The Thompson River

I always wish that there could be a way for me to accurately retell every detail of a steelheading trip, or even just a single moment of it. Unfortunately every way I try to explain what it is like to be there falls utterly short. Journals and stories can only tell others so much, and photos can only rarely describe the underlying and intangible spirit of the country they were taken in. Occasionally a story or a photo will hit the nail on the head and for a brief moment we are let into the true nature and feeling of being part of the experience.

In the Fall of 2002 some friends and I traveled to the Thompson River in British Columbia. The Thompson is a river that flow through the arid hinterlands of the Canadian Coastal Range. The river is not known for it's kindness anglers, or for it's numerous Steelhead. The Thompson is however known for being a river where devout anglers can test there faith and grit against tough wading, freezing nights and mornings, and a strong possiblity of going a week or even two with not so much as a grab. But if the steelhead gods smile and the stars aline you may just hook the fish of a lifetime.

I went with my friends Dave and Billy and we spent a week fishing the runs around the town of Spences Bridge by day and hanging out at the Log Cabin Pub by night. In the frigid nights that haunt the Thompson's steelhead season, the pub is the best place to escape for warmth, food, and to hear stories of the rare fish told by some of the greatest Steelheaders on the planet. On our trip Billy, Dave, and I spent our evenings hanging out with two guys from the U.S., Steve Choate and Bill Williams, Steve had just won the world spey casting tournament in the UK and was busy helping to design fly rods and spey lines, in between floats down the Thompson. Bill was Steve's mentor, or that is what I gathered. We also Ran into many faces to put with Spey pages names. I also struck up a small friendship with an angler named Jon Barlow, and now I hear his name all the time, every body seems to know and like Jon.

So the nights were fun, Having beers and ripping on every one else for either fishing or not fishing long belly lines, or big or little flies, weight or no weight since we fished two-handers, what else was there?

The first day we fished hard and got nothing. We got to see a young Canadian guy land a nice fish in front of us. As the fish ran, his friend encouraged him to palm the reel, and he shouted, or maybe he whined, "I Caannn't it's a Haaaarrrdyyy". Billy and I love our hardys, but that is still one of favorite shout outs.

The next day was also an exhausting sun up to sundown seige on the river, and at the very end of the day Dave stuck our first fish. He was behind me on the Grease Hole and I heard his reel screaming, I turned around to see the last of his fly line slip out the tip of the rod. Dave ran down stream, hopping boulders, and even managed to save him se;lf from a gnarly backlash. Then it ended with me tailing a great big buck in the shallow water as dark rolled in. It was an amazing fish.

The next morning Billy and Dave headed down to fish the River right side of the Hotel Run. I chose to stay and fish the Grease Hole again. I did not get any thing on my first pass throught the run, but as I neared the tailout, I saw a few fish slowly roll, so I decided to go through again. The first pass I fished a large Black G.P. now I tied on a big orange intruderish fly and fished through again. This time it paid off. half way down the run the rod bucked hard and backing was racing off the reel, I don't even know what happened to the loop I was carrying or the rest of the fly line. The fish was instantly into the backing and going through it fast aqfter about 75yards or something in that area the fished slowed and I was able to turn it. over the next 15-20 minutes a game of tug o war was held between us, an finally he was less than a rods length from my feet, but I could not see him yet, so close, any second now. A head shake and the hook came loose, it was over and I never saw the fish. We fished hard the rest of that day, but found no other fish.

On the fourth Day it was Billy's turn, and though I led the way through the Grease Hole, and Dave followed me, It was Billy who got the fish. I was at the camp when I heard the sound of Billy's reel, so I grabbed my big camera and ran down, I went through 3 rolls of film on the fight and landing of the great fish, and it was truly great 43" long with a 26" girth, the biggest steelhead that any of us had ever seen.


As we were looking at the fish, I noticed that even though it had been hooked in the lower jaw, it had a big red red bruise on its upper lip. I mentioned this to Billy, who imediatly saw where I was going with this line of thinking and told me that this was absolutely not the fish I hooked yesterday, and to guit trying to horn in on his fish. Yeah, he read me pretty well on that one.

Well, after the rest of day four slipped by with out another grab, I started feeling pretty desperate. Both Dave and Billy caught fish and I had lost my only opportunity. On Day five I again hooked nothing a repeatedly fished the grease hole in the morning and the evening, while Dave and Billy had gone out to fish other runs, that evening when Billy and Dave returned from fishing John's Rock, they told me of the great Hen that dave had brought up to and landed on a skater, a greased liner.

