Sandy and Clack April 2-15?

[fishhead990]

Can anybody give me any information on these two rivers for steelhead for the first two weeks in April. Are they going to be open to fishing and if so should there be any steelhead running at that time. I will be fishing with my brother who is trying to get the hang of fly fishing. We are both rigged with single hand 8 and 9wt rods with lines from floating to type V. Any help would be appreciated.

John

[Oregonism]

This is my first year seriously hitting the clack for steelhead, so I can only tell you what I've been told by knowledgeable buddies regarding the runs,though so far I've gotten into a good amount of fish. The Clackamas should have some hatchery fish heading up to the Dog Creek hatchery here pretty soon. They are supposed to be running right now, but I haven't personally seen or identified one. I had one bright hen a couple weeks back that may have been a Dog Creek fish.

There is also a Spring Run of wild fish that will come up in April/May (not positive about this, hopefully someone with firsthand experience can give some more info). These would be ideal for fly fishing as they should be more aggressive, and you may start seeing water temps that are more ideal (around 50 degrees will make the steelhead very aggressive). I think the Sandy should get a similar run of Spring fish as well, but not sure.

As far as technique goes, I'd suggest reading "The Complete Steelheader" by Jon Larison. It's a pretty comprehensive guide to fishing a one handed rod for steelhead in the Northwest rivers. Way too much info to try and post in a single thread.

[MikeT]

Both rivers will be open unless there's some kind of emergency closure (highly unlikely).
Your timing isn't bad......you'll be here in a kind of "overlap" period when both late-run winter fish and early summer fish are present.
Your gear should be fine. Swinging with a sink tip and indicator nymphing with a floater are both productive.
good luck........Mike

[fishhead990]

Thanks for the info guys, I'll let you know how it goes when I get back.

John