Siletz River Steelhead

Siletz River Brood Stock Steelhead

Show#:	5001
Host:	Trey Carskadon
Guide:	Mike Laverty
Email:	laverty@teleport.com
Phone:	(503) 617-6678
Location:	Oregon's Siletz River, located South of Lincoln City and North of Newport on the Oregon Coast.
Date:	First week of March What: Siletz River "Brood Stock" Steelhead. These are wonderful fish that are the offspring of native steelhead that have been spawned, reared and released from a hatchery. This innovative program has produced a vital run of steelhead. The result is a higher percentage of returning adults and a season that starts in February and builds through March and begins slowing by mid-April.
How:	Side-drifting small (size 12) pink pearl Corkies with a sugar finish above a Size 1 Bleeding Red Daiichi hook, a quarter-sized bait of cured eggs, tied to a 12 lb. Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon leader, with 10 lb. Berkley Tournament main line. We fished this combination using spinning gear…an 8'6" Guide's Collection Series rod rated for 8 to 17 lb. test line and a Fin Nor ES 200 spinning reel. We also took a nice 8 lb. steelhead on a T4 Flatfish in the blue pirate pattern.
Environment Conditions:	Clear water, a rain the day before had taken it from a gin-clear to clear. Unseasonably low water. Weather conditions were overcast, cool, with temperatures ranging from the mid-40's to the mid-50's.
Tips:	The Siletz is a marvelous river that's filled with a charm and character that fits its heritage as one of the region's premier steelhead retreats. From its pristine upper reaches that push through a severe canyon to it's middle section that drops and turns its way to the coast, followed by the meandering course of the long tidewater water run to Siletz Bay, it matures from its beginnings as a playful brook to it's epitaph as a brackish exchange with the sea. Our guide, Mike Laverty, literally grew up on this river. His knowledge of the Siletz was apparent just minutes after leaving the launch. "Trey, try that pocket over there", he instructed, as I pitched a Corkie and egg combination to dark groove along the bank. A few taps along the bottom, followed by a hard tug started what would be a common theme throughout the day. That first fish, a "jack", was only about 3 pounds, and had been in the saltwater for only a year. About a half hour later we were into our second fish a 7 pounder, and it charged on from there. We ended the day with 7 steelhead caught and released. One was a hatchery return, the other 6 were "brood stock" returns. With Mike Laverty as our guide, it was a choice opportunity to talk to a top plug-fisherman, who has literally wrote the book on the subject (it's available through Amato Publications in Milwaukie, Oregon). Because we had so much water to cover, we only spent a few minutes "plugging", our efforts yielded a thick buck. A little about the Siletz…it's upper reaches (above Logsden) are absolutely gorgeous and accessible only by bank. It's a classic pool, rapid, pool affair that maintains a pretty brisk pace to the town of Siletz. It undergoes a dramatic change as it skirts the town in a 4 mile drift known as the "town drift" and begins to slow noticeably, below Ojalla Bridge just a few miles downriver. Most of the water is well-defined, but there's no replacement for local knowledge. Mike's understanding of this river kept us fishing the most productive water almost the entire time. Left to my own senses I would have missed much…Mike made the trip a success. The technique of "side-drifting" works well here…I used pencil lead and probably should have opted for the nearly-snagless slinky. Other than a couple of inopportune snags, I had a line in the water 95% of the time which, when combined with premium bait, makes for a "can't miss" tactic when there's fish to be caught. Last, the fact we selected Daiichi Bleeding Red octopus style hooks in a size 1 and tied to a fluorocarbon leader no doubt helped our efforts as well. The fish we landed were well-hooked, and the clearness of the fluorocarbon allowed us to use a slightly higher test for added strength and abrasion resistance. In addition to a fantastic Winter run fishery, the Siletz has a robust summer steelhead run as well.