The McKenzie Angler

Solo Deschutes Camping (end of June)

Brian Marz — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:53:57 +0000

: Lower Deschutes in the end of June 2010

Late Posting, but a fun time to relax in complete solitude with my dog Filbert. Just he and I, and literally one guy I talked to at the put in, and one boat passed me the whole time. Amazing for a stretch that gets heavily pounded during the stonefly hatch, and right after it; there was nobody out there……

: Here we go…..boat behind on trailer. Totally spur of the moment too!

: All of the food and drink stocked spur of the moment right from the house….

: Boat in view…..

: Self portrait with the standard beautiful rugged Deschutes scenery in the backround.

: Rods are rigged up and ready to roll….

: Pleny of flies to choose from…..and then some……

: He already had the right idea……..

: It is so spectacular and every corner.

: The spur of the moment fishing bum food fix (shhh! don’t tell anyone!)

: A nice bow on a stone…..Wait!…I thought the hatch was over…

: You don’t see this in the city….

: Sniffing the sage……

: A good productive spot this day

: Stonefly Nymph Pinned…..

: Who said the stonefly hatch was over…..well it was, but it worked a little.

: This is living proof of fish eating golden stones well after the hatch was finished.

: Landing mode

: These rainbows are pretty.

: Sweet spot

: Sweet!

: Another fine rainbow….

: Nice rainbow trout

The fishing was fair at best, but the fish are always worth it on the Deschutes. Even if it is fair, when you tie into one, they buzz your reel very hard, and they are healthy and very pretty. The scenery is always awesome, and as usual; another good time spent on the Deschutes River.

Deschutes Trout-Some Pics from the Stonefly Hatch

Brian Marz — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:09:45 +0000

Here are some pics from the stonefly hatch back in June…..

More stones that hatched out...

Hold on!

Aren't these cool looking....

Another tight line!

Tight line!

A fine specimen....

Smallmouth Action! Red Hot!

Brian Marz — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:30:17 +0000

This is the time of the year when it is super fun to wet wade in warm water and catch lots of smallmouth bass. This day was no exception for that case………

It is so much fun catching mass numbers of fish like this.... These fish will take anything from poppers on the surface to dropped nymphs through the water column. See you another time..... The nymphing can be very successful with white rubber legged patterns. It is easy to see them get eaten and the fish love that color as well. Once more slab.... Some pools require the nymphs to be dropped and then re-drifted; while other spots can hoax the fish with small strips. It takes a little code cracking for each spot, but once you figure it out; you can rack in the numbers. What a handsome fish! The fish fish very well, and they are super aggressive when you present the flies to them the way that they want it. Steelhead nymphs work very well also..... Just remember to adapt and to not use one method or one fly. Change it up, and change up your techniques and you will catch many fish. When they are like this, they take a while to get in. They are very deep bodied fish.... The red eyes are very cool looking! Show us that grill with Mr. Wiggles hanging out Those rubber legs again... The trophy sized ones put up a serious battle! Nice profile....: What a nicely colored fish with gorgeous red eyes too!

One of the many.....

Bonefish flies work well!

This was the cookie cutter nice fish.

It's all about white rubber legs for "drop nymphing"

Two at a time...(and quite often)

So many of these...

Smile!

They do catch airs (especially when they are big)

See you later....

Summertime Cutthroats

Brian Marz — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:01:31 +0000

Muddle Minnow in the grill....

Another nice cutthroat....

Classic Cutthroat Gill Markings

A dry and dropper nymph took this fish (and many more....)

Steelhead Time……………..

Brian Marz — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 04:37:34 +0000

High water summer steelhead from the McKenzie

It is almost time for summer steelhead in the Willamette Valley, and this year is shaping up to be a good one. As of the last few days of fish counting, the numbers of summer run steelhead have been the closest to the year of 2004, where the counts were some of the highest ever recorded. Hopefully the trend of having the high numbers keeps up, and we can be catching fish with regularity in the South Valley very soon.

Willamette River Steelhead "Town Run"

McKenzie River Steelhead

The earliest steelhead tend to be some very radical fish to handle on a 7 or an 8wt rod. They literally can jump out of the water 5 feet above the water’s surface at times. They make runs that rips off line fast, and before you know it; you are 100 feet into the backing chasing it down in the driftboat. They are supercharged when you get them this early.

High water springtime Summer Run Steelhead - McKenzie

The fish are very aggressive also, and they seem to really move a lot for your fly this time of the year. The question is whether you can land them or not; since the first couple of minutes are completely out of control and the fish owns you. After that part you can fight them for a few runs, and then the landing mode is another stressful time for the angler. Once you get one of these early Willamette Valley summer run steelhead in, you will be one totally stoked angler! Watch the numbers on the Willamette Falls Fish Counts (which is linked on this site) and you will know that you have to hit the water ASAP! It’ll be time to take off from work and book a date with me to show you how to get into these amazing fish.

Summertime admiration....

This was while giving a lesson on how to cast the fly rod.....

Fish on!!! Woo Hoo!

Early morning steelhead - McKenzie River