TillamookChinook
08-01-2005, 12:51 PM
Our weekend adventures (Pine Mt. Observatory) took us over the Santiam Hwy on Saturday and Sunday, so we stopped at the Metolius both ways. The Metolius can be a tough place to catch fish and these stops were both middle of the day, but I will never pass up a chance to fish the most beautiful river around.
There were very few bugs on the water either day, although there were a lot of golden stones in the air at the Head of the Metolius when we stopped there with our guests.
I fished the lower river, above and below the hatchery. I only saw one fish rise for both days, but that fish was a hoot. I was standing on a log by a fairly deep pool and I could see deep into the clear water. I was fishing a #16 hot-butt deer hair caddis above a bead head pheasant tail nymph when a large red-sided fish angled up from the deep, straight for my dry fly. I saw it coming at least 4' away, a heart-stopper, straight to the fly, open the mouth and chomp. I was laughing as I raised the rod tip, not believing what I had just seen. But we were hooked up, and after a few runs, none into the backing, I climbed down off the log into the river and released a beautiful 18" rainbow with the brightest red stripe and blackest spots you could ever imagine. Probably the biggest fish I have ever landed on the Metolius.
I also spent some time fishing for the big bulls, but didn't expect to catch anything in the middle of the day. Like a lot of bar flies, my hot-butt spawning articulated white bunny leech is probably more convincing in dim light. But I did see some big fish. In the words of the Governator, "I'll be back!"
TC
There were very few bugs on the water either day, although there were a lot of golden stones in the air at the Head of the Metolius when we stopped there with our guests.
I fished the lower river, above and below the hatchery. I only saw one fish rise for both days, but that fish was a hoot. I was standing on a log by a fairly deep pool and I could see deep into the clear water. I was fishing a #16 hot-butt deer hair caddis above a bead head pheasant tail nymph when a large red-sided fish angled up from the deep, straight for my dry fly. I saw it coming at least 4' away, a heart-stopper, straight to the fly, open the mouth and chomp. I was laughing as I raised the rod tip, not believing what I had just seen. But we were hooked up, and after a few runs, none into the backing, I climbed down off the log into the river and released a beautiful 18" rainbow with the brightest red stripe and blackest spots you could ever imagine. Probably the biggest fish I have ever landed on the Metolius.
I also spent some time fishing for the big bulls, but didn't expect to catch anything in the middle of the day. Like a lot of bar flies, my hot-butt spawning articulated white bunny leech is probably more convincing in dim light. But I did see some big fish. In the words of the Governator, "I'll be back!"
TC