Blue Skies Ahead!

There’s no denying it, this winter was brutal for us steelhead anglers. We had to deal with harsh extremes of having too much water and then too little, accompanied by severe cold. Now that spring is here, most folks are stowing their steelhead rods and looking east for some trout to help get the skunk off. Not me. Not while some of the hottest steelhead of the year are in our local waters. 

That's right, you read that correctly. It is summer steelhead season now. It seems like most folks don't realize just how good April and May can be for early summer steelhead. Brothers and sisters, I am here to tell you, you are missing out if you sleep on these fish. The Clackamas River hosts a nice little run of hatchery Skamania summer steelhead. While they don't do all that well as a hatchery fish, they more than make up for it in how they eat flies and fight like freight trains. Nothing beats the heart-pounding runs these guys give. You may even think you hooked a salmon, that is, until they come cartwheeling out of the water several times while you're checking to make sure you have enough backing left on the reel. We have seen good numbers of willing fish in the last couple of weeks. The weather has been impeccable. No more being stuck in multiple layers and rain jackets. Bring out the sun shirts and buffs. 

The tackle of choice, at the moment, is our typical winter steelhead setups with Skagit heads and sink tips. A good 13ft 7wt with a matching head is all you'll need. With water temps climbing up to perfect, we don't necessarily need the heavier sink tips or flies. These fish will come up to eat. You can get away with more typical summer gear like Scandi lines and dry setups as things continue to warm up and water drops. For now, I am running Skagits. The flies of choice were about 2 inches long, with some lightweight, like a brass cone. Colors of choice for me have mainly been a black and red combo, and more natural tones like black and olive. Orange and red wouldn't be a bad idea either. 

So as I said, pull those Spey rods back out and get out there! Don't miss out on these chrome missiles. The spring swing is a real thing! 

If you would like to book a day with me, please contact the shop or call me. I'd be more than happy to show you around and get you dialed in. 

Cheers and tight lines

Bryan Stinson

RiverWise Anglers