Columbia Gorge Fishing Report November 16th

Jeff caught a nice little hen. 

Fishing Report

This last week was good for most of the area anglers that ventured out.  Our favorite summer steelhead rivers were kicking out fish and in great shape for most of the week.  While this weekend’s rains are not doing much to help the clarity, levels are going up and there could be some good fishing this week.  The weather looks unsteady and possibly torrential, but there should be some good periods of fishing this week. 

Chinook Salmon are mostly dead now.  There are a few stragglers holding on, but the rivers are full of dead salmon everywhere.  It is very much like Alaska in the Gorge right now. 

Summer Steelhead have been on the bite this past week.  While nothing was red hot, there was steady and consistent fishing for many anglers last week.  Jeff and Sam are visiting from Montana and they managed to pull a few out of the Klickitatduring their visit.  The Klick went out of shape on Saturday night, but could easily come back early in the week before the predicted big rains come in around Wednesday or Thursday. 

The Deschutes gave up a fish or two a day to most of the anglers that went out.  The lower river is definitely colored up as of Sunday from the White River pouring mud, but the river above the confluence with the White is in great shape and should likely stay in great shape as the week unfolds. 

The Hood Riverwas actually looking pretty good on Sunday morning.  We had a spike of water and the river is dropping and looks great as of Sunday. While the other local rivers were rising, the Hood was dropping.  No reports of any winter fish caught in the gorge yet, but there are a few summers hanging around. 

Trout fishing is closed on several local lakes and streams now.  Please consult the regulations before fishing. 

Areas closed for trout include: East Fork Hood, Hood River (for trout), Eagle Creek, and the Deschutes upstream of the northern boundary of the Warm Springs Reservation.  The White Salmon above the county road bridge below the powerhouse (old dam).  LaurenceLake is also closed, as well as the Metolius Riverabove Allingham Bridge. 

Areas open for trout include:  Deschutes downstream of the Warm Springs Reservation (Maupin area and downstream are open), Lost Lake, Goose Lake(WA), The White Salmon from the mouth upstream 2 or so miles to the old county bridge and Yakima River.  November trout fishing can be really good, especially big fish eating big meaty streamers.  Get out your favorite streamer patterns and go!

Travis took out his Winston Micro Spey 10’ 6” 4wt out to the Deschutes and had a good couple of hours pulling streamers for Rainbow Trout on Thursday.  He caught a couple of nice fish with minimal effort.  This is going to be a great fishery during the winter, especially during the drier periods when steelhead are hard to come by.  Instead of a down and across swing as you would do for steelhead, cast more across or slightly upstream and let your line develop a downstream belly. Then you are ready to start stripping the fly.  Anything between a little twitch and a fast pull will work, but they will generally be more receptive to one type of retrieval.  It is just up to you to find out what type of retrieve they are looking for. 

Smallmouth Bass are getting no attention right now, but with water temps dropping in the big river, the bite should be pretty good.  You just have to find some current out there, and there isn’t much to find right now.  It should be easy to find the fish once you locate some moving water.      

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.  

Andrew Perrault
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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Scientific Anglers Mastery Fly Lines 2016

Scientific Anglers fly lines underwent a really good makeover for 2016. Lots of upgrades to existing lines, many needed additions and some very interesting changes in categorizations. These changes should really help in the understanding of line uses as well as technologies. I hope to explain and make sense of these changes and along the way highlight some lines I think you should be aware of that may benefit your angling needs. 

Mastery Series

Mastery series lines have been around for many years and they are the original lines that really gave Scientific Anglers its name. Lines like GPX, Mastery Trout, Expert Distance and many of these great lines anglers are currently using today. S/A decided it was time for a complete makeover for the Mastery Series. Now before fear sets in that your favorite line is gone forever and you must buy up all remaining old lines while you can find them, STOP! Know this that your favorites are still there and have been tweaked to be better than ever. Let me dive in and highlight some changes you need to be aware of.

