Trip Objective and General Observations:
The intent of this trip was to increase our learning of the Wallowa river system, both the upper and lower sections and to get an initial exposure to the Imnaha. Both of these streams had excellent Steelhead runs this past spring, so it seemed like a great time to go. Our plan was to fish the upper Wallow between Rock creek and Minam on Friday…testing some new stone fly patterns that I had developed over the winter; explore the Imnaha on Saturday then ride the train back to the lower Wallowa (down stream from Minam) on Sunday. This was my third time on the Wallowa chasing Steelhead and I was beginning to feel more confident in my ability to hook-up with these fish (this can be a dangerous and disappointing feeling).
The intent of this trip was to increase our learning of the Wallowa river system, both the upper and lower sections and to get an initial exposure to the Imnaha. Both of these streams had excellent Steelhead runs this past spring, so it seemed like a great time to go. Our plan was to fish the upper Wallow between Rock creek and Minam on Friday…testing some new stone fly patterns that I had developed over the winter; explore the Imnaha on Saturday then ride the train back to the lower Wallowa (down stream from Minam) on Sunday. This was my third time on the Wallowa chasing Steelhead and I was beginning to feel more confident in my ability to hook-up with these fish (this can be a dangerous and disappointing feeling).
Hatches & Best Flies
Wallowa: The upper river had some midsize stone nymphs in the water…dark in color with a subtle dark/golden color abdomen….pretty subtle gold color…Size 4. My large, heavy weighted #2 stone pattern picked up the biggest fish of the trip (dark stone fly, double bead head with white/black legs) See the picture above. The lower Wallowa was fishing well with a #14 nymph both a prince variety and other nymph ties..there was also a dark dun hatch that came off around 1…that is when the fish really started to get active.
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| KB with a very nice Steelie |
Imnaha: We observed a small #10 or #12 stone fly hatch that started in the early afternoon. We did not try to imitate it but the fishing did seem to pick-up once the stones became activity. We had our best action on a larger heavier stone, trailing a smaller #14 nymph. The Steelies hit both bugs.
Trip Detail:
