This year, for our annual "webmaster appreciation float," Scott and I took Mark Fisher and his family (sons, Tyler and Nathan, and dad, Mike) for a day on the Siletz. The only day the boys could all get together on was Valentine's Day (Mike's decision to bring flowers and candy as a tip was a nice touch!). Conditions were perfect. The river, a little murky from recent rains, seemed to glow with the promise of fresh chrome winter steelhead.  
 
Mark and Tyler started out in my boat, while Mike and Nathan joined Scott. Not long into the first hour of fishing, it was Nathan (the only rookie steelheader in the party) who connected on a beautiful bright 8 lb. buck).  
 
Spirits were high! As we worked our way downriver, Mark and Tyler and I believed completely that each new bucket would produce. But somehow, despite Tyler seeming to hook the bottom or miss a "phantom grab" nearly every cast, we floated under the Logsden Bridge with nothing yet to show for our considerable efforts. Well, not exactly "nothing." 

 
 
In Scott's boat, meanwhile, Mike managed to miss a takedown on the Girdle Bug on Crack, but redeemed himself shortly before lunch by landing his own chrome bumper. All this occurred in water my boat had already fished through. 
 
At lunch, Mark jumped (like a rat off a sinking ship) into Scott's boat to "fish with his dad (sure)," and Nathan joined me and Tyler, who gamely vowed to stick it out with me. We hit it extra hard in the afternoon. Plugs, jigs, flies, plastic worms, we tried it all. Everything short of pitchforks and dynamite were deployed but to little avail. Towards the end of the day, Scott and I were fishing side-by-side down through a tailout. All four anglers had lines out ahead of the boats: a wall of opportunity for a chromer to make a mistake. Down went a bobber!. . . and Mike was hooked up again. This time, he landed an impossibly bright little hen of about 7 lbs. 
 
 
 
 
As the takeout came into sight, Tyler set the hook for about the 10,000th time and the "bottom" finally started swimming. I saw a nice sized fish contorting under the surface and let out a triumphant hoot. . . just as it came unbuttoned.  
 
"That was a trout," said Tyler. 
 
"Sure it was," I replied. 
 
There was much rejoicing at the landing as chromers emerged from Scott's fishbox and took their places in Hefty bags for the trip to town. The family was stoked on a great day of fishing on the central coast. The action had been great! Depending on whose boat you were in.  

Posted by: Matt Ramsey

@ February 15, 2010 10:02:48 PM PST ( )

This year's El Nino weather pattern has resulted in a limited snowpack and low-water conditions on all the streams draining the Cascades. The lower McKenzie has already been producing some great redsides of late, and unseasonably warm air and water temperatures bode well for an early onset of the annual March Brown Mayfly emergence. 
 
With water conditions perfect, it looks like this could be a season to remember out there!  
 
Winter steelheading has also been exceptional this year, with productive outings far outnumbering skunkings for most anglers. On Friday, February 5th, my old friend and college roommate, Willie Tiffany, joined me and Cricket for a float down the Siletz. The weather was perfect and calm, we never saw another boat, and we had several encounters with the elusive winter steelhead. And, hey, Willie even landed one of those fish to put the icing on that cake! 
 
 
 
 
Winter is feeling a lot like spring around here these days. The scent of daphne is in the air, the daffodils are rising, and the Magnolia trees are set to burst into bloom. We could be due for a return engagement of winter weather, but from where I'm sitting, I'd say the fishing forecast is quite sunny! 

Posted by: Matt Ramsey

@ February 6, 2010 10:27:46 PM PST ( )