better conditons and many of the rivers that fish well into March just didn't produce. Overall, I would say that the returns of fish this year were down and mixed with tough water conditions, i.e. extremely low water or blown out, made for tough fishing.
On another note, a couple of friends and I were able to sneak out for a day of fishing before the season ended. In the last run of the day after a few too many Oly's, Will connected with this little hen. A great way to end the 2009 winter season.

Jason Hartwick

Kiene's Dec Hogan Spey Classes

2009-03-23T22:02:00.001-07:00

Today we finished up the final day of our three day Kiene's Fly Shop Dec Hogan Spey classes. For the second year in a row Dec Hosted three classes on spey casting and fishing instruction. It was a pleasure to listen to Dec talk about the different elements of each various spey cast and watch him help each student. While Dec did a fabulous job instructing students on 6 different spey casts, I feel most of the students enjoyed his talk about fishing for steelhead with a two handed spey rod. Dec went through how he would fish a floating line with a skated fly, wet fly, and fishing heavy sinking tips.

It was great to spend three days with Dec and after listening to him speak and teach, I feel I learned something new each day. It was a pleasure to help Dec and Terry Thomas with this class and hopefully we can look forward to having Dec out again next year. Thanks to all who attended and thanks again Dec!

Jason Hartwick

Guides Weekend Off

2009-03-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

So far the 2009 winter steelhead season on the coast has been a bit of a bust. Not that we have had the best conditions for fishing but when the water and weather cooperated I would have expected the fishing to be a bit better. While we did have some good fishing in January, February and March have been a tough!

I was able to sneak away from the shop for a couple of days and headed north for a relaxing weekend which of course included some winter steelheading. Spent some time on two rivers I do not fish all that often, seeing the usual jaunts have not been producing like they have in the past. Will Johnson joined me and we did some serious hiking on the first day on a smaller coastal river. We had the river all to ourselves and fished some great water, same results!

Seeing little results the first day we ventured a few hours in a totally different direction. This wasnt exactly a short drive and we ended up only fishing half od a day in off and on showers. A few of the smaller tribs were beginning to muddy up a bit and the river was on a slow rise. With a few hours of light and a rising river, Will and I fished fast. In search of that perfect piece of water that might contain the presence of that wild 15 lb chromer all us steelhead junkies are in search of. We both fished down one of the better runs on the river with no pulls. Will headed downstream and I went upstream. I stumble upon a slow moving pool I would not normally fish because it is pretty slow moving and looks to be 6-10' deep. What the hell, I am not finding any fish in any of the usual spot, might as well try something different. The first couple of swings are slow and deep but the current looks to get better the further down the run. Next cast, the fly gets a better swing and just as the fly comes off the faster seam into the slower water, WHAM! Fish takes to the air, give a few headshakes and comes undone. Whata ya know, I lose another winter. Pretty typical for me this season! Though I didn't feel too bad as it looked like it was a downstreamer (aka snake).

Alright so there are some fish around! Strip in and re cast a little further downstream from where I had lost that last one. About 5 casts later, I get jerked so hard it literally ripped the rod out of my hand. Yeah, I know, I here this phrase a lot too but couldnt think of anything original or that was G rated. Fish comes right to the surface and jumps multiple times while instantly taking me near my backing in slow moving water. This was no snake, and appeared to be a thick winter buck. After a 5 minute fight or so I had the buck near the bar but each time I would try to beach him he would peel off another 40' of line. Finally, I think I have him and have the leader in the guide. As I go to tail him, he bolts back towards the pool and hook pulls. Normally I would have been content with the fishing getting off because we are going to let him go anyways but this lightly colored buck looked to be in the mid 30" range and 13-15 lbs. It would have been nice to get a pic of him seeing this was a mid teens fish in a river that typically sees 4-7 lb fish on average. Tragic! If Dave or anyone else that knows that story, this was my crumbler!

