April Focus is here...

After a long hard winter, spring has finally arrived. With it comes change. The weather is once again pleasant, the air is filled with the sweet smell of cottonwoods, and the last winter steelhead are finding their natal spawning grounds.

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Oregon steelhead guide Brian Silvey

April "Fly of the Month" Silvey’s Tandem Tube

Perfect for late winter and early summer steelhead.

Streamtread Soles Part 2

Here's an update to my prior eval of the streamtread soles. I finally
had a chance to put the studs in my G4 boots and give them a run over
the last few weeks. Spent better part of a week on the North Umpqua
with rain and snow. I think everyone can agree that the N. Umpqua is a
hell of a test of traction. Let's put it this way, I won't miss my
felts. Traction was great climbing around in the river, up on the
banks, over trees. I think it's an improvement and much more stream
friendly for invasives. Only downside, putting in the studs was a pain
in the butt. Have someone else do it. There are pre placed spots on
the sole to place the studs but getting them started takes a bit of
elbow grease. But otherwise, I'm a convert.

Charlie
Hood River

Wear a Sweater

Four married guys go fishing. After an hour, the following conversation took place. First guy: " You have no idea what I had to do to be able to come out fishing this weekend. I had to promise my wife that I will paint every room in the house next weekend." Second guy: " that's nothing, I had to promise my wife that I will build her a new deck for the pool." Third guy: " Man, you both have it easy! I had to promise my wife that I will remodel the kitchen for her." They continue to fish when they realized that the fourth guy has not said a word. So they asked him. You haven't said anything about what you had to do to be able to come fishing this weekend. " What's the deal?" Fourth guy: " I just set my alarm for 5:30 am. When it went off, I shut off my alarm, gave the wife a nudge and said, " Fishing or Sex" and she said, " Wear a Sweater."

Hickman’s Party Boy

March Fly of the Month
A tasty treat for a big, bad-ass winter steelhead.

Guide Jeff Hickman came up with this killer leech pattern for winter steelhead. The seductive movement of the rabbit strip combined with a stinger hook design and heavy lead eyes make this pattern extremely versatile. Hickman likes to fish the Party Boy with two different sink-tip configurations. For slots and boulder gardens, he fishes 6 feet of Rio T-14 with a 5 foot Rio intermediate cheater looped the front of his Airflo Skagit Compact shooting head. He casts almost straight across the river and delivers a huge back-mend. Once te fly is to depth, he makes a secondary mend to slow the fly’s swing speed and brings the fly into tension. The short, heavy sink-tip allows him to steer his fly through technical holding lies with total precision. For larger runs and flats he changes his sink-tip over to 12' of Rio T-11 with no cheater. When using a longer sink-tip, he uses a more traditional down and across presentation. [View More]

View Previous Fly of the Months

March Focus

This is the time we’ve all been waiting for. Although cold fronts continue to pound the Northwest and the Great Lakes, the days are longer and warmer now... [Read More]

Simms G4 Guide Boots 

Okay I'm a sucker for several things when it comes to flyfishing: fanny packs, indicators, anything with a Permit on it, and wading boots. I have enough to stock both film versions of the "River Why ". My recent addition to my arsenal is the Simms G4 Guide Boot with the new StreamTread sole by Vibram. I have to admit that I'm impressed. After climbing around in these things, I believe them to be the ultimate winter steelhead boot. I've climbed down a muddy hill, through wet grass, up and down large boulders, tip toe on woody debris and seem to get great traction. I've done this without the aid of studs. I would certainly recommend them for a number of the rivers of the Northwest like the Clackamas, Sandy, Klickitat rivers. I have a feeling that I'll still want them with studs for the Deschutes and North Umqua. The forefoot is nice and roomy for a couple of pairs of nice warm socks. I like the "pulley" system for the forefoot so I can crank down on the extra long laces and they will equally tighten. One disadvantage is that they are heavy, and probably not the best choice for summer wet wading but then again, that's when I bring out a pair of sandals. I do find the StreamTread soul to be comparable to felt and certainly better than prior incarnations that were going to replace the old soles. I can't report on the durability but giving them the once over they look to be as close to bulletproof as possible with overlapping reinforcements. Perhaps, now I can stop the madness of buying more and more boots, and my Imelda Marcos days are over. Yeah, probably not.

Charlie 

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February Focus

Your friend calls it the "Beat down"... It’s day three of getting your ass handed to you by favorite winter river and the idea of "hope" came and went a long time ago. The river is so low and clear every rock in the run can be seen from your wading station. A quick temperature reading shows 35 degrees and your feet confirm the thermometer’s findings. You think to yourself, "Oh good, two degrees colder than yesterday..." [Read More]