[Bob Budesa]

.....be sure to stop by the IdleYld Lodge.

Jessica Mathison and her main man Ron have put together a nice all-in-one stop! 4 or 5 nice rooms at reasonable rates, good substantial "home-cooked" meals, full bar, and magic tricks you won't believe. This dude is amazing! Soon they'll have their pool tables and gaming rooms running too!

Oh, the hot sauce this Marine puts together is wicked good! A good kick to it that enhances flavors, but not so hot you have to mop your brow.

Bob Meiser and I had all our meals there a couple days ago, and highly recommend stopping by for a visit.

http://idleyldlodge.com/

 

[MZilliox]

.....be sure to stop by the IdleYld Lodge.

Jessica Mathison and her main man Ron have put together a nice all-in-one stop! 4 or 5 nice rooms at reasonable rates, good substantial "home-cooked" meals, full bar, and magic tricks you won't believe. This dude is amazing! Soon they'll have their pool tables and gaming rooms running too!

Oh, the hot sauce this Marine puts together is wicked good! A good kick to it that enhances flavors, but not so hot you have to mop your brow.

Bob Meiser and I had all our meals there a couple days ago, and highly recommend stopping by for a visit.

http://idleyldlodge.com/

but did you guys get any tugs?

 

[Jabrowning24]

he makes some great salsa too! I was also incredibly impressed with their service!

and yeah, any fish?!?

 

[Bob Budesa]

I picked up a 8 or 9 lb buck yesterday, but damn! that water was cooooold! If you weren't smacking them on the nose, they weren't budging! Didn't hear too many good fish stories from others we ran into, so I feel especially fortunate.

The warm, bright sunshine on that emerald green water was spectacular! Mr. Meiser's knowledge of the river is what did the trick! He graciously put me first, right in the bucket!!

 

[Rifflehitch]

Man I need to get back down there, been over 10 years.

 

[Bob Budesa]

Here's a shot of my guide, testing one of his latest generation 13'6" rods. What a line-shooter!

 

[Hardyreels]

You're getting that 'picture of the guy casting' thing down really good Bob. Happy to hear you got a fish, when I left there last fall the water was a bit high. I got one day at it with good water conditions but came up empty.

Nice photo

 

[Bob Budesa]

Thanks Ard. Yeah, I'm not sure how it happens, but it does. Blind luck, I'm afraid. Ansel Adams types have nothing to fear from me!!!

Bob's line parallel to the water shows up nicely if you zoom in, and certainly showed up well in person against that black forest backdrop.

Hope you, Nancy, and Boss are doing well.

BB

 

[Brambo]

Umpqua

Just took a look at the lodge and that looks realy good!

So far I fished for steelhead only in the Skeena Region in BC, but due to their Non-Resident-Alien regulations I don't like it anymore as I used to.
So I'm curious if it is hard to obtain licenses and are there any restrictions for non resident anglers?
Is a DIY trip do-able for somebody who fished the Kispiox, Bulkey, Morice and other Skeena tribs?
What time frame is okay?

This year is the 1st time in 25 years I skip BC and I'm looking for other possibilities to swing flies for steel.

Bram

 

[Robert Meiser]

Hey Robert ...

Your first time on the NUmp: One Winter buck to the beach, an early release and a tug ... The NUmp is now truly in your heart and soul forever ...

... Had a great time my friend ... !!!

BTW ... Rain is coming, may have to give her one more try ... };^) ... !!!

Meiz

P.S. <> Ron's sweet/hot sauce is killer on Bulgogi

 

[Eastside]

North Umpqua gave me my first steelhead on a fly, ever, right in the camp water. Lower Mott pool in August. It's forever etched in my brain.

My wife and I spent part of our honeymoon at the Steamboat Inn and we visited several times afterwards. We haven't been back since raising our family. It is time!

Mark

 

[Nate Bailey]

Hey Robert ...

Your first time on the NUmp: One Winter buck to the beach, an early release and a tug ... The NUmp is now truly in your heart and soul forever ...

... Had a great time my friend ... !!!

BTW ... Rain is coming, may have to give her one more try ... };^) ... !!!

Meiz

P.S. <> Ron's sweet/hot sauce is killer on Bulgogi

I could just sit at the North Umpqua's Rivers edge and be content. My first fly caught Steelhead was caught on that river. I was 13, and fishing a black peacock on the down and across just nailing trout, I mean one right after another, when all of a sudden something "a bit more" about jerked my kunnan and pfluger out of my hands. The battle ensued for longer than it should have but the beautiful hen finally came to bear...that is a day, fish, and run I will never forget. Its hard to believe that was over 30 year ago...man where does the time go.

 

[RobP]

That wouldn't happen to be one of his 13' 6" 7wt Highlander S rods he was testing there? I've had my eye on that rod. Rob

 

[Robert Meiser]

RobP,

Yes ... It was the most recent generation S2H1367S-4 that was being field tested.

