Fishing in the U P

Carpn on the Flats of Lake Michigan

Although my trip was centered around smallmouth bass on the fly, when in Rome, (Michigan) one must spend some quality time pursuing freshwater bonefish, (Carp).

Back to Bassin

If you know anything about me you know I chase Bass! Ive spent half a lifetime pursuing these freshwater pugnacious species in any body of water from farm ponds to great lakes, from creeks to rivers and every puddle in between. Its in my blood and I make no apologies for it!

In the last few years while living in trout country Ive slowly slipped away from the bronze family. Trout angling has been good for me. It has broadened my skills and allowed me to build a solid respect for the coldwater species.

On a cold winter day while sifting through the hundreds of Columbia River bass photos obtained throughout the years of guiding and fishing the big water an overwhelming need to get back to the bronze kind had finally surfaced. I felt this day coming long ago. It was just a matter of time until the right opportunity surfaced.

Good Company, Good Times

I found that opportunity in an email. Schultz Outfitters newsletter hit my inbox and while scanning the highlights there it was, the SO annual Upper Peninsula (U.P.)  Smallmouth trip and by the time I called Schultzy there was one spot remaining. You know that spot was meant for me!

Ive always wanted to fish in the U.P. I dont know why I never did. Ive fished all around it into Ontario and the great lakes but for some reason the U.P. was never a destination. I think the reason is, in that region, there is so much water that it takes a lifetime to explore.

The trip was everything you look for in a group event. Great fishing, scenery, lodging, guides, friends and food. Plenty of everything and best of all plenty of smallmouth. Early one morning I watched a black bear swim across the river right outside the lodge that overlooks the river. Plenty of wildlife and of course plenty of mosquitoes too! Bring your deet!

Like Topwater?

About 99% of the fishing is topwater divers, poppers and assorted foam bugs fished from drift boats with non stop casting to every undercut, tree root, boulder and grass line looking for that classic bass attack. Ive got to tell you there is nothing that stirs the adrenaline like watching the water move when your bug hits the surface.

No shortage of quality fish

Equipment

20" Brute

James Cook  20" Smallie

My Sage Bass II Series of rods did the bulk of the work for me. The Largemouth size handles the big hair bugs with ease and the shorter length really helps the accuracy of putting those big bugs under the trees. My Smallmouth size was pure magic with the popping bugs and foam critters. I also used a Sage Method 890-4 for some of the subsurface minnow work. This rod can really deliver the distance. Reels are not a huge deal in this game. Once hooked up you need to be concerned with pulling the fish away from entanglement and not worry about getting it on the reel. The line of choice throughout the group is the S/A Mastery Textured Titan Taper. The Titan has a powerful head for big bug delivery and also has a long rear taper to make easy work of picking up a lot of line for a the next cast. To explain better, most presentations involve hitting a target and after settling, making 1-2 moves before recasting to a new spot. The long taper of this line all but eliminates the need to strip back to a casting point common with short head lines.


The fish here are quality. Sure you could find more trophies in the big lakes but they couldnt match the experience of these river dwellers. A 20" or over here will get strong recognition. I was fortunate to catch one of the two caught this week. Too many to count 19s" came to hand and I didnt hear a single complaint about too many dinks.

About that Carp photo at the start of this article...

Release!

As if a great week of smallie fishing with a great crew of anglers and guides in a great lodge with great food and drink and yada, yada, yada wasnt enough...the next stop just a couple hours away is the flats of lake Michigan. Ive always wanted to wade in this great lake and hunt these submarine size monsters. It was everything Id ever dreamed about. The first thing I kept marveling over is the fact that I am wading in Lake Michigan with miles of flats one can walk with crystal clear water all around. Next was learning to spot the fish which is in fact the easy part. Just look for giant dark shadows that are moving. Bring out your best cast, these critters are smart. I had many refusals before I played it cool enough to have one commit. Be sure to have a good disc drag reel. My old Nautilus FW (which I can proudly say has caught more fish than most fly reels will ever see) was just fine for the bass we were hauling in but I was a bit concerned when I locked the drag down as tight as it would go and this fish was still running deep into backing until I only had maybe 20 yards to spare when I finally got it to turn. It is my advice that if you find yourself in the great lakes region dont pass up this opportunity and if you have it penciled in on your bucket list go ahead and ink it. You wont be disappointed.

