Oregon Winter Steelhead

Oregon Coast Winter Steelhead Report

FEBRUARY 8, 2026

During the final week of January, I headed out toward the coast with longtime client and buddy Kendrick in search of winter steelhead. It was a cloudy day, about 50 degrees at the high, with water temps at 44 degrees when we started our float and around 47 by the time we got off the water. The water was low, but with a bit of color and about 3-4 feet of visibility.

It was a beautiful day on the water, but as the end of our float neared, we still hadn’t 

touched a fish. We stood waist deep, facing down our last run of the day with Golden Hour sunlight casting an iridescent glow across the water. As I stood and watched Kendrick work the run, I saw a big hen roll about 20 feet below his fly in the last bit of the tail out. He worked his way through her zone with no interest, then walked upstream to switch to a lighter tip.

A Technical Lesson

Throughout the float, we’d been fishing the 7130-4 G. Loomis Asquith rod, outfitted with a Hatch 9+ reel and Scientific Anglers Skagit Short 510 grain line. We swapped out the 10’ SA T12 sink tip and RIO black and blue tandem tube we’d used most of the day for a lighter tip and unweighted black and blue marabou tube.

Kendrick worked his way back downstream and sure enough, right as his fly swung through the area we’d seen the fish roll, his line came tight. A few minutes later, he brought a beautiful wild hen to hand. It was a very cool experience to see a fish roll like that and then successfully target it with a quick change in gear — and a good reminder that often, folks are fishing their flies too deep. Remember, these fish attack from below, so you want your fly above them.

Despite the low water and lack of rain, these warmer temperatures have the fish moving and active. Cover as much water as you can to find the players, and don’t get obsessed with fishing your fly super deep because you’ll end up hanging up on the bottom more often than you get a clean swing. And if you need to get your winter steelhead game tuned up, call the shop for information on guided trips, or contact me directly through my website to book a trip. You can also find me on Instagram @mykizha.

Fall 2025 BC Skeena Hosted Trip

A recent Film made by Simms Fishing highlighting the incredible fishery and the people that work and live there from Spring 2024.

For the past six years, I have been traveling up to Terrace, British Columbia in the Spring to fish with my good friends at Skeena Spey Lodge. The Spring fishery is the equivalent to our winter Steelhead fishery here, and mother nature rules all. I’ve had years where the fishing was tough, one year where the river completely blew out, and plenty of years where fishing was good, and of course this last year in 2024 where the fishing was absolutely epic.

If you haven’t been to Canada, I put it in the same realm as Alaska. I always say that everyone should at least see it once.

The Skeena River is the second largest un-Damned river in Canada next to the Fraser and is absolutely beautiful. There has never been a hatchery system on this watershed so the genetics of these Steelhead are unmatched. The backdrop of towering, cascading mountains engulfs the river which is made up of all the best Steelhead qualities. Riffles, buckets, endless tailouts and the perfect speed and depth to swing a fly.

Although I would say the Spring fishery isn’t for the faint of heart, the Fall program is every Steelheader’s dream. The Skeena is the main super highway for all the tributaries that have been made famous over the years. The Bulkley, Kispiox, Morice, Sustut, Babine, etc just to name a few. This means in the Fall you have a shot at hooking into a 6 pound hot, Morice Hen one minute, and an absolute stud of a Babine Buck the next. In addition, there are Northern Coho around that are a little different than their Alaskan brothers. These fish eat flies on the swing much better, and aren’t shy to display their acrobatics once hooked.

The nice thing about the Fall is the weather is typically fair with a puffy coat in the morning and sometimes you’re down to a T-shirt in the afternoon. The Fall colors are in full affect as well, leading to an unmatched scenery.

In addition, the people that run Skeena Spey lodge are some of the nicest and well-rounded people I’ve met. The Guides are unbelievably knowledgeable on their local fishery and the food is nothing short of fantastic. Accommodations are, some would say bougie A-frame cabins (not that I’m complaining) but without all the electronics to take away from the experience. Although you’ll find your own pour over coffee maker for the early morning, you won’t find a TV in any of them which I appreciate.

Access in the Fall is straight out of the Lodge’s front door where you will hop in your jet boat for the day and be zipped around to some of the best Steelhead water you can experience.

