I?m going overseas in october to fish for chinook and steelhead in Oregon. I will bring a two-handed 9wt. and a 9 ft. 8wt. We?ll be fishing the North Umpqua and a number of smaller rivers and my question is; what lines should I bring?
As I understand, you have to go really deep with big flies to get a chance on the Kings whereas steelhead at times prefer a dryfly. We will hire a guide a couple of days and I?m sure they can provide lots of information on this. It?s only that I want to be well prepared from day one.
Any other suggestions and tips regarding my upcoming adventure would be highly appreciated!
Perry you will love the North Umpqua. I use a floating line for steelhead there and the other guys I know that fish it use the same. I believe the regulations use to specify floating lines only. It is single barbless unweighted flies with no added weight attached to fly or line. Most fish that I have caught and seen caught were by skating a large fly across the tail end of the holes. Large flies are a must it seems. Size 2 and dark colors in blue ,black ,and purples. Once in awhile they will grab a large brown muddler minnow. The river is very cold and the bottom is as slick as they come. Make sure you have studded waders. A wading staff is a good idea also. If you get a chance give Joe Howell at the Blue Heron Fly Shop a call. He lives on that river and knows it probably better than anyone.
Perry,
You might find this link interesting; http://flyanglersonline.com/features/gr … rthumpqua/
As for the line of choice, I would start with the lines recommended by the manufacturer. If it were me, I’d take a WF Floating and a WF Sinking for each rod I intend to use. Better yet, see if you can find the guide service you’re going to use before you leave, and ask them what’s best. Good luck, have fun, and we expect a full pictorial report upon your return.
God Bless,
Perry: Don’t be surprised to run into a few ole Swedes where your going fishing. This was at one time prime logging country and it there were allot of your countrymen who made short work of some very big Douglas Fir and Sitka Spruce trees. You will see reminents of logging mills still around. If you have never been here before, you may be able to find the movie “Sinetimes a Great Notion” starring Paul Newman. It’s about the last of the logging, as pretty close to real as you will find. Not the N.Umpqua but just about as close as it gets. Enjoy your time in beautiful coastal Oregon.
Sometimes a Great Notion was filmed in the 1960’s on the Siletz River which is about 20 miles North of Newport. It is also a great fishing river. Don’t forget that there are large striped bass in the Umpqua. I don’t know what month is best for them. The other rivers don’t have the single, barbless, unweighted rules.
So big flies it is, I need to go back to my vise, so far I have tied mostly on size 4 and 6.
Jonezee, I didn?t know that swedes went there to work, that?s interesting. I guess whereever you find threes and logging industry you also find a bunch of swedes.
