The Steelhead Report | Scott Howell's Daily Fly Fishing Blog

WILLAMETTE IS ON!

2010-04-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

Christian Rhode with a Willamette summer run!
We are on track for a great early season Willamette fishery this year. We are seeing the best fish counts over the falls in years! We already have 3 times as many fish over the falls than we have had thru any other April since 2004. Even though there have already been some reports of good fishing, I plan to take another couple weeks off to get caught up and wind down after the long grind of my winter season. As mid-May rolls around, I hope to be back on the water full time. I still have slots available for my Willamette fishery. if your itchin' to get an early season crack on some chrome summers, the Willy is your fix. As we get into the prime time (mid-May thru July), there is very little element of "if". It is generally a matter of "how many"! It is a user friendly fishery that is a perfect opportunity for anglers to get a lesson or touch up on their spey casting.

BACK FROM FILMING!

2010-04-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

GOOD STUFF!
I just got back from filming parts of the Skagit Master DVD I am doing with Jeff Mishler. The last two weeks we spent filming the BC part of the production. We had a great trip and captured some exciting action. We were fortunate enough to accomplish everything we had hoped for - a couple huge fish, great fight action, and some great adventure visiting a couple small remote coastal rivers. We were successful in tying together much of the winter technique footage we had from the North Umpqua as well as covering some low water scenario technique. We both came home finding ourselves more excited and optimistic about our project. It should be great!!! At this point, we have no doubt we are going to be able to create a very educational DVD that has enough action to keep people glued to the screen.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

2010-04-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

"Fly Girl" Beth with just 4 of the many she landed during her latest trip!

I just finished a great trip with lead "Fly Girl" Beth Brunswick. The recent rain forced us onto some different water yesterday. Our move really paid off!!!! She ended the trip going 5 for 5 on her last day with one fish over #16. Each day we are getting a mixed bag. There are a number of colored fish that have been up river for a while, as well as, some brighter fish that are moving up out of where they have been living in the lower river. We are even seeing the odd shiny fish fresh out of the salt. I expect to see some good fishing for at least another week or two. Seeing how we now have most of our fish in the river, April can be the best month to see some big number days. It is also a great time to experience our rivers without the hustle and bustle of the mid-season crowds. Many anglers have had their fill of the winter grind and have moved onto golf and other spring activities.

I am off today to celebrate Easter with my family. Soon, I am heading north to BC to continue filming my DVD project with Jeff Mishler. We are hoping the weather cooperates and we can capture some great spring steelhead footage. We got big plans to visit some of the small remote rivers off the BC coast. We should be able to showcase some of the rivers I used to fish when I lived up North. These are rivers that few anglers have heard of and even fewer have fished. It should be fun!

WIZ!!!!

2010-03-31T21:41:00.000-07:00

I Just finished my week's fishing with Wiz and Ranae on the upper NU. We have finally had our first big winter rain just as March comes to an end. Along with our high water came a good batch of fish out of the lower river. We are seeing a mixed bag of colored fish that had been living in the Main and new fish just out of tied water. Wiz saw one of his best days ever with me on a day when he went 4 for 8. His tally included a big buck that was 13-14 lbs and a huge hen that tipped the scale at 16-17lbs. They were both amazing fish that put up epic battles. His hen finally came to hand after 20 minutes of chasing her thru two different pools. Congrats Wiz!!! We'll see you this summer. Remember - you're only welcome back if you bring Ranae with you!

IT'S BEEN A WHILE!

2010-03-27T21:05:00.000-07:00

4 of Ranae's beauties!

It has been a while since I have gotten around to a post. Things have been busy and our fishing remains good. I spent the day with Robert "Wiz" Wissmar and Ranae Holland. Ranae tore 'em up! She went 5 for 5 today on the Upper North Umpqua - not bad for her first trip steelheading! She's a natural. We had rain the last 2 days and it finally pumped our river up a bit. This seemed to shuffle the cards and bring some new fish from the lower river. The river was dropping all day and should fish equally well again tomorrow. It felt good to be back on the Upper North - I am sure we will be back up there again in the morning.

SHIZ AND JUDY!!!

2010-03-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

Shiz and Judy with some winter chrome!

