Grande Ronde Fall Steelhead

Grande Ronde Fall 2010

Madison Special hooking up

General Trip Overview

Date:  October 27th-29th  Grande Ronde Steelhead Trip

Location:  Grande Ronde River between Bogan’s Oasis and Troy

Trip Objective :  Learn how to catch Steelhead in the fall on the Ronde.  Stayed at the Shilo Troy resort in a room above the restaurant http://www.troyresort.com/  The room was ok, two single beds and a shared bath. Clean enough for a fishing trip.  It was basically worth the cost and that’s about it ($49per night). The restaurant opens at noon and the food was fine.  They serve lunch and dinner and have a small bar.  You can also buy gas, cold drinks and cookies the owner's were very nice...the guys name is Doug.

Weather & Stream Information :

Nice late fall days…some serious rain had fallen a couple of days before their continued to be sporadic clouds and decent showers.  The river was in good fishing shape. Not crystal clear but good visibility to 4-6 feet really just about what you want for sporadic clouds and showers.

Water Temperature:  Not really sure but it was warm to normal for the time of year

Flow & Clarity: The river was in good shape. Not crystal clear but good visibility 4-6 feet.  No Wind

Hatches:  Nothing really a few October caddis flies

Crowds:  It is a popular time…there were people in most of the runs. The Washington side above Bogan's seemed a little better than the Oregon runs to Troy.

Results:

Fish Caught: While fishing with Rick Hedding I landed 2 nice steelhead (hen and buck) and had 4 more on…one was a very nice fish about twice the size of the ones I landed

Best Flies:  Purple rabbit leach with a black bead head and red sparkle hackle,  trailing a Madison Special (pink chenille and white wing)….caught fish on both flies. Rick also fishes the purple leach with a pink bead and a red bead supposedly black was the ticket the day I was there.

Other:  Used Rick Hedding as my guide he is highly recommended. http://www.northweststeelheadfishing.com/  509-869-1444

 

Trip Detail:

Rick Hedding...Grande Ronde Guide

Fishing the Grande Ronde has not always worked out well for me. This will be my third trip and so far no fish. To increase my success rate I decided to find a guide that was very well versed in catching Grande Ronde steelhead. I got Rick Hedding’s name from a TV show called  “Fish on the Fly”.  Rick hosted a very successful adventure guiding the Gonzaga head basketball coach ( Mark Few) down the river.  It was a great show and everyone was very complimentary of Rick.  After some additional  due diligence I figured that he was my guy so I called. Long story short choosing Rick was a great idea.  He fishes the Washington section of the Ronde, which frankly looks like it has better water than the Oregon section.  He is very knowledgeable and a great teacher. I learned a ton and can honestly say he is one if not the best guides I have had the pleasure of fishing with.

 

 Travel Logistics:

Bogan's...Food and Supplies

I left Boise very early (5:14) on Wednesday the 27th and was at Bogan’s Oasis by 9:30 Pacific Time.  There is a 1 hour time change. It is roughly a 5 hour trip and there is a good opportunity to tie into a real  good breakfast in Enterprise at a very local café  “Friends Restaurant” .  It is right on the corner of River and North 1 block past the left hand turn that you make to head towards the Grande Ronde (Bogan’s and  ultimately Troy).  It is about an hours drive from Enterprise to the Ronde, you can take the Flora cutoff(~37 miles from Enterprise) this will put you on the Ronde just below Troy on Oregon water.  Or, you can continue down the main highway and you will cross the Ronde at Bogan’s in Washington.  There is a 4 season road that goes along the Ronde and connects Bogan's to Troy running along the Grande Ronde the entire time.   Troy is ~16 miles upstream from Bogan's and you hit the Oregon Border about 10 miles upstream from Bogan’s.  The Oregon/Washington border is not well marked so you need to pay attention to which state you are in.  As you travel upstream from Bogan’s there is a boat launch ~ 10 miles upstream from Bogan’s.  There are some large cliffs across the river from the launch.  At that point I am sure you are in Oregon.

 

The Fishing: