Wednesday, November 8, 2017

The Rogue River Fall Steelhead

There are a ton of different rivers out there, but the none of them are like the Rogue! The Upper Rogue is lined with amazing colors. It’s orange, reds, and yellows will mesmerize you until you get sucked back into reality with a straight line grab from its one of thousands of fierce native Steelhead. 

The Rogue fishes well most of the year, but the fall can be amazing! 

September through October orange dominates my fly selection but as the clouds persist in November and December I turn to black, purple, and blues. 

Fall is a great time to bring out the Lts triple density Scandi that matches the water your swinging. I primarily fish these lines until the water gets below 45 degrees and I I need to swing huge intruders. The triple density scandies allow me to swim my fly in any chosen water column. 

On the cold water days I pick runs that are on the shallow side and in the sun. Steelhead are always looking for that 50 degree temp. If they have to bask in the sun to do it they will. The same holds true in the early fall when water temps are high. Fish will search out the deep water. People always look at me funny when I switch to a skagit and heavy tips in the middle of a early fall day, but if you think about it the fish are going to move to the deeper pools as the sun warms the river. Remember the water temps in any river vary by depth and the radiant sun can warm a fish in 40 degree water. You have to pick the water you and runs to swing affording to those variables. 

Your swing game will substantially increase in its effectiveness as you figure these things out, and fall is the perfect time to test your theories due to the changes that happen during this season. 

If you hung up your swinging rod, pull it back out. Come to the Rogue and observe the fish activity compared to the the conditions. With the amount of fish that are in the Fall Upper Rogue, you can shorten you Steelhead learning curve... and who doesn’t want that? 

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