F#$% it! Might as keep working down the pool. To shorten this saga a bit, I ended up hooking and landing another snake that went arial a few times and ripped a little line. Fooled me at first but as I tailed her and released her quickly, she was 27-28" and no more than 5 lbs. Wow, what a run! Every once in a moon made of spare ribs does that ever happen. Moral of story. I was one lucky SOB for the day and we all should fish some slower water for winter fish. Not those riffly rus and tailouts, summer runs love.

Sorry for the long write and no fish pics. Snake pics are not allowed!

Jason Hartwick

American River Spring Steelhead Special

2009-02-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

As March approaches we typically begin to see some spring steelhead or supercharged half pounders in the American River. These fish respond well to a swung fly and will even take dry flies on the surface as the weather warms and the caddis begin to come off. Most of these fish average 16-20" with fish up to 6 lbs. Many of these fish have just arrived in the river and are extremely bright and full of fight.

I will be offering a spring special for those interested in fishing for Spring steelhead. The focus of these trips will be swinging flies on single or two handed fly rods with floating lines or light sinking poly leaders. The trips will run about 3 hours in either the morning or evening. We will target a few of the prime runs where these fish tend to hold. Cost is $75 for one angler and $100 for two anglers. This is a great way to refine your techniques for swinging flies for steelhead and learning about spring steelhead fishing on the American River.

Jason Hartwick

Pleasanton Fly Fishing Show

2009-02-24T21:31:00.000-08:00

The Fly Fishing Show is in Pleasanton, CA this upcoming Friday thru Sunday February 27-March 1. For those of you that might be attending, I will be in the Beulah Fly Rods booth. Come by and say hi and check out Beulah's new line of Platinum Series Spey rods. These are one of the best new models of spey rods on the market right now and are extremely smooth and easy to cast. Not to be overlooked by their great Elixir and Tonic lines, switch rods, and Bluewater rods. I hope to see you there.

Jason Hartwick

Winter Update...

2009-02-23T22:17:00.000-08:00

Again, sorry for not keeping up with posts and reports. Between the few days of fishing we have had and trying to get the Kiene's online spey store up and running, I have been pretty busy. But enough of that.

Right now the rivers are all high and brown and look like they will remain unfishable for at least a week if not more. So far, we have had brutally tough fishing conditions this year. The water has either been low and clear or high and muddy. Both make for tough winter steelheading conditions. This past week we had maybe 1 or 2 days of fishable conditions but the reports I have heard back were not that great. Gear guys getting a fish here and most fly guys striking out. I have to believe that once the water drops after this storm and hopefully we see more than a few days of good conditions, that there should be plenty of fish around and fishing should pick up.

I have spent a little time on the American River in the past week and was able to watch Ryan Miller land a couple of nice fish on the swing. The fish are there and those that are putting the time in are finding a nice fish here and there. Black leeches in the 2-3" range have been working well. Soon we should start to see a few spring fish and then its time to start swinging some smaller leeches and even drop a caddis pupa off the end. I will keep ya'll posted as fishing and conditions change.

Jason Hartwick

2009-02-04T12:34:00.000-08:00

Finally some rain! It seems as though it has been months since we had seen our last rain, but it has finally arrived! While the forecast is not calling for a huge storm, every little bit will help. Lets just hope the rivers rise a bit and put in a little color without them blowing out.

In the last few weeks we have seen extremely low clear water conditions causing many rivers to close because of low flows. What few rivers remain open have seen some pretty decent fishing for the few that have been out. Last week we spent four days on a well known North Coast river and had some beautiful chrome bright steelhead come to the swung fly. While fishing was not red hot, we averaged 1 steelhead each day which is great for winter steelheading. With a little rain the forecast, I anticipate fishing to pick up in the next week and many new fish to pour into many of our North Coast rivers.

