Merry Christmas from the Rogue River

Warm and snug along the Rogue River.

Merry Christmas from the Rogue River and many best wishes and fishes in the New Year.

It’s waterfowl season now along the Rogue River, but soon it will be winter steelhead season. Stay tuned for updates from the river.

Ah, Waterfowl Season on the Rogue River!

Early wood ducks along the Rogue River. Nearly always accounting for the first ducks of the season.

The male wood duck is one of the more spectacular colored drakes in the waterfowl world. I try to do them justice.

Ice, snow and low water can really concentrate the birds. Late season waterfowl hunting is great, if you can master the conditions.

Good winter waterfowl hunting came early this year on the Rogue River. A late Fall cold front followed by a good covering of snow to the Rogue Valley floor brought on the good conditions. Sustained cold has done little to alter the situation. There is open water and the ducks have found it. Sometimes you just have to break ice to get to them. Retired my old neoprene waders this year and said good bye to leaks. I’m looking and feeling “bomber” in the warm and tough Cabela’s Northern Flight™ One-Strap Hunting Waters. Except for an incident of wading deep in the sticky “muck”, I have nothing but good to say about them.

Cabela’s Northern Flight Waders

Classic Fly Pins For Christmas

An old pattern from the Penobscot River region of Maine. Originally intended for trout and landlocked salmon, the fly was found to be good for smallmouth and largemouth bass as well. Perhaps steelhead would fall for this fly too?

An Atlantic salmon fly pattern originated by the late Poul Jorgensen. During his time Poul was known among the best fly tyers in the world, largely because of his work with classic salmon flies. The Sir Conrad was tied for his friend Bill Conrad of television fame.

An adaptation of the Cain River series of flies, by C. Jim Pray of Eureka, California. This steelhead version was especially successful on the Klamath River. Originally tied for Atlantic salmon, the Cain River series was also good for trout and bass.

The Alaska Mary Ann fly pin is of a classic fly first tied in the 1920s by Frank Dufresne. The color scheme for the fly he derived from the red and white carved-ivory ice-fishing decoys that the native Eskimos made.

I’ve been tying old classic fly patterns on decorative hook pins for Christmas. Here are a few of my favorites. The hat pin hooks are not easy to tie on. There is a lot that you have to work around. Number one is avoid the sharp point of the pin. Ouch!