The recent run of summery weather has been great for the fishing on the McKenzie. Green Caddis and numerous other tasty bugs have the fish up and eating every day. With a moderate snowpack, and mild weather on tap from here on out, we are looking forward to another awesome summer season here in the Valley!  Enjoy a couple of shots from the last few days.

See you on the river!

My father Fred and I recently returned from an adventure to Mangrove Cay Club in the Bahamas.  We had planned the trip for over a year in hopes of getting him into his first-ever bonefish.  For me, it was a return to the flats after an absence of about 20 years.

Coming as it did on the heels of my trip to Brazil, I had spent the two weeks leading up to that trip wrapping up a box of sure-fire bonecrushers.After a reasonably uncomfortable red-eye, cross-country flight, we arrived in Nassau dazed and excited.  A short hop followed over to South Andros Island, and Mangrove Cay where we were to spend the next 5 days.Dawn broke with clear calm conditions and not a ripple on the water of the Middle Bight out in front of the lodge.In other words, conditions were perfect for good bonefishing!  We were paired with veteran Mangrove Cay guide, Kiki Adderley, for a crash course in the finer points of angling for the elusive “ghosts of the flats.”Fred and I took turns on the deck at the front of the boat. Kiki called out the incoming targets, and we each landed several nice fish from 3-4 lbs through the course of the morning.No matter how good of an angler you think you are, this fishing is challenging.  Fish are hard to spot (Fred admitted on day 2 that, even though he had landed a half dozen bones, he had only seen one before it was hooked).  Success was often only possible by the skill of the guides in directing the cast and retrieve when the fish were in range.

The next day, we woke to less-than-optimal weather conditions.After the morning rain squalls passed, we were left with a freshening wind from the southwest and intermittent clouds, making for much more difficult fishing than the first day.  Fred got a couple from the boat with Kiki, while I opted to wade some promising areas, leading to several shots at cruising fish and one landed.  We hoped for better weather the next day.We woke the next day to gusting winds and heavy rain buffeting the cabin.

Not good.  A couple boats from a neighboring lodge braved the conditions, the guests looking miserable in full rain suits and taking a beating from the chop.  Alton Bain, one of the owners of Mangrove Cay Club, and the guides huddled and finally decided (after several false starts), that there would be no fishing that day.  Ouch!  I took some solace in remembering being weathered out on a bonefish trip to the Florida Keys 20 years before.  That experience taught me that bones are fair-weather friends: on days like this, bonefish action would not be good.  So we had a day in the lodge.  There are worse places to ride out a storm.The next day, the wind shifted to the east, and the rain abated.  Fred and I went for a long run to the cays of the western end of the Middle Bight with guide, Percy King.  On this day, I had several shots at bigger single and paired bonefish, but the clouds and chop, along with murk in the water often made it hard to see them before they were too close to the boat for a good presentation.  Even Percy had trouble picking them up.  So most shots were like, “2:00 – 20 feet!”  And when I did get a fish to respond to the fly, the unsettled weather had them even more wary than usual.  Lots of refusals. In the end, although we were on fish all day, including some very nice sized ones, we only got one to hand.

On the last morning, Fred and I opted to fish before our afternoon flight out of Mangrove Cay.  The weather was finally clearing, but the steady wind persisted.We fished this day in closer range of camp.  Our guide, Prince Moxey, was all-in on my desire to target larger fish.  Fred graciously let me have the front of the boat for the entire session.  Perhaps too, he didn’t relish the prospect of trying to cast in the steady 20-knot wind.

This turned out to be my favorite session of the trip.  Prince encouraged me to dig into my fly box for something meatier than the standard redhead Gotcha that most of the guides favor.  On the premise that big bones like big flies, I tied on Gumby’s Big Bone, a fly Scott had tied and given me for the trip.  It worked!  Bigger singles and fish from pairs ate it with confidence.  Soon I had landed 4 and lost a couple others, although none cracked the 5 lbs+ mark.We ended the session by poling a few passes on a giant flat in mid-channel of the Bight.  Prince said this area is rarely fished, and that the deepwater bones that are found here are bigger and stronger than elsewhere in the region.  I was on high alert at all times.On our last pass, I saw a big green-backed bone meandering along the edge of the drop-off at a good distance to get the cast to him.  Looked to be maybe 6 pounds and clearly would have been the best of the trip.  Alas, the wind and the whims of fishy discretion were not in my favor.  The big fly landed a little too close, the fish noted its presence, made a pulse-quickening feint in the direction of the sinking morsel, and then broke my heart by turning and bolting off the flat to the deep water.

Back at the lodge, Fred and I packed up and readied for the return to everyday reality.  Although the weather had made it tough for us, the trip was a success by any metric.  But as we left the beautiful lodge and the warm and attentive staff, heading for the airport,  I couldn’t help but feel that I had left some great opportunities on the table.  Hopefully it won’t take another 20 years to get my next shot.Two Dudes Fly Fishing is your resource for adventure travel off the beaten track.  Give us a call for information on hosted trips and details for adventures of your own.

I just returned from a 5-week fly fishing adventure in the Amazon Rainforest, courtesy of Agua Boa Amazon Lodge and Sweetwater Travel Company.  This fishery has always been on my radar, but this was the first time that all the stars aligned for me to make the trip.  And what a trip it was!  A true kaleidoscope of experiences at one of the best fishing lodges in the world.  Here is a virtual sampler of the action from the Equator:

The launching point for the adventure is the capital of the state of Amazonas, Manaus.  Located at the confluence of two huge rivers, the Rio Negro and Rio Solimoes, Manaus is the nominal head of the Brazilian Amazon. 

