PatrickM
11-01-2013, 11:23 AM
Just got back from my annual summer steelhead trip. I camped on the Ronde for ten days, fishing nine days in all. If you've been checking the dam counts, you'll know that it's been another below average season for the Columbia and it's tribs. No surprise that fishing was slow. The water temp seemed cold for this time of year too, with morning water temps in the low forties. Also, there seemed to be a lot of boat traffic this year, which made it difficult to find open and rested water. Combining those factors, I felt ok about scratching out one hookup a day (I only count legit hookups and not grabs that I didn't connect on). I know people expect better numbers when going to the Ronde, but it seems that high number years may be the exception these days rather than the norm.
Anyhow, I was planning to hit the Salmon River on the way home, but one of my camp neighbors told me there was an issue over there with silt due to recent fires and then heavy rains. Instead he talked me into going over to the Clearwater, and even gave me a couple of flies he tied. I probably spent more time driving around than actually fishing, as it was my first time over there. That being said, I was lucky enough to hook and land one fish each of the two days I fished. It's the catch and kill season over there, so there were a fair amount of boats on the water with guys back trolling, side drifting, etc.
All in all, despite the fishing being a bit slow, I still had a great trip. Don't know if there's anything I'd rather be doing than swinging flies for steelhead in a beautiful river.
Anyhow, I was planning to hit the Salmon River on the way home, but one of my camp neighbors told me there was an issue over there with silt due to recent fires and then heavy rains. Instead he talked me into going over to the Clearwater, and even gave me a couple of flies he tied. I probably spent more time driving around than actually fishing, as it was my first time over there. That being said, I was lucky enough to hook and land one fish each of the two days I fished. It's the catch and kill season over there, so there were a fair amount of boats on the water with guys back trolling, side drifting, etc.
All in all, despite the fishing being a bit slow, I still had a great trip. Don't know if there's anything I'd rather be doing than swinging flies for steelhead in a beautiful river.