I was fortunate to spend some time last week with Jeff Bright. For those of you that don't know Jeff, he is an accomplished steelheader, photographer, and graphic designer. Jeff has spent a lot of time fishing for steelhead throughout the Pacific Northwest and hosts trips to both Blackwell's Lodge and Nicholas Dean Lodge in B.C. He has also spends a lot of time working with the Wild Steelhead Coalition and other various conservation oraganizations to help protect wild salmon and steelhead. When you get a chance, check out his website. www.jeffbright.com

The Grab

2009-01-30T19:55:00.000-08:00

Winter steelheading is by no means easy. Usually the weather is cold, its raining, and you cant feel your hands as you strip in your line to make the next cast. We anticipate that grab, the moment that makes an anglers heart skip a beat! This is what many die hard steelheaders look forward to, long days and cold nights with dreams of that 20 lb chrome buck that just might grab our fly on the dangle.

Last night was one of those nights when it was hard to fall asleep with so many thoughts running through my head. Are there fresh fish pushing in the system? Is it really going to be worth the 3 hour drive? What run should I fish first? Should I fish a 3" long black string leech or a 1.5 Mahoney? One thing was for sure, I was anxious to get to one of my favorite not to be named coastal steelhead rivers.

On arrival I was shocked when I stepped out of the car to 60 degree sunshine and very little breeze. Its the end of January and I am fishing for winter steelhead in a short sleeved shirt. I know it sounds crazy but welcome to California! While mid 60's temperaures are abnormal in January, winter steelheading in the sunshine is not. Typically, if it is raining the rivers are quick to rise and discolor and you might get lucky to have a day or two of fishing before they blow out. I cant say that I was overly excited by the weather because high pressure and bright sunshine are usually not a great recipe for good steelheading. But when the fish are in, I guess it really doesn't matter.

After a few minutes of deliberation, I tied on a 1.5 Mahoney, one of Dec Hogan's fine creations. A classic feather wing spey, this fly glows in the water under bright light. I was confident I made a good selcetion. I steeped into one of my favorite runs with no one is sight. Shocking considering the weather and the fact that this is one of the few rivers that has enough water in it to fish. I worked half way through the run when my line began to slow and I felt a quick jerk, dropped my loop and nobody home. I made the same cast again with no grab. I fisnished out the run with no other grabs but was certain there were fish around.

I made my way to another favorite run that looked to be a bit on the low side but what the heck, there just might be a fish on the soft inside seam. It was a nice swing through most of the run but the swing on the bottom end was a little slow for my liking. I was thinking that there was not enough current or depth from here on out to hold a fish. I was going to give myself a few more casts and then head for another spot. Just as the fly finsihed its broadside swing my line just stopped. I dropped what little loop I was holing in the in my right hand and the line went tight. Immediately, the fish came to the surface and splashed. It looked big but I wasn't feeling its weight yet. As soon as I took a turn of the reel the fish took off down river cartwheeling two more times as I neared my backing. This fish was big! Each time I tried to gain line, the fish would make another quick run. Just as I thought I could not gain any line on this fish it decides to turn and run upstream. I reeled as fast as possible but could not keep up. After a few seconds of reeling as fast as possible, the line went limp and the steelhead won the battle. While I was a little disappointed, just feeling that grab and seeing that fish fight that hard was well worth it. As I sat on the bank and pondered for a moment, I couldn't help but smile and think, "There is nothing like the grab!"

Jason Hartwick

Stinger Hooks

2009-01-24T13:27:00.000-08:00

In the last few years we are starting to see many new creations in fly tying and the fly tying industry. Many of today's patterns are tied much larger and incorporate the use of free flowing materials such as marabou, rhea, ostrich, and amherst tail to name a few. This allows the tier to create a large fly with a big silhouette, lots of movement, and fairly sparse making them a bit easier to cast. Many of these flies are tied on either shanks or tubes allowing one to use a stinger hook and change out a hook if it becomes bent or dull.

