Gallery / 19 posts found
Kathy was pretty excited with her early morning Elk River catch
Though a fly fishing addict at heart, Kathy acquiesced to running a plug, and was rewarded handsomely! As the fish ripped off 150 feet of line in no time, I think she sensed some panic in my demeanor. It was definitely a tug of war, but Kathy definitely settled down and patiently worked and worked and worked the King back to the gravel bar & boat and ultimately to the net. I know she considered handing the rod off several times during the battle, but Tom & I encouraged her to continue and we were all glad she did. These […]
Elk-Sixes Fishing in Full Swing
The Elk and Sixes River Salmon Fishing is currently in Full Swing. This is a weather-driven fishery so timing can be very important. With each rain, new fish come in on the tides providing new action to anxious fishermen. This late run of Fall-Winter Chinook can last all the way through December. Each year, chrome bright tackle-testing, fat Hawgs in the 30-40 lb range become part of the catch to fortunate anglers. As a guide, I am equally fortunate to be head-quartered this time of year in the town of Port Orford, only a mile from the two rivers, the […]
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 […]
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 […]
We Enjoyed a Very Scenic Upper McKenzie River Trout Fishing Float
Tim & Connie were down visiting from Port Angeles, Washington on Monday and enjoyed a long and scenic upper McKenzie River trout fishing float. Though hardly fly fishing experts, with attention and determination both landed plenty of scrappy McKenzie Rainbows, all on flies. We used both wet and dry flies and found success on both. We covered almost 11 river miles and found cooperative fish throughout the riffles, runs and pools separated by occasional larger rapids that occurred in areas of higher gradient and which characterize the upper river. The McKenzie River Drift Boat actually evolved on the McKenzie River. […]
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 Trout & Salmon Fishing Now in Full Swing
McKenzie River Trout & Salmon Fishing Improving daily! Jeff & his friend David enjoyed some excellent fly action resulting in 50+ fish to the boat, not to mention, some spectacular scenery during their McKenzie River trout fishing adventure last Saturday. In the left photo Jeff is playing a feisty McKenzie River Rainbow Trout in direct view of famed monolith “Eagle Rock” as his backdrop. The upper McKenzie includes some rapids with pocket water and stair steps. It has quite a bit more gradient than the lower river below Leaburg Dam. The pool and drop character of the upper river […]
McKenzie River – Fantastic Scenery – Fabulous Water – Wonderful Fishing – Great Memories
RT enjoyed a magical 2 days on the McKenzie River in late September. We did several different runs on the upper river targeting trout on the fly. Ron did an exceptional job of placing the flies right where fish live and the fish were indeed quite responsive. Both days he landed a bunch of scrappy trout, both wild and of hatchery origin. We used a combination of dries and nymphs with the wets working better in the morning and with the dries proving more productive in the afternoon. On the second morning we decided to mix the plan up […]