Fishing The Crooked River Central Oregon Flyfishers March 15, 2017 Frank Turek
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
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
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
Only Fish Picture
Only Scenery Picture Lees Ferry on the Colorado River
1. Chuck and Duck Rig Fly line Leader and tippet 5X Strike indicator Lead fly weighted Split shot Second dropper First dropper
Chuck and Duck Rig Fly line Leader and tippet 5X Strike indicator Lead fly weighted Split shot Second dropper First dropper
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
Chuck and Duck Rig Fly line Leader and tippet 5X Strike indicator Lead fly weighted Split shot Second dropper First dropper
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
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
Leader and Tippet I start with 9 ft tapered leader Try to keep length fly line to lead fly about 8 ft or so
Chuck and Duck Rig Leader 5X Fly line Strike indicator Lead fly weighted Split shot Second dropper First dropper
Strike Indicator My favorite is corky Easy to adjust and I adjust often
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
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
Chuck and Duck Rig Leader 5X Fly line Strike indicator Lead fly weighted Split shot Second dropper First dropper
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
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
Chuck and Duck Rig Leader 5X Fly line Strike indicator Lead fly weighted Split shot Second dropper First dropper
Fly Setup I don t use fancy knots Improved clinch knot Tie fly to tippet at eye Tie droppers to bend of hook
2. Fishing Chuck and Duck Because of road most folks fish with flow from left to right
Fishing Chuck and Duck Deep Pools and Runs 12 Set up and sink zone 10 11 Drift zone 1 2 Drag and fly rise zone 9 3
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.
Drift without Mending Flies Fishie Indicator Line & Leader Current Rod movement same speed as indicator Rod
Why Does This Work Fishie Current Direction of strike Result is force of strike is downstream Result = Good hook set
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
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
Fishing Chuck and Duck Shallow Riffles and Small Pools 12 Set up and sink zone 10 11 Drift zone 1 2 Drag and fly rise zone 9 3
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
3. My Favorite Flies Happy Pulik Regular Beadhead Emerger Kodi s Emerger Midge Nymph Beadhead Scud Peeking Cadis Egg pattern Zebra Nymph Lights Out
What is a Happy Pulik Puli is a Hungarian Sheep Dog Plural is Pulik
Happy Pulik
Happy Pulik Variations Happy Pulik Beadhead #18 Happy Pulik Emerger #20
Favorite Flies Kodi s Emerger #22 Midge Nymph #22
Favorite Flies Beadhead Olive Scud #16 Peeking Cadis #16
Favorite Flies EGG Pattern #18 Zebra Nymph #16 or #20
Lights Out #16 Favorite Flies
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
My Favorite Dry Fly I use a #18 or #20 Blue Wing Olive Parachute Fish seem to like it and I can see it
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
Dry Fly Fishing I use two materials Silicon first to coat fly Then Frog s Fanny Silicon makes it stick much better
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
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
Dry Fly Fishing The bristles are stiff enough to remove gunk but soft enough not to damage fly
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
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
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
Big Bend Area
Big Bend Area Area I normally fish
Big Bend Area Shallows and riffles
Big Bend Area Nice pools
Big Bend Area Areas of deep runs/pools
Big Bend Area Road Crossing
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
Chimney Rock
Chimney Rock Area I usually fish
Chimney Rock Shallows and riffles
Chimney Rock Area of runs and pools
Chimney Rock Rock and platform
Chimney Rock Wood platform The rocks
Chimney Rock Pocket pools Shallows and riffles
Pools and holes Chimney Rock
Nice run Short run Chimney Rock
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
Lower Palisades
Lower Palisades Wheel chair structures Area I usually fish
Lower Palisades Shallow but limited fish Shallows and riffles
Lower Palisades Nice deep pool
Lower Palisades Good crossing area
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
Palisades Canyon Area Upper Palisades Area I usually fish Lower Palisades
Palisades Canyon Area Upper Palisades Deep slow pool Lower Palisades
Palisades Canyon Area Upper Palisades Riffles and pools Lower Palisades
Whew I m Done!
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
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
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
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 16-18 Color I use both Orange or Cheese
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