WOW! It's the start of another new year, and here is your first "Fat Fin Newsletter" for 2010! The purpose of this monthly newsletter is to keep fly fisherman informed about the ever-changing water conditions in Southern Oregon and Northern California.
We are just out of the holiday season and patiently awaiting the winter run of Steelhead on the Rogue River. With not much to cover on present-day fishing, we’ll take a look back at the fall season and the summer run.
Over the last few years, low numbers of fish made for some long and humbling days of Steelhead fishing on the Rogue. These conditions actually helped our fishing season this past year; uncrowded conditions and good numbers on the run made for some very good fishing.
In September, the Upper Rogue fished very well with the flows still high. As they dropped, the fishing remained good. For those who are not familiar with Steelhead fishing, a good day is a few adult fish landed and about the same amount of fish educating the fisherman. It can go up from there with a great day seeing double digits landed. The Upper Rogue was the place to be in early fall!
As the fall season progressed and the water temperatures dropped, we moved our fishing down to the middle river. Lots of uncrowded runs and drift boat fishing in the morning then walk in wading in the afternoon made for some great days. Again, looking down a popular run with nobody in sight was a treat, Take your time, fish the water well and the payoff is there! It's nice not to get pressured into moving quickly through a run with crowded conditions. And better for the guide who is able to do his job and instruct clients where to place the fly and how to get it there.
We are just out of the holiday season and patiently awaiting the winter run of Steelhead on the Rogue River. With not much to cover on present-day fishing, we’ll take a look back at the fall season and the summer run.
Over the last few years, low numbers of fish made for some long and humbling days of Steelhead fishing on the Rogue. These conditions actually helped our fishing season this past year; uncrowded conditions and good numbers on the run made for some very good fishing.
In September, the Upper Rogue fished very well with the flows still high. As they dropped, the fishing remained good. For those who are not familiar with Steelhead fishing, a good day is a few adult fish landed and about the same amount of fish educating the fisherman. It can go up from there with a great day seeing double digits landed. The Upper Rogue was the place to be in early fall!
As the fall season progressed and the water temperatures dropped, we moved our fishing down to the middle river. Lots of uncrowded runs and drift boat fishing in the morning then walk in wading in the afternoon made for some great days. Again, looking down a popular run with nobody in sight was a treat, Take your time, fish the water well and the payoff is there! It's nice not to get pressured into moving quickly through a run with crowded conditions. And better for the guide who is able to do his job and instruct clients where to place the fly and how to get it there.
For myself, I thought the fall Steelhead season was very good and hope the numbers of fish and the great conditions only get better in 2010. Next month we should start seeing the winter run on the Rogue, so look for February’s newsletter to have a bit more info on recent fishing conditions. Cheers, Tom
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