Hood River

A little over a week ago, I had a chance to check out the Hood River. First impressions? Nice place. Easily accessible and you could walk up and down the river with ease. I'd say it is primarily a place to nymph, as it is a deep river in most spots. However, there are some nice runs to swing through.  However, on this day, the water was just a tad high and you were in the brush for some of the more fishier spots.

Access	Old Powerhouse
Air Temp	Low 40, High 60
Water Temp/Visibility	~40F / 12 feet
Weather	Sunny
River Stage	~5.6 feet and dropping
Time in/out	6am / 7pm
Leaders/Lines	Skagit
	11 feet of T11	All day
	15lb Maxima
Flies	Various large winter flies	-
Notes	Water on the drop. Clear water. Great day.

The water was clear, in fact, I could see 10-15 feet down in the deep pools. The river was on the drop and I was told previously to going that people were catching fish. I got one pull in the morning and that was it. I talked to a dozen others and no one had caught anything. The fish weren't biting for whatever reason.

Still, the day was a success. I found some good spots that I'll hit next time. Hope to be back again soon.

Contrast of the Clackamas and Sandy

I arrived at Milo McIver park around 8am. Drove to the upper boat launch and pushed my way through the brush. The water was high. Much higher than I anticipated. I decided to go to this river based on the water level prediction of the river dropping to a good level. Needless to say, it was much higher than they predicted. (I actually believe the level rose. Must of released extra water through the dam.) Now, today, when I retrieve the data from yesterday, it seems to be non existent. I'm not sure what happened, but something went wonky. I'm guessing it was at 14.5 feet when I was there.

Access	Clackamas - Milo McIver
Air Temp	Low 40, High 60
Water Temp/Visibility	~40F / 2 feet
Weather	Sunny
River Stage	~14.5 feet
Time in/out	8am / 11am
Leaders/Lines	Skagit
	11 feet of T11	All day
	15lb Maxima
Flies	Various large winter flies	-
Notes	Water high with funny business going on with stage readings. Okay clarity. Access difficult. Not good fly fishing conditions.

It looked completely different from last time. Clarity wasn't bad, maybe 2 foot of visibility, but the water was so high up the bank, finding a place to cast from was difficult. Stepping down a run was nearly impossible in most spots.

A few hours were spent here. Did a lot of exploring for spots to revisit when the water is lower. However, I knew it was a lost cause doing any actual fishing, so I headed over to the Sandy river.

The Sandy was a much different story. Water level seemed perfect. Clarity was surprisingly clear. I could see 6-8 feet easily. The water looked fishy.

Access	Sandy - Near Oxbow
Air Temp	60's
Water Temp/Visibility	~40F / 6 feet
Weather	Sunny
River Stage	11.5ft
Time in/out	12pm / 5pm
Leaders/Lines	Skagit
	11 feet of T11	All day
	15lb Maxima
Flies	Various large winter flies	-
Notes	Water was at a great level. Dropping into shape after heavy rains. Clarity was very clear with slight tint. A great day for fishing.

Unfortunately, I didn't catch anything. Other than a strong wind, the weather was nice. Sunny and 60 something degrees. Not bad! Despite the nice weather and beautiful fishing conditions, I wasn't really into it for some reason and actually left before 5pm. Hopefully this isn't a trend and just a temporary loss of interest. My mind was elsewhere.

A few thoughts between fishing trips

I know, I know. It's been quiet around here. I've been swamped with work and haven't had a chance to go fishing. Tying a few simple rabbit strip flies has been my only outlet.

Speaking of flies, I've decided to abandon tube flies. It was a short lived fascination. I still like them in theory, but they are simply too hard to rig when I'm standing in waist deep water. I'd rather not be fumbling around with tubes and hooks. Having just one thing to tie on is much easier.

Being up here in the Pacific Northwest for a full year of winter fishing, I've gotten pretty good at flinging heavy tips and heavily weighted flies. What used to be a clunky adventure is actually working out pretty well. Those 5inch rabbit strip flies with huge lead eyes are no longer so scary.  My confidence is up in response.  I'm not so hesitant to try and hit that fishy piece of water way on the other side of the river.

I'm between projects right now. The next one is supposed to start late next week. Unfortunately, it has been raining quite hard for a couple of days. The rivers are all swollen. My 4 year old's daycare is near the Washougal. So, I often pop by to take a look. Right now, it is a muddy mess overflowing the banks. I've got my fingers crossed that I can get out on Monday or Tuesday and the rivers will be dropping. (The Washougal is closed right now, so I'll hit something in Oregon)

That's about it. I'm anxious to get out there. Especially since I just dropped nearly $200 for Oregon and Washington licenses. Man, that was expensive.