Fly fishing for steelhead

[MicroFish]

I was standing in the lower Sandy yesterday throwing some steelies around when I noticed a young gent walking upstream with fly fishing gear.
He proceded up about 50 yrds above me & started doing his thing---absolutely awesome--never seen
anything like it. You can't do a traditional flycast because there's the river bank 6 ft behind
you. This guy was doing a modified roll cast with
his 14'rod--kind of a 2 stage cast--and he could shoot that fly (which, by the way, he tied up himself) clear across the river. We quit fishing
at the same time--no hits--and chatted as we walked back downstream. The technique that he was
using was that of European anglers after Atlantic salmon & he really had it down cold--looked pretty tough to me. I'm glad I got to see that.
This personable chap posessed much angling savy
& had ifish written all over him so I asked him
if he was a member. He hadn't heard of us so I
filled him in telling him that there was a wealth of info to be had on our site. He said he'd check it out---hope he does--& signs on,too

[Gizmo Man]

He was using what is called a spey rod. This type of fishing has become very popular the last 5 yrs or so.

If you would like to learn flyfishing you should check out some clubs.

I am currently involved with a club in vanc. and we have quite a few members from Portland.

check out: http://www.clark-skamania-flyfishers.org/

If you want more information let me know.

Giz... :smile:

[Pete]

Micro,
Gizmo is right and the club he suggests is excellent. Another resource you might consider is the Anglers' Club of Portland. Meetings are announced in the outdoor activity section of the Oregonian.

Spey fly fishing is pretty remarkable. It's a lot like riding a bike ... it takes a little practice and a "touch" to get it, but it's pretty effortless once you find the groove. And I agree with you, it is awesome to watch! It's a great technique for the tree-lined rivers of the Northwest!

[Thumper]

Cripes. I am just now beginning to learn something about jig fishing, and now here we go on flyfishing, even spey-rod fishing, for steelhead. I'm too old to learn anything new! I wonder if an old double-hook sunrise Okie would still work.

[Cutter]

Nice Gizmo, thanks for the link, I have been looking for more information and classes to help bring up my Flyfishing skills, almost all self taught. I will be checking out this site, when I get a little quiet time this evening. Thanks a again.

[ampersat]

i'm glad someone put this post out here so i have a place to ask this question:
how much fly rod do you need for winter steelhead? what about coho?

i have a 5-6 wt rod and was thinking of trying it for winter steelhead. i know i'm gonna get dragged up and down the river for quite some time so i won't do it near anyone else.

[Catch 22]

You could probably get away with that rod, although it would be less than ideal. You'd want a 7/8 reel with a decent drag system. I went with a reddington large arbor reel on a 8wt. St. Croix Imperial rod. Total cost with line was around $375. I didn't get junk but definately not top of the line stuff. You can easily spend a lot more money than this.

[Gizmo Man]

The link I posted is to the club that I am currently president of for another month. After 2 yrs. its time for someone else.

Club dues are $20/yr and we meet the 3rd Wed of the month at the Crossing restaurant in Vancouver.


But for those who are interested, the club offers some great opportunities for no or little cost.

Currently, one of our members is conducting a net building class...cost for class is materials only.

Coming up is a rod building (materials only), fly tying ($30 but includes a 1 yr membership in the club) and a full one day introdution to fly fishing school (less than $30 and covers many aspects of the sport).

In the spring and fall we have free casting clinics and show you how to cast and includes demonstations for those who want to learn how to spey cast.

Go to the link and if you have any other questions, feel free to email me.

Giz.. :smile:

[SSPey]

If I was to recommend one - and only one - rod for winter steelhead and coho I'd get a 9'6" 8 weight (of course, why stop at one rod?). A 5/6 weight is simply not enough rod and is unfair to the fish. You'll also have a heck of a time if you need to fish sinking lines or heavily weighted flies. And you'll have a difficult time landing the fish with a 5/6 unless you've played it to death, which isn't advisable. Sure, it can be done, but trust me, it ain't as fun (been there).

[SSPey]

and a PS - long spey rods are great fun and perfect for many situations, but very inefficient on most of our coastal rivers, because these rivers are just too small for such a long rod. I've learned to perform spey casts using a single handed fly rod, and it works great for fishing brushy streams and rivers. I reserve the spey rod for big water