Marty's Drift June 2005

Spring/Summer Fishing, Rope Safety, Demos

Here in western Oregon, June signifies the beginning of summer fishing. This is often the best month of fishing for salmon and steelhead. June often remains cool, keeping the water at a more comfortable temperature for fish. In many of our local rivers the summer steelhead run is building. Some rivers have seen the peak of the spring Chinook run, but fresh salmon continue to arrive until July. It is always worth the effort to spend a day searching for these fish.

About a week ago Bruce and I spent a day fishing for spring Chinook with John Garrett on the Klickitat River. It was the kind of day you will often experience at this time of year. We would be drifting along with a warm sun caressing us one minute, then a cold wind would have us grabbing for wool and fleece, followed by a fierce rain shower: spring in the Pacific Northwest.

Spring chinook are caught with a wide variety of techniques, lures, and baits. One of the favorites is a sardine-wrapped Kwikfish or Flatfish. Both of these lures are made by long-time Pacific Northwest lure manufacturers, one in Oregon, one in Washington. John selected the sardine-wrapped plug for our fishing method. He was prepared with a good selection of plug colors; all sardine-wrapped and ready to fish.

During the majority of the day we fished these plugs with the “flatline” technique. That is, we tied the plug directly to the line without additional lead or divers. In the deeper pools we added a cannonball lead weight to reach the bottom.

While we were fishing one of the deeper pools in the river Bruce hooked and landed a salmon. Since it was a hatchery fish, it was kept. There are few things in this world better than a fresh spring chinook prepared on a barbecue grill with a little alder smoke. After we had tagged and cleaned the fish, we went back on the pool. Within five or six minutes I had a solid strike. When these fish strike, the conventional wisdom is to let them take the lure well before you set the hook. Well, that doesn’t always work. I did a slow count to three, set the hook and pulled it out of the fish’s mouth. We had several additional light bites during the day, but no more hook-ups.

John Garrett has been guiding for over 12 years and is congenial and well-prepared. You can reach him at 509-427-4057.

On May 20-24 I was in Springfield, Oregon on the McKenzie River doing boat demos. The river was high, but clear. We had experienced unusual heavy rain for about a week. The McKenzie is one of those rivers that have a variety of fish. This is the river upon which Roderick Haig-Brown based his book Return to the River, the story of a wild spring chinook salmon and its travels from birth to death. The McKenzie also has populations of wild rainbow and cutthroat trout. It is one of the most popular trout fisheries in Oregon. It can offer some great dry fly fishing. One of the famous hatches is the McKenzie green caddis.

In 1968, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife began to stock the McKenzie River with Skamania strain summer steelhead. Returns have been good, and a nice summer steelhead fishery has developed. One of my favorite fly patterns for summer steelhead is the Muddler Minnow. It can be tied in many variations, but I like the original best. Bill McMillan introduced the Muddler to steelhead fly fishers over 30 years ago. Bill is the kind of person who is always searching for new challenges. He mastered catching steelhead with sinking fly lines and steelhead fly patterns that were the standard of the day, and he moved on to floating line techniques. As I recall, Bill told me he met an elderly angler one day who had a fly wallet filled with nothing but Muddlers. Bill liked the idea of fish moving some distance to intercept a fly. He began to use the Muddler on a floating line extensively with good success.

If you want to fish for McKenzie trout, steelhead or salmon, Brian Marz at McKenzie Angler, in Walterville can fix you up with everything you need; flies, lures, rods and reels, even bait. Brian also does drift boat guide trips. You can reach him at 541-736-5045.

Jeff Mishler went with me to the McKenzie. Jeff is a photographer working on getting photos for our next catalog. We spent a couple days fishing and taking photos. On Sunday, as we approached the Greenwood ramp take out, we were told by anglers on the bank that they had witnessed a boat sinking just an hour before. We learned that the anchor on the boat had become stuck in fast water. As the boater tried to free or release the anchor, the transom of the boat was pulled under and within seconds the boat sank. It turned out that I had sold the boat a couple months earlier. When I talked with the customer, I found out that there had been a knot in the anchor rope so it couldn’t be allowed to slip through the anchor release. There was no sharp knife handy to cut the rope.

My suggestion to everyone: first, never allow a knot in your anchor rope. Second, always have a very sharp knife ready beside you on the rower’s bench. Third, sacrifice your rope and anchor before you lose your boat and endanger your life.

My next boat demo days will be in southern Oregon on the Rogue River. My plans are to be there June 17-20. If you are interested in trying a ClackaCraft, you can make an appointment to row one by contacting me at 503-655-9532 or marty@clackacraft.com

For some time we have had some very unique fly pattern decals. Each one of these decals is hand painted by John Matthews of Roseburg, Oregon. No two of them are exactly alike. These decals make a terrific accent to your fishing vehicle or your drift boat.

The decals are priced at $23.00 per pair. The size of the fly measures approximately 2½” x 1¾”. We have in stock the following patterns: Elk Hair Caddis, Royal Wulff, Bead-Head Nymph, Woolly Bugger, Green Butt Skunk, and Skykomish Sunrise.

If you would like to get a set of these beautiful and unique decals, you can call 1-800-394-1345 or stop by ClackaCraft in Idaho Falls, Idaho or Clackamas, Oregon.