My fall chinook on the fly season - officially started on September 1st this year when I landed this chinook on the lower Umpqua. I've been workin' hard, I had the day off and I went fishin' all by myself. It was wonderful! I hooked this "oinker" a little after daylight and after an epic, half-hour long battle that pulled my little power boat down river about a 1/4 mile, I was finally able to slide the net under this 27 pound buck!
The gear I used was a 9', 8-weight TFO /TiCRX single hander with a Ross Big Game - 5 reel. I had a 30' type IV shooting head, 4' of 15lb. Maxima leader and this fly...
Its a fly from my "coastal bucktail" series. It's tied using craft fur in white/Chartreuse with a few strands of chartreuse Krystal flash and prismatic eyes that are coated in five-minute epoxy.
I was anchored in 12' of water on an out-going tide that was about an hour from going slack. Water temperature where I was at started was around 63 degrees and as the tide continued out, temps built to 67 degree's. When the fish grabbed the fly at the bottom end of the swing, water temp was around 64 degree's. The grab started out as a soft "pluck" and then built to a solid, VERY strong down stream pull that caused me to toss my anchor float and start following the fish down river.
So I hope that covers a lot of the common questions I get from readers about my fall salmon fly fishing. If you have others, don't hesitate to give me a call or e-mail. This is the very beginning of one of my favorite seasons. These fish are just AWSOME and fishing this early season in areas that are dominated by guys trolling gear is VERY satisfying. Come pioneer a great fishery with me, but be sure to eat your Wheaties!!! These fish PULL HARD!
Also, if you've ever had an interest in fletching your own arrows, check out my huntin' page for a pictorial and explanation on how I fletch my own arrows and if you need to re-sole a pair of wading shoes, check out my page on "gear we use" for a low down on how I recently re-soled a favorite pair of wading shoes.