One of the most popular stinger hooks is Gamakatsu's Octopus hook. While these are good hooks, I find themfairly light wire and very easy to bend or have straighten out on a big fish. Owner makes a similar hook, SSW Cutting Point, which has the same size and bend but is a heavier wire and virtually impossible to bed or straighten. These are both popular hooks but my favorite stinger hook is the Gamakatsu Split Shot/Drop Shot hook. This hook is a little heavier wire than the Octopus but has a unique bend which seems to penetrate very well and has had a good hook to land ratio for myself and a few other friends. This is also a favorite hook of well known steelhead guides Scott Howell and Mike McCune. Check them out on your next steelhead outing.

California Winter Steelhead Update

2009-01-20T20:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so long since my last report. In the last couple of weeks we have seen no rain and our coastal rivers that have been dropping and clearing extremely fast. That being said, most of our North Coast rivers had a few days of ideal flows and water conditions in the past two weeks. We have not seen big pushes of fish yet but the ones we have connected with have been chrome bright and full of piss and vinegar. If we could get some rain here in the next week or so, I anticipate bigger pushes of fish to move in and fishing to be great in February.

New Beulah Platinum Series Spey Rods

2008-12-26T12:27:00.000-08:00

I was able to get out on the local sewer the last couple of days and test out Beulah's new line of Spey Rods. The rods are all 4 piece and come in three sizes from 11'7" 5 wt, 12'6" 6 wt, and 13'2" 7 wt. These are medium-fast action rods that are very crisp and extremely light in the hand. These rods are finished in a deep grey/charcoal finish with clean wraps and some of the most beautiful cork on the market. Not only do these rods looks good, but they cast great!

This mornings trial run was with the 13'2" 7 wt. and a Beulah Tonic head and a 10' 150 grain tip. This was an extremely smooth casting setup that was very light in the hand and threw a ton of line. I would say this line is a bit on the light side for a Skagit setup and I much preferred an Airflo Compact Skagit 540 that I tried later on. The 540 loaded a bit deeper into the rod and I would say that a 570 head is not out of the question. As for Scandi style lines this rod matches up well with a Beulah Elixir Spey 7/8. Add a 14' poly leader and you have a summer/fall setup that will throw a country mile.

The 12'6" 6 wt. is a sweet little stick that will cover a variety of situations on small to medium sized rivers. This rod has enough backbone to land a strong summer or winter steelhead and is light enough to have fun fishing for half pounders. This rod matches up well a Beulah Elixir Spey 6/7 for your summer and fall fishing. For winter fishing or situations when you need to throw bigger flies or get down deeper, an Airflo Compact Skagit 450 is a perfect match. While I have not tried a Beulah Tonic on this rod yet, I can bet there is one that is a great match for this rod. This is a perfect rod for rivers such as the Deschutes, Grande Rhonde, Rogue, Trinity, and Klamath.

While I have not spent much fishing time with the 11'7" 5wt, I was able to cast this rod a little bit this summer on the North Umpqua. This rod is fun to cast and will be perfect for trout, half pounders, and smaller summer steelhead. A Beulah Elixir Switch 5/6 is a great match for this rod that will fish well on rivers like the Rogue, Klamath, and Trinity. I can't wait to spend more time with this rod swinging flies for trout and steelhead on the Lower Yuba in the next couple of months.

These new Beulah Platinum Series spey rods will be available soon and if you would like to give one a test drive, feel free to contact me. Happy holidays and go for the grab!

Jason Hartwick

A few images from the Summer/Fall 08' season

2008-12-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

Trinity River Wild Summer Steelhead

Tail

Steelhead Bailout. Why Not?

