Northwest Fishing Reports

So I started fly fishing last year when my brother got me a quick start set at Cabela's for my birthday or something. I learned to cast in my dads back yard, went out a couple of times, but when my brother went back to school in oregon he left my rod in his car. He's the fly fishermen, not me, and we don't talk much on account of he's so busy.

I was stuck on steelhead fishing all winter, so the trout fishing took a back seat. But I've got the gear to tie up some flys, but I have no idea what patterns to use, and I lack the confidence to just tool around until I get it figured out on my own.

I just got a replacement rod, it's a sage 5 wt. used, I got a pretty darn good deal on it. It casts a heck of a lot easier than my old one. Any pointers?

If you are fishing stillwaters you will need the basics:

Chironomids and/or "buzzers". These are small, but easy to tie pattens that work well year round and especially spring and fall
Damsel nymph patterns: these are a staple over here on the East side
Scud Patterns: again a staple over here.
Wooly Buggers in Olive, Black and Brown at the very least. These are tied in almost every color imaginable.

A quick Google image search will provide a number of good sites with step by step instructions on tying these patterns.

These patterns will work in most trout infested stillwaters. There are more sophisticated patterns out there but these basics are where we all start.

You will need both sinking and floating lines for lakes.

Also, make sure to visit a local shop to get the local scoop where you intend to fish.

Ditto what Rooscooter said for the "Wet" side. Fish the chironomids, scuds and small emergers patterns on or just above the bottom with a very slow vertical retrieve. Cast and strip-retrieve or slow-troll the wooley buggers and leech patterns at various depths. Keep the rod tip low and minimize slack in the line (I usually keep the rod tip in the water when stripping or trolling). When you get a bump or solid hit, pause for a nanosecond, then lift the rod tip. No need for the hybolic-jerk-backs with a good fly rod, especially that Sage. Most important - have fun!

Get out there and practice, practice, practice! Don't be afraid to approach other fishermen and ask for advice. Most out there will pass along tips and techniques, especially to someone just getting started. This could lead to you discovering your "mentor", that person who will take you under his wing and onto the water. Additional fishing partners will come as a result, too. I discovered all of my WA fishing buddies by just shooting the bull with them. I met one at Omak, one at Amber, and one at Medical. Each one of these guys passed enormous amounts of info to me and we fished together on hundreds of occasions after our initial meetings.

If possible, get a second rod especially if fishing lakes from a boat. Or at least get a reel with interchangeable spools. As mentioned above, you will need both floating and sinking lines. I'm a gear junkie and have a half dozen reels with sinking lines alone! A type VII, VI, two IVs and two IIIs! Sounds crazy, huh? But I was able to cover WAs lakes at all times of the year. Yeah, that's what you've got to look forward to!

I had read somewhere in the past that there are 4 stages in a fly fisherman's evolution. First, he/she wants to catch a fish. Second, they want to catch lots of fish. Third, they want to catch big fish. And fourth, they want to catch LOTS of BIG fish! It can be an addiction from which there is no escape!

Get out there and have fun!

I'm on my way out right now! I have with me some wooly buggers in brown, olive and black, two of each. Hehehe. I'm a gear collector too, at least with all my gear fishing, I'll end up probably fishing the same way. I need to pick up a new spool for my reel, it's a scientific anglers reel, so I'll figure it out. I've figured out how to fish dry flies pretty well I think, but these wet ones trolling or retrieving seems weird. I'll see what I can come up with, I know a spot that was just planted on monday so hopefully I'll post a report

What line(s) do you have? If you have a floater you can pick up a 10' sinking polyleader that will get you down a few feet. You can also use a long leader and a weighted fly to get down. Just remember to degrease the leader so it will sink.
Catching fish on top on a dry fly is a kick but 90+ % of the time trout are feeding subsurface. I carry a few dry flies but the other 200 or so are all wets.
Others have mentioned some good flies to start with so I won't add more to the list to confuse you. Just remember to not go too big on fly size. For trout I carry a few leaches and buggers in a 6 but most are 8's and 10's, with a few 12's. Scuds are 10's down to 16's. Cronies are 14's down to 18. Traditional wets are 12's down to 18. Anything smaller than an 18 I can't see well enough to tie the darn things on.
Muted colors are the best and if you feel the need for something a bit brighter just add a bit of flash to the tie.

wolverine wrote: Anything smaller than an 18 I can't see well enough to tie the darn things on.