Mastery GPX is now MPX (Mastery Presentation Taper)

MPX replaces GPX

GPX could possibly be the most popular modern line of all time! With its half line size bump up in line weight it made an idea choice for modern fast action graphite rods. So why change a great thing? Over the past few years I think it is safe to say that fly line technology has probably lead the industry in the area of technological advancement. Everything from fly line cores to coatings, tapers to densities have seen many improvements in recent times. Here is a great breakout of exactly how this line has been shaped for the future.

Notice MPX is also offered in Wavelength. Wavelength is the Textured Series of fly lines. Well get more into Wavelength in a future article.

MPX Advantages
Tighter loop formation, with a slightly shorter head and more condensed mass, in addition to a larger proportion of mass at the front of the head. Redesigned with more mass toward the front of the head, the MPX provides the same benefits of the GPX, with an added emphasis on presentation. The power is still there, only with an added bit of finesse. The MPX makes casting for beginners easier and provides more performance for accomplished anglers. The slightly smaller tip diameter conserves the presentation of the line and prevents it from feeling over powered.

If GPX was your line of choice than you are really going to enjoy MPX. The new taper is a great improvement in the way of presentation and it is a very noticeable improvement!

Salmon / steelhead line

More Mastery Lines

Mastery Anadro
This is your Steelhead and Salmon line. Think Anadromous fish. Its made with a long head for easy roll casting and long distance mending. Formulated for cooler climates and utilizes a braided multifilament core for ultra low stretch performance.


Mastery Titan - The Smooth Titan!
Not to be confused with Wavelength Titan, The Mastery Titan is a smooth finish version of this very popular line.

The Titan line is a bumped up powerful casting line ideal for large flies and quick rod loading. Personally I would recommend buying this line in the textured Wavelength version but many anglers prefer the smooth traditional fly line feel offered in the Mastery Series. Either way it is a powerful line well suited for todays big fly anglers.

Mastery SBT (Short Belly Taper)
This interesting line actually came out new last year and flew under the radar. The taper is designed with a short head, (21.5 to 27.3). Note it is NOT line over-sized, (no weight bump).

Short Head but weight not bumped up!

This line really excels at short to medium range casting and allows for easy turn over of weighted nymphs and streamers. This line allows you to put some power in your trout rod without over-lining it. Its a really fun line to cast. I could really see anglers who fish small streamers for trout or panfish within reasonable casting distances really liking this line. It provides good turnover without feeling overpowered.


Mastery Grand Slam
The Grand Slam Taper is a proven powerful saltwater taper that has been refined over the years. This taper is also found in the Wavelength Series and Sharkwave Series. Its such a good powerful taper that many anglers have requested it in a Mastery smooth version. Scientific Anglers listened and delivered! The Grand Slam is a great choice for anglers pursuing Bonefish, Permit and Tarpon. This taper is such a great choice for many salt anglers due to its bumped up weight that will help you load your rod and launch quicker cast to moving targets.

Mastery Grand Slam Taper

Mastery Series Wrap up
Many other changes in this series but you will be able to recognize your favorites. Heres a short list.

• Trout - Revised taper for even more delicate delivery 
• Double Taper - No longer hiding under the Trout name 
• VPT- Versatile Presentation Taper is designed for delicate dry fly fishing. This line utilizes Sharkwave texturing on the tip for high flotation. 
• Expert Distance - No change and it still comes in a Competition casting version 
• Redfish - This line comes in both warm water and cold water versions 
• Bonefish - Updated into a two color format for easy head recognition 
• Saltwater - Taper improved for better presentation 
• Tarpon - Improved taper, two color format and braided core

Most of these lines saw subtle changes to improve their performance and continue to provide you with outstanding durability and most of all fishability!

