Winding Waters Fishing Report

Trout Season Opening on the Wallowa & Grande Ronde

2012-05-22T15:42:00.001-07:00

Calling all anglers! Trout season opens Saturday, May 26th on the Wallowa and Grande Ronde Rivers. The water levels have not been as high as usual this time of year, so the fishing may actually be pretty decent. We'll see y'all out there!

Wallowa River Steelhead Season Closes on Sunday

2012-04-12T09:38:00.002-07:00

Quick update from the river. The Wallowa and Imnaha rivers have been fishing great for the past few days. We have had cold nights and warm days which have provided steady flows and clear waters. I have heard positive reports from 3 rivers this week.

Imnaha River. John and a buddy reported hooking 6 and landing 3 Steelhead on Monday and Tuesday of this week. They did say that the water was 900cfs, a little higher than they would like but it was running clear. They were able to find some slower moving runs that provided some success for them.

Big Sheep Creek: Morgan and a friend fished Big Sheep on Tuesday and reported high but clear water. They landed 2 besutiful Wild Steelhead this day.

Wallowa River. Tom fished the Wallowa this week and found it to be running green and only slightly high. He thought the fishing conditions were great. They landed 2 Steelhead above the Big Canyon Hatchery.

You only have 3 days left. It is time to get out there and finish the season off with a bang. This is also the time to begin planning your Fall Steelhead Fishing trip on the Grande Rond River. We love to hear what you find out there so please send us your fishing reports and any photos that you want to brag about.

See yoy on "The River"

Wallowa River Flows

2012-04-03T10:03:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the delay in posting. It has been a bit of a crazy month and the water levels have been all over the charts. The volatility in the flows has made for some challenging spring Steelhead fishing on the Wallowa. We spent 4 days fishing between Minam and Rondowa and only landed 1 Steelhead over the weekend of March 23rd. We caught a bunch of Rainbows and Whitefish but for some reason the Steelhead were difficult for us to hook into.

All of that being said. The Steelhead fishing season is coming to an end. We only have until April 15th to get out there and catch the big one. I have not been fishing since our depressing experience over the 23rd but just looked at the river levels and I would say now is the time to have success. All of the rivers are clamping down. The Wallowa should be on a nice steady decline and I would assume is running clear as we have had a few cold clear nights. You might find it to be a little high but very fish able. This could all change in the next few days as it looks like we have some major precip coming our way.

Here is a link to the USGS Oregon Real Time Stream Flow page. Go there and keep an eye on the flows for the Lostine, Bear Creek, Minam and Grande Ronde Rivers to get an idea of what is happening on the Wallowa. Unfortunately there is no gauge on the Wallowa. If all of these rivers are steady or dropping you should find favorable conditions on the Wallowa. Get out there and catch the big one before the season comes to a close and we have to wait until October to catch another Steelhead.

Wallowa River Steelhead on the Move

2012-03-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Another good report from the Wallowa yesterday. Tom fished for half a day in the afternoon with a few folks and found the conditions to be perfect. Water temp holding at 41 degrees, green water and good levels. They hooked and landed 3 nice Steelhead before the day was done. It is beginning to really feel like the Steelhead season is happening on the Wallowa River.

Don't forget to begin planning for your fall 5 day supported steelhead trip down the Wild and Scenic Grande Ronde River. You spend your day fishing some of the Northwest's most beautiful and underpressured Steelhead waters, while our guides push ahead with the heavy gearboats to prepare a deluxe camp and delicious meals for you.

Contact us today to begin planning for your fall Steelhead getaway. See you on the Wallowa.

Wallowa River Fishing Conditions are Perfect!

2012-03-08T08:02:00.001-08:00

This report just in. The Wallowa River was looking just perfect when I drove home in a daze after travelling for 36 hours from Norway on Monday. I was a little too blurry eyed to stop and fish. There were many anglers trying to catch Steelhead at the mouth of Big Canyon before the fish entered the Hatchery.
I just spoke to an anonymous source who told me that he caught 3 Steelhead on the Wallowa above the hatchery yesterday. He was fly fishing and had just a great day. Get out there and get your fly wet and catch yourself one of these hot Steelhead as they begin thinking about spawning.
The conditions should remain perfect as long as we continue to see cold temperatures at night. You might even be able to catch a steelhead in a t-shirt on the Wallowa this weekend. Crazy early spring weather happenign out here.
Tom is available on Saturday if anyone would like him to show you around.
You can check our Wallowa River Steelhead guiding schedule by visiting our website. Contact us today to reserve your full or half day with Tom.

