AUGUST/SEPTEMBER | “A SPECIAL PLACE”
I have been fishing the Owyhee River now for twelve years and if I have learned nothing else it is that although it can be a finicky fishery, it seldom fails to disappoint.
Last month our group of seven were lucky enough to be able to rent a house right on the river which is a big deal considering it is literally the only house on the river for about fourteen miles. Not only is it the only place to stay on the trout section of the river, but it also has a half a mile of fenced river access as well. Not a bad deal.
For the previous eleven years we have scheduled our trip in September, mostly for the cooler weather, but also to hopefully miss the higher flows associated with summer when this tailwater is intensively used for irrigation. However, with the continuing drought conditions in the west we were afraid that we would get stuck with unusually low water in September this year, so we changed our trip to August.
The Owyhee River’s claim to fame is its trophy brown trout although rainbow trout make their presence felt there as well. It isn’t unusual to catch fish in the 20″ to 24″ range with most fish averaging 14″ to 16″. The river is mostly a nymph fishery with the most important bugs in August being gray midges, flash back pheasant tails, zebra midges and San Juan worms. San Juan worms are especially attractive to the fish in the faster riffles. We had some small BWO hatches in the early evening and were able to pick up fish trailing a size #26 zebra midge behind a size 22 BWO. This is not dry fly fishing for the faint hearted. Hopper / dropper combos can also be deadly at the right time.
When we first started fishing the river twelve years ago the catch rate was about 20 to 1 browns to rainbows. As a matter of fact, to catch a rainbow was a fairly rare event in the “old days”. I can remember early trips when nary a ‘bow was caught, alas all of that has changed. Rainbows are almost a 50/50 mix now with browns and they seem to be taking over larger areas of the river each year. The browns are still abundant, but they tend to inhabit the slower and shadier sections of the river making them a little more difficult to target, especially when the water is very clear.
Everyone in the group this year were able to catch big fish although the triple digit temps made some days quite grueling. So once again I encourage you to add this river to your list of can’t miss places to fish. If you spend a few days on the river you are just about guaranteed to hook a hog, although landing it is another whole kettle of fish.
Tight lines and fighting fish to all!
Scott Olson
JULY 2022 | CHALLENGING OURSELVES
I’m occasionally asked why I choose to fly fish over more conventional styles of fishing and my customary response is because it’s more of a challenge. But is that it? And what does that mean?
I’m sure most honest fly fishermen will admit that bait dunkers will almost always catch more fish than we flyrodders, not always, but mostly. The reasons for this are myriad, however it seems obvious that fish will prefer an actual “meal” over an imitation. Kind of like the difference between a light beer and craft beer. No comparison………right?
So why fly fish? The goal is to catch as many fish as you can, isn’t it? To me there is more to fly fishing than just catching a bucket full of fish. Let’s call it the intangibles. The things that attract me to fly fishing are numerous and I find myself sometimes wondering why I do it at all, especially after casting over 1800 times over a three-day trip just to log two fish.
But the draw for me to fly fishing is in the esoteric nature of the sport itself. There is just something about seeing a trout rise to an imitation of a floating insect and then being able to react to that movement in a split second by raising a rod and hooking up that has no comparison in conventional angling. Snobbery? Self-flagellation? Hubris? Could be all of the above, but I prefer challenging.
JUNE 2022 | WHEN AN INSECT IS A FISH
Due to the twisted “logic” of a California court the bumblebee for legal purposes is now considered a fish under the states endangered species act. It took the court 35 pages to explain its position, but in the end I was neither convinced nor enlightened, only confused. Does this now mean that all insects are fish or only the ones with stingers?
I thought the Founders had established the courts to check the excesses of the political branches, not to rubber stamp them. Anyway, enough of the politics, but just be careful of fishing a bee pattern your next time out as you could be ticketed for bait fishing.
I hope in this upside down, crazy world you can all find a little time to get away and find the peace and solitude that nature and fishing can provide. We can all use a little trout therapy right now.
