Fishing The Crooked River. Central Oregon Flyfishers March 15, Frank Turek

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Roberta Logan
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1 Fishing The Crooked River Central Oregon Flyfishers March 15, 2017 Frank Turek

2 Purpose of Presentation Show you how I fish the Crooked River Others may use different techniques Goal is to help you have a good time and catch some fish

3 Presentation Outline 1. Chuck and Duck setup and what I use 2. Fishing the Chuck and Duck 3. My favorite flies 4. Crooked River Flows 5. My favorite fishing locations 6. Version on COF website fly patterns

4 Presentation Different than many presentations Not a bunch of photos of fish You all know what rainbows and whitefish look like Not a bunch of photos of scenery Crooked River is only 45 minutes from Bend and you will see it yourselves

5 Only Fish Picture

6 Only Scenery Picture Lees Ferry on the Colorado River

7 1. Chuck and Duck Rig Fly line Leader and tippet 5X Strike indicator Lead fly weighted Split shot Second dropper First dropper

8 Chuck and Duck Rig Fly line Leader and tippet 5X Strike indicator Lead fly weighted Split shot Second dropper First dropper

9 Fly Line I use floating weight forward line My preference is Orvis Power Taper ½ weight heavier; so 4wt is really 4.5 Helps load the rod for short to medium casts I mainly roll cast and this makes it much easier and efficient You have seen others with level or double taper line whipping and struggling

10 Chuck and Duck Rig Fly line Leader and tippet 5X Strike indicator Lead fly weighted Split shot Second dropper First dropper

11 Leader and Tippet I use 5x fluorocarbon No need to go finer or heavier This is 5 lb test and is more than adequate for Crooked River fish 5X will fit through #22 eye Has a refractive index closer to water More difficult for fish to see I want any advantage I can get

12 Fluorocarbon Material Some people say it costs too much Add up the cost of your equipment Then add the cost of gas You have to buy leaders and tippet anyway so you are looking at the differential cost and this is what I call Chump Change Some say it sinks dry flies More on this later

13 Leader and Tippet I start with 9 ft tapered leader Try to keep length fly line to lead fly about 8 ft or so

14 Chuck and Duck Rig Leader 5X Fly line Strike indicator Lead fly weighted Split shot Second dropper First dropper

15 Strike Indicator My favorite is corky Easy to adjust and I adjust often

16 Strike Indicator Deep pools I set strike indicator about 5 feet above lead fly Shallow areas I set strike indicator about 18 inches above lead fly I change depth rather than flies Deep pools change 12 inches Shallows change 6 inches Should touch bottom about half the time

17 Strike Indicator Remember: IT IS AN INDICATOR NOT A BOBBER If it moves or pauses or stops or does anything different than a normal drift STRIKE Lift the rod tip to make sure it is not the bottom don t jerk You can continue your drift if it was the bottom You don t have to rip the lips off the fish

18 Chuck and Duck Rig Leader 5X Fly line Strike indicator Lead fly weighted Split shot Second dropper First dropper

19 Split Shot I mainly use two sizes bb size in irrigation season #1 or smaller shot in non irrigation season Goal is to get into fish zone quickly Put it about 12 to 15 inches above lead fly

20 Split Shot It should be called Slip Shot Tends to slip down when casting I found that if the shot gets within 4 inches of lead fly - hits stop Check position of shot often Tempting to really crimp down hard to keep shot in place This puts a crimp in line and you reduce the test of 5X to 6 or 7X so say goodbye to any big fish

21 Chuck and Duck Rig Leader 5X Fly line Strike indicator Lead fly weighted Split shot Second dropper First dropper

22 Fly Setup I don t use fancy knots Improved clinch knot Tie fly to tippet at eye Tie droppers to bend of hook

23 2. Fishing Chuck and Duck Because of road most folks fish with flow from left to right

24 Fishing Chuck and Duck Deep Pools and Runs 12 Set up and sink zone Drift zone 1 2 Drag and fly rise zone 9 3

25 Fishing Chuck and Duck Cast into Set Up and Sink Zone Do all your mending in this zone The goal is to get the flies down to the fish Fish alertly in the Drift Zone Watch the strike indicator Try not to do mending in the Drift Zone because mending changes the depth of flies Rather move your rod to follow strike indicator at the same speed.