A Giant THANK YOU goes out to my friends out Schultz Outfitters. These guys eat sleep and live all the great fly fishing in this area of the country. Also want to thank the guides from Tight Lines Fly Fishing Company. These guys know their water, know their fish and work hard to ensure you a great day of fishing. And a special Thanks to Schultzy for sharing a little bit of his Great Lakes carp wisdom.

This trip wont be forgotten anytime soon and I hope to have the opportunity to do it again.

Greg Darling 

Gorge Fly Shop Internet Sales Manager | Product Specialist

Review: Sage Bass II Series Rods

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Why I fish Hatch Fly Reels

Hatch Finatic 9+

There are few investments made by steelhead anglers more critical to their success than a good reel. A good reel can make or break your trip and will definitely increase your hook-up to landed ratio.

I read a review or “shoot out” the other day that had 19 criteria points for what a good reel is. Overall a good review, too good if you ask me. I don’t need a dissertation on the merits of a good fishing reel, I just need to know one thing, does it work? Can I stop a big fish with it? Will it hold up under every day use year over year? I’m willing to pay for quality but I expect a little bling to go with it, ie, it’s got to be pretty. I’ve fished a lot of reels over the years and my favorite are made in the USA by Hatch Outdoors.

My first Hatch Fly Reel

I ran into my first Hatch at a fly fishing show, it was love at first sight. As a young angler I couldn’t get past price but I had a different set of priorities as a twenty five year old. Fast forward another five years and I finally get my first Hatch, it’s a 9+ Pulse. This is still my go to reel and easily the most used of the many I have in service.

Today I’m 44 years old and a full time fishing guide. I make it a policy to only provide the best equipment for my clients and you will find Hatch Reels available in my boat every day. Before the guys at Hatch were “Hatch”, they wanted to build a better reel based on drag, durability and design. They nailed it.

Finatic

Let’s start with the drag, after all this is a reel we’re talking about. I could go on and on about the sealed drag, the stacked discs, resistant to heat issues, pound for pound fish stopping power, or the low start up inertia. I don’t care about the technical stuff although it does sound awesome, it’s just words. For me a drag’s about smooth reliable resistance. I recently fought a seal lice infested Spring Chinook in 200,000 cfs of Columbia river, and believe me my old Hatch Pulse put the wood to him! Lots of reels claim smooth fish stopping power and out of the box maybe they’re telling the truth. Over time things wear out, need maintenance, fail. The big fails for me are surging, free spooling/loss of drag, and total lock up.



That leads us to durability. Hatch reels require no maintenance, that’s right, NO MAINTENANCE! I’m not going to lie to you, after fishing reels every single day over a number of years and tough conditions even all reels may need a little warranty work. My favorite thing about Hatch reels is that I have never had one fail. I have sent reels back because they were no longer working as well as I expect them to. The good news is I can send them in for repair at my leisure because they still function.

Oregon Steel

Let’s talk about customer service. For the record, I’ve sent lots of reels back to their respective manufacturers over the years. The service I’ve received has been a deal breaker for several otherwise decent reels. Sending your high dollar stuff back to the manufacturer is never a good time. What I don’t want to hear is something along the lines of “never seen that happen before”, or “we’re pretty backed up right now but we’ll do the best we can”. Here’s what you get from Hatch, “send it in, we’ll fix it and overnight it back to you”. Yeah, that’s it…I’m good with that. No excuses just fix it and be quick about it.

Design. Like I said, I’m not a real technical guy but I have pretty high standards. The current version of the Hatch reel is the Finatic, prior to that it was the Monsoon, and before that the Pulse. It’s the same reel inside but it’s gotten lighter and prettier. The spools and reels are all interchangeable and there are two spool options, large and mid. As a Spey guy I will note one thing that’s pretty relevant regarding design and Hatch; Hatch reels are consistently heavier than most of their competition. While on the surface this may sound like a disadvantage, it’s not. Fishing a Spey Rod requires a heavy reel, it acts like a counterweight in both casting and holding the rod it the swing position. The other silent advantage is the precise machining of the Hatch reels. Thin diameter running lines are en vogue and for good reason and aside from a fully caged reel none of the competition can keep the running line inside the reel; that’s a problem.

