Page 2 - Blog

House of Fly's Saga Spey Rod may be the best tool for landing Idaho's Clearwater River steelhead.

Breaking norms, like fishing fast instead of slow, can lead you to more steelhead on the Pacific Northwest's wildest rivers.

For steelhead anglers who prefer the swung fly, Idaho’s Clearwater River stands out as one of the premier fisheries in the Lower 48. It’s a big, broad river with a reliable return of large fish and offers miles of prime water that’s tailor-made for spey casting.

Darren Wood tests LOC waders on Norway's Orkla River and decides whether the product is worth a $1,600 price tag or not.

Truth is, steelhead do take during the middle of the day, in bright sun, but you probably won’t raise one to the surface at that time. Instead, these fish find deep runs, slots, chutes, and plunge pools and hold close to bottom. You can also find summer steelhead holding in the shadows that ledge-rock provides . . . and you’ll find plenty of that shadowy ledge-rock on Idaho’s Clearwater River, Oregon’s Deschutes and North Umpqua rivers, and Washington’s Klickitat, among others.

Doomscrolling on social media can diminish our own experiences, but only if we allow it to. Take time, at least every once in a while, to consider how fortunate each of us has been in our angling careers.

When the weather heats up and it gets too hot for trout, anglers begin searching for warm water species such as the common carp. This is how you catch carp on a fly rod.

In fact, chances are they’ll ask if you are in possession of any bananas before you board their vessel. If you are, they will end up in the water or on the dock. The bananas will not come on board. They all have stories to back up why bananas on fishing boats or fishing trips are taboo. I’ve got lots of them myself.

Whatever you call them, blue-winged olives are an important part of a fly fisher’s yearly playbook.