Dr. Charlie Greenwood snuck back to Oregon from Kansas this week to his home away from home on the Oregon coast. Already a seasoned and consistently successful summer steelheader, he accepted the challenge to join the chase for his first winter steelhead. Undaunted by warnings of inclement weather, Charlie and I decided to try our luck on the world-famous Siletz River. 
 
We were encouraged and frustrated in equal measure early in the float as we watched the guys in the boat out ahead of us land 3 steelhead in quick succession on bait. We redoubled our efforts and dug in our heels for a day of serious fishing. As I had hoped, once the last boat slipped away out of sight, we found ourselves all alone, with the river to ourselves.  
 
With our pick of the water, it wasn't long before Charlie was rewarded with a powerful tight-line strike. His summer experience showed as he skillfully played the rosy-sided buck through a series of long runs, eventually bringing it to the net. . . and there was much rejoicing. But he didn't rest long on his laurels. The next pass through the run brought another hard strike, but the fish didn't get hooked. Needless to say, we were encouraged at this point. 
 
In the very next spot, at the bottom of a rapids, Charlie hooked a strong fish on conventional tackle and a corky (Hey, it's not like we weren't paying attention to that other boat!). Luck was with us and this fish also came to the net, accepting an invitation to dinner at Charlie's place, as the guest of honor. 
 
Believe it or not, Charlie was just getting started. Not far below the Logsden bridge, he set the hook on what he assumed briefly to be the bottom. I begged to differ, as I watched his line slicing upriver. All doubts vanished as a chrome-bright 10 pound hen made a cartwheeling leap near the far side of the river. Check this beauty out: 
 
 
 
Not only did Charlie land this one too, but he caught a little 5 pound buck on his very next cast. 
 
All told, it was a great day of fishing. And it didn't even bother us (much) when we caught up to that other boat at the takeout and found that they had gone 10-for-15. I guess they couldn't get 'em all.  
 
The fish are out there. 
 

Posted by: Matt Ramsey

The rain has come, and so have the fish. Reports of excellent action are coming in from up and down the Oregon coast. I got out there with the family for a birthday float on Tuesday. Aimee did us proud by hauling in a nice buck and almost landing a bigger hen. The water was high and murky, leading us to employ the old tried-and-true method of conventional tackle and drift gear. It didn't dampen our excitement over the catch though. Winter steelhead are like that! 
 
 
 
 
As the rivers drop and clear, the fish will be increasingly interested in fly presentations. This is the time! Get out there!  
Or better yet, call the Dudes and we'll plan a float. See you on the water! 
 
 

Posted by: Matt Ramsey