McKenzie River / 79 posts found
2018 McKenzie River Spring Chinook Fishing
Our 2018 McKenzie River Spring Chinook Fishing is now well underway. I apologize for the recent lack of posts, but a 6 month recovery period from knee surgery has had me off the oars. The good news is that I’m back on the water and more than ready to Rock’n Roll. With the July 4th Holiday now at our doorstep, it’s time to turn the page and move on to a new chapter. Both Springers and Summer Steelhead continue to pour over the Willamette Falls fish counting station, many of which are destined for the McKenzie River & the Middle […]
2018 Newsletter from Roaring Fork Guide Service – McKenzie River Fishing Trips Spring – Summer – Fall
John Gross – Roaring Fork Guide Service – 2018 Newsletter Dear Friends & Fishing Enthusiasts, As I sit here at my home office looking out to the yard on yet another cool, wet and gray day, my spirits are brightened by color-rich Rhododendrons, industrious Tree Swallows working their boxes, and fruit trees in full bloom. These are all good indicators that Spring has finally arrived and while I might welcome warmer temperatures and more sunshine, I do recognize that the seemingly constant soft rains are a good thing as they translate to better snow-pack in the mountains and consequent desirable […]
Wishing You A Happy & Healthy New Year in 2018!
Wishing You All a Very Happy & Peaceful New Year in 2018! We finished off the 2017 Chinook Season down on Elk – Sixes with some beautiful bright Hawgs. Already looking forward to next season. ODFW is forecasting a better 2018 Springer Season on the Willamette System so we eagerly await better Spring Chinook numbers for our up-coming McKenzie Season. The fish often show in catchable numbers by late May…….Fingers Crossed!
As our McKenzie River Salmon Season comes to a close, we now have reports of freshly arriving Salmon in Oregon’s coastal rivers
Saying Goodbye to our 2017 McKenzie River Salmon Season. Our final September salmon journey down the McKenzie this past week proved fun and surprisingly productive. We actually brought 3 hatchery salmon to the net on Thursday, September 7, including a double header on a last minute half-day effort. When I got the call, I was initially pretty skeptical about our prospects given the late date and the fact that I had pretty much already packed it in for our McKenzie River Spring-Summer Chinook Season. I guess since I was available and I had noticed a forecast for possible showers, I […]
McKenzie River Trout Fly Fishing
Tuesday’s upper McKenzie River Trout Fly Fishing drift boat trip certainly proved fun & fruitful and certainly substantiated that McKenzie River trout fly action remains excellent and in fact fast & furious. As we pulled into the very first riffle just to demonstrate a new fly technique and the corresponding fly set-up, it was “Fish On!” instantly. As the day progressed, action would continue to heat up and just get better and better. My guests “Chill” Wills and his buddy Ricky were a total hoot constantly ribbing on one another as they had me in stitches the entire day. While […]
Everyone had a fantastic time on our recent McKenzie River Trout trip
Enjoy the following photos & comments from a recent McKenzie River Trout Trip. Kind words from our guests: John, Thanks for the pictures. Everyone had a fantastic time. I appreciate you putting this trip together for us. Hope it’s cooler out there now! Take care, Mike Michael Pope (Note: This was a fun company sponsored group trip fishing for McKenzie River Trout. Run in early August, 2017, the trip involved 9 guided boats, 18 guests, and a shore Fish Fry. The fishing was surprisingly good in spite of record temperatures and truly a great time was had by all. Group […]
The Damsel Flies – A Women’s Fly Fishing Group in Eugene Oregon – Enjoys a Day on the McKenzie River
I had the pleasure of being among the 5 guides selected to participate in the Lady Damsels annual McKenzie fly fishing adventure on the Upper McKenzie River in mid July. It’s always such a blast to enjoy a day of great trout fishing on the very scenic upper McKenzie River. The weather was superb, fishing was great, food was fantastic and camaraderie (as always) the best. If memory serves, my guests hooked 4 or 5 fish right out of the shoot on the very first run we hit. What a start! Indeed there were plenty more to come. At lunchtime, […]
Middle Fork Willamette River & McKenzie River still Producing Late-Arriving Spring Chinook
Wes Connected with Numerous Late-Run Spring Chinook Over the past 10 days we have had great luck finding some quality Spring Chinook, mostly of hatchery origin. To our delight, all the fish retained had nice orange meat. Back-bouncing baits, running baits behind divers, and even plugs all produced strikes. Wes spent 2 days of his vacation successfully chasing after big fish and then also did a day of fly fishing for Rainbow Trout on the very scenic upper McKenzie River with his son Wes Jr. and grandson Taylor also joining in on the fun. It was great to watch all three […]
Gorgeous Scenery & Good Trout Fishing on the Upper McKenzie River
Fishing Reunion This past Thursday & Friday I had the opportunity and privilege of coordinating a mini fishing reunion on the McKenzie River for a group of former freshmen dorm mates dating back forty some odd years since college. What a fun group! It was so interesting to marvel at the incredibly diverse paths taken by each person leading to their current career. Included was a surgeon, a commercial real estate executive, numerous engineers, and a corporate financial planner. Lunch near Eagle Rock On Day One, we tried for salmon on the lower river which proved a tough nut to […]
McKenzie River Salmon Continue to Provide Good Sport
Spring Chinook are Challenging for Sure (Yet Well Worth the Effort) Garry, my guest last Wednesday, was quite happy to hook into several challenging McKenzie River Salmon during our 5 mile long drift. Though the first fish that was hooked on a diver and bait set-up, unfortunately shook the hook, the next 2 fish hooked were not quite so fortunate. Not one to just throw in the towel, Garry got right back in the saddle and found several deep holes and back-bounced his way into 2 more Springers, perhaps destined for a 4th of July barbecue. Spring Chinook Salmon is regarded […]