Despite the fact that our water level continues to fall, the fish have been snapping well. I just finished off a 3 day trip with Shiz and Judy Nakawatase where they went 11 for 16. Today we got 7! We ran into a big pod of fish at the second run of the day and went 4 for 4 in just over an hour of fishing. It is that time of year when the ladies show up. I haven't seen a buck in the last 20 fish I've beached. We will still see a few fresh males show up but most have already made their way thru the system. I have been begging for rain and now that we have some in the forecast, I don't want it. I am on some great fish right now and I don't want the conditions to change. If in fact we do get some weather, it should put us back on our coastal streams. A change of venue wouldn't be bad either!

GREAT DAY!

2010-03-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

Dave with 2 fat hens from the NU!

Our fishing has been a bit off and on lately. We are getting fish everyday but we are not consistently seeing the numbers my clients have come accustomed to. Today Dave Souther had 7 with me on the NU. He got a couple real beauties!

We had a dose of rain at the end of last week but the water on the NU just barely wiggled. The fish continue to come but we could use some high flows to get fish spread thru the system and put some grit back in the water. Unfortunately, no big rain in the forecast.

FINALLY SOME RAIN!

2010-02-26T19:03:00.000-08:00

Fishy morning!

Perfect!

Josh with one of many!

Translucent fins!

A few pics from a recent trip with Leland Fly fishing Outfitter's Josh Frazier

Our rivers finally got their rain and I finally got my much needed sleep-in! I had the day off and loved every minute of it. Our rivers spiked hard all day and have left little hope I will be back on the water tomorrow. It will be Sunday before things settle down and I get back to work. On a high note, our fishing should be darn good as the rivers fall back into shape. There should have been a couple weeks worth of fish that pushed in on this high water. I am expecting some of the best fishing of the year as our next week begins. Tune in for the pics of some pretty fish.

The day off has given me the time to post some pics from a recent trip with Josh Frazier (the owner of San Fran's Leland Fly Fishing Outfitters) and Thys Heynecker. We had some great fishing and Josh was able to capture the mood on film.

THE LATEST CHROME!

2010-02-23T20:54:00.000-08:00

The last week or so our fishing has really fallen off. We are still usually seeing 2-4 fish a day but we are working hard for each one of them. We have had some glimpses of great fishing but it has been far from consistent. Thankfully, many of the fish we have been seeing have been exceptional. I have included shots of a couple fish Super Dave and Mitch ended Sunday's trip on. I also attached a photo of one of Bill's fish from today's trip. The rain is pounding down as I write. Hopefully, it will raise our rivers and shuffle the cards. We need to get our fish moving again.

OINK!!!!

2010-02-15T21:25:00.000-08:00

DAVE FREDERICKS WITH HIS 37"X19"

Once again, the fishing started off fast and furious but was short lived. The river looked perfect this morning but unfortunately, it was not full of fish. The 3rd and last fish we landed this morning was around 10:00. Fortunately, we ended our catching on Dave's 18 pounder. Our big fish are in! It was the third exceptional fish I have seen caught in the last several days. It was raining when I left so who knows where we will be tomorrow.

I also wanted to add a pic of a beautiful fish George Maybee caught on his first cast his second day!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

2010-02-14T21:01:00.000-08:00

Look at what Lance Watkins got his wife for Valentine's day!

Lance and I thought we would be the only guys foolish enough to leave our wives and go fishing on Valentine's Day. We were sure we would have the river to ourselves. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Ultimately, I am not sure that the pressure really mattered. It rained on us all day and the river was rising from the mornings start. The fishing started off with a bang. We had 3 before we knew it and then things came to a screeching halt once the river began rising hard. I am expecting great fishing tomorrow as the river drops.

SLOWED A BIT

2010-02-11T20:59:00.000-08:00

George Maybee with 3 from today!

Things have slowed down a bit from the double digit fishing we were seeing over the last couple weeks. We are still seeing some fish but it is not what we are used to seeing. We are supposed to see some weather over the next couple days and that should shake things up a bit. We need some water to get our fish back on the move. I got into a good bite late this afternoon with George Maybee and I have included a few of the pics from that session. Back with George again tomorrow.

GREAT DAY!

2010-02-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

Our fishing remains good! We were back into double digits again today after a couple days of working for 3 or 4. Long time friends/clients Dan and Ev had 14 today - including one double. The river just dropped into perfect shape today after the last rain and it was stuffed full of brand new fish. Just about every fish we saw today was right out of the salt.

