Latest report

2007 - 2008

Nov. 6, 2007

We floated from Deerhorn to Hendricks on the Mckenzie on Nov. 4 and there were no trout to be seen or caught. As I have mentioned earlier this section of the Mckenzie has not rebounded from the silting several years ago. If there were some wild trout in this section we would have caught some trout. To prove my theory I floated from Jasper to Clearwater Park on the Middle Fork of the Willamette yesterday and caught lots of wild rainbows. This section of the Middle Fork is not planted with trout. It is not as good as the Mckenzie before the silting but 100 times better than she is today. After catching and releasing my wild rainbows I was thinking of another question ... "why were all the fish in this section of the Middle Fork all wild rainbows?" In the past 90 percent of the trout I catch on this stretch are Cutthroats! So here are the most recent pictures ...

An 11 inch wild rainbow before release

Henry watches

This is a big rainbow but it gets away

Ulla was on the oars today

December 15

I personally have no fishing reports since I have been framing pictures and the people who have called me for fishing got rained out. But I do keep in touch with a few good fishermen who are young and the latest report is ... the lower Umpqua at Elkton has been red hot. It has been fishable for the last 3 days and people are catching Winter Steelhead. I have not heard about the Siuslaw or the Alsea. Crabbing in Coos Bay at Charleston has been very good. Rock fishing is also good in this bay. The heck with the Winter Steelhead ... I want to eat dungeness crab and white meated ocean fish! Back to the Umpqua at Elkton ... it is supposed to start raining and the river will rise ... so get out here now!

January 26 -- 2008! Can you believe it? Another year is history!

Ulla and I are in Kona, Hawaii with our friends Chuck ( Hooked Up Sportfishing) and Beverly Wigzell for a short vacation in winter. After Ulla took some sea-sickness pills she was happy to get a short nosed spearfish that is local in Hawaii waters. This fish is excellent tablefare and we took it. But we released a striped Marlin. And of course I had to let an unknown fish back into Kona waters.

February 8

The rivers are still too high to fish...

March 12

We have had some great weather lately but I haven't been out. I heard some March Browns are hatching. Some one call me! I have the March Brown special for $180.00 for two fly fishermen. Check out my rates. I finally got around to writing about the fishing in the Cottage Grove area. Check this out if you want some info about the fishing down in Cottage Grove. I'm sure I'll be out soon and I will keep you posted. I forgot, my son Eli got a couple of wild winter steelhead on the lower Umpqua last week...

March 14

The big news is that the salmon season for commercial salmon fishing might close south of Cape Blanco. What did they expect? Or any commercial salmon fisherman on the California, Oregon and Washington Coast. When farm raised salmon first come into the market it was precisely the same situation...salmon stocks in the wild were low. Farm raised salmon augmented the short supply of salmon on the west coast. Farm raised salmon helped tremendously as it kept salmon available for the general public. As more and more consumers bought farm raised salmon the wild stocks started seeing a rise in population. When the populations became stable enough to harvest the commercial salmon industry began a smear campaign against the salmon farming industry. After you get through all the bullshit it comes down to the commercial industry criticizing farm raised salmon as not "natural" or "wild" or full of chemicals .... Now the commercial industry faces the same problems it faced only a few year ago. A shortage of wild fish. What the commercial industry should have done is form a partnership with the farmers. They can still do this. I have been fishing for wild salmon in our rivers since 1969 in our rivers and I believe that farm raised salmon or any fish (aquiculture) is the solution to our future. It is the same as maintaining our forests, farm lands, hunting wildlife, building codes, and all the other restrictions that come from many people wanting a resource with limited capacity. Someone has to manage it or it will become extinct.

April 3

We floated from Deerhorn to Hendricks on the Mckenzie and the bugs were out! So were some wild trout. The day was clear but the March Browns came up in good numbers for a cloudless day. We caught some wild rainbows and some nice cutthroats. I was surprised to see some cutthroats in this section of the river. They are usually in this section later on in the year. The grey caddises that usually follow the March Browns were getting active around 4 pm when we were taking out. These caddises should be on the water in the next few days. Fishing has started!

April 13

We floated from Hayden Bridge to Harvest Landing on the lower Mckenzie. We fished from 11 am to 3:30 pm and caught some wild trout (cutts and bows) and lots of summer steelhead smolts that were headed downriver. There were no March Browns on this stretch but the caddises were abundant. The fish took wet flies better than dries. I would rate this fishing as fair.

April 27

We have been fishing the lower Mckenzie from Hayden Bridge to Armittage Park. Fishing is fair using wets and dries. If the river could drop a few more inches the fishing would be better. Here are some pics.

