Search This Blog

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Flyfishing & Tying Journal - Spring issue


Arriving in mailboxes today and on newsstands soon the Spring issue of Flyfishing & Tying Journal is one not to miss.  This issue is packed with great stuff from small stream strategies, lake fishing tips, entomology and amazing fly tying sections.  Check it out or better yet, subscribe!  Click here for more info.

Nothing But Chrome- NF Nehalem Report


The NF Nehalem continues to produce chrome bright hatchery fish like this one caught on Jan 27th.  Water levels and clarity have been good.  The hatchery reports good numbers of fish continuing to return back to the hatchery.  Wild fish have been caught as well. 



Enjoy the thrill of steelhead fly fishing on the NF Nehalem; as they say, "The Tug is the Drug! " Our favorite way to catch steelhead is on the swung fly.  A few specific spots on the NF are custom made for this.  However, most fly fishing is done with floating lines and strike indicators.  Fly patterns are often simple egg patterns.  Pink, cerise, white, orange, salmon egg, peach are all productive colors on the NF.


Only hatchery steelhead can be kept on the NF.  Most years the limit is 2 fish per person.  Here the successful anglers of the day show off their catch as well as the camera man's.

Come join us for a fun float on the NF Nehalem river!  Click here for more infowww.watertimeoutfitters.com

Winter Steelhead Workshop Report


Our Tillamook area Winter Steelhead Workshop instructed by Gil Muhleman had a beautiful day on Saturday.  Not only did the normal Tillamook rain decide not to show up but the sun actually made an appearance. 

Water Time Outfitters instructor Gil Muhleman did a great job sharing his intimate knowledge of the Wilson, Trask and Kilches rivers near Tillamook, OR. 

Our morning strategy talk by Gil was detailed and comprehensive and the coffee wasn't that bad either.  Casting and fishing strategies, lunch and a complete tour of fishable access points on the three rivers makes for a full day.

Thank you Gil for a great job!

If you'd like to learn more about Steelhead fly fishing or our steelhead workshops click on these links or visit our website at: www.watertimeoutfitters.com  "The Tug is the Drug"




Saturday, January 28, 2012

Good for the River- A New Recipe


After a few days away on the Oregon coast slaying steelhead I came home tonight to a wonderful meal my bride prepared.  This was an interesting new dish that I had never seen before.  I loved it and think that you might like it as well.  Its a very healthy dish and if you fish the Deschutes river with us, you might get to try it; better yet, try this recipe and enjoy it now!

Raw Vegetable Salad

1-1/2 cup of minced cauliflower
1/4 cup celery minced
2- green onion stalks minced
1- mini Red pepper minced
1- mini Orange pepper minced
1- cooked bacon strip chopped to small pieces
2- table spoons chopped dried cranberries
2-3 table spoons feta cheese

Dressing:
2- tablespoons olive oil
2-1/2 teaspoons Rasberry Balsamic Vinegar (substitute regular Balsamic vinegar)
1- minced garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon seasalt (or to taste)

Mix together and let flavors meld in a small serving dish for 1-2 hours

Enjoy!




Tuesday, January 24, 2012

NF Nehalem Report

We've had our share of high water in the last week.  The good news is when rivers drop into shape there should be lots of steelhead to catch.  Todays hatchery report for the NF Nehalem reveals that they worked the trap yesterday to find 642 steelhead have arrived into the trap at the hatchery most with-in the last few days.  118 of those fish have been recycled downstream to run the river again.

As the water drops fishing should be very good!

www.watertimeoutfitters.com  See our new Steelhead Decal and T-shirt: The Tug is the Drug

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

ISE Show - Sacramento California


We're finally here after 10 hours driving in the snow!  We stopped by at Spirit River Fly company's warehouse and headquarters in Roseburg on the way.  Wow! That's a lot of fly materials.  You should have seen Gil drooling. 

 

Friday, January 13, 2012

Beginning Fly Fishing - Deschutes River with Water Time Outfitters



Beginning Fly Fishing Class:                                 Reserve your Spot Now!     503-704-6449

Start your fly fishing right with good fundamentals and fun!  This is a great course for the beginner, a gift, or fun for the whole family.  Learn how to rig, tie knots, terminology, fly selection, what bugs fish eat, fly casting and more.  2 hour classroom session is followed by 1 hour casting class and 6 hour on water class.  Learn to read water, casting basics, and fishing techniques.  Enjoy the passion and fun of fly fishing!

Fee:  $130

Minimum Students: 3

Location: Class held at Royal Treatment Fly shop, Fly casting lesson on local water, on water fishing session-Deschutes River, Maupin – walk-n-wade.

April  12th 6-8 pm Classroom  April 14th Deschutes River

May 3rd 6-8pm classroom        May 6 Deschutes River

May 31  6-8pm classroom         Jun 3 Deschutes River

Call to reserve your spot:  503-704-6449

Spey Casting Classes


Learn spey casting on the Clackamas River with seasoned spey casting expert Rob Crandall.  Spey casting is one of the best tools fly anglers have available to them today increasing their odds of success with quick and efficient delivery of the fly.  This casting style works well on single hand rods too.

