North Umpqua Advice

[Dan H.]

New Guy here,great site lots of info. here but I need more. Heading up to the N. Umpqua friday. Any tips, tricks, flies,hot spots would be a big help. Tyed up skunks ,purple& black bunnys, perils,muddlers, rubberr legs etc.Do you guys prefer to nymph, skate, swing or dries.Also any lakes in the area for float tubing Diamond Lake?

[shawn kempkes]

The first thing i would do is leave your nymphs and weighted flies at home. You can't use them in the summertime there. The second thing i would reccomend you go to the Blue Heron fly shop and talk to joe Howell and buy some flies and ask him where to fish.

There are two lakes up there that are good tubing lakes. Toketee and lemolo . Toketee has a good callibaetis hatch. It has been ten year or more since i fished the lakes up there so i could have the names mixed up .

[bigtj]

Try swinging dries on a floating line. Fish in the morning and evenings. A 2-hander is a big help but single hander works OK too.

It is really warm and the fish counts are still low. Move around and look for oxygenated water. And remember that the NU is a tough nut to crack. One or two fish a week is nothing to shake a stick at.

[Anne Vitale]

Dan...Shawn is right. FLOATING...FLOATING... FLOATING only. No sinking leaders, no split shot and no weighted flies. Save the nymphs for droppers on the lakes.

The important thing to remember of the NU is that river bed is a maze of lava ledges. One foot deep water can turn into 10 feet deep water in less then a single step. I suggest that you start off by getting a guide.

It is a beautiful and mysterious river. Here is a shot I took a couple of years back. Good luck.......Anne
http://www.avitale.com/N.U.Morningjpg.jpg

[shawn kempkes]

[quote="Anne Vitale"]Dan...Shawn is right. FLOATING...FLOATING... FLOATING only. No sinking leaders, no split shot and no weighted flies. Save the nymphs for droppers on the lakes.

You can use sink tips and sinking leaders. just no lead core.

[Anne Vitale]

Shawn...perhaps the weighted line restrictions have loosened up somewhat since I fished the river back in 2003. Come to think of it, I believe they have. I think the issue back then was to keep lead out of the system. The advent of non-lead sinking leaders may have opened up the restrictions.

Back in the fall of 2003, my guide (sorry but I don't remember his name), wouldn't let me and my fishing partner use anything but mending techniques to get the fly down. It is very hard to catch steelhead that way. We ended up getting skunked.

[Rick J]

past responses are on - no use of indicators or added weight on fly (until October) but you can use sink tips. I would agree that a stop at Joe's shop is a must - great guy with lots of knowledge and a great shop.

As an added item - you will need korkers or stream cleats - felts will not cut it on many of the runs - I would also recommend a wading staff as the ledges can go from 2 feet deep to over 6' in a single step.

Another thing nice about that river is the general rule is if someone is fishing a particular run - move on or wait for him to fish through - I have rarely if ever seen someone come into the same water as another fisherman. This holds for individual runs. Up near Steamboat this reach consists of a series of runs and it is ok to move in above someone once they have moved down to a next section

[jbird]

Anne


Back in the fall of 2003, my guide (sorry but I don't remember his name), wouldn't let me and my fishing partner use anything but mending techniques to get the fly down. It is very hard to catch steelhead that way. We ended up getting skunked.



That is really a shame. I dont blame you for forgetting his name. The North Umpqua and most of its "people" are just on a different planet.



Jay

[bubzilla]

Dan,

As you can see from the resonses you received, it generally helps to have your attorney write a memorandum outlining what you can and can't do on the North Umpqua prior to making the trip. Always read the most current regulations in advance, as they change frequently. In fact, everyone who posted here, despite the contradictions, is correct.

In an effort to ban the use of indicators and weighted flies the regulations underwent a series of changes beginning in 2000. For a time, even sinks tips were prohibited--but not because of a lead issue. Weighted flies were totally prohibited year round. The regulations have been relaxed somewhat now, but it is still illegal to use weighted flies from July 1 to October 31. Indicators are always prohibited. Ironically, use of a boober on a spinning rod in conjuction with a weighted fly, either before July 1 oafter October 31, is lawful.

The best thing to remember is that you must NEVER EVER simply attempt to apply common sense when approaching this rivers regulations. Read the regulations each time you go anew. I am not kidding.

The advice about talking to Joe Howell is spot on. He had some large, unweighted of course, black wool and rabbit leeches in there a few years ago. Pretty deadly on a sink-tip. Also, if you're going to swing subsurface, you'll find that North Umpqua fish will go for much larger flies than what you might be used to in California. 3/0 and even 4/0 skunks can be great producers, for example. And no, the size is not about getting around the weighted fly restrictions--NU fish just like big flies sometimes. A Type III sink tip will generally slow your swing down enough to get you bit as well. Again, it's not about the depth, it's about the speed of the swing--you're not going to be anywhere near the bottom in a lot of the runs on that river.

If you get your fill of nestalgia or would rather catch fish than read Roderick Haig-Brown in the afternoon, you can head down below the fly only boundary at Rock Creek. You can fish however you would like there, and the fishing can be quite good. Try a weighted stonefly and yarn indicator and you'll get a good sense for why traditionalists wanted them regulated off of the river. Contrary to their mythology, North Umpqua steelhead are not any more difficult to catch than any other steelhead. It's the methods used that make it tough. After all, swinging dries is just a low-success pursuit. If you're into that, you can have a fine time looking at a pretty river and maybe raise a fish or two. Guys that are good might raise several. If you'll fish subsurface, you can scratch off a fish or two a day with effort. The biggest thing to remember is that you're going to hook way more fish on that river than you are going to land. I don't think my lifetime score is even 40 percent.