March Fishing Madness: the Wallowa River is On

2012-02-29T11:56:00.000-08:00

The Wallowa River conditions couldn't be better as of yesterday, Feb 28th. The 10,000 cfs pulse the Grande Ronde received this past week helped the Steelhead move up river. The Big Canyon Fish Facility on the Minam (1 mile up from the confluence with the Wallowa River) received 100 Steelhead this past Monday, so the fish are moving! Tom fished the Wallowa yesterday and even though he didn't hook up with a Steelhead, he said the water looked good. He caught Whitefish, Rainbows and a Bull Trout, which indicated to Tom he just wasn't in the right place. Even with above freezing temps predicted for the weekend, the nights are still going to be below freezing, so he feels the fishing conditions should hold. Happy Steelheading!

Wallowa river back to green.

2012-02-26T00:57:00.001-08:00

The Wallowa is fish able again. I drove by the river yesterday and it was looking good. Still a little high but nice and green. I did not have time to fish but the water looked very inviting. I hope to have some additional information soon. Stay tuned. Let us know if any of you find any steelhead on the Wallowa.

Wallowa River Blowing Out

2012-02-21T20:15:00.000-08:00

Wallowa River blowing out with major rainfall and 50 degree F temps. Oh La Nina. Stay tuned.

Imnaha River Steelhead Report

2012-02-21T09:13:00.000-08:00

Jon went down to fish the Imnaha over the weekend and had some success. The Imnaha River is still very low holding around 150 cfs. We would really like to see this get up between 3 and 400 to bring in more fish but it looks like there are at least 2 Steelhead in the Imnah right now. Jon and Cam fished the Imnaha between Cow Creek and Horse Creek and hooked up 2 Steelhead landing 1.
The Imnaha can be tricky fishing in these low waters but it can be done. Jon had success with a double nymph rig. Both Steelhead hooked up on his own rendition of a Copper John looking fly. Jon is getting pretty good and coming up with some unique variations on a theme and having success with them. Cam was fishing with more of an Alaskan egg setup and did not have any luck.

I hope to have a Steelhead report from the Wallowa River this evening. Stay tuned.

Tom confirms that Steelhead are in the Wallowa!

2012-02-15T16:56:00.000-08:00

Tom fished for Steelhead on the Wallowa River this morning February 15th and had some great results. He showed up on the river around 11am and fished for about 10 minutes and hooked his first Steelhead of the day on our favorite Wallowa River Steelhead fly (download the Steelhead 101 to learn more about this fly). 10 minutes of fishing had Tom kind of worn out so he decided to let the hole rest and have a sandwich. Then on the 3rd cast after finishing his sandwich the 2nd Steelhead bit the same fly. Tom, on the river for research purposes, figured this was a good day and headed for home. Good times on the Wallowa.
Tom found the water conditions to be similar to last week. Very low, clear and holding around 41 degrees. These fish were caught in a deep seem. This gives us more confidence in steelhead fishing on the Wallowa River and we look forward to filling the smoker with steelhead over the next 6 weeks. Come out and join us for a day of Steelhead Fishing and let Tom show you his favorite fishing holes on the Wallowa.
The other piece of good news that I have for you is the Creel report from Rondowa (confluence of Wallowa and Grande Ronde Rivers) where Steelhead leave the Grande Ronde and head up the Wallowa. The report shows that the hours per fish has dropped to 1.7 right now which tells us that the Steelhead have arrived in the Wallowa. Yahoo!
See you on "The River"

Low Water on Wallowa

2012-02-10T13:24:00.000-08:00

We fished the Wallowa River on Wednesday and found the river to be low and clear. We have never seen the river this low this time of year. The water clarity was also remarkable. The water temperature was 41 degrees at about 4pm. We found this to be a great day for trout fishing, with multiple trout caught over the 16 inch range. Steelhead were not cooperating with us however.
We did meet a few guys from Weezer who had been fishing all day who had caught 4 Steelhead in the morning. We are blaming our poor luck on those guys fishing all of our water so hard in the morning. We were encouraged by their report and look forward to getting back down there to give it another shot.