Hen closeup

California's North Coast Winter Steelhead

2008-12-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

California's North Coast rivers offer a great opportunity at hooking winter steelhead on the fly in a beautiful surrounding. Many of these rivers run through some of California's largest redwood forest and provide an amazing backdrop when fishing for winter steelhead. Rivers such as the Eel, South Fork Eel, Van Duzen, Mad, and all host good returns of wild steelhead and offer the chance at hooking the steelhead of a lifetime. While most winter steelhead in these rivers average 6-8 lbs, fish in the 14-20lb range are hooked each year. The down side of fishing these North Coast rivers is that they tend to blow out rather easily when we get rain and can take anywhere from 1-3 weeks to come back into fishable shape. When they do drop into shape the fishing can be great as many fresh fish will pour into these systems after a storm. Some rivers clear quicker than others and can provide fishing for a lot longer period of time than say the main stem of the Eel. The South Fork Eel is one of those. We tend to spend more time of the SF Eel than any other system because it clears quicker and stays in shape longer.

Because of this I usually do not book trips too far in advance. What I am going to do is put together a call and email list of those intretsed in trips on the coast and or specific rivers one would like to fish. I will give you 3-7 days notice of when a system will drop into shape and a fishing forecast. This will allow us to have good fishable conditions and not have to worry about a certain date being blown out and having to rebook. That being said, if you do want to book a date so that it is reserved that will work as well.

These rivers are a great place for swinging flies on spey rods for chrome bright winter steelhead. We utilize spey and switch rods on the 10'6" to 14' range and skagit style fly lines with heavy sinktips to target these flies. This style of fishing is not for the faint of heart and typically requires casting skagit style lines with 10-12' of T-14 and flies in the 2-6 inch range to target these winter steelhead.

For those interested, please send me an email with a contact number to get a hold of you when these rivers begin to fish. Our time frame for fishing these rivers in from mid December to March 31 when most fo the rivers close to fishing. Thank you and happy holidays. Go for the grab!

Jason Hartwick

Fishing Report

2008-11-27T13:51:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of reports the last few weeks. The season is winding down on the Trinity with very few fresh fish showing which has made for some tough fishing. Last week Rob Elam was able to hook three adults landing two in two days of fishing along with a few half pounders. Rain might help the fishing a bit but it looks like just an average year for steelhead on the Trinity. The good news is that we are still seeing good numbers of wild fish which bodes well for the future of the Trinity River. If we get a good push of fresh fish on the Trinity in the next week or two I will keep you posted.

On the other hand, I have spent a considerable amount of time on the Klamath in the last few weeks. The fishing has been pretty good with most days seeing one or two adults to hand along with some nice half pounders. Most fish have been caught on floating lines and small wet flies but with the air and water temps cooling I would look at fishing a sink tip from now on. The upper Klamath near Iron Gate is seeing good numbers of steelhead in the 16-22" range and are very aggressive towards a swung fly. For those looking to get a late fall fix, this is the place to be until mid December.

Next on tap is coastal winter steelhead. My favorite time of year! As soon as we get some more rain we will see fresh steelhead enter our North Coast rivers. These early season fish are extremely aggressive and are a blast on the swing. For those interested in winter steelhead trips please send me an email so I can put you on the winter steelheading list of those interested in trips when the rivers drop into shape. I will send an email out to those interested about the details of those trips around the first of December. Until then, Go for the grab!

Jason Hartwick

Steelhead Bailout

2008-11-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of fishing with Rob Elam of Propel Biofuels last week. I knew it was going to be a couple great days of fishing with Rob when we meet Wednesday morning and he was wearing a Vote Steelhead Bailout hat! In Rob's words...."With Congress bailing out so many companies, why not bailout steelhead? Think of all the things we could do to improve wild steelhead runs throughout the Pacific Northwest with a Billion dollars." I think your on to something Rob. I couldn't agree with you more! VOTE STEELHEAD BAILOUT.

Johnson's Steakhouse, a great place to dine while fishing on the Trinity!

