Rogue River still producing Winter Steelhead chrome.

The Rogue Steelhead are acting like it's summer. We hit fish early in the morning, fished all day without a single grab, then at the last run, when the sun got off the water we found ourselves with on fish after another. Good fish, one little hen taking us to our backing twice. Fishing for the bigger winter steelhead in summer conditions has been a kick.

Getting Bent!

This fish was the little engine that could, it had us in our backing twice

Going Back!

I love introducing people to their first Rogue River Steelhead.

This is the best part of my Job.......Introducing people to their first Rogue River Steelhead and Fly Fishing itself. John, a retired Air Force Officer,  and Matt,  a current Air Force Officer with 4 deployments to Afghanistan under his belt, made it look easy, and Matt had never fly fished before. Well done guys!

John with his First hookup!

A nice hatchery fish!

Rogue Is Swinging good For Winter Steelhead...a March report!

The Rogue's water levels are more like Summer and the water temp is ideal in low 50's the river is set up for swinging. this is probably the best year to swing for Winters the Rogue has seen in quite some time. if you haven't hit it you should. with the rain we have had in might add some green also! The fish were active today. In low light fish a floating line with a dark fly and when bright fish a flashy fly. Get out there ....she is fishing well.

This fish slammed Jere's Purple Peril!

Good fly for the bright day!

Great fly for low light.

Jere sure can deliver the fly! 

Jere with a nice buck.

The Rogue is still producing steelhead.

There are a good number of fish in the upper Rogue. Of course nymphs will always work...stick with big stones at the top and a egg pattern below. Once the sun warms the water enough to get the bug activity up you might switch to a smaller nymph below.

Swinging has been bringing some results as well. I like to find the water the sun hits first.  Then swing it low and slow, using up to a 5 foot fluorocarbon leader to keep my tips away from fish in the clear water the Rogue is experiencing now. I match the color of fly to conditions.  I have been fishing my wired flies.

The Rogue is fishing well, but I predict it will explode in the next month as we get spring rains, so get out there.

Calling all Swingers...This year may be the best year to swing up a Rogue Winter Steelhead!

When all the conditions come together Magic happens....That's what the Rogue Winter run is shaping up to be this year...Magic


All the conditions are coming in line... tons of fish, higher than normal winter water temps, and river flows that keep it the beautiful steelhead emerald.


We have had good success swinging for the aggressive winter fish and they shouldn't even be here in catchable numbers yet. If your trying to shake off the winter blues look no further than the Rogue! If you need help we still have a few dates open, but act fast as they will fill fast as the word gets out.


The excitement is spreading all over the west check out this article http://ravallirepublic.com/missoula/lifestyles/recreation/article_df3a3a26-ecf4-52ad-bd51-2e5312d2e501.html


Come experience the Rogue.

The Rogue River will put a smile on your face!

The Best Flows!

Nate's Wired Rogue and Winter Steelheading, what a mix!

Big flies swung slow seem to be the winter fix. I have combined several fish catching attributes into one burley steelhead killer. Give it a try on your waters.

The Wired Rogue Strikes Agian

LTS X1 8126 Rod,  Speyco Reel, Airflo 570 Grn Skagit Internediate,
 Flo T7 Tip, and A Wired Rogue Fly...A great combo for Rogue Winter
Steelhead
 

Swing Water!

Knip the shank at the bend.

Add a tungsten bead(blue or orange), 40 lb spider wire, and Chartreuse Ice
chenille.

Hackle wrap a large black Marabou, add  a black wired body, then create a Black ice Chenille ball.     

Hackle wrap another black marabou, add rubber legs of your choice, and tie in a long saddle hackle leg.

Wrap in a large webby hen hackle the same color as your bead and whip finish. Now you have a deadly mix of color and movement that will drive even the mellowest Rogue Steelie mad. Tight Lines!

How to tie one of my favorite Winter Rogue River fly... "Punch in the Face!"

I have tried a bunch of patterns over the years, some worked some didn't. Those years of experimentation taught me there are several different characteristics that lead to catching fish on the Rogue.

 The most important characteristic is weight. I have found that I can adjust the depth of weighted flies by line tension, but its hard to control a neutral buoyant fly--even on the end of a sink tip. You will never catch a Steelhead if you can't present the fly in a way that will produce a strike regardless of color or movement. This is where the wire came in. In the early days I couldn't match conditions as the only color I had was copper,but nowadays, with all the colors on Uni Wire you can tie a fly to match any condition.

This is the second most important characteristic...Color. The fish has to be able to see your offering. There are times when fish will  key on one color or another, but most of the time I have found that color plays an important role in what the fish can see.   From Silver for bright and sunny days, to black and blue for low light conditions and everything in between Uni has it covered.  

Besides weight and color, movement is an important characteristic. Steelhead can be like your house cat at times...to get your cat to attack you have to add more movement to your taunting. The thin body profile that the wire allows helps the hackles pulsate...they are unrestricted by the thick chenille bodies that traditional patterns boast.   

Now that you have seen some of the thought behind my wired patterns tie some up and give them a try....you'll be surprised how they will become one of your go to patterns. I have included a video showcasing my favorite high off colored water wired fly, Punch In The Face. Its Black and Blue color provides the shadow and low light color that the fish can see. Its one of my alternative flies for people who don't like to cast intruders....Get out there.....