Report from the Imnaha. The Imnaha is still running Low and Clear. At only 150cfs the Imnaha is not producing many steelhead yet. Keep an eye on the Stream Flow gage and when it get down there after the water comes up to between 3 and 500 cfs. I will keep you posted as I hear reports from the Imnaha.

Steelhead Train is still on hold but I did speak to the new operators yesterday and they have not given up completely on the idea of running the Steelhead Train for at least a few weekends in march.
Stay tuned.

Wallowa River Shaping Up.

2012-02-07T16:36:00.000-08:00

We heard another fish story from the Wallowa River. Cold, clear water produced a Steelhead on Super Bowl Sunday. I guess there are anglers who would rather be fishing than watching Madonna kiss a Slackliner. I should have been one of them.
So with another report of fish in the Wallowa river Tom and I are going to head down tomorrow afternoon and give it a go. I will let you know what we find.
If you haven't checked it out already I would like to direct you to the new Steelhead 101 E-book that Tom and I created. I sat down with Tom and let him share his 30+ years of Steelhead fishing experience and knowledge with me, so that I could share it with you. Click the link in the left margin of this page to download your Free Ebook now. This is a great place for any angler to start when fly fishing for steelhead on the Grande Ronde and Wallowa Rivers.
Still no news on the Fishing Train. I am becoming more and more skeptical of it operating this Spring. I have high hopes for 2013. Stay tuned.

Wallowa River Steelhead Report

2012-01-31T10:22:00.000-08:00

Tom, Jon and I went Steelhead fishing on the Wallowa Monday afternoon. It turned out to be a beautiful day. We were fishing in T-shirts for a while. Unheard of in January. The day was a little less than successful on the catching front but I guess it is still January. We only caught a few Rainbow Trout.

We found the water to be a little off color due to Rock Creek flowing in totally brown with run off from Smith Mountain. This caused there to be about 18 inches of visibility. The water levels were just slightly above what we would expect and were holding around 42degrees. This warmer water temperature should have Steelhead on the move up river from the Grande Ronde and Wallowa confluence. We will keep you posted on Wallowa River Steelhead fishing conditions as we gather more data. I expect we will be back down there later this week to gather more info. The fishing typically begins to pick up in mid February. We caught our first Steelhead on February 6th last year. Our next mission will likely be hiking down into the roadless canyon below Minam State Park.

Steelhead Reported on the Wallowa River

2012-01-27T11:24:00.000-08:00

Current Steelhead fishing report just in for the Wallowa River. Anonymous sources have reported the fishing to be good on the Wallowa early this week. We were surprised to hear that the river was not blown out after the huge bump of water the prior weekend. The Grande Ronde gauge jacked up to over 5,000cfs on January 20th and was just getting back down to about 2,000cfs on Tuesday when these guys were fishing. Looks like they hit it just right as the river bumped back up to over 4,000cfs on Wednesday.

These bumps of water are apparently getting the Steelhead moving as each angler reported catching 1 Steelhead each along with a few Rainbows and a Bull Trout. The Winding Waters crew is mobilizing on Monday for our first test of the waters on the Wallowa for 2012. I will let you know what we find down there.

Stay tuned for more Wallowa River Spring Steelhead action. We hope to see you on "The River". Contact us today to book your trip.

Wallowa River Steelhead Fishing Train May Ride Again.

2012-01-23T10:28:00.000-08:00

We had some great news the other day. The WURA train board has hired a 3rd party to come in and manage the railroad operations on the short line between Elgin and Joseph, Oregon. The new managers have said that they are very interested in getting the Steelhead Fishing Train going again.