Learn Skagit casting, Long belly lines and Scandi line casts. Try out a pile of different rods and over 40 fly lines. 4 hour class held on the Clackamas river. $60

Spey Casting Class- Feb 26 and through the season
                                  
Call for details. 503-704-6449


Fly Fishing Lakes Class by Water Time Outfitters





Fly Fishing Lakes Class -Private Waters  May 5th,
June, July 2012    
Learn what it takes to catch trout in lakes with this one day well rounded, 8 hour, fly fishing school brought to you by Water Time Outfitters and Royal Treatment Fly Shop.  There couldn’t be a much better place to get started in fly fishing  than on the three private lakes at Rocky Ridge Ranch only  1 hour 45 minute drive from the Portland.  Excellent populations of Rainbow trout thrive in these waters and our group will have all three lakes to ourselves as we cover fly fishing concepts.  Rainbows 16-20 inches are common and some have been caught up to 30 inches!  Get started fly fishing the right way or just advance your skills on some trophy trout waters.   Come join the fun! 
 What’s Included:

·         Beginners approach to fly fishing session- knots, terminology, rigging etc…

·         Fly casting lesson- learn the basics of fly casting- overhead, roll cast, roll cast pickup, presentation casts and more

·         Lake fly fishing techniques- dry fly, emerger, streamer and midge techniques

·         Lake entomology lesson- learn what trout eat in lakes

·         Guided fly fishing on a private trophy trout lake

·         V-Boats and kick fins

·         Big BBQ Lunch, soft drinks and water

 Bring your lucky fishing hat and your camera you might catch the fish of a lifetime. 

Our guarantee:  We will work hard so you can learn as much as possible in this class on the great sport of fly fishing lakes.  We will do our best to see that everyone catches fish and has an enjoyable day. 

Fee per person:  $195                                                                        
Space is limited Reserve your spot today!   Call 503-704-6449 www.watertimeoutfitters.com

Water Time Outfitters - Beginning Fly Fishing Class- Local



Start your fly fishing right with good fundamentals and fun!  This introduction to fly fishing is a great course for the beginner, a gift, or fun for the whole family.  Professional guide of nearly 20 years and current editor of Flyfishing & Tying Journal - Rob Crandall shares his love of fly fishing instructing this starter course.

This one day session starts in the classroom at Royal Treatment Fly Shop in West Linn.  After our introduction to fly fishing, knot tying, rigging and fish behavior we’ll head to our local water.     There we’ll cover beginning fly casting, fly fishing techniques and strategies for trout.  A get started class information packet is included.

This class covers:
  • Fly fishing terminology
  • Fly fishing knots
  • Proper rigging
  • Equipment
  • Fly selection
  • Fly casting
  • Entomology
  • On Water instruction
For this 6 hour course rods and reels are provided.  Bring your waders/boots, fishing license, and lunch. This special class is being held:  April 28, May and June 2012 – call for details.

Class Fee:  Only $75.00

Class sizes are limited - please reserve your spot in advance. 

Call 503-850-4397 or  503-704-6449 

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Water Time Outfitters Class/Seminar Schedule 2012

It's January 2012 and we are looking forward to another great year.  One of our true passions as fishing guides is introducing others to the sport that we love.  Following is a class and activities schedule for 2012, tenative dates from January - May.  These dates are subject to change.  We look forward to helping you grow your skills or learn from the start the great sport of fly fishing.

January

Jan 14- Steelhead Fly fishing Seminar at Royal Treatment Fly shop    
                         www.royaltreatmentflyfishing.com  503-850-4397
          
Jan 19,20,21,22  Come see us at the International Sportman Exposition in Sacramento We will be presenting on Jan 19 and 20

Jan 28  Winter Steelhead Workshop- Trask Wilson Kilches

February

Feb 4 Clackamas Chapter Trout Unlimited- On water presentation Clackamas River

Feb 8-12 Oloughlin Sport Show Portland

Feb 18 Winter Steelhead Seminar - Royal Treatment Fly Shop
                     www.royaltreatmentflyfishing.com  503-850-4397

Feb 19  Winter Steelhead Workshop Trask,Wilson,Kilches $100

Feb 25  Clackamas River Winter Steelhead Workshop- $100 call for details 503-704-6449

Feb 26  Spey Casting Class-4 hours on the water with Rob Crandall & Joel La Follette $60

Feb 28  Overlake Fly Club Presentation- Steelhead Fly Fishing Techniques - Bellview, WA
              contact: Dave Kuykendall 817-239-0795

March
Mar 3 Fly fishing Lakes Seminar - Royal Treatment Fly Shop 503-850-4397
            www.royaltreatmentflyfishing.com

Mar 10,11  Winter Steelhead Boot Camp - Wilson River House- Winter Steelhead fly fishing
                   call for details 503-704-6449

Mar 17  Clackamas River Steelhead Workshop $100 call for details 503-704-6449

Mar 25  Spey Casting Class held on the Clackamas River 4 Hours instruction $60
                  call for details 503-704-6449

April
Apr 8  Beginning Fly Casting Class 503-704-6449

Apr 14 Trout Fly Fishing Class Deschutes River $130 call for details Classroom 6-8pm Apr 12th
              On Deschutes River April 14

