My Tips of The Week: By Mac Huff

There was no creel survey this week, but Boggan's Oasis told me they were busy with shuttles and if there was a "group" half of the anglers would catch at least one steelhead during the day. which is better success than the run forecast would suggest. 'Hoppers are done now, but swinging wet flies and nymphing are the ticket for the rest of the season. My approach is to start with a black woolly bugger and fish it until late morning, then switch to 'hopper patterns until the fish lose interest late in the day. Boggan's Oasis had reports of 3 steelhead beening caught during the previous week and trout fishing has been good. The rainy weather we've experienced last week will keep the 'hoppers down, but they will be back on dry, sunny days, until then I like swinging attractor patters, such as muddlers, trude royal coachmen and orange blossom specials. With so few steelhead in the system this season, my approach is to fish for trout with lighter outfits and if I'm lucky enough to hook a steelhead then I'll play is gently to protect the lighter tippet on my fly leader. Kyle Bratcher, Acting District Fish Biologist, Enterprise, OR, sent a clarification about this year's steelhead season. The run is very low, but he doesn't anticipate any change in the one-fish limit until Dec. 31, but is optimistic that the limit won't change at all. I'll update this information as I receive it.