Tell me about it!! In my younger years, when I used to fish Silver Creek a lot, I used to tie Adams patterns on size 24 to 26 hooks and be able to tie those on to my 8X tippet. Now I don't even tie on anything smaller than 18 and most of the time 16.

Tight Lines!

Thanks guys! I went out for a day on silver lake {near lynnwood), and I didn't catch anything on the fly. But I did manage to crack my brand new (to me) fly rod. I was real bummed out, the first time I used it it broke. I don't know what happened. But I did get a few follows on an olive wooly bugger. The fish didn't seem to be feeding that much, but when I used a spinner it made them angry enough to bite once or twice. After my rod broke that is. So now I need a new one.

If it is a Sage, they can most likely fix it. Take it into a fly shop that handles Sage and have them take a look at it.

Since you are the second owner, I don't know what kind of warranty they will cover. The fly shop would have a better idea.

I figured as much. I looked it up on the sage website and the warantee only goes for the first owner. But if they'd put a matching tip on it and didn't charge me for the whole cost of the pole I'd be totally fine with that, the rod was sweet for the little that I got to use it. But I think I'm going to get a cheaper one to practice with, so that I know it's not my fault.

Sometimes it only takes a small bruise on the rod for it to fracture. Sage will replace the tip for a charge, I'm not sure what that is. I had a canopy window blown down on my rod tip years ago, snapping off the tip. At that time, they replaced it at no cost. But their policy has changed.

Don't buy a real cheap rod to practice with. You will not get a satisfying line speed and you may develop bad compensating habits. You would be better off learning on the Sage. Take it to a fly shop and ask them what Sage charges for a new tip. Last time I heard, I think it was about $40.00 for a new tip, but I may be wrong.

Here is your local Sage dealer in Lynnwood.

http://www.tedssportscenter.com/index.htm

Marc Martyn wrote:Sometimes it only takes a small bruise on the rod for it to fracture. Sage will replace the tip for a charge, I'm not sure what that is. I had a canopy window blown down on my rod tip years ago, snapping off the tip. At that time, they replaced it at no cost. But their policy has changed.

Don't buy a real cheap rod to practice with. You will not get a satisfying line speed and you may develop bad compensating habits. You would be better off learning on the Sage. Take it to a fly shop and ask them what Sage charges for a new tip. Last time I heard, I think it was about $40.00 for a new tip, but I may be wrong.

Here is your local Sage dealer in Lynnwood.

http://www.tedssportscenter.com/index.htm

Okay, I know teds. By new tip do they mean the whole front end? It broke right above the joint. I know all about graphite breaks because of bruises, after breaking to lamiglas blanks this year. Because of faulty graphite, not because I dinged 'em. But I don't know what happened to this one before I bought it, so I don't know if it was my ding or someone elses.

I'll take it over to teds and see what they can do for it, because if I can pay for a tip that'll be cheaper than the whole rod is, I should hope. I don't want to use a cheap one, I had a cheap one, and I was looking at them today and it didn't feel anything near as responsive and intuitive as the sage did. Thanks for the tips, I'll probably be hooked on fly fishing now, it's a lot of fun.

Keep us posted on how Sage handles it. There are many guys on the site that fish with a Sage, including myself.

They most likely will replace the entire section.

over the years Sage has taken great care of me when I've broken a rod. One break was a direct hit by a heavy cone head leech. A gust of wind caught my line and the cone head made a direct hit on the rod. Three casts later the rod broke right at the impact site. The second break happened when a boat ran into my pram while it was beached. My fault for leaving the rod exposed. I took them both to the factory on Bainbridge. One rod was replaced for free. The other was a long discontinued model that they no longer had parts for. They charged me a very low price for a replacement rod. Lamiglass has also treated me very well on the 2 rods that I've had broken. Not so well with the Loomis stick that a friend shut the canopy door on.