I haven’t been back to BC since 2010 and I am more than excited to travel up there this year. I will be there from August 31st through September 12th and I have clients and buddies filtering in at different times during that period.

Another bonus of staying with Skeena Spey Lodge is they don’t have a set seven day program. This means you can come up for two days, three, four, or however many that helps fit your schedule. The option to rent a car and do some DIY fishing on the local tributaries is also something I would advise. This can also help cut the cost down if you’re working on a budget.

If you have interest in joining me this Fall you can contact the shop

NWFFO

https://www.flyshopnw.com/

or myself at

www.flyfishportland.com

IG @Mykizha

Or just drop me a text at

503-784-4623.

Stay Warmer This Winter While Steelheading

The first Winter of the Year. They’re in, go get em!

Here’s a couple tips that I’ve picked up over the years of guiding and fishing for Steelhead in the PNW during the winter time. Shout out to my good buddies, Captain Jeff Arnold and Ben Glick, who helped me out with these great ideas. If you’ve got a couple pairs of worn out crew socks, some hand warmers, a buff, and a pair of  wet wading neoprene socks you could change your game this year.

Spring Bass Fishing is Just Around The Corner

The winter steelhead fishing has continued to be good/great when the rivers are in shape, but these random days where the temps reach the upper 50’s or or even low 60’s has everyone at the shop chomping at the bit to start chasing Smallmouth.

Since the majority of our rivers are a lot deeper than your standard Smallmouth watersheds, especially the Willamette and Columbia, our Bass season tends to come online a little later than most. Still, I’ve seen reports since early February where the gear fishermen are having some terrific days. It does help that they can fish in that 20-30’ water column. Not very attainable for the average fly fishermen.

But have no fear, all that will all change when water temps start climbing into that 50 degree window. Smallmouth will start to follow the main river channel like a map looking for those spots that swing close to shore. This allows them to start putting the feed bag on while maintaining a close distance to future spawning areas. Pre spawn can really be something. The water is usually a little higher and off color which allows us to throw some pretty big bugs in flashy colors. Not a real match the hatch time of year. Big and bright is what gets eaten during this period. You also have a shot at landing your personal best bass this time of the year. They throw caution to the wind and try and pack on the pounds as quickly as they can.

Here are a few patterns we like to throw at this time of the year, and the setups we prefer.

Flies: Swinging D

Fleein Cray

Leggy Boi

GameChangers

Rods

* GLoomis NRX+ SF (Swim Fly) 7 or 8Wt

Reels

*Any 7+ Size. We almost always strip the min.

Lines

* SA Full Intermediate for early season

* SA Tropical Titan Clear Tip when it warms up

Leaders

*7’ terminating at 16lb flouro

Winter Steelhead Tube Fly

A couple upgrades to my go to winter fly for 2024.

Aqua Flies Tubes-3mm, 8mm

Aqua Flies Tube Adapter

Aqua Flies Hot Pink 7/32 5.5mm Cone

Veevus 6/0 Thread Flo. Orange

Frenzy Brush 1' Midnight

Frenzy Brush 2' Light Blue

Natures Spirit Marabou King Fisher Blue & Black

MFC Barred Ostrich Blk/Blue

Natures Spirit Jumbo Guinea Natural

Flashabou Rainbow

Grizzly Hackle Natural

Zap A Gap

Pro Sport Fisher UV Cure

Loon Plasma Light

Renzetti Traveler

Winter Steelheading Has Begun 2023

Well it’s finally here, Winter Season. If you grew up here or just moved into town recently you will quickly learn that if you want to get out and fish during the winter months your closest option would be our anadromous friends west of the Cascades. There is no shortage of beautiful places to chase these fish, from the Coastal area, to nearby Washington, and of course our home waters like Hood, Sandy, and the Clackamas.

This morning I am going to briefly touch on a few key elements to having success when the temps drop.

1: Watch The Weather Patterns.

This cannot be overstated and I rarely hear people talk about it. It’s always, cover water, present your fly correctly, target holding water etc. Yes, these are all important factors but I have seen many a clients with with far less experience/skill hook their fare share of fish when the water is high and dirty.