The Steelhead Train was just getting a head of steam 2 years ago when the WURA board decided they were unable to offer this service any more. Many of you remember the incredible fishing that we experienced on the Wallowa River that year. I remember many double digit days of steelhead fishing down there that season. There is a glimmer of hope for a few exploratory Steelhead train trips this spring with the intention being to have the Wallowa River Steelhead Train in full swing for the 2013 Wallowa River Steelhead Fishing Season. I will keep you posted on the status of the train as it reveals itself to me.

Please Contact Winding Waters to let us know if you are interested in getting back on the Steelhead train. The more people I can say are interested the better chance we will have of getting the Steelhead Train back on track. You can also join us on Facebook to stay tuned to what is going on.

Happy Steelhead fishing to all.

Steelhead should be on the move into the Wallowa River.

2012-01-23T10:17:00.000-08:00

Major spike in Wallowa and Grande Ronde River flows this past week. We saw the river jump from 1000cfs all the way up to over 5,000cfs in less than 24 hours. The flows are now coming back down towards 1,000. If the weather remains cold and lets this new snow hang around for a little while we should be good.
This big spike in flows should have caused the Steelhead to move up into the Wallowa in bigger numbers. Check out the USGS Stream Gage to see the Spike for yourself.

Grande Ronde River Steelhead Creel Report

2011-12-05T10:25:00.001-08:00

Steelhead fishing is really picking up on the Grande Ronde River near Troy. I just got the December 5th Steelhead Creel report and the hours per fish has been cut in half since last weeks report. The Grande Ronde is holding in the mid 700cfs range and in the mid 30's for water temp. It is still game on down there. Perfect weather and great fishing.

Caontact us to book your day of Guided Steelhead fishing with Tom today.

Steelhead are still biting on the Grande Ronde River

2011-11-30T16:23:00.001-08:00

Tom went Steelhead fishing over the weekend and found some feisty Steelhead down there. The water temp is holding around 36 degrees and the fish are hanging in those deeper pools as we expected. Tom says you have to go deep when searching for Steelhead this time of year. This crew hooked 3 and landed 2 nice ones. The Steelhead that got away was a real doozy jumping and fighting for about 5 minutes before getting off.

Steelhead fishing should be good for a while so be sure to give us a call if you are feeling the urge to get out there and hook into one.

Real Steelhead Weather Moving in on Grande Ronde

2011-11-10T13:43:00.001-08:00

It sure is beautiful down there on the Grande Ronde River near Troy, Oregon. The fall colors and the incredible Steelhead fishing water are simply amazing each and every October Novermber. This year is no exception.

The weather has taken a turn towards winter over the last week. We have 3 to 4 inches of snow on the ground up in Joseph and have seen the water temps drop into the 30's on the Grande Ronde River. It has been below 40 for over a week now. We have not been fishing in about that long just waiting out the temp fluctuation. We are thinking that the fish should be settled into this new colder environment and ready to have a taste of one of our flies.

It is time to get down deep. The Steelhead should be gathering and settling into those deeper slower pools on the Grande Ronde. Time to go down with the Purple Intruder and a sink tip or go for the tried and true Tungsten head Prince nymph and indicator technique. We will be back down there this weekend and I will let you know what we find.

Grande Ronde River Steelhead Fishing October 29th

2011-10-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

Jake and Mike came to fly fish for Steelhead on the Grande Ronde River with us last week. They both had success catching multiple Wild Steelhead on the Nymph. They had to leave on Thursday but I am sure we will see them again soon.

Tom and I fished with some great guys yesterday. We floated from Mud Creek down to Troy on the Grande Ronde. The pressure was pretty light considering it was a Saturday. Looked like everyone was fishing down in Washington. Sure do like avoiding the crowds and catching Steelhead in Oregon.

We found the water to be in great condition still. Flowing clear and around 800 cfs and holding around 45 degrees at mid day. The fishing was a little slow or as I was informed on the river that day totally stopped because we had not caught any fish by noon. Then we got into a nice run the was getting shaded up and that turned the fish on catching 2 hatchery steelhead in that spot right after the sun went behind the canyon rim. Not a banner day of "Catching" but you can't complain when you catch 2 under a big blue sunny sky at the end of October. This might be the beginning of the Hatchery Fish Pulse.