I was happy for Dave, but  not as happy as I should have been, I was mostly sad for myself. How could he be so lucky? I now know, after several years have passed that he was and is just that good, and that I cursed myself by narrowing my focus so much, and wasting valuable time being childish. I started realizing this while we were hanging out at the pub, with Bill, Jon, and Steve. Dave and Bill had a great plan for some different water we should pioneer the next day, and Jon who seemed to be catching more that anyone that week, was encouraging me to try some smaller flies, and I decided that I would at least get the mental monkey off my back, stop worrying and start having fun, whether I landed a fish or not.

The next morning we all got going a little later than usual, alot cause we were tired and a little cause it was cold. We rolled in to the local gas station on our way up towards the Martell Islands section of the River. When we arrived we stopped at an orchard to buy some cide and fruit and asked the owner if we could hike through his orchard to get to the river. He said sure and even let us drive a good bit of the way on his property.

We fished across the river from a run that, I now know, is called Fantasy Island. Steve Choate was across the river on that run, a great soft water bay that takes a huge cast to fish right. The water I was on almost seemed too deep and structureless, the bank was steep and I could only stand ankle deep, any more would be a drop over my head. I thought I might have a chance on the hang down, but the grab came on beginning of the swing.

The Grab was the softest I have ever felt, like the weight of a small leaf. The fly kept swinging the small weight unchanging, then there was the slightest TICK, so small it was almost nothing, but I set the hook. nothing happened, I set right into a rock, way out there in the deep water with a floating line and a #3 spade, but I couldn't see a rock. Then the shit got started, the fish just ran and ran my line racing down stream, and the fish jumped 30yards up stream, then again 50yards up stream, but the line was still racing out down stream, pointing unchangingly at the boil of a yugo sized boulder. In the end it I was able to get her around the boulder and in, I can hardly remember it. Some moments last and others fade.

Dave helped me land, photograph and release the fish. Steve Shouted and gave a fist pump from across the river, Billy gave the steelhead fist pump that is truly unique to him, and I got all giggly cause I caught a steelhead. That night Dave and I fished the Orchard Run and each hooked and lost big fish both fishing the surface. When mine took it was getting dark and Dave had finished the run and was talking on shore with Bill. I was fishing caddisy/muddlerish thing and just like that morning a slight weight just started swinging with the fly, I set, and the fish just sat there. I called to Dave and Billy. They stopped talking looked up, saw me, rod bent, but the fish didn't move. Assuming I was up to my usual antics the went back to talking. I screamed "come you f&%*ers, I'm serious" and right then the fish bolted to the other side of the river. The fight was dramatic, The fish was huge, Billy later said that he saw it from the high bank and thought it would go an easy twenty, but at the end I went stupid and pointed the rod at the fish and it broke off just before we could land it.
We partied that night an in the morning, our last morning, Steve and Bill came by to teach us about casting long bellies. It was great and Billy and I really were sold on it. I would have told you then that I wasn't and for years after I went to shorter and shorter line, but My imagination was captured, and now I love fishing and casting long bellies when I can.

So the Thompson was good to us on that trip, we hooked 7 fish in 7 days. One fish was the biggest any of us had ever seen. I went back a couple of years later for four days, the trip was great with tons of memorable people, and animals, and events, but no fish. Thats the Thompson I had always heard of, she'll lure you into loving her and then and then make you watch as she loves some undeserving bastard.

The Klickitat River

The Klickitat is a small and beautiful river in Washington State. It is often overshadowed by the near by Deschutes River which is across the Columbia in Oregon, but the Klickitat is a great river with good access along the lower 20 or so miles. The steelhead of the Klickitat can get to be pretty good sized (20lbs) with very few small fish, but in my several trips to the river I have never, nor have I seen, a fish landed over 10 lbs, I have hooked some nice fish though. I have only landed smaller fish.

It is only a short (20-30min) drive from town of Hood River in Oregon. It is also close to the Dalles. There is the town of Lyle at the mouth of the river and The town of Klickitat is about ten miles from the mouth. Klickitat has an OK market, but a person is probably better to have there stuff purchased before they arrive, I like to stop in Hood River and then License up at Bridge Mart just across the Columbia from Hood River.

Floating the Canyon from Stinson Flat to the takeout at around rm20 is a great way to see the Klickitat river. I believe that Larimer Outfitters out of Hood River, Oregon does float trips down the Klickitat, I know that those guys guide the river and know it well. There are also some primitive boat launches above Stinson Flat that can be used to float down to Stinson.

The float from Stinson to rm20 is a great float with lots of fishy water and not alot of guys on it. My friend BR and I floated this stretch with Tom Larimer. We turned it into a two day float and had some good fishing, at least we all got fish.

I have fished the Klickitat in early September and in early October and have found fish at both of these times. It did seem like there were more fish around when I was there in October. I have only fished the river on three ocassions, for maybe a total of eight days, so there is a whole lot I don't know, but I have heard that fish will start arriving as early as July and the river fishes good until it closes.