Why is this? Because when we get weather moving in and the rain starts to dump it does a few things. First off and most obvious is that it brings in fresh fish that have been waiting for the rivers to rise. Secondly, it warms the rivers, not by much but every degree counts. Anything above 41 degrees and I feel pretty confident fish are going to be active. Thirdly, it puts color in the water, and this is the biggest factor for me. Steelhead become much more aggressive when they cant see very far. They also feel more comfortable moving out of their holding spot, or place of cover, because essentially the whole river is cover during these times. And lastly, they’re gonna be close to shore. Real close. The less visibility and higher the water, the closer to shore they will be holding. These are the days when “Just The Tip” can get them. This is because there is less holding water. At extremely high levels there may only be a few good holding spots in many miles of river. Find these places and you will most likely find fish.

2: Cover Water. (As mentioned prior)

Targeting a fish that has no interest in eating, is sexually mature and ready to do it’s thing, and is essentially a salt water species in very cold water is highly challenging. Getting them to chase down a ball of feathers, unscented and without any vibration can sometimes be an exercise in futility. This is why covering water is also extremely important. I push back against the “take two steps” approach. It’s all about visibility. How far can you see into the water? That’s how far you should be moving between swings. Oh you can see 20ft? You should be at home tying flies and using your time more wisely. In my opinion I am looking for that fish that has a serious attitude problem, a fish that will move a few feet at the least to smash my offering which is annoying the absolute crap out of them.

3: Don’t Cast Above Your Pay Grade.

This drives me nuts. I get it, but it still drives me up the wall. Casts that don’t turn over are not fishing. Re-read that sentence another 10 times please and thank you. You need to keep that in mind. You need to live by that. I can guarantee over the last 14 years of chasing these fish, myself as well as plenty of others have worked a run well only to have a cast flop out there, followed by us trying to mend it out. That’s the cast where the fish was. That’s the swing they were looking for. And you and I just shit the bed. If you can only cast 50’ then fish it all day. I promise you will get more hookups. Quit trying to win the Spey_O-Rama. Consistency is key, and these fish love predictability. How do we know this? Ask any Guide who has watched their client work down a run towards a holding fish they can see. As that fly makes its way closer to that fish with each sequential presentation that fish will start to get “fidgety.” Their tail may start to speed up a bit, or it makes small movements left to right. This fish is becoming active, a player. I imagine this fish thinking, “ If that f*@king thing comes 1 foot closer I am going to absolutely detonate on it” And if we keep everything tight and consistent like our previous swings, it happens.

I hope some of this info increases your odds out there this Winter. If you’d like to learn more, or work on your overall skills give me a shout or the shop (NWFFO) and let’s get you on the books. Good luck ya’ll. Because no matter what anyone says, there is definitely a little involved in this sport.

My Contact: (503) 784-4623

Northwest Fly Fishing Outfitters: (503) 252-1529

Carp Season Recap 2023

Fly fishing for Carp on the Columbia River, who knew? Probably quite a few, but loose lips sink ships, and after spending every day the last 3 summers guiding out there I can see why it’s such a tightly guarded secret. There is literally hundreds of miles that these fish will inhabit, from the coast all the way to the Snake in WA and beyond.

When air temps start hitting between 80-100 the 8wt gets broke out and the stalking begins. Fly design isn’t crucial but these fish are extremely smart and can get a little gun shy as the season pushes on. A great early season fly is just a standard black leech. The water can be a little off color and maybe not as warm as the fish would like, causing them to be a little more sluggish. A larger profile fly that’s visible can get them moving.

A far as hooks go you can use the MFC Heavy Wire Scud in a 6-10 but buyer beware the big girls will bend these out. Anything under 12lbs seems to stay stuck.

I really like the Ahrex SA274 Curved Salt in the 2-8 range.This is a bad ass hook that has never bent out and they keep a point for a long time.

Now, a couple quick tips when fly fishing for Carp.

Do’s:

*Move like a ninja. No quick movements or demonstrative arm movements. Think stealth. Extreme stealth.

*Use heavy Fluorocarbon like the SA Saltwater in 12-16lb. Oddly enough they don’t seem to be leader shy.

* Utilize overweighted fly lines like the SA Sonar Jungle, or the SA Bass Bug. Accurate short shots are the name of the game, and these lines turn your flies over at short distances.