Hopping a Cessna Caravan and flying north out of Manaus, the transition from city of 2 million to untracked jungle is rather abrupt.After about a 2-hour flight into one of the world’s last great wilderness regions, the first view of the Rio Agua Boa quickens the pulse. Unlike typical Brazilian “black-water” rivers where blind-casting with big lures is the norm, here the fishing is 100% fly fishing, and sight-fishing opportunities abound for the legendary “Tucunare Asu,” known to the outside world as trophy peacock bass.

The lodge is very comfortable, located right on the river, and surprisingly devoid of mosquitoes.  The acidity of the river doesn’t support larval growth, and therefore, Malaria, while endemic to the region as a whole is not found here.  That isn’t to say that there are no insects here.  This is the jungle after all.  A little caution (and some DEET) around dawn and dusk helps prevent discomfort from the no-see-ums, as an unlucky angler, who chose to wear shorts on the first evening in camp, learned the hard way. But no-see-ums aside, you never knew what creepy-crawly would emerge into the light at any given time.  Here are some of the cool bugs that showed up:

Then of course there are the birds.  This place is truly a birdwatcher’s paradise.  Even a rank amateur like me racked up nearly 50 new species for my life list. Toucans, macaws, storks, and some super weird stuff too.  Like this one, the hoatzin, which eats only leaves, has a predigestive fermentation chamber in it’s gut (like a cow) and thus smells like cow manure.  And they’re known to be social.Here are some more shots of just a few of the awesome birds:

And of course the jungle is replete with incredible critters of all stripes. . . and spots!

But of course, what most draws anglers to the Agua Boa, when all is said and done, is the incredible fishing.  The Amazon Basin as a whole hosts more unique fish species than the Atlantic Ocean.  With 4 species of peacock bass, several species of piranha, dozens of species of catfish, plus arawana, giant arapaima, oscars, dogfish, traiera, stingrays of all sizes and colors. . . an angler’s mind is truly boggled by the diversity of fish.  One literally can’t so much as glance in the river without seeing fish of some sort. 

And one thing that truly sets this fishery apart, is the quality of the guide staff.  Hired from local villages, these guys are totally in their element on the water.  And yet, they are truly world-class professional fly fishing guides, skilled and versed in the game of big-game angling. Here is a sampling of the incredible fish and the guides and anglers who love them:

As you can see, the Agua Boa is a real “Walk on the Wild Side” for any angler looking for something beyond trout.

The lodge staff, the facilities, the fishing, and the Amazon Rainforest itself combine to make this one of the best fly fishing trips out there. I can’t wait to go back!

Special Thanks to Taff Price and Carlos Azevedo for use of photos and for spiritual guidance.

Here’s a little glimpse I was able to smuggle out through the limited bandwidth available.  More to come when the bug bites heal. . .

Courtesy of our friend, Matt Harris, here is a teaser.  Stay tuned. . .

Great fishing for winter steelhead has persisted through the first month of the year.  I recently shared a day with a talented young angler named Max, who applied his naturally fishy nature to the task of catching his first steelhead on a fly rod.  Suffice to say, he succeeded!  Congratulations, Max!

Although we’re finally getting some decent rain, it should only make Homer happier. Catch you on the dropping side of the storm!

The recent run of dry weather has led to historically low river levels across Western Oregon.

Steelhead fly fishing has been very good at times on the larger systems in our region.  When (if?) the rains of winter do come, steelhead will be ascending all the rivers of the Oregon Coast Range.  Dates are filling now for what should be a great 2014 winter season.

Here are some shots from the run so far. Let’s go chase some chrome!

We’ve had a bit of a cold snap here in the Pacific NW this week, to say the least. With temperatures dipping below zero farenheit at the Eugene Airport after a strong front dropped up to a foot of snow, most everyone has hunkered down to wait for the thaw.

Over on the coast, however, the weather was merely crappy and cold, and the rivers were in perfect shape:  low enough that the bait and gear guys had given up, but high enough that fresh fish were still coming in on every high tide.

Anglers who braved the white-knuckle road conditions were rewarded with uncrowded fly fishing for ocean-fresh chinook salmon.  And the fish were biting.  Meeting up with my buddies, Barrett and Chris, for a day of “test fishing,” I was encouraged to see that Barrett’s previous day guiding had been successful.

The day was dynamic: sun, wind, rain, sleet. You had to time your lunch for the right weather window while keeping flies in the water.

By the end of it all, we had piled up a blizzard of chrome encounters that left us all dazed and sore.

The next two days guiding old friend and ace angler, Craig Smelter, were also great.  We barely noticed the bitter wind at our backs as Craig made the most of his opportunities, bringing some magazine-cover-worthy kings to hand (despite having been impaled by his fly rod).

Bottom line: kings were biting flies, if you had the right patterns down in the right spots. Craig found some evidence that some obviously frustrated “fisherman” had been tying his own special flies.

Returning to snowbound Eugene, bruised and happy, the roads slick and treacherous, I heard from everyone about how much fun they had had weathering the storm: sledding, snowball fights, 7-car pile-ups on Willamette Street.  Heading out to the local sled hill with the neighborhood kids, I was warmed by the glow of hot fishing during the historic cold snap of 2013.

The 2013 salmon season has been one to remember. Fly fishing for Fall kings has been fair-to-good since early October. We’re looking ahead to another month of action before the transition into winter steelhead season. Here are a couple of images from the front lines:

It has been a nice fall for fishing here in the Valley. Here are some of the moments from the season so far. There’s no place like home!