Heritage Ultra Presentation

New for 2016 is a throwback to what some would say "better times." Back when lines were one color and not over-weighted. Lines made for a time when bamboo and fiberglass fly rods ruled the streams. Scientific Anglers went to the archives, dug up a retired taper, applied modern technology and bought it back to life. The Ultra Presentation taper is a line for those who have returned to embrace fiberglass and bamboo or todays ultra moderate graphite rods. A line to get back to a simpler time when one fly box contained everything you could need for a successful trout adventure. No sink tips, split shot, indicators or lure size streamers,  just you and a fly with your own passion and peace of mind. I could go on romancing the past. Sometimes its good to get back!

Heritage Ultra Presentation Profile

Species Chart Provided by Scientific Anglers

Note on the species charts: While these are good references I feel I must note that fly lines need to match the personality of the intended rod as well as water temp, fly size, wind conditions, type of water, technique of fishing and angler experience. 

New Packaging Explained

A lot of changes with Scientific Anglers for 2016 and while many changes also bring some confusion I can easily say after learning all the changes that todays S/A is much easier to understand and has much more to offer. S/A has always built high quality durable fly fishing lines and continues this tradition and commitment into the future.

Please dont hesitate to shoot us an email or give us a call with fly line questions. Remember this, the right fly line matched to your rod will bring out its best qualities! The wrong line on the best rod will make you question your ability as a fly angler.

Greg Darling 

Gorge Fly Shop Internet Sales Manager | Product Specialist

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Report November 9th

 Hood River: 11/05/15
Salmon visibly spawning lower right.

Fishing Report

Last week’s rains really got our rivers up and moving, which certainly helped move salmon and steelhead around.  More rains predicted for this next week could help too.  We shall see as the week progresses, but it looks like cold weather should deposit mountain snow and the rivers should be in prime shape.

Chinook Salmon are all but done.  A large number of fish moved into the tributaries after last week’s high water event.  There are salmon spawning all over the place, especially at the mouth of the Hood.  Please let them spawn and die in peace.  This has been a long journey for them. 

Summer Steelhead:  The local rivers all blew mud for most of last week.  They started coming into shape Wednesday, and are improving dramatically as the weekend progresses here.  The Deschutes is improving and should be in great shape this week.  The Klickitat was in great shape Friday with 18” of visibility and improving. Jon and I did not manage to swing into a fish.  It wasn’t due to lack of effort or conditions; both of which were stellar.  We did spend a good chunk of the day exploring the upper part of the river as Jon had never seen it and I had never fished off the road up there, only floated through it. 

The Hood Riverwas looking good on Thursday with 2.5’ of visibility, but the powerhouse access was closed for construction, leaving the mouth of the river as the only place to fish.  There are several dozen salmon spawning down there (see picture) and it is not holding many steelhead when there are that many Chinook on beds, so I left.  Again, please refrain from fishing for spawning Chinook; it is prohibited to fish for Chinook in the Hood Riverright now.  I have already fielded several calls inquiring about how to catch them since they moved in this week and are visible from the footbridge near the mouth of the river. 

Targeting Chinook in the Hood River is prohibited after June 15.

Trout fishing is closed on several local lakes and streams now.  Please consult the regulations before fishing. 

Areas closed for trout include: East Fork Hood, Hood River (for trout), Eagle Creek, and the Deschutes upstream of the northern boundary of the Warm Springs Reservation.  The White Salmon above the county road bridge below the powerhouse (old dam).  LaurenceLake is also closed, as well as the Metolius Riverabove Allingham Bridge. 

Areas open for trout include:  Deschutes downstream of the Warm Springs Reservation (Maupin area and downstream are open), Lost Lake, Goose Lake(WA), The White Salmon from the mouth upstream 2 or so miles to the old county bridge and Yakima River.  November trout fishing can be really good, especially big fish eating big meaty streamers.  Get out your favorite streamer patterns and go!

Smallmouth Bass fishing has been tough now that the level of the Columbiais so low.  Ryan did not catch a single bass last week when he went out.  This was the first time since moving out here last year that de didn’t get at least one in a day of fishing.  The temps are dropping, which is good.   

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. 

Andrew Perrault
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Read More..