Scott Howell's Guide Service

2005 SPRING NEWSLETTER
Summer’s on its way and so are the fish!

For those of you who put your rods away each winter it’s time to break them out and wipe off the dust. And for you hardcore year-round steelheaders, it’s time to change those heavy lines and weighted flies back to floating lines and dry flies.

Summer steelhead are already over Willamette Falls on the Willamette River and I’m getting reports of fish being caught all the way up to Eugene. For those of you who have fished the Willamette with me, I’m sure that you’d agree that this is a highly underrated fishery. These fish are big, strong, and aggressive to the fly. Some of the hottest fish I see each summer are from the Willamette. These are drift boat trips where we get out of the boat and wade fish. We are swing fishing big classics runs that are easy to wade and user friendly. It’s a great opportunity for beginner spey casters to be able wade comfortably, get help with their cast, and catch a couple of screamin’ fish on the swing. The Willamette fishery starts in April, but begins to peak in May and June. This is a convenient trip for the traveling angler because you can fly into Eugene and be minutes away from fishing.

The first of our summer fish are also beginning to enter the Lower Umpqua. By the end of June, we will have fishable numbers of steelhead in the fabled North Umpqua fly water. For those of you who have never experienced the North Umpqua, it is a must to put on your list of places to fish. The river and its fish are arguably the most beautiful in the world. There are few places that offer the angler a better opportunity to catch these incredible fish on the dry fly. Last summer, roughly half the fish my guests caught were on a skating fly. If you have never had the rush of a steelhead completely launching itself out of the water after your fly, you’re missing out on one of the sport’s most incredible experiences. Along with the fishing, a stay at the legendary Steamboat Inn can complete your North Umpqua experience. It can make for a memorable experience for hard-core anglers as well as couples looking for a nice get away where a little fishing can be fit in. This fishery lasts through October and given the right water, can be great through November. We were still catching lots of fish on dries over Thanksgiving last year.

As August roles around, I start heading down to the Rogue. This is a fishery where multiple fish are the norm. I just plan on catching fish down there. Lots of them! As the flows begin to decrease at the end of September, the river shrinks and the fish become concentrated. I am not at all surprised this time of year to end the day with double digits. I often use my jet boat on the Rogue to access parts of the river that can’t be reached by a lot of the drift boats. We are out of the boat wade/ swing fishing. Yes, I said swing fishing on the Rogue. Forget about what everybody says about having to nymph fish on the Rogue. One day swinging flies and feeling that Big Grab, I guarantee you’ll put your indicators away until winter. The Rogue’s fishery lasts through mid-December and keeps me in great fishing until our winter fish show up. Once again, a great spot for the traveling angler who can fly into Medford and only be a few miles from the river.

The most overlooked of all our fisheries is the trout fishing on both the North Umpqua and the Rogue. By April, we have some great dry fly fishing on tap. Already this year, on many of my steelhead trips, I have seen some great surface activity with our March brown hatch. If we had not been bent on chasing their sea run cousins, we could have caught 12-16 inch trout until our arms fell off. If you enjoy dry fly trout fishing, this is something you should experience. You may find yourself in the future putting your trip to the Deschutes or Montana on hold to come to Southern Oregon.

For you regular clients of mine, I wanted to let you know that my summer dates are booking up. Please get a hold of me sooner than later, especially if you are hoping to fish consecutive days or are not flexible with your dates. I would hate to miss an opportunity to spend time on the water with many of you who have become good friends.

A LOOK BACK: As I look back on this last winter, I wanted to thank all of you who came and made it a great season. Our past winter season could best be summed up as a low water year. Most of us are not old enough to remember a winter when our rivers were as low as they were this year. Despite our lack of water we still had some great fishing. Here are some highlights:

* ALMOST 20! I spent a day over on the coast with Dave Souther of Bend that I will never forget. He ended the day 13 for 19 and we quit at 3:30. I guess at some point you have to say enough is enough. There were times during the day that it seemed he was catching fish at will. Who knows how many more we would have caught if we would have kept fishing.

* 15 POUNDER WITH SEA LICE! The low water enabled us to fish the lower Umpqua which is normally unfishable most winters. This gave us a rare chance at those big Umpqua fish hours out of tide water. I saw some steelhead down there that will spoil me forever. One of the most memorable was Dave Lattimore’s 15lb. buck that still had sea lice. What a beautiful fish!

* GOT SPOOLED! Probably the most memorable fish of the winter was a fish we never saw. It was one of the seven that Phil Gartlan of New Jersey and Pete Gartlan of Salem hooked on their first day ever steelheading. Pete hooked a fish that didn’t stop running even after it took all his line. He got SPOOLED! I would have loved to have seen that fish! Especially, when there were pictures this year of an Umpqua fish going around the internet that was 28+ lbs.

* 4 FOR 5 ON THE LOWER UMPQUA! Pat Maravelias of California also had a stellar day down on the big river. He started his day with a fish before we even realized he was fishing. He b-lined right to where he had hooked a fish the day before and caught a fish on one of his first casts. He was only warming up! He ended up 4 for 5 on the day.