We have been catching nothing but Wild steelhead up until Saturday the 29th. The numbers are showing that there should be a big pulse of Hatchery fish coming our way. We are looking forward to a great November on the Grande Ronde.

Grande Ronde River Steelhead10-25-2011

2011-10-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

We tried out our new Redington Waders yesterday on the Grande Ronde River. We are now big fans and very happy we made the change to Redington this year. Check them out. Great value. Found some great fishing as well. Our group caught 4 Beautiful Wild Steelhead in 47 degree clear water. All were caught nymphing. Water is beginning to cool off with freezing temperatures up in the Wallowas. Still warm enough to swing flies for Steelhead but getting a little cold for having great success on the Skating dry.

Perfect day of fly fishing yesterday. 55 degrees and sunny all day. The fall colors are going off. Couldn't have been more beautiful.

Quick Grande Ronde River Steelhead update.

2011-10-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

The Grande Ronde River is stil holding around 850 cfs and is running nice and clear. The Steelhead fishing seems to really be turning on. I just received a report from the river about the fishing yesterday, Sunday. Tom reported catching 4 Steelhead yesterday. They caught 2 in one spot above Troy and 2 in a spot below Troy. He was unable to get into his favorite run due to other Anglers having the same favorite spot. Who knows how many he would have caught had he gotten into the favored water.

See you on the Grande Ronde River. The Steelhead are still rising to the dry fly skating on the surface. This may end soon as the temperatures cool off so you better get down there soon.

I actually get to go Steelhead fishing tomorrow.

October 18th was a wonderful day on Grande Ronde River

2011-10-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

Tom had a great day on Tuesday with his client. Rob landed 3 beautiful Steelhead while swinging a purple peril. The water is clear and about 50 degrees. The flows have leveled out at about 900 cfs and seem to be holding. Still perfect conditions for swinging.

Looks like the weather is going to hold for at least the next week. Contact Winding Waters today to schedule your Grande Ronde River Steelhead fishing trip with Tom.

First Grande Ronde Supported Steelhead Trip a Success

2011-10-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

We just returned from 4 days of Fly Fishing for Steelhead on the Wild and Scenic section of the Grande Ronde River between Minam and Troy. We were the only group on the river. it is amazing to fish this incredible Steelhead Water for 4 days and not see another person the entire time. The trip was great except for the fact that the River blew out on Day 2. We had a major rain even on Monday night the 10th that brought the river up to 1300 cfs making for a brown river. This made for challenging fishing conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday. We caught a few Steelhead on Wednesday below Bear Creek. Then on the way out from Sickfoot creek the group landed a handful of nice Steelhead which put smiles on all faces.

The condidtions should be great down there today. The water on the Grande Ronde River was clearing up yesterday on our way out and flows have stabilized around 1000 CFS. The water temp is holding right around 50 degrees which should be just perfect for swinging flies. Watch that water temp and as it gets between 52 and 55 get those Bombers and Muddler Minows out and give yourself a chance to get a Steelhead to rise to your dry skating fly.

The Steelhead Fishing season is in full swing now. Give us a call to book your day with Tom on the Grande Ronde.

2011 Fall Grande Ronde Steelhead Fishing is on.

2011-10-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

Tom just returned from Troy this afternoon with some great news from the Grande Ronde River. He and Brian were fishing yesterday and today and they each landed nice big Grande Ronde River Steelhead. Tom Landed a nice Wild Buck and Brian a Hatchery Hen. The weather is still nice down in Troy but it is Raining and Snowing up in the highcountry.

We are getting the nice fluch of cold water that we asked for. It has been raining and snowing for almost 36 hours now which has increased the flows from 650 to about 850cfs and brought the water temperature down to 49 degrees. These are perfect dry fly swinging conditions. Both Steelhead were caught swinging Muddler Minnows on top.

This should be just the bump in water levels that we needed to encourage those stalled out Steelhead to remember why they are there and begin their trek up into the Troy area of the Grande Ronde.

Tom still has some openings for a day of Guided Steelhead Fly Fishing. Contact us today to book your trip.