Interesting to look at this image as one can see a sine wave in the line very clearly on this delivery ...

... This caused by "tip bounce": The tip section does not stabilize quickly enough after the shot, and forces a dip in the line. This dip proceeds right down the length of the line in it's flight, and can prematurely dump the belly.

We later in the day switched out a different tip section with a bit more authority, and the line delivery became much more stable ... Straighter, tighter looped and ascending.

Fun stuff this, and always feel very fortunate to have a river like the NUmp so close for field testing the rods and swinging for Steel at the same time ... };^) ... !!!

Meiz

 

[RobP]

Glad to hear the bugs are worked out. Be placing an order soon. Been mulling over the 13' 6" or the 13'. I kinda like the idea of the extra length for picking up line with the heavier type flies. Not that I'm such a great caster that I could tell the difference but the comfort of knowing I have a little extra length there. Rob....P.S. Yes that is one beautiful quality control lab you have there

 

[troutpunk]

Just took a look at the lodge and that looks realy good!

So far I fished for steelhead only in the Skeena Region in BC, but due to their Non-Resident-Alien regulations I don't like it anymore as I used to.
So I'm curious if it is hard to obtain licenses and are there any restrictions for non resident anglers?
Is a DIY trip do-able for somebody who fished the Kispiox, Bulkey, Morice and other Skeena tribs?
What time frame is okay?

This year is the 1st time in 25 years I skip BC and I'm looking for other possibilities to swing flies for steel.

Bram

You aren't allowed to bring a camp full of euros to the north umpqua and post up there for weeks at a time either. Sorry.

 

[akor87]

Brambo, with a rental car and plenty of patience you could DIY the N. ump just fine. July-sep. good for summers. Winters can be caught jan. - march. I'm no expert on the nump, there are lots of guys here who could answer your question better. But road access is very good on the nump, plenty of pullouts, lots of beauty and history there, I love it.

 

[inland]

The other thing about the NU vs the Skeena (and tribs) is fish per day. Big, big, big difference. Way fewer fish will be caught. Very restrictive angling laws regarding the fly itself (a GOOD thing). Fish are substantially smaller (summer and winter). The pools are miniature. And at times it can be very crowded. The area is no more tolerant of a pseudo outfitter. As nice as the area is I wouldn't travel halfway around the world just to fish there, to (hopefully as it can often be stingier) catch a fish or two per week that average 6-7#'s.

 

[Robert Meiser]

Brambo,

You asked about the Umpqua River.

The Umpqua River drainage is made up of the North Fork, South Fork, main stem Umpqua and the Smith with a total of 425 river miles.

When the Umpqua is mentioned, some out of the area anglers automatically associate it solely with the designated fly fishing only section of the North Umpqua.

In reality ... The designated fly fishing only section of the North Umpqua is only a 30 mile stretch of a 110 mile long river fork ...

... This leaves a remaining 80 miles of the North Umpqua that are also open to Summer Steelhead fly fishing, and (in truth) these remaining river miles will have much better swing water, can be floated, and will have far less angler pressure overall.

Not to mention the other remaining 315 miles of superb seasonal fly fishing on the remaining Umpqua forks for everything from Smallmouth Bass, Shad and Stripers, too Cuttys and Brown Trout.

Your Skeena watershed does offer some of the finest Summer Steelhead fly fishing in the world, and in this regards, the Umpqua will not compare in size of fish and numbers ... Very few rivers (if any) will !!!

But ... The Umpqua drainage does have a phenomenal Winter run of Steelhead in all forks. This fishery can rival Skeena Spring Steelheading. Fish in the 20 pound range are not unusual, and 30 pound fish can happen.

The Fall Chinook and Coho return is also very strong, with Chinook reaching well into the 40 pound + range, and Coho consistently found into the mid teens or more.

These are all Fall and Winter fisheries, and can all be targeted very successfully with the fly basically from August into March.

As with all successful anadromous fisheries ... Timing and location is everything, and this is certainly true for the Umpqua as well: One must be in the right places at the right times within the river system to successfully target these game fish.

I would say that floating would greatly up the odds of success.

There can definitely be some home work involved to successfully target this fishery.

If you'd ever be interested in spending some time in the Valleys of the Umpqua, E-Mail me if you like ... I may be able to help out a bit.

Meiz

 

[Brambo]

Umpqua

Thanx guys.
Wouw! I got an answer from The Meiz! I got some of your rods and the TFO Deer Creek is a Morice River favorite!
This year I will skip BC, that's for sure.
I save a whole year for 2 weeks fishing and in those 2 weeks I want to fish for steelhead! I don't mind blanc days on the river, I'm used to that, but since those new regulations it is different.
This year I'm going single hand again after 12 years Spey casting.
We are going on a 10 day trip to Iceland in the summer, and targetting on browns and chars, not on salmon. I cannot afford that.
But to be honest, my heart goes to steelheading......
So Meiz, maybe next year I drop you a pm for some more info about the Umpqua.