Steelhead & Surf Perch

My fly fishing purist friend, Chase, accompanied me on a trip to my two favorite steelhead creeks in Oregon.

After drifting a bead through a run thoroughly, I switched it up and put on a small custom made spinner. I cast straight across and "swing" my spinners through some holding water and before it even gets halfway, BAM! Fish on! 

For half a second it felt like a steelhead, but I quickly found out it was a native cutthroat trout! 

Okay, great! I caught a fish. However, I wasn't there for the trout. I came for the steelhead. Standing in the water while its pouring down rain can really damper your spirits. 

I was fishing a 10mm blood red bead through some fast water and felt it stopped. When I pulled up on my rod I felt a headshake and knew it was on. After a quick 5 minute battle I landed this fish. 

This ended up being the only Steelhead we landed for the trip. Hooked many more that didn't quite make it to the bank.

We decided to make the short drive to the jetty and see if we could get into some Rockfish... what we got was much better.

 Casting Berkley sandworms and big black leech flies was the ticket for both of us, as we ended up catching over 5 Surf Perch each off the rocks.

Casting in the white water after the waves come is key!

Herman Creek, Oregon

Herman Creek is a gem of a creek that lies just past Cascade Locks. A popular destination for Summer Steelhead and Coho. Considered a "dip-in" fishery because when the Columbia warms up above 70 degrees, the steelhead travel into cooler streams, such as Herman Creek, to stay cool and wait till the water returns to a lower temp. The run peaks all through out August, But October is a good time to go for Coho. Most guys at Herman fish in the Area shown below in blue, and cast towards the marked reds. As you can see there are plenty of spots for bank fishing but I recommend putting on some breathable waders and wading out. Most choose to fish a bobber and coon shrimp at 8' deep, using a 5 foot 6lb test leader (The water is very clear and the fish are gear weary) You can also fish on the bottom with eggs. Its a popular destination to bring your boat/pontoon and anchor around the holes and fish like that too if you don't like crowds. Overall Herman Creek was one of my favorite places to fish for summer steelhead. Take care