Apr 28  Beginning Fly Fishing Class - class and on water 503-704-6449  $65

May
May 5  Lake Fly Fishing Class $195

May 6  Deschutes River Beginning Fly Fishing Class $130

May 12  Spring Fly fishing Presentation - Trout and Shad Royal Treatment Fly Shop


    

Monday, January 9, 2012

North Fork Nehalem Winter Steelhead Report

The last 8 days has been very busy for Water Time Outfitters.  Each day we've been working the emerald green waters of the NF Nehalem River. We fished our hearts out, enjoyed exciting whitewater rafting and then relaxed in the warm cabin each night right on the water.  This week the stars have aligned, prayers have been answered and a few lucky anglers have been winning the "steelhead lotto".  In other words fishing has been epic!

The river started out being muddy and high- 83" the week before.  By Sunday the water was down around 56" and dropping.  It was high but a nice green color.  Monday the river was very busy with the New Years holiday crowd.  Water level was around 50".  Through the week we had levels from 44-50" with showers, clouds and rain.  The sun even made an appearance on Sunday a week later when the water temp was at 44 degrees. 

With the water high, dropping, clearing and warm combined with a lack of rain earlier in the month of December we had a pile of fish swimming by each day.  The hatchery trap was full and you could see hundreds of steelhead which came into the trap the first few days of the year. 

Fighting a chrome bright steelhead is a great way to start the year and this trip some of our begining anglers even got to tire their arms wrestling fish.  A highlight for us was our group from Arizona with 7 year old Xeng landing 2 chrome steelhead.  This kid was a "black belt" steelhead angler under 4' tall!  The other fantastic thing we saw this week was a lot of wild fish being caught.  That bodes well for our wild run which is strongest in Feb/Mar. 

Here are a few pics of our fishing from the week.  Special thanks to all our great customers who joined us on the NF.

If you'd like to see your face in a picture similar to the ones below call Rob or Gil at Water Time Outfitters.  www.watertimeoutfitters.com  503-704-6449



John Huntsman with a dandy swung fly Steelhead he caught on his #5 weight spey rod with a 10' sink tip.











John Huntsman Pics





                                                                 More Misc Pics




                            Warm and by the fire each night, great especially on those rainy days!




Sunday, January 1, 2012

NF Nehalem and Alsea River 2012 Fish Tracking

Anglers can keep radio-tagged steelhead on Alsea, North Fork Nehalem

As part of a study of winter steelhead on the Alsea and North Fork Nehalem rivers, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will allow anglers who catch a radio-tagged hatchery winter steelhead to keep the fish.

Statewide regulations prohibit the keeping of radio-tagged fish so that scientists can continue to collect data.

But Ryan Couture, the department’s manager at the Oregon Hatchery Research Center, said that the temporary rule change is designed to encourage anglers to turn in radio tags from any fish they catch.

While the temporary rule is aimed at the Alsea and the North Fork Nehalem rivers where tagging will occur, it also will apply to other streams in the Northwest Zone to allow anglers to catch and keep radio-tagged fish and for the department to recover tags from fish that may relocate into nearby basins.

“A key piece of information we hope to collect is where the fish was caught,” Couture said. “Once we have that information, the tag is no longer useful in that fish. We can, however, reuse that radio tag ...”
The fish are easily identified by a 6-inch long antenna coming out of the mouth.
Anglers who catch a radio-tagged fish should record the date and location of the catch and call one of the following Fish and Wildlife offices to record that data and arrange to return the tag:
•Oregon Hatchery Research Center (541) 487-5510
•Alsea Hatchery (541) 487-7240
•Nehalem Hatchery (503) 368-5670
•Fish and Wildlife’s Newport Office (541) 265-8306
•The department office in Tillamook (503) 842-2741.

The radio tags are being used to trace the movement and timing of adult winter steelhead returning to the Alsea and North Fork Nehalem.
Beginning early this winter, and continuing through spring 2012, the location and behavior of the radio-tagged fish will be tracked using several fixed and handheld receivers along the river.
The data collected will help determine if a new strategy for releasing hatchery steelhead smolts is working to help make returning adult fish more available to anglers.

“Hatchery steelhead on the Alsea River have a reputation for moving very quickly up the river directly to the hatchery,” Couture said. “We want to see if releasing the smolts lower in the river will help slow them down and give anglers a better chance to catch them.”
Fish and Wildlife also is looking for volunteers to help catch the fish to be tagged on the Alsea.

To volunteer, contact Ryan Couture at (541) 487-5510.
In order to encourage anglers to return tags to ODFW, two sport groups are sponsoring drawings that will award prizes to anglers who return tags.

The Alsea Sportsman’s Association will award two $50 gift certificates to a local sporting goods stores to two anglers whose names are drawn from Alsea River tag returns.
Angler’s returning radio tags from the North Fork Nehalem will be eligible to win one of the popular fish prints from the Association of Northwest Steelheaders.

“The idea is not to target tagged fished, but to help ODFW recover some expensive radio tags that could be reused,” said Ty Wyatt of the association.