The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

There's an Ian Tyson song, "Since the rain things look so much better ... Hills are turning green; the greenest green you've ever seen." It may as well have been written about the Deschutes in May. It's a good song to sing while casting... — Updated 5/19/1998 Full story

There's an Ian Tyson song about the changes of spring and the green, green hills. It may as well have been written about the Deschutes in May. It's a good song to sing while casting nymphs. Not long ago, some friends and I set off on a... — Updated 5/12/1998 Full story

It was a beautiful, warm sunny day. So, when a friend called and said, "let's fish," it wasn't hard to talk me into it. We drove down the old bumpy road to the lower Metolius. Being early in the year we really weren't expecting to see a lot... — Updated 5/5/1998 Full story

Finding your fish and getting him to take your fly is only half the battle in catching a steelhead. You have to successfully hook him, play him and land him. There's enough work involved in the first step to frustrate a fisherman. When you g... — Updated 10/7/1997 Full story

The transition from trout fisherman to Steelheader is not an easy one. Steelheading requires confidence. But it's hard to be confident if you don't have experience. As many fishermen like to say, "dues are due." Hooking Steelhead is, at... — Updated 9/30/1997 Full story

I had a hard time in puzzling out the tiny stones. I had mistaken them for caddis. I did not recognize their importance until I stopped fishing and sat on the bank and watched for a while. It was a classic mixed and masking hatch. Fish were... — Updated 9/9/1997 Full story

When the wristwatch alarm went off I wasn't ready to get up. It felt as if I had just gone to bed. Early mornings are the part of Steelheading I will never get used to. I curled up in the sleeping bag for a moment contemplating what would... — Updated 9/3/1997 Full story

There is a moment late in August, as the days shorten, when you will notice a change in the air, a subtle crispness that says fall is coming. Not long after that, we are likely to have a few cool moist days, like the ones we had last week.... — Updated 8/26/1997 Full story

The anticipation of steelhead season is not like waiting for another hatch or another form of trout fishing. It has a fever all its own. For dedicated steelheaders, it is the crown jewel of the entire fishing season. I've been thinking... — Updated 8/19/1997 Full story

Taking time out to watch fish - to observe them without disturbance - is sometimes as much fun as actually trying to catch them. As a guide I go fishing without my fly rod quite a bit. Some portion of every day on the river is spent just wal... — Updated 8/5/1997 Full story

When most folks think of nymph fishing they think of fishing the bottom with indicators, heavy flies, add-on weights and possibly a small dropper fly. For many, casting this type of hardware is not nearly as pleasant as using a light,... — Updated 7/29/1997 Full story

Presentation is everything. The skill - the art - of fly fishing lies in how you show the fly to fish. The most common presentation is dead drift; matching the speed of the fly to the speed of the current as it floats over the fish holding... — Updated 7/22/1997 Full story

Every so often you run onto a fishing story that just has to be told. This one proves the old adage, "sometimes it's better to be lucky than good." Bob is from Minnesota. Up until our trip, his fishing experience was largely on Pike, Musky,... — Updated 7/15/1997 Full story

There was a good sized trout just ahead of us within easy casting range. I had seen him rise several times, but we weren't getting the job done. It was almost as if there was a lid over the spot - some sort of magic dome that kept repelling... — Updated 7/8/1997 Full story

The appearance of Golden Stoneflies on the Metolius is a herald of the transition from spring to summer fishing. The hatch always arrive on or slightly before the Fourth of July. Goldens, which are sometimes mistakenly called Salmonflies,... — Updated 7/1/1997 Full story

Soft Hackle Swing - it sounds like some sort of country western dance. Actually it is one of the oldest methods of fly fishing known. It originated with the birth of fly fishing on the chalk streams of southern England and was popular well... — Updated 6/24/1997 Full story

The phenomenon of the Salmonfly is one of nature's small miracles. In early spring, the native rainbows are just coming out of the spawn. They need food and energy to bring them back to full fitness. Low and behold what does the river... — Updated 6/17/1997 Full story

Around rodeo time each year, the green drake hatch on the Metolius reaches its peak. For cowboys with a fly rod a little fishing can be an excellent break from the more hectic activities of the weekend. The green drake has always been one... — Updated 6/10/1997 Full story

With major hatches of green drakes on the Metolius and salmonflies on the Deschutes, fishermen may be challenged to fish in tighter, more brushy situations than usual. On the swift, deep Metolius, there is often no room to wade out and fish... — Updated 6/3/1997 Full story

The Salmonfly hatch leads to some of the very best fishing the Lower Deschutes has to offer. Anglers come from all over the world to fish this event. The hatch is just now getting under way - the activity will continue in full force through... — Updated 5/27/1997 Full story

Periodically it seems that I have to be reminded just how small an insect trout can become focused on. When the hatching insects are really teeny-tiny, it seems that there isn't enough food value for a big hungry trout to become selective.... — Updated 5/20/1997 Full story

There was a time when I thought of the natural world as stable. I was not so keenly aware of the power of catastrophic events. In an instant Mount St. Helens changes all that. After she blew her top, I could not look at the Cascades in the... — Updated 5/13/1997 Full story

Many expected a long, protracted argument between two sides of an ancient debate, hatchery fish versus wild fish on the Metolius River, but it didn't happen at the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife meeting held March 14 at the Camp... — Updated 3/19/1996 Full story