Crooked Lunkers

[Nymph Dragger]

A while back I was on the Crooked above Prineville. Some ODWF guys put in a drift boat to shock the river for a census. I usually do pretty well on the Crooked. I mostly catch small trout. My biggest has been about fifteen inches.

When they cranked the electrodes in a deep hole(around mile post 19) some huge fish flew out of the water. My question is. Does anyone have any tactics or flies that will get those big fish?

[Riverkeeper]

Backpack electrofishing equipment for the small water, boat mounted (like you saw) for everywhere else. :grin:

My biggest crooked river fish is around 14, so I definately don't have the answer. Welcome to Ifish.

[greenbuttskunk]

late last fall with lilnorthfork, we caught a few bigger respectable fish, and saw some feeding that I'd say went 20-22" I've caught a few around 17". There does seem to be some bigger fish around lately. I've personally found fishing dries bring ups bigger fish. I also observed bigger fish feeding on the surface so I'd go that route if I were you. Nymphing has consistently yielded alot of the smaller dinks.
GBS

[deschutes2]

I seem to have luck with the bigger fish on midge patterns specifically zebra's in a black w/either a silver or gold rib. There are some nice fish in the Crooked, not to mention monster whitefish which can sure break up the monotony of a slow day. Size 16-18's seem to be about right this time of year.

[cphatts]

Go with a leech pattern or wooly bugger for the big guys

[Carver_OR]

Like Tommy boy said..Wooly Buggers or Leach

Pat

[greenbuttskunk]

:shocked: A ssssssssspppinner! Oh god, run! it's gonna get us!!!! I need to take my meds now, he mentioned hardware on the fly site. :grin:

[B.J. Lilly Hunter]

I know it doesn't go along with this board, but I have caught a 22 incher out of the same hole you speak of, I belive, with a 1/4 oz. black spinner with a real silver blade. This was 2 years ago in early march. It was down deep.

[Nymph Dragger]

I appreciate all the feedback. For the dreaded spinner suggestions...Thanks, but no thanks.

I'm not a prude. I used live bait and lures, besides my 9 wt. fly rod in the Amazon. But up here, I'm a purist.

[TillamookChinook]

The Amazon!!

I think we need more details from NymphDragger about flyfishing the Amazon, maybe even some pics.

Unless you're talking about Amazon Creek in Eugene.

TC

[ 02-27-2004, 12:01 PM: Message edited by: TillamookChinook ]

[B.J. Lilly Hunter]

Yeah I new I shouldn't have mentioned the S-word. I knew how all you hardcore fly guys would react. :shocked: I didn't mean to imply to use hardware, I just wanted to let people know that there actually are big, beautiful, rainbows in that river waiting to be caught and released. Thats all I was trying to say. Sorry.

[lilnorthfork]

Wouldn't you all agree hardware is okay as long as you don't use scent?
B.J. glad you are reading the fly board. Do you do any flyfishing? If you've never tried it, join up with us at the April rendevouz and give it a swing.
I doubt you offended many hardcore flyfishers with your post; even those who feel flyfishing is life. Perhaps, though, you offended someone who feels posting about flyfishing on the internet is life. lnf

[greenbuttskunk]

lilly hunter,
I'm just funnin' you. I love to flyfish, but have more hardware than the law allows. Still, if I could just catch everything all the time on flies I would, but it's just not realistic.
GBS

[PharmDoc]

Come on guys! What is the deal with all the purist crud. I started as a worm/baitholder kid. Started tying and steelheading with flies at 12. Caught my first "limit" on flies that same year on the Clack. Professional tyer for a local shop at 15. Became a young flyfishing snob in the process. At 22 or so I began to learn all aspects of fishing. This included all kinds of bait/lure fishing for Salmon/Steelhead/Sturgeon. Sorry for the Bio, but the point is that it's about catching fish and enjoying oneself. If you've become engrossed in entomology and matching the hatch, Great! I think everyone should experience this. But, the fact of the matter is that different methods of fishing work better in different situations. If one enjoys the tradition and practice of "purist" fly angling, I respect that. Just don't give folks a hard time for using other methods.

[lilnorthfork]

Come on guys! What is the deal with all the purist crud.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Me thinks you are preaching to the choir on this one. If making jokes and inviting a guy to try flyfishing constitutes a purist attitude, I'll subsist on nothing but scuds at the upcoming Crooked River rendevouz.
lnf

[PittsburghD]

All the sudden the lunker board has taken a turn to the hardware question. I love you guys.

Hey use what catches fish and makes it fun for you. Most of us have chucked too many pieces of lead at these and are trying to make it more challenging (go figure).

The line, the fish. No more. That's the thrill.

I started on the Rooster Tail myself. Now I have "moved" to a wolly bugger.

I'm with lilnorthfork, thanks for checkin' in with the fly board. Jump in. Join the April gig. Bring lots of power bait to put under pillows.


---D

[Gizmo Man]

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMm.....what does a moderator do now....BJ using words that offend, others are offended they have not been used here...and my job just keeps getting harder... :smile:

You guys play nice and let me stay deep in the background... :smile: :smile:

Personally, I have found that if you want to move big fish, very early or late evening with dark, large patterns. I found those fish did not get big by playing by the same rules as the little guys.

Be there at first and last light....


Giz...

[willierower]

Ok, this is my first post on this forum.

I lived in Prineville for awhile and I fished the crooked often. Ive caught some really big trout out of there in the spring. Most of the bigger ive caught were in the deeper pools. I never did get a really large fish on a fly, most were caught using other methods.

A couple locals who fished the river almost on a daily basis would get into a hawg every once in awhile. Thier patterns of choice were brown or olive leach patterns. They would fish these on a sinking line in the deeper pools. They would swing them through the pool and retrieve them back really slow.

The last year I lived over there we had a massive amount of snowfall that winter. When the snow melted it caused the river to get really high and muddy. We caught plenty of really big trout (2 to 8lbs)that spring. We fished at the old diversion dam. I was amazed at how many big fish were actually in the river. They were jumping over the dam. I saw some rainbows that were 10lbs easy jump the dam. This was opening weekend.

That same weekend I went up to Bowman dam and watched a couple of guys use egg patterns. These 2 guys were the only ones hooking fish on flies. I watched them land one trout that was pushing 8lbs.

That year was the only year I saw lots of BIG fish. I was sure neat seeing all those big colored up trout jumping the diversion dam on thier spawning run.

Here is another tip an old timer gave me..... For big fish think crawdads........ The biggest trout in the river go nuts over small softshell crawdads. I bet a fly tied in a cayfsh pattern could turn on some of those big trout.

[greenbuttskunk]

willierower,
thnaks for the story and tip. I'll have to try tossing craw patterns their in a few weeks.
GBS

[Riverkeeper]

Brad, if you still have my bottle of Craw smelly jelly, slop some of that on there! :shocked:

A guy who fishes flies AND hardware/bait is a well rounded fisherman.

A guy who fishes only hardware/bait is missing the most satisfying fishing there is.

A guy who fishes only flies gets skunked more than the other two.

[Nymph Dragger]

Willierower,

Thanks for the crawfish suggestion. I'll be over there next week(March 24-25). I'll sure give it a try.