Our fishing has just been damn good this year! I have seen more double digits days already this year than I saw all last year including 3 in a row last week. We have seen some exceptional fish as well. I have had several fish in the upper to mid teens and one fish pushing 20 pounds. I hope to post a whole slug of pictures from the last week tomorrow.

TRY THIS ONE ON FOR SIZE!

2010-01-24T22:06:00.000-08:00

Couple shots of Scott's slab of chrome!

Can't take a picture of a mirror!

Scott with another beautiful chrome buck!

We have just been hit with a big blast of weather that will slow our fishing down for the next day or so. I hated to see the rain because I was seeing some of the best fishing I have seen all month last week. My last two groups will definitely be high lights of my winter. I just finished up a couple days with Josh Frazier (owner of Leland's Fly Fishing Outfitters) and his buddy Thys Heynecker. They ended their trip 18 for 22!!! Photos to come. Before that I was with ex-pro baller Scott Hatteburg and Mike Davis. We finished up their 2 day trip with a fish that hit the 20 pound mark. Scott is already featured as the title photo of my web site with another giant he got a couple years ago. Needless to say, the fish seem to like Scott. Check back for some great photos from Josh and Thys's trip.

MORE CHROME!

2010-01-20T21:21:00.000-08:00

Pacific River Council's John Kober swung one up on the coast

Dave Fredericks with 3 shiny ones!

Our fishing has slowed a bit the last week with our screwy weather. We are still catching fish each day but my regulars are having to work harder than they are accustomed to. Dave Fredericks just ended his 4 day trip with 3 today. One of them came on his last cast. We literally took the hook out of his 3rd fish, shook hands, and put the boat on the trailer. Great way to end! Our weather is supposed to settle this week so, if things goes as predicted, we will be back into them good by the weekend. Check back in for more pics of shiny fish.

Early Chrome!

2010-01-10T21:14:00.000-08:00

Lance Watkins With Some Coastal Chromers!

Dave Virnig's Chrome On The Swung Fly!

Mike Davis With A Shiny One!

Once again, we have started our winter season off with a bang. This is the second year in a row my "holiday break" was cut short because our winter fish showed up in force in mid December. I saw double digit fishing several days in the closing month of the year. On December 30th Ross and Mike Davis had 11 fish by 10:30 am. Not a bad way to close 2009! We started the New Year off with high water and the first days of 2010 were tough but as the water dropped we were greeted with the kind of fishing we hope for. Lance Watkins just finished a 2 day trip with me hooking 14 brand new chromers.

It is obvious my "daily reports" will not quite be so daily again this season. My plan is to get to my updates at least once a week. I will be fishing everyday (water permitting) so we'll see!

The big news for my business is I am currently working on a DVD project with Jeff Mishler who just completed the Skagit Master DVD with Ed Ward. We are hoping to feature some new age steelhead tutorials with some cutting edge fishing catching action. We hope to release it this fall. Keep your eyes out!

BUSY SEASON!

2009-10-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

I am sorry it has been such a long time since I have posted a new report on my web site. I have been very busy guiding everyday this summer and spend nearly all of my "off-water" time with my family. I have also taken a different approach to my reports. When I first started posting a daily report on my web site, it was a tool for me to keep my clients attached to my business by getting them to visit my web site each day to check out the new pics. Many of my regulars would go into the office each morning and pull up my report to see what I had done the day before. They could sit, have a cup of coffee and get their daily dose of fish porn before they started their days work. It was great - I was able to share my success and keep my clients wanting more. Well, it turned out before long, I had a couple hundred people a day checking out my daily report (many of which had no interest in ever booking a guide trip). I was finding that my reports began hurting me more than helping me. It was amazing how a string of good reports on the North Umpqua would really bring the crowds. So, given the date of my last post, it is more than obvious I have given up on posting a true "daily" report. Just know that if it takes me another couple months to post my next report, we are out on the water catching fish. Start getting worried if I have the time to post my daily reports again. That means fishing and business is poor and I am home on the couch.