26 Drift without Mending Flies Fishie Indicator Line & Leader Current Rod movement same speed as indicator Rod

27 Why Does This Work Fishie Current Direction of strike Result is force of strike is downstream Result = Good hook set

28 Fishing the Chuck and Duck At the end of Drift Zone you enter the Drag and Rise Zone Line and flies straighten out Drag causes flies to rise away from bottom Good time to do another roll cast River puts pressure and loads rod for an easy cast

29 Fishing the Chuck and Duck I found most rainbows hit at the start and middle of the Drift Zone Whitefish are not as fussy, they hit anywhere in Drift and Rise Zones Trick for whitefish Raise your rod to jerk flies off bottom Make sure you have no slack Movement gets whitefish to strike almost immediately

30 Fishing Chuck and Duck Shallow Riffles and Small Pools 12 Set up and sink zone Drift zone 1 2 Drag and fly rise zone 9 3

31 Shallow Riffles and Small Pools Set Up Zone is much smaller As soon as flies hit water, lift your rod tip Keeps the flies from getting stuck on bottom Take out slack line Get ready for a hit

32 3. My Favorite Flies Happy Pulik Regular Beadhead Emerger Kodi s Emerger Midge Nymph Beadhead Scud Peeking Cadis Egg pattern Zebra Nymph Lights Out

33 What is a Happy Pulik Puli is a Hungarian Sheep Dog Plural is Pulik

34 Happy Pulik

35 Happy Pulik Variations Happy Pulik Beadhead #18 Happy Pulik Emerger #20

36 Favorite Flies Kodi s Emerger #22 Midge Nymph #22

37 Favorite Flies Beadhead Olive Scud #16 Peeking Cadis #16

38 Favorite Flies EGG Pattern #18 Zebra Nymph #16 or #20

39 Lights Out #16 Favorite Flies

40 Favorite Flies Sometimes rainbows hit the strike indicator Frustrating so I use a fly I bought in New Jersey in 1970 Spun Deer Hair Egg

41 My Favorite Dry Fly I use a #18 or #20 Blue Wing Olive Parachute Fish seem to like it and I can see it

42 Dry Fly Fishing Fluorocarbon leader Yes the leader sinks You need to dress flies more often Most dry fly drifts are not too long When the leader sinks it is less visible to the fish

43 Dry Fly Fishing I use two materials Silicon first to coat fly Then Frog s Fanny Silicon makes it stick much better

44 Dry Fly Fishing Optional casting techniques to try You do everything right and a rainbow hits and you hook it Fly is wet I squeeze the thorax against my shirt to dry Then redress with silicon and frog s fanny

45 Dry Fly Fishing Sometimes the rainbow goes to the bottom and you get Gunk on your fly My fingers are too big to clean gunk off a # 18 or #20 dry fly hackle I use a small brush from an electric razor to clean the fly

46 Dry Fly Fishing The bristles are stiff enough to remove gunk but soft enough not to damage fly

47 4. Crooked River Flows Two main seasons of flow Non irrigation season 60 to 80 cfs Irrigation season 230 to 260 cfs Check out river in low flow Learn pools, riffles, pockets and seams Learn where fish lie Learn where to wade and cross Apply that in high flows

48 Crooked River Flows Remember cfs is a volume Velocity varies with depth and width of channel Deeper or wider sections flow slower to pass the volume of water Narrows and shallows flow faster Rule of Thumb When the velocity doubles the force against you quadruples SO BE CAREFUL

49 5. Favorite Fishing Spots Big Bend to Lower Palisades I catch enough fish in the section to make me happy so I don t go farther downstream

50 Big Bend Area

51 Big Bend Area Area I normally fish

52 Big Bend Area Shallows and riffles

53 Big Bend Area Nice pools

54 Big Bend Area Areas of deep runs/pools

55 Big Bend Area Road Crossing

56 Big Bend Area Irrigation district trucks smoothed the crossing path Things to check out Old gaging cable car Kingfisher uses the cable Great Blue Herons Brown fuzzy things Mink? Deer crossing Eagles