For me it’s easy to be Hatch guy. Without lots of words, form, fit and function or as the Hatch guys say “drag, durability and design”. Nailed it!

Sam Sickles | Steelhead Outfitters
www.steelheadoutfitters.com
541.400.0855

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports June 8th

June 6, 2015

Fish Boy Gabe has Mastered Carp Angling

Most of the streams in both Oregonand Washingtonare open now for general season trout fishing, so exploring the high mountain streams is an option.  The opportunities for fishing are vast in the gorge right now.  From Shad to Carp to Bass, the Columbiais fishing great.  Local tributaries have kicked out a few early steelhead, and there is still a chance for catching a Chinook Salmon or two, but make sure to check the regulations before you head out the door.

WASHINGTON:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01590/wdfw01590.pdf

OREGON: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/docs/2015/2015%20Oregon%20Sport%20Fishing%20Regs_r12-11-14.pdf

John and I did an opening day float on the Klickitat on Monday.  I managed to get one fish to eat early in the day and I lost him at my feet after a quick battle.  It was the first opening day fish I have hooked in the Klick in three or four years now. 

There are thousands of hungry steelhead smolt in the river right now and keeping them off the line is difficult.  There are certain flies and colors that they like and dislike more than others, but its pretty tough to deal with them if you are in the thick of a smolt school.  There was a run where I just had to sit down and wait for John to stop because the smolt were hitting my fly on every cast from the second it hit the water to the second I recast it. 

American Shad are running thick on the Columbia River right now.  The majority of the action happens below Bonneville Dam, near Beacon Rock, near Cascade Locks and upstream near Rufus.  If you can find them you can catch them.  They are hard fighting fish that readily take flies and are tons of fun on a 5 or 6wt fly rod.

Fishboy Gabe has been catching carp on the fly with some consistency lately.  They are in shallow on the Columbiaand the impoundments near the highway 84 and feeding late into the evening.  Carp often stop tailing in the shallows in the mid afternoon, making evening fishing hard, but they have been feeding heavily lately all day from sunrise to sunset.

Rainbow Trout on the Deschutes Riverare still a great option for anglers.  The fishing has not been red hot, but there have been some great days and some bad days out there.  Small dark caddis have been hatching later in the day, while nymphing with a #20 flashback pheasant tail has been the most consistent during the day.  If you get out super early, a spent caddis will work before the sun comes up.  Swinging a soft hackle on a micro spey has been good and streamer fishing has been good in the mornings. 

Remember that there is NO FISHING FROM A BOAT ON THE DESCHUTES and also, fishing on the Warm Springs Reservation is highly regulated, so check the regulations before you start fishing on the wrong side… Some sections require a permit and others are prohibited all together. 

Spring Chinook have really shut down in a lot of places.  The Klickitat River has been a bright spot in the area for Chinook.  Anglers have been able to catch a fish or two a day with plugs or drifting bait through the deep holes.  The river below Bonneville Dam has been opened the past few days and rumors of the big “June Hogs” have been circulating though the area. 

The Cowlitz Riverhas been kicking out some summer steelhead already, and is probably the most consistent producer of fish in the Northwest for steelhead through the summer. 

The Klickitat River opened for summer steelhead and Chinook salmon on Monday, June 1.  The action has been good for June.  Typically, the water is high and dirty this time of year and it makes steelhead fishing tough.  With low water conditions, it feels more like fall out there.  There are steelhead in the river, but we are a few months away from consistent fishing. 

Smallmouth Bass have been hitting topwater late in the day on the Columbia River and John Day River. Look for structure near deeper water, but the fish may be in shallow late and early in the day.  There are big fish around, it just takes some searching.

