Jon Hazlett

Many of you are familiar with local Steelhead guide Jon Hazlett. As part of Confluence Outfitters, Jon is one of our areas most sought after guides for the Rogue and other area rivers. Jon also leads most of the Two Hand casting classes we offer at the shop throughout the year. Jon will be on hand to assist with the class!

This class will also include a complimentary Understanding Spey Lines presentation to be held after hours at The Ashland Fly Shop Saturday the 17th. This on it’s own would be worth the price of admission. Beverages will be provided.

This class will cover casting from both sides of the river. A shore lunch & snacks will be provided. All casting levels are encouraged to attend. There will be plenty of info here for every level!

George Cook is one of the biggest personalities in the world of Fly Fishing and has truly “been there and done that” and is happy to pass along his experience. Lets again show George and Sage that Southern Oregon/Northern California has got it going on in the 2 handed casting world!

What: Two Handed, Spey casting instruction with George Cook & Jon Hazlett

Where: Tou Velle Park on the Rogue River

When: Saturday March 17th Spey line talk 5pm - 7pm - Sunday March 18th  Class  9am-5pm

Cost: $150

Couple of nice wild Upper Klamath Steelhead taken Sunday before the big game. just walking into a couple of my favorite spots around I5.

great Upper Klamath fish... on the swing!

bright fish...

You can bet anytime we get a big high pressure system bearing down on our region the Steelhead fishing is going to suffer somewhat. Clear, bright days and cold water have the fish hunkered down a bit. Nymph fishing techniques are really working well now as the fish don’t seem to want to chase anything further than their nose. A story emerging this year is the size of the fish… lots of very large, wild fish being caught.

 That being what it is I snuck out with the good Doctor Pena for some killer trout fishing Southern Oregon style. No shortage of fishing options right now…

Nice Fish Eric!

Temper that smile big daddy!

Next day at the Holy Water on the Rogue lucked into a fantastic Mayfly hatch. Big fishing sipping dries… Holy water is a great bet through the winter. Good hatches of BWO’s & midges.

# 14 Parachute Adams... what else?

Thanks for looking!!  541 488 6454

10-18-11  Fishing has picked up and we are seeing some great results as fresh fish continue their migration up the Rogue. As per usual, nymph fishing under an indicator out of a driftboat is putting impressive numbers up on the Rogue. Swinging flies is still producing well in likely spots but as the water temps in the river cool and more fish move into the deeper slots nymph fishing becomes very effective. Weather is stable and very comfortable and looks to be that way for a while. Must be October in the Rogue Valley - Wish you were here!

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing

Sweet

Steel Head

You will not out fish this dude

10-5-11  I was fortunate enough to be on the river Monday when the entire river system changed for the better. First of all, at the put-in, we confirmed that an irrigation main burst somewhere in the Butte Creek water shed turning the Rogue into a muddy mess. As the day dawned it was obvious the clarity was absolutely perfect for swinging big, black flies on sink tips. My favorite! It was overcast and drizzy/rainy all day but a very comfortable temperature. We found fish in several runs. They seem to be holding in slower water now that the temps are down a bit in the river. The spots where the fly could just creep across is where they liked it best.  The river cleared throughout the day and is in great shape now.

Wild & Happy

This fish, while not that big, was absolutely all over the place. Creamed the fly as it hit the water in a far seam and was out of the water 3 times before I had it on the reel. Can hardly believe it stayed hooked.

Desert Island rod... no doubt

Ran into customer and all around great dude Dr. Bryan Sohl on the river  late the day before as the storm was blowing in. He and his band of misfits landed a 29.5 inch fish just on the other side of the river from me - the nerve! It’s great running into friends on the river.

There must be a cigar in this picture somewhere

Large Steelhead being brought to net

9-29-11 Things are going to change a bit for the better in the next week as far as our local fishing is concerned. The first of our rains are scheduled to arrive Sunday and continue intermittently through the week. It’s a welcome change as we have had lingering warm, dry weather and everything, including the fishing, feels a little stale as of late.  I would be surprised if this will effect river levels much as the ground will be able to absorb a lot of water before letting it go into the streams. What it will do is get a lot of fish that have been hunkered down waiting for a change like this on the move again. And thats a good thing. Please call the shop for up to minute conditions - 541 488 6454.

Richard and Sue Phillips catch fish of the year (so far)

From the weather service:

… Significant weather changes expected this weekend through
early next week…

Warm and dry Summer-like weather will come to an end this weekend
as the leading edge of a large and deepening trough of low
pressure reaches the area. Temperatures will drop to near normal
values this weekend with periods of cloudiness and some showers on
the west side… primarily on Saturday. High Mountain areas above
6500 feet elevation such as Mount Shasta will experience moderate
to strong and gusty southwest winds Friday and Saturday.

Late Sunday through Wednesday a series of wet and potent weather
systems will move across the entire forecast area bringing gusty
south winds… significant precipitation… and much cooler
temperatures. During this time period 2 to 5 inches of rain is
likely to fall in coastal areas… 1 to 3 inches across the
interior west side and mountains from the Cascades westward… and
a half inch to an inch and a half across the east side.

10-10-11  Ok… here we go. Flows are dropping into shape and in about a week or two they will be at their low point for the rest of the year until we start to get our rains. Even now the river is at a good flow for Fly Fishing. The Rogue from the old Gold Ray Dam site upstream to the Hatchery is Flies only for September-October. Pressure is light. The last 6 people through my door have either caught a Steelhead in the last couple days or know someone that has.

Rogue Dropping into Shape

 Lots of people swinging the Rogue these days as Two Handed rods continues to gain popularity. Stuart Warren of Beulah Fly rods has been remarkably successful skating dries. Otherwise Scandi heads and light versi tips as well as Skagit and larger sink tips are getting it done.

The Prize

 Nymphs also are going work very well. A 2 fly rig fished under an indicator is a top producer on the Rogue. The best water for this technique will still be a little tough to find - best from a drift boat - but it is availible out there.  Please call the shop with any questions you might have. We love Steelhead! 541 488 6454

Nymph Caught Steel

4-17  It has pretty much been raining in our area non-stop  since yesterday. Warm rain on snow kind of rain - though it’s cooling off now. I had all my stuff in the car to swing flies at the hatchery run after work today for a couple hours but pulled up a graph with a blue line going straight up in the air that was the Lost Creek outflow. Bummer…

Excellent Flow Resource

Click here to go to the Reclamation web page where I got this image - scroll over the dam icons to get the inflow/outflow numbers.

2-26  Well… It’s pretty quiet out there. Saving grace is flows are way down and you can reach just about any water you want. I’ll post the flows below. There are plenty of fish spread out through the system, but they are hunkered down and tight lipped. That won’t be the case for long, but it is for now.

Rogue at Dodge Bridge

With a warming trend coming this week that may re-shuffle the deck, but we’ll see. But if there is a lot of rain involved it could blow the river out for a while. It sounds like winter fishing and it is.

Applegate at Applegate

Applegate is not giving up many fish either. Low, low flows in the Upper stretch are going to be hard to avoid for the duration of the season here. Still expecting a good push of fish. Always want it to fish better earlier but mid to late March is prime time here.

Good luck and feel free to call the shop for up to the minute info! Thanks! 541 488 6454