Anyway, here is an update on what has transpired over the first half of our summer fall season. Our dam counts on the North Umpqua are very low and will prove to be about half of the ten year average when things are all added up at the end of the season. I would say for the most part, our fishing suffered because of these low counts. Most days we still had enough success to keep smiles on people's faces but we had to work harder to do it. We did have a few periods where the fishing was excellent. At times, the angling pressure would fall off and we would have the river to ourselves. Our fishing would then get good and we enjoyed better than average success. I had several days with Robert Wissmar (Wiz) over the span of his week where he brought 6 or more fish to the dry. I also had a memorable day with "Super Dave" Laurance where we brought 10 fish to the dry - Dave landed a couple of real beauties that day!

As of last week, I finished up my summer/fall season on the North Umpqua. We have closed up the NU house and moved back down to Medford. I will spend the remainder of my fall on the Rogue where I will fish through Thanksgiving. The dam counts on the Rogue have been more encouraging and have already provided us with better fishing than last year. I have not only seen some excellent daily tallies but we've also had some good success with the dry. This last week we saw some rain which dealt us an unsettled river and tougher fishing. This will prove to be a good thing. As our river falls back into shape, we will have some new fish up the crick and the old ones will be shuffled and grabby again. This week should be very good!!!

For those of you interested, I still have a few Nov dates open. I also still have a guide working for me up on the North Umpqua if any of you are interested in a late season NU trip. The "Secret Season" on the North can be an enjoyable experience. To experience the river without the "hustle and bustle" of prime time can be something special. The fall colors are in full swing and some of the late season fall fish can prove to be the biggest of the season. There were some awfully big fish in the fish ladder at the dam the other day when I stopped by on my way South.

I have posted a few pics to give you just a small taste of what we enjoyed this summer on both the North Umpqua and Rogue. Enjoy!

Good fishing, Scott

It's That Time Of Year Again!

2009-05-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are already talking about summer steelhead again. I actually started tying dries at my bench last night to get ahead of the game for the coming months. Generally, we will see our first fishable numbers of summer steelhead on the Willamette System. I have already heard of good reports from the Clackamas. We are still a couple weeks away from having enough fish over Willamette Falls to see consistent fishing up above Eugene where I concentrate my guiding efforts. I would definitely expect the water between Dexter and town to be fishing well by the first of June. I am keeping a close eye on the counts. When I feel things look promising, I have a list of people waiting for the call. If you would like to get in on some of this early season action, get a hold of me to get on the list.

As far as our North Umpqua summer fishing, depending on our water conditions, we usually don't get too excited until the end of June. Most years we are in full swing by the 4th of July. If you have not experienced this fabled fishery, put it on your "bucket list." Not only is the scenery unmatched, it is one of the best places in the world to consistently bring wild steelhead to the dry. In all my travels, our fish on the North are probably the most surface orientated steelhead I have swung a fly for. Experiencing the savage take of a steelhead in one of the North's classic tail-outs is truly the pinnacle of the sport.

I thought I would include a couple more pics I had laying about from a trip I had with Jerry Schaffer and Steve Nichalson this winter. As anxious as I am to get out and throw some dries in a t-shirt, I never get tired of holding the beautiful fish we see each winter. There is just nothing quite like them. Each of these fish were evidence of that!

STILL CHROME!

2009-04-04T15:41:00.000-07:00

Beth with one of her chromers from yesterday!

Today I fished with Beth Brunswick, long time friend and head of the "Fly Girl" group that I have been guiding for 15 years. Despite unsettled water conditions, she ended up 2 for 4 and lost what would have been her nicest fish to date. We got one huge leap out of a 16-18lb chrome hen before she threw the hook. Heart breaker!

Our fishing on the North remains slower than normal but we are still seeing enough new fish to keep it worth while. I have dates booked until the middle of month and expect to see fish like Beth had through then. I stopped at the Winchester Dam fish ladder again last evening on my way home and it still had a half dozen shiny hens passing through it. Our fish counts were only 6400 thru the end of March so, I expect the counts to be down a couple thousand this winter. This is what we all expected after a spotty season of fishing. We did see multiple fish days most of the winter but there were fewer of the double digit type days that many of us have come to expect. Fortunately, the current peak ocean conditions can give us all optimism for the years to come.

Here are a few more pics from this winter.

Chris Kricken with a March hen as shiny as they make 'em!

George Maybee with a wild hen from the North Umpqua

The Big One!