Don’ts:

* Do not throw right at them. Click this “Drag N Drop” Or search youtube. Plenty of good vids.

*Quit casting to cruising fish. They will spook and mess up shots at tailing fish in the area.

*Don’t point at them. This spooks them. Not sure why but it does, even if they’re faced away from you.

All in all these fish are incredibly smart, social, crazy strong and can be very hard to catch. An average day I will put my clients on 20-80 tailing fish and if you’re not paying attention, following directions correctly and keeping a cool head, you will not catch them.

My season sells out a year in advance but if you would like to be added to the waitlist shoot me a text or give me a call at

(503) 784-4623

Carp Season Re-Cap 2021

Holy crap. That was so much fun.

Well it’s mid October here in the PNW and the colors of Fall are in full effect. Leaves painted gold, green and red fill every hillside, and layers of fog roll down the valley. Our neighbors chimney puffs smoke with the odor of charred wood as the thermostat continues to drop outside. Time to break out the Bootfoots. The inevitable grip of old man winter is just around the corner. But before all this change was happening? I was a flats guide.

I started to pay closer attention to warm water species a few years ago, maybe 5. One Spring morning my buddy Pete invited me to try my luck, and after a brief summary on technique and presentation we proceeded to get our stalk on in the flooded grass plains of Sauvies Island. All it took was my first fish and I was hooked. Sight fishing to spooky, large fish within an hr of Portland? Yes please. The hunt, the anticipation, and the initial run was checking all the boxes for me.

Unfortunately, the conditions on that particular day were extremely uncommon. You need just the right amount of snow pack and warm weather, mixed with rain to raise the Willamette River to the correct level where flooding occurs in those fields. Then you’re going to need full sunshine and little to no wind. My dream of sight fishing all summer long was quickly destroyed. That was my reality for another year or so until I began hearing people talking abut the Columbia, or Big C. I was hearing the term “flats” being thrown around a lot, and stories of stalking large fish in clear water seemed to be common in some small circles. It was one slippery slop, and within a month I had spent way too many hours on google earth, and even more hours hiking the WA and OR side, scouting, stalking, and hunting.

I quickly realized, “This is not for me.” Meaning I was covering far too few miles a day on foot. Insert; Power Boat.

Holy crap. This is so much fun.

What proceeded to unfold over the next summer was nothing short of amazing. Poling in a world of water with no one around, being covered up in more fish than I could have ever have imagined. Tailers, everywhere. Large fish. Warm water. Sight fishing. I feel like I had won the lottery. Now I am aware that we are smack dab in the middle of the golden years for this fishery. Within 5 or 6 years Im sure they’ll be other guides out there. But for now? It’s just me and my clients having the time of our lives.

If you’d like to book a day for next summer you can contact me through this website or text me directly at

(503) 784-4623

July and August have already started to fill so I would not wait to book!

Louisiana Recap August 2021

Well that’s a wrap! Another terrific week spent down in Louisiana with Captain Jeff Arnold. Jeff’s ability to find the species you want to target, and in favorable conditions is quite impressive.

After pre-fishing the BlackJack Tournament for a couple days and finding a few schools, we felt pretty optimistic about our chances the following day. Well, mother nature had different plans and the morning wind made it hard to spot any schools, and limited on where we could go. A 16’ skiff in 2 ft waves bobbing around the Gulf of Mexico isn’t exactly a good time.

However, we still managed a couple shots and even hooked up, but when the fish finally hit the bag you’d never seem 3 grown men so disappointed. No Jack. Just a very large Bull. Wrong species.

Josh with a very nice consolation prize.

Around noon we all kind of looked at each other and said screw it. With light wind and full sun we decided to take advantage and just go fish. Turned out, this was a good call. We ended up fishing 4 or 5 ponds throughout the afternoon and Jeff found fish in all of them. What an absolute blast.

The following 5 days were more or less the same thing. Jeff asking us what we wanted to fish for, and him putting us on them. Ya know,..Guiding. I could go on and on but here’s a few photos to sum up the rest of the week.

To contact Jeff for Redfish, Black Drum, Alligator Gar or Jack Crevallle, his contact info is:

website: https://www.arnoldsguideservice.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arnoldsguideservice/

We're Going On Tour!

