The report is just in from the first weekend of the "Fishing Train". As you can see in the photo above the weather was just perfect. It was a bit cold in the am but as soon as the sun got up it warmed up and the fishing turned on.

There was a mix of Fly Fishermen and Gear fishermen on the Train this weekend. The Gear Guys certainly had better success than the Fly guys. Everyone caught fish, but the big news of the weekend was one guy fishing with a jig and a bobber caught 11 fish on Saturday and 17 fish on Sunday. His success was a result of a couple of things. First of all, he knew what he was doing and knew the water down there very well. The second thing was his ability to fish the deepest slowest water. He said that the fish he was catching were sitting right on the bottom of the slowest moving pools he could find.

This is very difficult water for the Fly guys to fish. It is just a challenge to get your fly down deep enough. This is not to say that the Fly fishermen didn't catch any fish. They had good success nymphing. There was even a few fish on a swinging fly with a Spey Rod.

Fun had by all. We expect the fishing to continue to heat up. The folks down there at the hatchery don't even have the door open yet. They plan on letting the fish in starting March 1st. That tells you that the bulk of the fish have will be here in March.

I had to go down and see what was going on down on the Wallowa for myself today. Wow what a spectacular day. Another one of those 55 degree sunburn days in February. Doesn't seem right but I am not complaining.

The water has cleared up a bit from yesterday. It is still a little off colored but has more of that nice green color than the brown color. Water temp was back to 37 degrees. Sun was high and bright. We decided to continue Nymphing as that is what has been working. The Wallowa is a tough river to swing due to it's size, especially right now. We tied on our #10 Prince Nymphs and got to work.

Tom and I fished for about 3 hours between 10am and 1pm. There was a little more pressure on the river today. We had to go to Tom's favorite, avoid the crowd, holes that most folks unfamiliar with the river don't fish. Tom was being kind and putting me into the premier fishy zones. He still caught the first Steelhead after about an hour. After a quick break for a snack he directed us to his honey hole and forced me fish through first. I hooked and landed 2 beautiful Steelhead in about 20 minutes. Then after taking a breather and soaking it up I continued up the run and after about 10 casts hooked a third. I did loose this one but not without a good fight and a few jumps.

I would call the fishing great on the Wallowa right now. Get out there and enjoy some of this incredible weather and get a Fish On. It might snow next week and we will have to go skiing.

I just got Tom's report from the Wallowa. Tom spent 3 hours down there this afternoon. He found beautiful weather 50 degree air temp and Clear Blue skies. He May have even gotten a sunburn.

The water level has risen a little bit due to consistent warm temps and melting snow pack. He said that he would describe the water as brown instead of green but still very fish able. The water temp is on the rise as well 38 degrees. In his 3 hours he caught a some trout and 2 Steelhead on a Prince Nymph. Tom did notice a few anglers but overall he described it as not too crowded.

Remember the Steelhead Train starts on Saturday. Tom will be on the Train answering questions and helping anglers get into the fishy water.

Tom braved it down on the Wallowa on Valentines Day, hoping the anglers would all be spending the day with their sweeties. This was not the case and he found the river to be a bit crowded. This did not discourage him as he simply went to one of his secret spots. He only had about an hour to fish but in that hour he caught 2 Steelhead on the Prince Nymph. Pretty good hours per fish numbers.

He said that the water speeds had increased slightly indicating a small increase in flows. He did say however that the water still seemed a little low. He also noted the water temps were holding at 37 degrees and were very clear. We are still hoping for a little more warmer water to flow into the system to get the fish moving around a bit more.

The crowds are beginning to show up on the weekends but during the week pressure is very light.

Thanks to all of you who visited us at the Sportsmen's Show last week. We enjoyed talking with all of you.

The Fishing Train will begin this weekend. Call the Minam Motel to book your trip.541-437-4475.

Follow this link to read more detail about the record numbers of Steelhead that are heading this way. This story was Published in the Observer Newspaper and written by Katy Nesbitt.

"Abundant Steelhead Run Benefits More than Anglers"

Tom made it out on the Wallowa river again yesterday. He had some pretty good success. Fishing for about 3 hours he landed 2 fish. As always he brought these in on the Prince Nymph. Conditions on the river are still cold 37 degrees clear and still a little low. We would like to see a little increase in the flows to get those fish moving around a bit more.
I just heard from the Folks at the Minam Motel that the Steelhead train is a go. They will be operating the train on the weekends beginning this weekend and ending at the end of March. The fishing should just keep getting better and better. If you are interested in the Steelhead train contact Dawn at the Minam Motel. 877-888-8130

Tom had some good luck down on the Wallowa yesterday (February 3rd). He found some similar conditions in the river. Cold 38 degree, clear, and low water conditions. He was fishing above the hatchery in the obvious Steelhead water. Tom Fished with the Prince Nymph again hooking 3 Steelies and landing 2. The photo above shows a beautiful Jack that he caught.

Tom did say that his creel was checked yesterday. The creel checker told him that he was the first to be checked on the Wallowa, but he did report that the fishing has been very hot down in Troy. I am planning on heading down there on Sunday so I will let you know what I find. The Grande Ronde has been flowing consistently at about 1100 cfs so I am expecting to have some great success. Stay Tuned.

Morgan and I are heading to the Sportsman Show in Portland this week. We will be at the Expo Center in Portland from Wednesday 10th until Sunday the 14th. Stop by and say hello. It should be a great event.