2009-03-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

Our fishing on the North remains spotty but it only takes one when it is a monster like Robert Wissmar "Wiz" caught today. The only grab we had today ended up being a 40.5" X 20" buck that gave Wiz about all he could handle - two huge leaps and 20 minutes of tug of war. Congrats Wiz - well deserved! The fish was big enough, the pic of it lying in the water is about as good as we could get. It was nearly impossible to hold it up for the classic fish and grin shot.

We had a dose of rain last night that put some grit in the water and bumped the river back up to a great height. The temps have dropped but the river should be in good condition for the next few days. I am still getting reports of fresh fish being caught in the lower North and I saw a half dozen fish at the ladder tonight so, there is reason to be optimistic.

MORE PICS!

2009-03-27T21:47:00.001-07:00

4 from a great day with Dave Laurence on the North!

I had a minute so I thought I would take the time to post these pics from a day with Super Dave Laurence. The fishing remains spotty on the NU but if you keep castings good things happen. Just ask Dave! Today we only had one and given the pressure on the river, I was happy with that. I am still getting reports of some new fish passing through the lower river so, I would expect our fishing to continue through the middle of next month.

STILL COMING!

2009-03-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

OUR BIG NATIVES ARE HERE!
I stopped by the fish ladder at Winchester on the NU yesterday after fishing and it was full of fish. Not only was it encouraging to see good numbers of chrome fish still making their way upriver, it was great to see a couple exceptional fish. I saw two fish in the 20lb class and at least 6 in the mid to high teens. I am guessing this will be one of those years we see our best fishing up in the fly water the last week of March and first half of April. Despite great water conditions, our fishing up there the last couple days has been slow. I just think we are a week or so away from having our biggest slug of fish reach the fly water.

On other fronts, our fishing on the coast will continue through the end of the month. I have been busy on the NU because that is where my anglers have opted to fish but, I have been getting good reports from some of our rivers on the coast side of the mountains. Two days ago a buddy of mine had a day they hooked 12 and landed 7. I am sure we could have headed west and had good fishing. That is the problem with the North - it is an addictive place that can consume an anglers interest. It is often times hard to get my anglers excited about venturing away no matter how good the prospects are elsewhere.

I am also looking forward to getting back down on the Rogue. I have heard reports that the majority of our fish have been holding up low in the system. We should see the dam counts do nothing but improve over the next couple weeks. My best fishing on the upper Rogue is generally the first two weeks of April.

I will also take this opportunity to post some pics from recent trips.

Steve Rose with a chrome buck still sporting sea lice with tails. The sea lice had not even lost their tails yet - only hours out of the salt!!! It was an amazingly strong fish. It was only one of a number of fish we had that day.

A couple more from John and Steve's trip.

Judy Nakawatase with a 33" chrome hen. The biggest fish we saw on a productive day over on the coast.

Shiz with one of his from a day he went 5 for 5.

Judy with one of the big bucks she had from a 3 day trip where they hooked 17!

Peak Season!

2009-03-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

We are heading into the peak of our winter season chasing big natives on the North Umpqua. I have not done the job I was hoping to do updating my daily report this season. I am finding that as a new father, my evening desk time is very limited when I am on the river guiding everyday. I have been rained out today so, I am taking this opportunity to post a report and share some pics from earlier this winter.

Up to this point, our fishing on the Umpqua has been slower than we are accustomed to. I believe our final fish counts will show that our numbers are down this season. We were all aware that our fishing was going to be slow on the South Umpqua because most of the hatchery juveniles that correspond to this years return died prior to their acclimation. As a result, I have spent a lot less time on the South this season. Unfortunately, the wild returns on the Main and North have been down as well. We have had some high points but overall, we have not consistently seen the crazy numbers my clients have come to expect. Don't get me wrong, the fishing has been consistent but, most days we have been working hard for 3 to 6 fish a day. When it comes to numbers this winter season, my best fishing has been on our coastal rivers. Here we have seen some huge number days. What are huge numbers you say? How about days when we went 14 for 18 or 10 for 16 on chrome bright fresh winters!!! I have included some pics below.

