Comments
FeedFinding Sea-Run Cutties
The author's final trip in Oregon is a good one.
Austin McPherson
It has been a great trip to Oregon, and now I’m thinking of moving here. With plenty of rainbows caught, a steelhead to hand and witnessing spawning salmon in a tributary we decided to spend my final day of fishing on the coast. There are several costal rivers within just a few minutes of each other, all of which pour into the Pacific. We decided to check out the Wilson River for Sea-Run Cutthroat Trout.
Although we had heard that some steelhead and salmon were already in the system, we brought our 5-weights to go after the ‘Cutties. Right before this trip I was in Jackson, WY and caught my first Cutthroat so I was excited to see the differences in its anadromous relative.
When we picked our spot to pull over on the road and hike down to the river, I looked up and saw rain falling but could not feel it. We walked past overgrown ferns, mosses growing on trees and lichens all over rocks. Then came a small river cutting right through this beautiful rainforest. At that point I honestly did not care if I fished at all as long as I could just be there for a few hours.
It was slow going for most of the day and my friends and I were trying pretty much everything we could think of to get some action, but nothing worked. I came up to a nice run where a bottleneck emptied into creating some really nice foam lines and currents flowing downstream. We had tried streamers, nymphs and dries with no luck. What is really left after that? My friend told me these were really aggressive fish, so I took a page out of my night fishing book and put on a big Stimulator. I cast it across the current and as it skipped across the tiny wakes on the water I gave it a few short tugs. Sure enough a beautiful silver fish attacked the fly. Sometimes it really does take you emptying out an entire fly box until you pick the right one, and then you have to know how to use it.
Something about me skating and stripping a big Stimulator across the water called these fish to action. I called my two friends down to where I was and we all proceeded to each catch one or two more beautiful cutties..
When I normally think of anadromous fish I think of huge steelhead and Atlantic and Pacific salmon, but these significantly smaller trout also spend time in the ocean before making the same journey back into the rivers of Oregon. All had the trademark orange slash under the throat with the exception of one. One of the cutthroats I caught had a yellow slash. None of us had ever seen that on before so it was a unique sight, and an amazing fish.
After climbing a small rock cliff to eat lunch and have a beer and enjoy our surrounding, we headed back to Portland. My Oregon fishing trip was officially over, and it was everything I had hoped it would be. I got to see three different fish up close that I had never seen before, and I got to tour some great Oregon rivers. The only problem is that there are a couple hundred more I have yet to explore. Something about this state has stuck with me, and I really think I should move here. But it’s back to Dallas for a couple necessary months of getting my life organized and then perhaps I’ll be heading back this way permanently. Bring on the rain.
Posted at 09:23 AM | Permalink
When wading boots are never dry, when passion — some would say obsession — for fly-fishing is so great, wet boots are a way of life. Wet Boots (the blog) is for anglers who know fly-fishing is far more than a way of catching fish. Wet Boots. No bait fishermen.
Reader Comments:
Very good artical, and I am glad you had some fun here, but trust me you have just touched the tip of the Ice burg.
David
www.oregonflyguide.com