2008-11-03T11:49:00.000-08:00

When you are up in Weaverville or just passing through on your way to fish the Trinity River, make sure you stop by Johnson's Steakhouse for dinner. Johnson's Steakhouse is in their second year of business and in my opinion has the best food in town and has a great sports bar with two flat screen TV's to watch your favorite game. They are well known for their steaks that include top sirloin, rib eye, Fillet Mignon, and their prime rib. Two of my other favorite dishes have to be the Bourbon seared pork chop and the Chicken Tetrazini. If you are looking to just grab a burger, I recommend the Barbecue bacon burger.

The restaurant is open Tuesday thru Saturday for dinner. Mondays, the bar is open for Monday Night Football and has homemade chili to go along with your favorite beer. The bar is a great place to have a beer and talk fishing. Will Johnson, one of the owners, is a great steelhead fisherman and spey caster who loves to talk steelheading with anyone who comes into the bar.

Johnson's Steakhouse is located just off the main street on Glen Rd. at the Trinity Alps golf course. This is a great place to have dinner or just hang out at the bar and BS with a few other fisherman.

Jason Hartwick

Finally...rain!

2008-11-03T09:16:00.000-08:00

November is here are so are the storms we have been waiting for here on the Trinity River. This has been a welcome change from the warm sunny chamber of commerce weather we have had. Not that I am complaining about bluebird skies and warm days but the river has been so low and clear the fishing has been really tough the past week. That has all changed now as river has gone from 400 cfs to over 2000 cfs and blown out in the lower reaches. The river has now started to drop and is in good condition on the Junction City area. This should pull in some fresh steelhead and salmon.

This past week I was fortunate to fish with Keith Kaneko of Angling on the Fly. Keith is an excellent spey caster and was bombing out some tight loops and long casts, covering the water extremely well. Despite the tough fishing, Keith had a couple of good solid pulls and also landed a couple of nice half pounders. Keith also had the chance to try out a Beulah Elixir Switch 7/8 line for the first time and was very impressed with it. He paired this line with a Sage Z-Axis 7110-4 switch rod and it was a fantastic combination. Beulah's Elixir lines are extremely easy to cast and can help one speed up the learning curve when beginning to spey cast. The added bonus is the fact that these lines can cast heavy poly leaders and bigger flies as opposed to many other Scandi style lines on the market.

This next week we should see some excellent fishing after the water drops and clears a bit. Water temperatures are still great and we should see many more fish on floating lines and even a few come to the skated dry. Go for the grab!

Jason Hartwick

Fall is Here!

2008-10-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

The colors are beginning to change, temperatures are cooling and the air has that crisp feel in the morning. The steelhead are starting to show in good numbers and are settling into traditional holding lies. This is my favorite time of year in the Pacific Northwest and on the Trinity River!

In the last week or so we are seeing the plants and trees beginning to change color which makes for a beautiful setting while fishing the Trinity. Some salmon have been spawning and from what I hear there are more working their way upriver. We are also seeing more and more steelhead working their way up from the Klamath. So far this year the salmon and steelhead returns seem to be about two weeks behind which should make for some great fishing in November and even into December. Even with fewer fish so far from last year we have had some great fishing on floating lines.

Fishing this past week was a bit up and down. After the water dropped out of the dam to 350 cfs we saw tough fishing for a few days after that. Mid week we saw temperatures in the evening drop a bit and help bring water temps down a little and the fish perked up a bit. Thursday and Friday we headed out for some new water that recieves very little fishing pressure and it paid off. We found a few pods of fish and landed some very nice fish in the 7-12 lb range. Big fish honors of the week went to Will Johnson who landed a 32" hatchery hen. The other nice thing is that we are still seeing a lot of wild fish in the system. This is great for the future of the Trinity River fishery and is a bonus when you hook one as they go absolutely nuts!

We should continue to see some great floating line steelheading here on the Trinity for about another month. November can be a great month as we should see some more rain and more fish entering the system. I have open days available so please call or email if interested. Go for the grab!