This is Scott Javine with his lovely girlfriend Nicole

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I will try to keep this page as current as I am able.	Oregon Fishing Guide home 541-895-2708 email: fishin-musician@centurytel.net / Meet Tom - your Oregon fishing guide / Latest Report / Useful Links - What to Bring / Fishing Lessons / Fly Fishing / Drift boat Lessons / Fishing the Cottage Grove Area / Anadormous Fish Runs in Oregon / My Rates / Contact Tom Waters /
	2007 - 2008 Nov. 6, 2007 We floated from Deerhorn to Hendricks on the Mckenzie on Nov. 4 and there were no trout to be seen or caught. As I have mentioned earlier this section of the Mckenzie has not rebounded from the silting several years ago. If there were some wild trout in this section we would have caught some trout. To prove my theory I floated from Jasper to Clearwater Park on the Middle Fork of the Willamette yesterday and caught lots of wild rainbows. This section of the Middle Fork is not planted with trout. It is not as good as the Mckenzie before the silting but 100 times better than she is today. After catching and releasing my wild rainbows I was thinking of another question ... "why were all the fish in this section of the Middle Fork all wild rainbows?" In the past 90 percent of the trout I catch on this stretch are Cutthroats! So here are the most recent pictures ... An 11 inch wild rainbow before release Henry watches This is a big rainbow but it gets away Ulla was on the oars today December 15 I personally have no fishing reports since I have been framing pictures and the people who have called me for fishing got rained out. But I do keep in touch with a few good fishermen who are young and the latest report is ... the lower Umpqua at Elkton has been red hot. It has been fishable for the last 3 days and people are catching Winter Steelhead. I have not heard about the Siuslaw or the Alsea. Crabbing in Coos Bay at Charleston has been very good. Rock fishing is also good in this bay. The heck with the Winter Steelhead ... I want to eat dungeness crab and white meated ocean fish! Back to the Umpqua at Elkton ... it is supposed to start raining and the river will rise ... so get out here now! January 26 -- 2008! Can you believe it? Another year is history! Ulla and I are in Kona, Hawaii with our friends Chuck ( Hooked Up Sportfishing) and Beverly Wigzell for a short vacation in winter. After Ulla took some sea-sickness pills she was happy to get a short nosed spearfish that is local in Hawaii waters. This fish is excellent tablefare and we took it. But we released a striped Marlin. And of course I had to let an unknown fish back into Kona waters. February 8 The rivers are still too high to fish... March 12 We have had some great weather lately but I haven't been out. I heard some March Browns are hatching. Some one call me! I have the March Brown special for $180.00 for two fly fishermen. Check out my rates. I finally got around to writing about the fishing in the Cottage Grove area. Check this out if you want some info about the fishing down in Cottage Grove. I'm sure I'll be out soon and I will keep you posted. I forgot, my son Eli got a couple of wild winter steelhead on the lower Umpqua last week... March 14 The big news is that the salmon season for commercial salmon fishing might close south of Cape Blanco. What did they expect? Or any commercial salmon fisherman on the California, Oregon and Washington Coast. When farm raised salmon first come into the market it was precisely the same situation...salmon stocks in the wild were low. Farm raised salmon augmented the short supply of salmon on the west coast. Farm raised salmon helped tremendously as it kept salmon available for the general public. As more and more consumers bought farm raised salmon the wild stocks started seeing a rise in population. When the populations became stable enough to harvest the commercial salmon industry began a smear campaign against the salmon farming industry. After you get through all the bullshit it comes down to the commercial industry criticizing farm raised salmon as not "natural" or "wild" or full of chemicals .... Now the commercial industry faces the same problems it faced only a few year ago. A shortage of wild fish. What the commercial industry should have done is form a partnership with the farmers. They can still do this. I have been fishing for wild salmon in our rivers since 1969 in our rivers and I believe that farm raised salmon or any fish (aquiculture) is the solution to our future. It is the same as maintaining our forests, farm lands, hunting wildlife, building codes, and all the other restrictions that come from many people wanting a resource with limited capacity. Someone has to manage it or it will become extinct. April 3 We floated from Deerhorn to Hendricks on the Mckenzie and the bugs were out! So were some wild trout. The day was clear but the March Browns came up in good numbers for a cloudless day. We caught some wild rainbows and some nice cutthroats. I was surprised to see some cutthroats in this section of the river. They are usually in this section later on in the year. The grey caddises that usually follow the March Browns were getting active around 4 pm when we were taking out. These caddises should be on the water in the next few days. Fishing has started! April 13 We floated from Hayden Bridge to Harvest Landing on the lower Mckenzie. We fished from 11 am to 3:30 pm and caught some wild trout (cutts and bows) and lots of summer steelhead smolts that were headed downriver. There were no March Browns on this stretch but the caddises were abundant. The fish took wet flies better than dries. I would rate this fishing as fair. April 27 We have been fishing the lower Mckenzie from Hayden Bridge to Armittage Park. Fishing is fair using wets and dries. If the river could drop a few more inches the fishing would be better. Here are some pics. This is Scott Javine with his lovely girlfriend Nicole home / Meet Tom - your Oregon fishing guide / Latest Report / Useful Links - What to Bring / Fishing Lessons / Fly Fishing / Driftboat Lessons / Fishing in the Cottage Grove Area / Anadormous Fish Runs in Oregon / My Rates / Contact Tom Waters /