57 Chimney Rock

58 Chimney Rock Area I usually fish

59 Chimney Rock Shallows and riffles

60 Chimney Rock Area of runs and pools

61 Chimney Rock Rock and platform

62 Chimney Rock Wood platform The rocks

63 Chimney Rock Pocket pools Shallows and riffles

64 Pools and holes Chimney Rock

65 Nice run Short run Chimney Rock

66 Fishing Chimney Rock Big Rocks Backwater behind rocks and rainbows gather here for an easy meal Fast current in short run chute that rapidly drags you fly line downstream Carefully wade out to edge of chute Hold rod high to minimize line in water You can get a good drift before current drags line downstream

67 Lower Palisades

68 Lower Palisades Wheel chair structures Area I usually fish

69 Lower Palisades Shallow but limited fish Shallows and riffles

70 Lower Palisades Nice deep pool

71 Lower Palisades Good crossing area

72 Lower Palisades Crossing Wide and shallow so water velocity is not too great Allows you to cross the river to fish the canyon area between Lower Palisades and downstream part of Chimney Rock aka Upper Palisades

73 Palisades Canyon Area Upper Palisades Area I usually fish Lower Palisades

74 Palisades Canyon Area Upper Palisades Deep slow pool Lower Palisades

75 Palisades Canyon Area Upper Palisades Riffles and pools Lower Palisades

76 Whew I m Done!

77 6. Fly Patterns Happy Pulik TCM 100 #20 Thread Olive VEVUS 10/0 Tail Lemon Wood Duck Thorax Stripped Peacock Quill Abdomen Ice Dub Olive Wing Case Lemon Wood Duck Happy Pulik Beadhead TCM 100 #18 Thread Olive VEVUS 10/0 Tail Lemon Wood Duck Thorax Stripped Peacock Quill Abdomen Ice Dub Olive Wing Case Lemon Wood Duck Bead 3/32 black tungsten

78 Fly Patterns Happy Pulik Emerger Hook TCM 100 #20 Thread Olive VEVUS 10/0 Tail Lemon Wood Duck Thorax Stripped Peacock Quill Abdomen Ice Dub Olive Wing Case NONE Wing Gray CDC Kodi s Emerger Hook TCM 100 #22 Thread Black VEVUS 10/0 Tail None Thorax Stripped Peacock Quill Abdomen Black tying thread Wing Case Few strands white Antron

79 Fly Patterns Midge Nymph Hook TCM 100 #22 Thread Black VEVUS 10/0 Tail None Thorax Stripped Peacock Quill Abdomen Black dubbing Wing Case None Beadhead Olive Scud Hook TCM 200 # 16 Curved Scud Thread Olive VEVUS 10/0 Shellback Midge Flex or other translucent olive material Body Olive Ostrich herl Rib Gold wire fine Bead 3/32 gold

80 Fly Patterns Peeking Cadis TCM 100 #16 Thread Black VEVUS 10/0 Weight 0.15 lead about 15 turns Rib Medium gold wire Thorax Streamside hare s ear plus dark dubbin hare s ear Thorax Lime green dubbing Legs Brown partridge Head Black ostrich Egg TCM 2487 #16 Thread White VEVUS 10/0 Egg D s Flyes Super Egg Size Color I use both Orange or Cheese

81 Fly Patterns Zebra Nymph TCM 2487 #16 and #20 Thread Black VEVUS 10/0 Rib Fine gold wire Body tapered tying thread Bead 3/32 gold for #16 or 1/8 for #20 I also use red thread with copper bead and wire Lights Out TCM 100 #16 Thread Orange VEVUS 10/0 Tail Black Krystal Flash Body UV Ice Dub black Rib Hot orange wire Head Orange thread

Ian & Charity Rutter BeadHead Zelon nymph

Ian & Charity Rutter BeadHead Zelon nymph Ian & Charity Rutter 865.448.0467 BeadHead Zelon nymph The beadhead Zelon Nymph is a fly that Charity and I have in our fly boxes at all times. We fish this nymph in the Smokies, on East Tennessee tailwaters