Jason Hartwick

Trinity Report

2008-10-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

This past week has seen some up and down fishing throughout the Trinity River system. After cooler temperatures last weekend the water cooled a bit and saw some god fishing early in the week. While out with first time spey caster Joshua Schwartz, he managed five grabs and landed two big wild hens. Picture above is Joshua with a 8 lb wild hen.

Tuesday and Wednesday we were able to hook a handful of fish and bring three to hand. I could tell on Wednesday evening that the fishing might slow a bit as we saw high pressure move in with warmer air temperatures. Over the last few days the water had dropped a bit and warmed up. This has made fishing a bit tougher but there are still plenty of fish around. Friday, Will Johnson and I were able to hook three fish but none made it to hand. We are still seeing all our fish come to wet flies on floating lines. Once the water temps begin to stabilize a bit more we should begin to bring a few fish to the surface. A little rain wouldn't hurt anything either. Go for the grab!

Jason Hartwick

Evening Steelhead

2008-10-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of reports lately. I have been on the river the past week and the fishing has been up and down. Last weekend saw the first good rain of the season here on the Trinity and it was much needed. We saw over 1" of rain and the river came up from 680 cfs to over 1400 cfs in Hoopa. I was hoping it would bring a little color to the river, which it did but not by much. This helped bring in some new fish and get some of the fish holding in the gorges to move upriver. While I expected the fishing to be great after the storm it was actually pretty tough. In two float trips in the lower river we watched a couple hundred steelhead each day moving upriver and unwillig to take a fly. In two days we managed to hook a couple of half pounders and one adult for a brief second.

The last few days has seen a change in the weather and water temps. The last four mornign we have had temperatures near or below freezing and this has helped to bring water temps down a bit which has helped fishing. On Thursday we were able to hook two nice steelhead on wet flies but were unable to land either. We also saw a few other anglers hook up as well. This has been a change from the past couple of weeks which has seen tough fishing for everyone.

Today I was able to get out for a couple of hours and fish with my good friend Will Johnson. The first run we fished Will was able to land a nice 4 lb wild hen that took him way into his backing and came out of the water more than a few times. I was also able to hook a fish in the same run but cam unbuttoned after a long battle. In the second run fished I was able to land this large wild buck. I wish I had a better picture of this fish as it went 29-30" and was in the 9-10 lb range. Both fish I hooked took a #5 Purple Pill.

Fishing is picking up on the Trinity. The next month should provide great fishing on swung flies with many opportunities at fish on a skated fly. So far this year we are seeing some larger than average size fish and some nice wild ones to boot. The mid-lower Trinity is a great place to swing flies on both spey and switch rods. This is also a great place for a beginner or advanced spey angler to have an opportunity at hooking fish on floating lines. Go for the grab!

Jason

Trinity Update

2008-09-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

We are finally starting to see some steelhead in the lower Trinity river. While fishing is by no means red hot there are fish to be caught. There are both hatchery fish and native fish moving into the river right now. The good sign is that we are seeing more wild fish than hatchery fish right now. On a recent trip I was fortunate to land a nice bright native in the 4 lb range that took a red humbug on a floating line.

Along with a few adult steelhead we are seeing some nice halfpounders that are a blast on light spey rods. They seem to be traveling in small schools and when you find them, it is possible to hook multiple fish.