I also wanted to take this time to point out an issue we are experiencing on the Umpqua. As many of you are aware, we just won a battle this last year to stop the killing of wild steelhead on the entire Umpqua system. Fortunately, this new law corresponds with year when our fish counts will most likely be down. My question for ODFW who was in support of killing our wild fish is: "Aren't you glad we're not killing them this season?" It is a perfect example why all of us wild fish advocates are in favor of managing our fishery on the side of conservation rather than ODFW's outdated policies of maximum sustainable yield. 1 - this year has shown us that we can't count on hatcheries to provide us with an artificial fishery. The die off of nearly the entire South Umpqua hatchery plant has brought this fishery to its knees. Selfishly, it has directly affected my business. 2 - this year has also reminded us that our wild returns are cyclical and very unpredictable. Years like 2004 when our fish numbers were above the 10 year average, sparked a debate to start killing our wild fish. It was these years of bounty that enabled ODFW to reopen the system to the killing of our wild steelhead to harvest what they calculated to be a "surplus". We are now seeing the return from these years of harvest and it is no mystery to many of us why our numbers are down. Whether you believe our low counts this year are a direct result of killing our wild stocks or just coincidence, we must all agree it is a good thing we are not killing any of them this season. We are going to need every fish returning this to successfully spawn.

A perfect pair from a day with retired pro baseball player Scott Hatteburg and his brother Jeff from the Umpqua. Scott has become a good friend and regular client of mine. He is one of those guys that always seems to bring good luck with him.

Long time friend Mike Davis with a beauty from the North. This buck was one of several fish we had that day and is the biggest Mike has caught with me over the years.

After a great day on the coast a couple years ago where they had 11, Jeanette and Jamie were rained out of their trip last winter. They made up for it this year with fish like this nice buck Jeanette caught.

Our Winter Fish Are Here!

2009-01-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again when we get a shot at that fish of a life time. Over the years I have grown to prefer the cool days, green water and big fish that the winter season presents to us. This year we had the chance to start targeting winters a little early. As November came to a close I had a hard time putting the boat away for a break after the fall season. We had a shot of early fish that coincided with some perfect water conditions. If what I saw before Christmas is any indication of what we have to come this winter, then look out. It's going to be a great winter!

I generally consider the kick-off of my winter season after I have taken my break for the holidays. This year, I started things back up with a bang on the 28th of December. Unfortunately, this success was short lived. After a day on the coast where we went 5 for 5, old man winter hit us with a sucker punch. We had a rare snow fall on the low hills that was then followed by a warm rain. Our rivers just screamed out of shape. I tried fishing again on the the first of the year but ended up giving my guys the morning on me. The river was just barely out of shape.

Anyway, we are back under way and if the forecast holds true, we are going to have good fishing for a while. We have enough options to fish in the region that most days there is a river fishing within shot of home base. However, each winter is different. In 2005 I had to only cancel one day all season because of the rivers being blown, where this year I have already had to cancel 7 days. The low snow killed us the last week. Now that the white stuff is gone we should go back into a normal winter pattern.

Check back in! I hope to do a better job of updating my reports this winter. We'll see about that!

8/19/08

2008-08-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

A bit of weather has moved in and the cooler temps seem to have picked the fishing up a bit. Unfortunately, as is always the case when we see some rain this time of year, the crowds have shown up as well. I have a feeling our glimpse of productive fishing may be short lived. I just don't feel like we are fishing over enough fish in the fly water right now to withstand much pressure. A good number of the pullouts had cars in them this morning so I felt fortunate to have each of my clients land a fish this morning. Fran Borcali had a beautiful hen on a dry first thing this morning and Van ended the morning with a bright wild buck. The sun is back out this afternoon and by the end of the week we are supposed to be back to normal summer temps. We will see what happens.

08/12/08

2008-08-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

Despite having great water conditions and good fish counts over Winchester Dam, our fishing on the North Umpqua remains slower than normal. Many unguided anglers are fishing 2 or 3 days per steelhead. Even anglers fishing with a guide can expect to work for each fish. Outside of a few special days, my clients have been bringing only a fish or two to the fly each day this summer. Nobody is quite sure what to make of this season. Some suggest many of our wild fish that usually spend their summer in the fly-only section made an early escape into Steamboat Creek with our higher than normal flows. Others feel that many of our fish are opting to hold down in the middle river because we have not had the warm water temps to force them up the river. We are all hoping for the latter and our fishing will only pick up as these fish make their way up river. Time will only tell. Until then, pick a favorite fly you have confidence in and keep swinging - enjoy the beauty of the North Umpqua until one climbs on!