That’s right! Starting June 22nd, myself and good buddy Red Kulper will be heading out to Michigan to kick off the first official G.Loomis Guide Tours: Upper Midwest Edition. Our road trip will take us through Michigan, Ohio and the North Woods of Wisconsin for the next 15 days.

Fishing with some of the biggest names in the biz we’ll highlight their skills and techniques to target warm water species, as well as showcase a whole mess of behind the scenes bullshit. Follow along on our adventures via Instagram with multiple stories added daily.

We’ll be throwing mega flies for Muskies, jack-knifing swim baits for Smallies, and tossing poppers for ambushing Largemouth. This is going to be one hell of a good time.

Follow along here on IG @mykizha or @gloomisfly

Salmon Fly Hatch, Deschutes River: Warm Springs Reservation

If you know me at all, you know that I don’t really care too much for trout. They don’t really do it for me. I do not care about catching trout. There, I said it.

I do however still enjoy guiding for them, and I don’t think anyone could get tired of watching them smash giant dry flies with reckless abandon.

Last year with the arrival of everyones favorite Uncle, Covid our season was pretty much cancelled and the trout were left to gorge themselves in solitude while the rest of us were left ringing our hands with anxiety.

Fast forward to 2021 and with a quick, double dip-vaccine trip we pushed away the chances for a repeat performance. We had our 5G chip securely in place, and we were ready to roll.

The Hatch would happen earlier than ever this year as our April showers never arrived, and the probability of a drought year seemed inevitable. Not really a bad thing, at least on the front end. We began all-day, dry fly eats starting the 6th of May,( a good week earlier than any other year) and it has continued to get better and better with each dawn to dusk. The last hour or so of daylight has been absolute pandemonium, with thousands of stoneflies dropping eggs as the last bit of daylight vanishes, and the dark of night pulls it’s curtain over the valley.

This last week I took a group of 4 who have fished with Matt for years, and in the span of two days they just about hiked the entirety of Warm Springs Reservation. If I told you the amount of fish they landed, any rational human being would cry bullshit, while simultaneously giving me the eye-roll heard round the world. The only thing that can even come close to what transpired were my summers spent in Alaska. Thousands of chromed out Coho, daunting their sea lice tails, absolutely crushing anything that hit the water for hours and hours. If there was ever a thing as too many fish, this last Thursday and Friday were it.

So I’m back out there again starting Monday and it looks to be another terrific week. I’d say that the Hatch may end a little earlier than the past few years so if you can sneak away for a day or two, next week would be a good time.

Chubbies in the riffles but small (size 10-12) Norm Woods, and Clarks in the flatter, tree/canopy sections. 7.5’ leaders of 3X, and your favorite floatant. Go get em’.

_Eric Leininger

Friday Night Flies 03/05/21 Swimming Jimmy (Game Changer)

A 2021 updated version of the Swimming Jimmy. I used Blane Chocklett’s Game Changer Platform to ad a bit more movement. Also a few other changes in this one as well.

Friday Night Flies 02/26/21

Friday Night Flies 02/05/21 (Trout Spey Streamer)

Wader Hack [Warm Feet]

Tired of frozen feet while fishing this winter? Bootfoots out of your price range? Have no fear, this life hack is here. All credit goes out to my buddy Ben Glick for this great idea.

2020 Squidro (EP Brush Version)

This is an updated version of Scott Howell’s Squidro. The main difference here is the use of EP Brushes. An EP Brush is essentially a mass produced composite loop spun on very thin wire. You get 6 brushes to a pack, and the cost is around $10.30 Utilizing these brushes allows you to crank out this bug in record time. It also builds quite the shoulder.

Material List:

Senyo Shank 40mm

Senyo Intruder Wire

Senyo Chromatic 1.5’ Brush Copper Candy

Silver Tinsel Brass

Medium Lead Eyes

Pro Sport Fisher Thin UV Resin

Lava Lamp 2.0

New 2020 updated version of my Lava Lamp Tube Fly. This fly has, and maintains an extremely large profile. It's easy to tie, and also to cast. You can spin it up in any number of color combinations, and I truly believe they have better movement than any other Steelhead fly out there.