RODS REELS AND HEELS It’s been a great few months! I worked the Colorado Women’s Fly Fishers booth at the Denver Fly Fishing Show and met a tone of awesome folks including the cool dudes from Cheeky Fly Fishing, Allen Fly Fishing, and Mr. Hopper Juan himself, Juan Ramirez. I also hit up the International Sportsmen Show; always a ton of people with interesting stuff that makes me wish I had an endless bank account & endless amounts of time! Next on the docket is the F3T show. Other exciting news is that I am now part of the Chasing Tail Media- a great group sharing the passion & experiences of fly fishing through film & photography. Of course, I’ve been on the river a handful of times. Though I didn’t technically catch anything (I hooked ‘em, but didn’t hand ‘em), fishing with my Dad & big Brother on the Crooked River over Christmas was a serious highlight. I even got a new Lamson Konic reel for Christmas & set it up with some wicked line from Blue Halo Gear. A short while later I was able to break in the reel & line during a Bluebird day with a temp high of 18 on a monstrous 23 ½ inch brown trout. Biggest fish of my life & a month later I’m still on Cloud 9 because of that guy. Nothing like catching a Colorado Water Pig with shiny blue cheeks & fins almost as big as my hands! A few weeks later, I caught my first cutthroat as well. A cuttie has been on my list since day 1 & 8 months later…..FINALLY!
Winter fishing has proven to be some serious fun. It’s tough, the fish are picky, the temps are brutal, but the rewards far outweigh the downsides. I have layers upon layers & came to the terms that looking like a marshmallow & waddling like a penguin is okay….the fish don’t care! I also purchased some Goat Head Sole Spikes & couldn’t be happier. It’s icy out there & rubber soles just don’t provide the traction you really need. I’ve fished with the Goats on my boots on the Crooked River, Colorado River, S Platte, and even the slicker-than-snot Blue River. You can actually feel the traction & grabbing of the spikes. It’s like having 4x4 on my feet!
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TRUCKEE RIVER REPORT Hard to believe it’s already the middle of February and we haven’t had a significant storm in over six weeks. I guess I shouldn’t get to worried. We had a dry spell like this in 2010 and then look what happened. Next week we will get a good cold storm, we need it. Despite the lack of storms the Truckee River is still up, above 400 cubes from the Hirsch all the way down into the desert. It has been like that for days. Fish are strong and healthy. Lots of blue wings out each and every day now, streamer fishing is getting better. Most fish are still in slower softer stuff, especially in California and down through Reno. Skwalas should make an appearance shortly with this warm weather. Remember, overnight lows are still in the teens here in the Hirsch, and we are behind on hatches compared to the Nevada side. East of Reno, trout are spreading out and you can now find them all over. You can also find a lot other anglers out there too. If you see some dude fishing, have some respect for your fellow fly fisherman, go kick rocks somewhere else. I’ve been out fishing with Doug Ouellette of Cal Vada Fly Fishing the last few. We’re gonna collaborate a bit this season, do a few clinics, share information, and pass on trips to each other if one is busy. Stay tuned, should be an exciting season.
EASTERN OREGON EARLY SPRING
The sun was shining and the hatch was heavy. We drove fro three hours to get to Maupin on sunday morning. Good thing too because this place was just about as close to heaven as you can get this time of year. The temperature in the Tahoe red 52 degrees and we damn glad it did. The weather over Portland way has been soggy and cold for months and Maupin was a welcome change of pace. The tiny little town just south of The Dalles is easily may favorite fishery within a few hours of PDX. The water is clear, the camp sites are cheap and this time of year, the river pretty much void of anglers. OK by me, i love having the river to myself. Those flubbed up cast seem a whole lot easier to handle when no one else is looking. I started out with a elf hair caddis and a little trailer and bumping it off the rocks. Not a lot of action but it felt good to get some nymph time in. I worked a small piece of water and gave way to a fellow angler on the West Bank. You gotta give folks some space when the river is this open, why stand ten feet away from the next guy? I moved on down the bank and started to see some bugs floating around. I'm pretty sure they were blue wings so I tied one on a dry line and started working some slow stuff. Three casts in and BAM! A nice little 12 dude gave me a much needed fight and I snapped a pic with him. The rest of the day went pretty much the same. We move up the river, hit a few spots and just took our time. I fished a few more holes and watched a train roll by. We were in no hurry to leave that beautiful weather. Come sundown we took off and decided to grab a bit at Clock Tower Ales in The Dalles. Definitely stop by that place on your way out. Great beers and good food. Till next time... Alex