"Steelhead on the North Umpqua River, Glide, Oregon.
Recommended by Frank Moore"

By Chris Santella

The steelhead of the North Umpqua first came to notoriety from the dispatches of western novelist Zane Grey for Sports Afield and other outdoor magazines in the 20s and 30s. At this time, fly fishing for steelhead was in its nascent stages; sophisticated shooting heads and sinking lines were decades away. At first, fly anglers relied on level, then double taper floating lines and dry or standard wet flies to find their quarry. A number of popular steelhead patterns were developed on the North Umpqua , including the Skunk (created by Mildred Krogel), the Umpqua Special, the Cummings and the Black Gordon.

Today, many who fish the North Umpqua still favor floating lines and surface-oriented patterns. In fact, regulations now forbid the use of weighted flies in the North Umpqua's 33 miles of fly fishing-only water. The 2,000 to 3,000 wild fish that enter the river from June through September are not particularly large, averaging 8 to 10 pounds - but they are strong enough to send an angler scrambling hundreds of yards downstream in their pursuit. (A few fish each year do eclipse 20 pounds.) The fish are generally skittish, finning near the bottom and feeding infrequently. There's much debate regarding why steelhead will strike a fly. While it's been shown that the fish will sometimes feed on insects upon entering the river, many believe that a steelhead strikes a fly from an aggressive territorial instinct. In steelheading circles, this point has been debated many pints of scotch into the night! Everyone agrees that your odds of hooking up greatly improve when you get your fly in the water…as Frank Moore can attest.

“The first thing I ever caught on the North Umpqua was a wooden bridge that used to span Steamboat Creek at the Camp Waters , back in 1946. I was riding in a pick-up truck with a friend from Roseburg . The fly came loose from the rod and attached to the bridge. The bridge put up a great fight - took out all my line and most of my backing, before we stopped the truck.”

Where some steelhead rivers are renowned for a certain types of holding water, the North Umpqua offers just about any type of steelhead water you could care to fish – runs, pools, pocket water, and everything in between. Wherever you choose to cast a line, you can bet that wading will be tricky. Slippery footing, fast current, and clear water that complicates depth perception make each step mildly treacherous. Oregon angling writer John Shewey has commented that when wading the North Umpqua , “one ought to just sit down in the river first thing in the morning just to get the dunking over with.”

In the time since Zane Grey's advertorials, presidents and potentates have plied the North Umpqua 's waters. Jimmy Carter has fished the North Umpqua ; rumors have it that the noble former president had no luck. Some anglers frown on the well-mannered mien of the North Umpqua , where sinking lines are discouraged, and a streamside etiquette of sharing pools is informally enforced. This gentle anachronism is refreshing in a time of increased fishing pressure…and decreasing courtesy.

Nowhere on the river is this old-fashioned sense of propriety more in place than the pools of the Camp Water, a half-mile stretch that steelhead guru Trey Combs has called "the most celebrated water in all of steelhead fly fishing." The stretch begins below Mott Bridge, and includes at least sixteen discrete segments of holding water - Bridge Hole, Sawtooth, Hayden's Run, Sweetheart, Confluence Hole, Station Hole, Upper Boat, Middle Boat, Lower Boat, Kitchen Hole, Fighting Hole, Upper Mott, Middle Mott, Lower Mott, Glory Hole, and Gordon. A few of the spots - Sweetheart and Confluence, for example - demand a precarious cross-river wade. Others, like the Kitchen Hole, require a tightrope walk upon a ledge to reach the casting station that will allow the intrepid angler to get the proper drift; a detour off the ledge, and you're swimming.

Steelhead fly fishing success is not measured in fish per day, but days per fish - sometimes many days per fish. The North's tricky currents and uncertain wading make good fly presentation quite challenging, often requiring casts of 70 feet or more - the kind of cast that's beyond the ability of many anglers. But the reward of getting a steelhead to take a fly that's skated along the surface makes the travails worthwhile.

“It's something to see them come up and take a free floating fly or a skater,” Frank said. “Sometimes they'll just suck it under. Other times, they'll come three or four feet out of the air and take the fly coming down. Over my many years on the river, I've had superb luck with a #8 Muddler. I don't trim the deer hair on the head very much - I call it an Ugly Muddler. Maybe it's the way the current teases the hairs, but who can tell. I think much of the time the angler is a lot more choosey than the fish.”

One of the longest moments in fly fishing is the time between the take of a steelhead and the setting of the hook. The idea is to let the fish take the fly, return to its lie, and thus hook itself. By setting the hook at the moment of contact, the angler essentially kills the deal by pulling the fly out of the fish's mouth. Anglers who can overcome the urge to set the hook when a steelhead takes a surface fly will hook more fish.

Frank commented on the North Umpqua 's long allure for anglers. “I think many consider the North Umpqua to be the finishing school for steelhead fly fishing. Normally, you have to be halfway-decent fly fisher to consistently hook a fish here. If you think you're good and want to improve, you can do so here on one of the most beautiful rivers around.”

A late summer's day on the North Umpqua will have many casts, a few unintended swims, and a banged shin or two, and probably no fish. Fortunately, a rich reward awaits successful and non-successful anglers alike at the Steamboat Inn. Over the years, the Steamboat Inn has catered to thousands of anglers with its celebrated “fisherman's suppers” – which are in reality gourmet dinners, served conveniently to maximize fishing time. At 8 pm a bell tolls, summoning dinner guests to the ‘The Library,' a graciously appointed room that overlooks the river. Here, homemade hors d'oeuvres and locally vinted Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir are served, usually accompanied by a generous helping of fish stories. At nine, guests are summoned to the dining room for a family-style feast on entrees ranging from medallions of lamb to prime rib to salmon.

It's a wonderfully civilized way to end the day. And usually, there's at least one success story promising enough to fortify you for another day's humiliation.

Frank Moore's Bio…

Frank Moore is the most celebrated angler on one of the world's most celebrated steelhead rivers, the North Umpqua . Frank began guiding on the river over 50 years ago, and has led many dignitaries to the river's fabled pools. He and his wife built and operated the Steamboat Inn, which has catered to steelheaders since the late 50s. He served two terms on the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, and was a member of the National Parks angling advisory group. Frank has worked diligently over the years to protect the North Umpqua ; he has received the National Wildlife Federation-Sears Roebuck Foundation Conservationist of the Year Award, the Izaak Walton League Beaver Award for conservation achievement, the Anders Award for wild trout management. In 2003, he was awarded the International Federation of Fly Fishing's (FFF) Conservation Award for his good work.

(Reprinted by permission from "Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die" Tabori, Stewart & Chang 2004)