As we segue into the fall season, the days are getting shorter, the mornings crisp and cool.  Anglers across the northwest are increasingly focussed on the coast and the promise of fresh fall chinook salmon.

But for those anglers wanting to escape the intensity of going coastal, there has been plenty of action closer to home.   Steelhead success has been slow but steady in spite of this year’s low return, and the river has been uncrowded.

Meanwhile, trout fishing on the McKenzie has been excellent, especially on the cloudier days. With more cool wet weather in the forecast, and the fall insect hatches coming off daily, fishing should be awesome for the next month or so.

The heat is on in late summer here in the Valley.  We’ve thus far been an oasis of clean air in the vast cloud of wildfire smoke engulfing the west coast.  Fingers are crossed that the winds continue to spare us!  In the meantime, fishing has been steady.  Trout action on the McKenzie has been the highlight with plenty of redside and breadside rainbows keeping rods bent.

Over on the sister river, the steelhead fishing has been pretty ok.  We’ve been averaging a fish per outing, despite the recent heat wave.  Best action tends to be before the inner tube hatch starts.

We’re looking forward to the cooling waters of September and October to provide some great fishing for both trout and steelhead.  Hope to see you on the water!

Summer has begun, and the trout are biting.  We’ve been enjoying the typical panoply of June weather, with everything from full sunshine to thunderous cloudbursts.

Fishing has been excellent throughout the river.  Wild redside rainbows are in the daily mix along with plenty of breadsides rounding out the action.

On any day, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is a pretty awesome place to be.

Meanwhile over on the sister river, steelhead numbers are steadily increasing.  Fish are being landed here and there, and it looks like we will have contestable conditions for the latter part of the summer and into the fall.  An encouraging prospect after last year’s dismal return.  Stay tuned. The swing is on. . .

As the fabled big-bug hatch winds down in the desert, we look ahead to summer days on the local waters of the McKenzie and Willamette.  But before we do that, here’s a look back at the last few weeks of adventure in the incomparable Deschutes Canyon.

Thanks to Scott Blackwell of High Desert Drifters and to Ethan and Kyle of Ethan Nickel Outfitters for black-belt outfitting. And special appreciation to Ty Holloway for his bravery in a moment of mortal peril in a Madras hotel room.

It’s Springtime on the McKenzie, and the fish are jumping!  The Green Caddis are out, and trout are showing their excitement by leaping clear out of the heavy riffles to attack these bouncing bugs.  The first significant annual big-bug hatch makes for some of our favorite fishing of the year!

It’s also the perfect time to bust out the Tenkara Rods, as these big active bugs are best danced on the heavy riffle water near the boat.  A recent pure Tenkara outing with Fred and John was an excellent case in point.

Trout are on the bite!  See you out there!

Just returned from another few weeks in the Equatorial Amazon Rainforest chasing Peacock Bass with the crew from Agua Boa Amazon Lodge.  Conditions this season were ideal for sight fishing with low clear water and healthy fish populations.  Last season’s high water made for some tougher fishing, but the fish sure seemed to like it!  Agua Boa Anglers this year found plenty of big hungry peacock bass around when the waters receded for the dry season.

Here’s a photographic slice of the action for your perusal.  Enjoy!

Happy 2018 from the Dudes! It’s time to look ahead to all the great fishing coming up in the early part of the new year.  Front and center in our thoughts (and conveniently located in the backyard!) is the venerable McKenzie River.  While the masses try to beat their buddies to launch in the dark and rain for winter steelhead, it’s nice to remember that there’s some very good wild trout fishing around here in late winter and early Spring.

Once again, we’re offering our

Spring Special McKenzie River Half-Day Rate: $350 for a 4-hour tour.

*Trips are timed to be on the river at the best time of day.

*Limited to 1-2 anglers per boat.

*All flies, fishing gear, drinks, and water provided. BYO lunch.

*The McKenzie River Spring Special Half-Day Rate is good between January 1 and April 20, 2018. 

*Full-day trips with lunch are available at the standard rate during the Spring Special Season.

If you’ve been feeling the need to flex some graphite, early season trout are on the bite!

As we transition from the balmy calm of Autumn into the gales and travails of more wintery weather, the focus lately has been on the smaller-river Kings over on the coast.

While this year’s late-fall King return has thus far been mostly underwhelming, angler effort has been, at times, overwhelming.  But every Oregon “hog line” sports an entertaining mix of colorful characters.

But for those willing to tough out the sometimes volatile weather and hours of fruitless retrieves, there is still plenty of solitary backcast room to be found out there.

So far it seems that this season’s return may be defined by the drop in productivity in the near-shore ocean waters over the last couple of years.  Or maybe the big numbers will be later this time. These things are cyclical: this summer, Alaska has had great salmon production, which typically means we do not.  But for those willing to roll the dice, there will still be moments of magic to be found.

The 2017 Fall Season has been notable for an unusually paltry summer steelhead return to the upper Valley.  On local steelhead trips lately, the weather, water, and coverage has been excellent.  But the results, alas, have not.

Over on the Deschutes, fishing has been better, although not particularly hot.  A recent multi-day outing produced a handful of steelhead hookups along with some great trout action.

Back home on the west side of the Cascades, our attention has been focussing more and more to the coast and the chance to tangle with the King of all Oregon Gamefish: the Fall Chinook.  When the tides have aligned with decent weather and stable river levels, the Kings have been on the bite.  It’s a good feeling to head into the winter with some slabs in storage.  Now that the rains are in, the deck of opportunities shuffles.  See you on the drop!

Fall is our favorite time of year in Oregon.  Just about any direction you can point a fly rod around here will lead you to some incredible fishing.  Coastal salmon, high desert steelhead, trophy trout in the high lakes;  it can be hard to choose which way to cast.

Fortunately for us, we get to enjoy one of the West’s best trout fisheries right here in the backyard.  The McKenzie has consistently reminded us this year just how lucky we are to live nearby.  Wild trout fishing has simply been excellent over the last few weeks. Since the smoke cleared out, replaced by cool wet weather fronts and crisp cool sunshine, anglers plying the waters have been treated to some of the best trout action of the season.

Fall is here.  See you on the River!