Rainbow, Cutthroat, Brown and Brook Trout have been eating flying ants in the high elevation lakes.  They tend to gorge on them later in the day when the bugs start flying heavily.  Damselfly nymphs and callibaetis are also working well, along with smaller chironomids.  Timothy, Clear, Trillium, Laurence and Lost Lakes are all great OregonLakes, while Merrill and Goose Lakes are great choices for Washington anglers.

As always, we are happy to talk fishing any time.  Give us a call if you have any specific questions on local rivers, gear, and tactics, or if you just want some encouragement to get out of the office.  

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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R L Winston Tour

Travis Duddles - Montana Trout Stream

You may have heard the term “It’s a Winston” or “It has that Winston feel” stated like it is something really special. Trust me there is something to this feel! Many anglers put these rods above all others, but why? Winston rods are not always the most powerful, lightest or cutting edge technology so why are they put on such a pedestal? The most common response is it has the Winston feel. Winston just has a feel that is hard to find in other rods. Comfortable and smooth! On a recent trip to Montana I discovered where that feel comes from and so much more!

It all started several months ago when Eric Neufeld our Winston sales representative and good friend called to invite me to the Winston Confluence. The Winston Confluence was something Winston put together to bring a few select sales reps and dealers together in Twin Bridges Montana. This is the home of R. L. Winston Rod Company. The plan was to bring all of us together, give us a inside tour of Winston that they never do. Yes they do tours, but this would be a special one. Winston wanted to let us see all steps of production, even the processes that were top secret! They also wanted to show us the direction they are heading and get all of our feedback good or bad. So after hearing the plan I was quick to say "Im in!"

I flew into Bozeman, Montana where I met up with Adam and Jeff from Winston along with a couple of other dealers and sales reps from around the country and Canada. We all hopped in Adam’s and Jeff’s trucks heading towards Twin Bridges Montana. It didn’t take long to realize this was going to be fun group of guys and was going to be a great trip. After a hour and half drive we were in the small town of Twin Bridges, a classic little Montana farm town. Our lodging for the next few days was a small apartment building provided to us by 4 Rivers Fly Shop. This apartment building is where they house their clients during the guiding season.

The next morning we walked down the street to the R. L. Winston factory. The Winston factory is in a steel building on the edge of town, not quite as big as I thought it would be. When we walked through the front door into the small entry way slash show room we were greeted by Adam. Adam is the person you generally get when you call Winston. Adam was busy answering the phones as usual. While we waited I took the chance to scan through the complete line up of Winston rods displayed in the front entry. I scanned the rods every once in a while seeing a model that I had not cast or fished yet, which now sparked my interest to fish that rod. With most of my fishing being with two handed rods for Steelhead, I realized I have never fished the Boron III LS 9’ 5 weight. That would change later that day.

Lew Stoner

After a quick breakfast Jeff and Adam were ready to take us on our tour. It started in the Winston museum with the history of how Winston got started. Do you know who R. L. Winston is? There is no R. L. Winston, there were actually two original founders Robert Winther and Lew Stoner. R. L. Winston is a combination of their names; R for Robert, L for Lew, Win for Winther, Ston for Stoner. Put it together and you get R. L. Winston. Adam tells us how every year a few old timers come by and talk about meeting and visiting with Mr. Winston and that they knew him personally. Now we know there was never a Mr. Winston at R. L. Winston.

The Museum was amazing, but the best was about to begin. Annette Mclean who is the rod designer at Winston appeared to take us on our factory tour. We stepped through the door where the entire Winston rod staff was waiting to greet us. It did not take long to tell that these people love working at the R.L Winston factory. Most were smiling ear to ear. From there we went from station to station to see all the steps it takes to build a Winston fly rod. There is so much attention to detail and quality at the Winston factory and that is the difference that makes a Winston fly rod different from the rest. One such example of the attention to detail is the inscription “Barb” has personally been hand inscribing the Winston rods for 15 years. Yes, all of them are hand inscribed!

At this point on the tour I can’t tell you much about what we saw. Let’s just say we got to see lots of cool stuff behind closed doors. Annette talked to us a lot about the design of a Winston rod, the tapers and the materials. I have to say Annette has an amazing amount of knowledge when it comes to rod design and the cool part is she is so humble about it. Annette even let us cast some prototypes that are in the works, can’t tell you anymore, but I can tell you that they are always looking for the next best rod!