[Dan H.]

Thanks guys for for your repliies,Ill check the regs.Dan H.

[matt johnson]

Hey Dan,

Pretty much a ditto from me on the flies and presentation advice already given. I will add that while at one point I felt that the "proper" way to catch a North Umpqua summer-run was on an unweighted fly fished tight on a floating line, I have since "devolved" to the point where I like to fish a sink-tip when I want to convert an impending skunking into a good grab. Getting your fly down just a little and slowing it seems to make a pretty big difference. That said, the "jazz factor" of a surface take has no comparison, and if the water is above about 64 degrees, it is probably best not to fish deep for heat-stressed fish.

As for good spots to try, they are endless. After stopping at the "Blue Heron" to pick up some flies and mojo, pull off onto the first pull-out after passing the sign on your right that reads: "Entering North Umpqua Fly Only Water". Here is an epic tailout above a falls called "Deadline". It is the first piece of fly-only water. If you can hit the far slot with a roll or single-hand spey cast you are blessed with great talent. I once watched Joe Howell fire a 100'+ "steeple cast" to that slot with a lead-eye leech. I was in the presence of such steelheading greatness that I think I cried a little bit.... About .25 miles up Highway 138 is the next pull-out on the right. This puts you on a great piece of water called "Famous". In between Famouse and Deadline is a piece of water called "The Flat" which you walk to either from above or below. It goes on and on like this all the way to the end of legal fishing. Just about every pull-out has good water associated with it. There are only a couple of bum leads.

The other obvious place to fish is the "Camp Water", which is located by making a right turn onto a bridge just after crossing Steamboat Creek. This is where the fish stack up and there are tons of opportunities ranging from big obvious pieces of water like the "Boat Pool" to a multitude of nooks and crannies that hold fish. If you are not put off by crowded conditions, you might just want to spend most of your time here. If you figure out the Camp Water or are just there at the right time, you will be rewarded.

If you are like me you will mostly want to fish where you are not in sight of other anglers. This will force you to learn the pools associated with the Highway turn-outs or walk the trail on the other side of the river. I mostly fish off the road. It is a good strategy to explore the road-side runs during the day to asses the water, wading stations, and to make observations on how the pool swings your fly by fishing something big with a white wing in the sunlight. Then you will have a game-plan when you approach the water at the prime low-light periods. Try to gather up a good list of spots for your prime-time sessions, as you will be competing with a bunch of other folks at 5:00am looking for "first water". You want to be ready to implement plans "B" through "H". However, don't get too discouraged about the competion and being the first guy on a run. Although I always start early, I have never caught a fish at first light on the North Umpqua. This is probably because I hate getting up and am groggy and not fishing well. I have hooked all my morning fish bewteen 8:00am and noon.

Hope this helps and you get a fish. Matt Johnson.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I only fished the North Umpqua River once about 20 years ago.

It was with 'Skagit commando' Mike McCune and veteran fly fishing guide Al Perryman.

It was mid-day when we accidentally ran into Mike at the 'Camp Water'.

Mike took me to a couple of his good spots.

I was using a 7 weight single handed rod with a sinktip and a heavy black rubber legs nymph.

Mike use to camp there for 6 weeks every summer. He liked to fish 3 sessions a day.

He said he would get up early and swing a black winged fly in some tail outs for a few hours then break for brunch.

At about 1:00pm he like to go out and fish deep after most left for lunch.

Then he fish the last few hours swinging the tail outs again.

Mike helped me catch a nice 7 pounder and then he proceeded to catch a 12 pounder.

I remember it was a clear, deep, beautiful, slippery river.

[Rick J]

Bill - Mike has a photo of Brett Jensen lowering me a beer on a fly line off the Mott Bridge!!!!!!

I think we were some of the first to successfully target the "bridge fish" when you could still use the "ugly bug"

What a sweet river that is!!!!! One place I don't much care if I catch a fish - just love swinging a fly through some of those runs!!!

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Now that I am a 'reborn Steelheader' I will have to get up there with you or Matt sometime soon.

After that big drought in the late 1970s I gave up Steelheading because it was so sad here in Nor Cal. It is exciting that some rivers have made a comeback in the past decade.

That river has tons of history too. Many old famous people use to fish there.

My old fishing buddy Neil Hansen was lucky enough to fish it with Frank Moore. Neil said it was a treat to see Frank cast a full floating line with a fiberglass rod. Neil said he could reach spots many others could not.

Neil was staying at their cabins at Steamboat Inn back in the 1960s. He said dinner, family style, was about $2.50 cents with home made pies.

I guess we all get more nostalgic with age.

Joe Shirshac use to fish the river yearly. He said that if you are there in the Fall and it rains be ready for wild top water action. He said the fish get wild chasing the October Caddis around.

[bigtj]

if you can hit the far slot with a roll or single-hand spey cast you are blessed with great talent.

Or, if you aren't blessed with great talent (like me), and know how to cast a 2-hander :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: