Bill Lettinga and group joined Capt. Don and I today for some sight fishing for trout action today. The day was frustrating with four or five large browns feeding in our area and seeming to refuse our drifts. A couple boat position changes and we were into fish with the fish winning most of the time due to the small hooks and light tippet. We fished mainly size 16 and 18 sucker egg patterns mixed with an occasional nymph. Sucker action is in full swing so while your waiting for bugs do a little nymphing.

Tight lines,

Steve

To say today was a “good day” would be an understatement! Jon Rudolph and Wayne Blessing joined me for and afternoon/evening of trout fishing. We started nymph fishing and transitioned to dries as the evening progressed. The trout this evening were very selective and we changed patterns often only to have the water blanketed at dark by Gray Drakes and March Browns. Cahills and caddis were present from time to time with most fish keying on the larger dries. Pictured is Wayne with an outstanding 7+lb brown taken on 5x tippet with a size 16 sucker egg pattern. Jon took a very nice 19″ brown on a gray drake at dark.

Tight lines,

Steve

This morning was “guides’ day out” with Captain Don Graham doing the honors at the helm of his Alumaweld with Captain’s Fred Vargas and Tom Kuieck in tow. Our day scouting trip, which we thought would see us stripping streamers and drifting sucker egg patterns, threw us a curve ball in the form of an extended grey drake spinner fall! Oh, darn!

Two hours plus later and ten solid trout in the net, the fall was over, and there we sat smiling and feeling all was well with the world. Absolutely top drawer dry fly fishing—all under a warming late May sky! In short, a great morning of outstanding dry fly fishing with two great guides and friends. Posted are samples of the browns we brought to hand.

Here’s hoping the drakes continue to do their thing. We’ll be there to cheer them on!

Tom Kuieck

Fished with Scott Misaad and his father-in-law Sandy today. We started the day with streamers with a couple decent trout and smallie coming to hand. The water must have warmed enough for the Red Horse suckers to start spawning finally; we spent the majority of the day sight fishing to the rainbows and browns that fed on the eggs they were spawning. Sandy landed a nice drop back male steelhead on 5x tippet. We had a very close encounter with four nice sturgeon; one of which allow us some nice photographs in the shallow water. I will post the pictures as soon as Scott sends them to me since I forgot the camera today.

Tight lines,

Steve

I had the opportunity to fish with Attorney Mike Mathews again today. We started early by stripping streamers for trout in the usual areas with only a few chasers. We made a trip up river to try a different section and happened upon a nice pod of steelhead and spent a good part of the afternoon indicator fishing them. With the stiff breeze and lack of cooperation from the trout today this was a much needed reward! The evening emergence’s have really ramped up with the warm temperatures; Gray Drakes, Isonychia, March Browns, Light Cahils, and a fair amount of Caddis have been filling the evening sky. Evening and Morning spinner falls have been consistent with the trout now feeling comfortable looking up.

Tight lines,

Steve

Today Rick Blouw joined me with his father for a day of streamer action. Action indeed; Rick had more big trout attack his fly than I have seen in quite some time. How many fish did we catch? Well lets just say luck was on the side of the fish; Rick had better than 15 big trout come to play only to miss the fly and sit there looking puzzled why they did not get their prey. We had three or four trout in the 4lbs plus category and several other very good fish chase down Galloups articulated fathead in olive size 4. Another close call was a 5+ pound smallie that managed to through the hook! To say I had an explanation of the day- that why its called fishing! Ricks prowess was frazzled but talk about action!

Tight lines,

Steve

Sometimes good things are just meant to be. Long time client Ben brought one of his business customers, Chris, for a day of streamer stripping. Blue skies, calm winds, lower waters levels—a day you simply want to be out-of-doors and especially on the river—regardless of the fact that bright light and good fly fishing usually are not the best of companions. Nonetheless, we started off and quickly began hooking planted steelhead on a smolt imitating streamer tied by the guide, no less. Ben then boated an 18″ rainbow, and we were off and running, only to begin hooking very large red horse suckers on green caddis, stone flies, hex nymphs, and even our killer steelhead plant streamer! We then shifted to fishing steelhead since we kept running over them as we drifted downstream.

Ben and Chris both hooked two steelhead, only to lose them, one a bright chrome hen. Meanwhile, we continued to catch planters and redhorse. The redhorse parade was getting so long that when Ben let out a whoop and declared he had another steelhead, Chris and I had our doubts. Probably just another redhorse, we thought. Our skepticism only increased when we saw the fish flash golden below us as it bulled its way close to the bottom. Suddenly, though, Chris yelled, “It’s a brown!” I looked back and sure enough, Ben had a brown trout and not just any brown on his Antron hex pattern. The fish was large, powerful, and completely unwilling to come to net. So, down the river we charged after it in hot pursuit. When I saw the size of the brown and remembered Ben’s longing for a special brown to add to his list of memorable fish, I said a quick prayer: “Tom, don’t screw this net job up; Ben will never forgive me!”

As the pictures attest, much to my relief and Ben’s happiness, we finally slipped the brown into the net and broke out the camera. Eight pounds right on the Boga mark and 24″ on the measurement decal. In short, a football. The picture cannot do justice to how fat this fish was. It’s belly was packed with who knows what, and its “shoulders” were thick and broad. I cannot recall any seeing a brown trout any fatter. It will forever be my operational definition of “pig.”

Congratulations, Ben! What a way to finish the day and week!

Tom Kuieck

So what happens when three guides have a day off and decide to go fishing? They cast and cast and cast some more! Today Don Graham, Fred Vargas and I took to the water to pull “big uglies” and scare up a a big brown or two; the only thing I think we managed was to land a few trees and some “government cheese”. The catch of the day was Fred’s 2lbs smallie. We did solve a few of the worlds problems and give each other a hard time. For all of you customers that we have miss led into believing we have all the answers, today was our “just desserts”! The river still showed plenty of steelhead for those of you looking for one last steelhead fix before summer and caddis were popping here and there for the early dry fly enthusiest.

Tight lines,

Steve

What a difference 24 hours makes this time of year; it seems with last nights thunderstorms the population of steelhead remaining in the system reduced by 50%. Today I actually had to look for fish. Mark Harmsen joined me today and found great success at our 3rd stop of the day landing three steelhead with this beautiful chrome hen coming to net 3rd. This was my last official steelhead trip for the spring season; we will continue to keep the boat stocked with steelhead gear through the end of the month but we will now begin trout fishing.

A special thanks to all of our guests joining us this spring steelhead season! We value your business greatly and look forward to seeing many of you again this summer and fall.

As we turn towards trout fishing we will do our best to keep the hatch reports and fishing reports as accurate as possible to help you prepare for your trip to the river.

Tight lines,

Steve

I had the opportunity to fish with my good friend Wade Walcott two of his co-workers Erin and Rob from Pioneer Construction. This trip was a first time fly fishing experience for all three. They all took to the fine art of “chuck n duck” and found a great deal of success on this late season trip. Green caddis provided most of the action followed by pheasant tail nymphs. Pictured are a few of today’s fish.

 Tight lines,

Steve