In the next few weeks we should see some great Steelhead fishing on the lower Trinity river. This is predominately floating line fishing with opportunities to hook 4-8 lb. steelhead on skated dry flies. The lower river is well suited for small spey rods and swung flies. If you are interested in learning to spey cast and fish, an intermediate or expert spey caster who wants to hone their skills, or just flat out fish and have a good time, there is not better time than the month of October on the Trinity. Not only can we have some great fishing but the scenery is downright beautiful. October dates are filling fast so book you trip soon! For more information feel free to contact me at speybum@gmail.com or call (916) 838-2496. For more information on trips or to see more photos check us out at http://www.steelheadonthespey.com

Go for the Grab!
Jason Hartwick

Quick Trinity Report

2008-09-19T22:17:00.000-07:00

Spent the day with fellow Steelhead bum Kevin Giusti floating a section of the Trinity. It was a great day to be on the river. Not only did we find a few fish, but we had a good 45 minutes of heavy rain which was not fun to float the river in, but was well needed. In the third run of the day Kevin managed to hook a halfpounder and two adult steelhead landing one. A hatchery fish going 5-6 lbs. and full of spunk. Unfortunately no fish photo although I got one of Kevin hooked up.

The fish are starting to show on the lower Trinity. We saw quite a few salmon and some really nice steelhead. From here on out we should see some great fishing on floating lines.

Lower Trinity River Update

2008-09-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Late August into early September usually marks the first big push of steelhead into the lower Trinity River. This past week I made my way up north to do a little "scouting" work and see where the fish might be. The first day out my friend Will and I floated a 6 mile section of river. Our goal was to fish a few runs and snorkel a few looking for fish. We managed to spot a few salmon while snorkeling and a handful of steelhead holding near tailouts. While we didn't manage any fish it was nice to be on the water.

The next couple of days I was able to fish with good friends Adrian and Teresa Psuty. Our goal was to hopefully find some chrome in the lower river and get Teresa into her first adult steelhead. Teresa might possibly be on the best female spey casters around, so all we needed to do was to locate a few fish. Conditions proved to be tough as we had warm weather, high pressure, low water, and very few fish around. We fished hard for three days and only managed a couple of half pounders. We spotted a couple of adults but they didn't seem to want to cooperate. Here's a pic of Teresa launching some line in a prime run.

My last day out I was able to fish a couple of runs early in the morning and managed to boil a nice steelhead to a skated muddler in a tailout. After switching flies a couple times and going back thru the tailout, I was unable to bring the fish back. Oh well, it is always a blast to see that swirl under your fly whether you hook up or not!

This year we have seen very dry conditions which are having their effects on our North Coast rivers. We are seeing some of the lowest rivers levels I have ever seen. The water temps have been pretty good since we are seeing shorter days and cool nights. Very little rain and low water could be keeping many steelhead out in the ocean. Right now it looks like the run might be a couple of weeks behind, but we should start to see some good pushes of fish into the Klamath and Trinity in the next couple of weeks. I plan on starting my guiding season around September 20th and we should have a good number of fish in the lower Trinity by then. From then until the middle of October is the best time to get out on the lower Trinity River and fish for steelhead on spey rods and floating lines. Go for the grab!

Lower Klamath River

2008-09-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

This past week I was fortunate to be able to fish the lower Klamath River out of Klamath Glen. We took my good friend Will's sled out for the day and were able to locate quite a few half pounders. These fish were chrome bright and full of spunk. Despite not locating any adult steelhead, I was lucky to hook and land this chrome bright Jack Salmon. While is was only about 6 lbs. it put up one hell of a fight on a 5 weight spey rod.

A little later in the week, I had the privilege of fishing with my good friends Adrian and Teresa Psuty. After a couple of tough days on the lower Trinity, we decided to drive down to Johnson's on the Klamath and fish a few gravel bars. We were able to locate a good size school of half pounders and hooked into 20 plus fish, landing about half. Most fish were in the 14-18" range and dime bright. All fish were taken of lightweight spey rods, floating lines, and peacock bodied flies. These fish are a blast on light gear and will run you well into your running line and backing on the initial grab. While we did not land any adults, I hooked into one and had it one for a good amount of time and lost it after two blazing runs. Looked to be in 22-24" range but we will never know for sure as she waved goodbye from the other side of the run! Here are a couple of close ups of how bright these half pounders are. Check out the reflection of the fingertips off the side of the first fish. Looks like a mirror!