I have heard that skaters and big flies out-perform classic wets on the Klickitat, but I have done as well with a #3 spey as about anything else, although I haven't been all that successful on the Klick either. For good Klickitat patterns check out Larimeroutfitters.com, tom knows what works there it is his home water.

I have stayed at two campgrounds on the Klickitat; Ice house & Stinson Flats. Icehouse is a few miles up stream of the town of Klickitat. Stinson Flat is on the upper river and getting there from the lower river requires going up a single lane switchback to a plateau, from which you can see both Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood, and then back down a switchback into the canyon. Stinson is quieter than Icehouse, ordinarily, maybe even too quiet sometimes. I spent a night at Stinson and it did get a little lonely.

The Klickitat is not a very big river so there would be no reason to try to fish it with a 15' rod and 90' line. I think that and angler would be best served with a 11'-13'6" 6-8wt rod, and throwing either a Scandi or a skagit based on conditions and/or fly preference.

The Snake River -

Even though the Snake has been massacred by dams, it is still incredible. In many ways that makes it worse. The Snake was a national treasure, it carried steelhead and salmon so far inland that Nevada once had native fish populations. Those unique populations are now no more, but the Snake still exists and fishing her waters is humbling.

The Snake is a very big river. Only the experience it self can describe what it feels like to cast out from the rivers edge. Many anglers that have fished the Deschutes would agree that it is a big river, and yet the Dechutes is but a quarter of the size of the Snake.

I spent a week on the Snake recently and when I took an afternoon off and drove up to the Red Shed Fly shop on the Clearwater, the river looked absolutely small in comparision to the Snake.

From the town of Asotin up to Hellars Bar, Where the Grande Ronde dumps in, The Snake fishes well with a fly. All though the river will seem crowded, with all of the jet boats and roads anglers aroound, I have found that an angler looking for classic steelhead runs will often find this water open. Most of the anlers I have come across focus either on the slow, laminer runs of the lower snake or they are fishing Hellars bar. The boats will mostly avoid the fly runs because of how shallow they are.

I like looking for shallow runs that have some chop on the rivers surface. This is not hard to find on the Snake. On my last trip my friend Rusty and I were able to find several spots that fit the bill perfectly. And once we found a few of these spots it was not long before we started finding Steelhead.As for flies on the Snake, I have caught fish on every thing from a 1/0 black Marabou to a #7 purple green-butt. My go to fly however, I quess would be a #3 Yellow Jacket. This is a spey fly that uses a dyed yellow pheasant rump for hackle over a black body and uses a black wing, I think it is both buggy and pretty so I fish it, but I have also caught Snake steelhead on Akroyds, purple speys, black speys, Harry Lemire patterns, you name it. it seams like they like flies.There are classic runs and bars, and lots of spots that look like nothing from a distance, but are epic and fishy when you are on them. Alot of these hidden gems fish like classic water allowing for long casts and will often take an hour or more to fish through.
The big runs and relatively small fish that are common on the Snake, left me looking for just the right two handed rod. The river handles a floating line really well in late October. I ended up getting a Loomis 15' 7/8wt Grease Liner and have paired it up with a couple of long belly lines, so now I can launch a long line and enjoy a 5-6lb fish, which is great. On my latest trip I caught several steelhead on this 15' Loomis, they were great. I also fished a Thomas & Thomas DH1409/5 with the same Nextcast 95' 8/9 line and I found that it was even easier to cast and the little bit of extra power was great when it was time to land a fish, and I would say that no enjoyment was lost from the fight. Now, due to the success of the T&T DH1409/5, I have picked up a DH1509/3 for next years trip. (which subsequently sold and replaced with a Greaseline 16' 9/10)

The Sandy River

The Sandy is a river that I have fished this river only twice and I found it to be pretty tough to discover via the road program. Not that there isn't great water to fish that is accessible by road, It is that the dense forests and the question of private vs public property makes knows where to go and finding a way there tough. So over all, I think the best way to discover the Sandy is with a guide. With a guide you can float the Sandy which I think would be the best way to see it.

Two good friends of mine , Tony and Rusty, floated the Sandy with Tom Larimer out of Hood River, OR and they loved it and learned lots. They were new with two handed rods and got lots of casting instruction from Tom, who really is an expert, and they were able to get this education while fishing great runs and searching form big fish.

I have not floated the Sandy, I have gone with the road program. I have found some great runs, been told of a few others and the waters of Oxbow park are pretty obvious. I have not caught a steelhead on the Sandy, I have hooked some, I have had bone jarring grabs, but no fish.

I know that the Sandy has a summer fishery, for both salmon and steelhead, but I have not fished it.