* 7 FOR 11! One of the most enjoyable days of the year was a trip I did on the coast with first time steelheaders Beth and Bruce Sterten. You would have never guessed it was their first attempt at steelheading. They ended the day 7 for 11 with a couple beauties that were still sporting sea lice.

* 5 FOR 6 ON APRIL 2! The day I spent on the coast with Nick Smith of Oklahoma is testament to the fact that there is still great fishing to be had here in April. Nick was another first time steelheader that caught on fast. He was 5 for 6 on the day. A couple of his fish were still so bright they must have only been hours out of tide water.

Thanks to everybody for making it such a great winter season. I look forward to seeing you this summer.

2005 Winter Newsletter
Happy Holidays Everybody!

Don't put your rods away yet! The best fish of the year are just arriving. I have never understood why the traditional steelhead kick-off date for gear fisherman coincides with the same date most fly fishermen put their rods away for the year. I remember a time before I started guiding when I was thankful for this. Both the Rogue and Umpqua systems have three or four times as many wild winter steelhead as wild summer fish. Most of our Southern Oregon coastal rivers only get winter steelhead. Our winter fish are generally fresh from the sea (often sporting sea lice) and have spent less time in the river than their summer cousins. Not to mention, winter steelhead are just simply bigger fish and I like big fish! You add all these things up and it is easy to see why winter is my favorite time to chase steelhead.

We are coming off a year that saw record winter steelhead numbers on the Umpqua. My winter season has already started on the lower Umpqua, and from what I've seen I am expecting another great year.

After our first big rains, I will start fishing the South Umpqua. The South Fork seems to kick-off a couple weeks earlier than the North.

By the first of January I will be fishing the lower North Umpqua and our coastal rivers, as well as, the South Umpqua. Where I fish depends on the weather and where the fishing is best.

From mid-February through the first part of April you can throw the Rogue, Applegate and upper North Umpqua into the equation. In addition to their big runs of fish, the Rogue and Applegate can often be a saving grace in the winter because of their dam-controlled flows. But to go out and truly have a shot at that monster of a lifetime, the North Umpqua in the winter is a hard place to beat.

My winter guide trips (excluding the fly only section of the North Umpqua) are all drift or jetboat trips. A typical day of fishing is usually spent combining both traditional wade and swing fishing along with side-drifting indicators from the boat. Let me make it very clear for you hard core swing fisherman like myself, there is plenty of swing water if that's your thing. We can leave the bobbers at home!

Before I know it, I will be back in a T-shirt skating dries for summer steelhead dreaming of the days I can bundle up and go chase their big chrome winter cousins. Don't let your winter slip away without giving these fish a try.

Looking way ahead to next summer, I can only hope it will bring as many fond memories and new friends as 2004. I saw the best fishing in 30 years on the North Umpqua with Michael van Biema, of New York. Michael and I spent nine days together and I lost track of how many steelhead he hooked. The highlight of his stay was when he landed eight of twelve one day.

I could not imagine this summer without meeting Pax Prentice, his father Chris, and his friends Aaron and John. Who knows how many days we fished together this summer? They landed fish on the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue. The highpoint of our days fishing together had to be a fish Pax hooked in Mott Run. In my years fishing from California, to Alaska, to Russia, I've never seen a fish go like this one. Unfortunately, we lost the fish somewhere between Steamboat and Winchester Bay!

I'll never forget the day I spent this summer with newcomer to the sport of steelhead fly fishing, Kelly Helstrom of California. We ended our day together battling an incredibly strong fish well into the dark. After 45 minutes, we had to use a flashlight to measure this huge buck that weighed well into the teens.

Speaking of newcomers to steelheading, I can't go without mentioning the days I spent with Rock Caley, of Washington State. The Rock was two of three one evening fishing strictly dry flies. Not a bad introduction to the sport!

2004 was also a year I was able to reunite with old friends. Don Leuthold, of Seattle, and I began fishing together years ago in Alaska. The day I spent with Don this summer was a descent day of catching (1 of 2 and rose another on a dry) but we had a great day of fishing, getting caught up on new news, reliving old news, and learning to spey cast.

I can't go without mentioning every guide's dream clients and my good friends the Fly Girls. We spent three days on the Rogue River together catching tons of fish and turning lots of heads. The day Anna Lena Dunn, of New York, was on the river, every other fisherman within sight went home with a sore neck from turning watch her catch fish. Sandra Scandibar, of Cabo San Lucas, caught the biggest wild summer steelhead I have ever seen on the Rogue. It was a 14-pound Kispiox buck that I think decided would rather spend the winter in warm Southern Oregon than under the ice in Northern BC. Hey, that sounds a lot like me (for those of you who know my past). Beth Brunswick, of New York, is the most intense person I fish with. There is not enough light in the day when we are on the water together. Lunch? Forget about it!

Thank you everbody for making it such a great season!