Reel Seats

As we all gathered at the end of the tour it all made sense now why Winston fly rods can be in short supply at times. As dealers we tend to get upset when we cannot get a rod for a customer, we need it now but with Winstons attention to detail and quality it takes a little more time to produce a rod. All Winston Employees take great pride and respect in the rods they build and their commitment to the company brings forth a feeling in the Winston factory that resembles family. I guess we have to remember the next time a Winston is on backorder that if you want this type of quality sometimes you just have to wait. We all left that afternoon excited, wanting a new Winston fly rod.

We went back to the lodge and geared up for a couple hours of fishing on the Ruby River. Eric asked “what rod I would like to fish?”. I quickly replied “the BIII LS 9’ 5 Wt.” Once we grabbed our gear we raced to the Ruby, we only had a few hours until we return to the Winston factory for a BBQ.

After a 20 minute drive we ended up at one of Adam and Jeff’s favorite spot on the Ruby River. Eric, Jeff and I headed up river and on the first run I handed the rod to Eric to let him have first cast. Rigged with a dry dropper set up he quickly caught a nice brown trout. It was my turn, I made a few cast, I quickly forgot about fishing. Casting the LS on a small river like this was a dream, it is so smooth, loads easy, very nice! Ok! Snap out of it, time to catch a fish. We worked our way up to the next run, first cast I hooked and landed a nice rainbow. With its deeper flex the LS plays fish very nice also.

Brownie

Eric and I quickly forgot all about the streamer rod we brought with us and took turns casting and catching fish with the LS. This continued for about 2 hours, many cast, many fish, but most of all the enjoyment of casting the LS. The LS was the perfect rod for this size river with plenty of power for the hopper dropper set up yet still very capable of a delicate presentation.

Our time was up and it was time to head back to the Winston factory for a BBQ. When we showed up burgers were all ready grilling. Some of the staff had stayed late to make dinner for us and the gentleman cooking even raided his own freezer supplying the elk burger for our dinner that night. It was an enjoyable evening, great company, great food and cold beer.

After dinner Jeff brought us all back to our lodging where we had a round table about Winston rods. We discussed the pros and cons of Winston rods. What is needed? What trends we see coming and so on. After the discussion was all over Jeff presented to the four of us authorized dealers with a very special, very limited custom R. L. Winston Boron IIIx rod that does not exist on the market, the “Silver Label”. This rod was your standard Boron IIIx, but dressed and finished completely different from your traditional Winston. We were all stunned we did not expect this, it was a very special surprise. Remember this does not exist so don’t ask you cannot get one. In fact we were warned if any of us sold one of these we would be banned from getting personal rods from Winston for life!

The next day we were greeted by guides from the 4 Rivers Fly Shop, this was our last day of fishing before heading back home. Eric and I were off to the Jefferson with our guide Joe Willauer. Joe said that we would be fishing a lot of streamers that day on the Jeff, searching for those big hogs that live in its waters. He had us start off though with nymphs below and indicator where I got to break my Silver Label in on a few nice trout.

We then shifted over to some bigger 6 weight rods and started chucking streamers. The day started off a little slow with streamers, but quickly improved. We caught several nice 14 to 18 browns and rainbows by the end of the day. We both had fish on over 20 inches, but they were never landed. That is why you fish the Jefferson though, not for quantity, but for the chance to land a real pig, maybe even over 30 inches!!! Not that day, but I will fish it again, next time I will have my 11’ 4 weight Winston MicroSpey with me though. That is my favorite streamer rod, no sore shoulder when I am done.

It was sad to see the trip come to an end. The next day we all headed home, back to our families and work. I left this trip with a much more appreciation of Winston and their fly rods. I have always fished Winston’s and enjoyed them but now I really understand that extra mile put into the attention to detail to every Winston fly rod. That gives you that much better of feeling when you pick your rod up. Speaking of that I am going to grab my Winston and go catch a few big Crane Prairie rainbows!

Travis Duddles
Owner and CEO | Gorge Fly Shop
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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