The times that I have fished the Sandy, I have primarily fished a 13'3" 7wt Burkheimer (which is my favorite rod for everything but small fish) with a 540grn compact skagit, but I think that alot of the runs on the Sandy would fish a longer head 55-68' well, like a Delta or a PowerSpey, especially on the runs around Oxbow State Park.

There is a really major spey clave held at Oxbow Park on the Sandy river each spring, because of this the Sandy is really well known among spey guys. The Flyshop in Welches is a good place to get some info and shit, they also have guides, but I know Tom Larimer and he is who you should get if you get a guide.

When I have been on the Sandy, Oxbow park has been my point of focus. This is mostly be cause there are some pretty obvious runs in the park and there is good camping as well.

As with any time that you are fishing for Spring/Winter Steelhead be ready for swiftly changing weather. Rain jackets are a must, cleats are a plus. Another key piece of gear, a headlamp it never hurts to be the first through the run.

York River - Quebec

York River -Zone 4
Day 1Rusty and I fished Zone 4 of the York River today. This was abeatiful stretch of river with about 70-80 Salmon in the pool we fished today, but they were what the guides called "dour". We put wet and dry flies over these fish in sizes 10-2/0, every imaginable color, and you've got it, we were skunked.


We saw a few giant (50lbs+) fish in the run and the are truly impressive to see.

It can become frustrating to fish a pool full of salmon and not even to get an interested look at the fly, I bet i is exciting when a fish pulls away from the pod to grab the fly, but in that regard I can only surmise, as it never happened on this day.


York River - Zone 9
Day 3
Rusty and I fished Keg Pool on the York River today. Quebec Sporting also booked one of their guides and a Client on this water with us. There is not even enough room on this run for 2 people to fish it at the same time so the third angler was not welcome, and it was not what I was expecting. and I was less agreeable about than I should have been.
This short run was certainly full of fish and on his second pass through the run the other angler hooked and landed a small salmon. He kept the fish and called it a day, which was awesome, as I really wanted to spend more time in the water fishing, and less time on-shore watching.
We rested the pool and then I fished through with a #8 low water Black Bear Green Butt and just a jolting grab, I am so sick of grabs with out a hooked fish. I am ready to feel a fish. (Note: This was written the evening after fishing. I would change it, but I guess it shows how hungry I sometimes get to catch a fish)
Rusty followed me through and He hooked a solid fish. It fought hard, getting tangled in a beaver dam, but Wayne (our guide) and rusty crossed the river and tried to free the line. Wayne waded out to and on-to the dam to free the line from the offending limbs and got the line loose and luckily, the fish was still on the line. The fight went on for many more minutes in the lower part of the Keg run.



 This was the last fish of the day, but a great one. Wayne said the fish was around 25-30lbs.

The North Umpqua

I first visited the North Umpqua in 2004. I instantly realized that it was likely the most beautiful Steelhead River in the world, But I did not like fishing it. often the fishing would consist of standing on a rock and methodically lengthening my cast as the cast and step technique was not an option. Wading on the Umpqua is tougher than on any other river I have seen. As John Shewey says in his Umpqua river Journal, you may as well just jump in the river first thing in the morning and get it over with, or something to that effect. I love casting and step fishing like on the Deschutes and figured that the umpqua and I were just not a good match.

Despite this I did catch a very big fish on the Umpqua in '04. It was right at Mott's Bridge and I local had taken me there with the promise that we were about to light up the steelhead, and we truly were. He then tied a wholly-bugger on to my leader and had me cast up stream and stack mend, and led the fly fish deep. I did this and on the second drift through my line came tight and after a long battle, I had landed a Buck the was fat as hell and over 36", and I felt dirty as hell. This was not how I had imagined hooking my first Umpqua Steelhead and In short order I realized this was not the type of guy that I wanted to fish with or near when I saw him spay crayfish scent on his fly. Well he hooked a fish and I got out of there.

I got one grab on the swung fly in 04 that was it , and I wrecked my rental as I was leaving the Umpqua. So I didn't have the best flavor for the Umpqua, But over time the river grew in my mind and I knew I must go back.It was only this last week end that I did finally return to the Umpqua. My friend Charlie and I had just fished the Deschutes for 4.5 days and had landed about .5 steelhead, tough to explain quickly, but we were jonesing and sick of the desert. The Umpqua was as I remembered but also better. The River was the same, but I had changed a bit and this time I discovered more about the river and I liked it.

I found that standing on a rock and working your way out to you biggest cast can be really fun, and some runs can be rolled with the standard cast and step as well. Big flies are effective and I like that. and there are lots of wild steelhead in the river, even though catching one is a miracle.

For Charlie and I a Steelhead was not in the cards. I got a really solid grab and I caught a 17" sea run cutthroat on a skater. Charlie got our Deschutes Steelhead so I didn't feel too bad for him. If you are going to get skunked, this is the river to do it on.