Week of January 18, 2026: Happy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!
Before the report, let's honor and remember one of my heroes, Dr. MLK, Jr. and one of many reasons our country is so great: Civil rights. Remember, too, that "civil" is an adjective meaning "relating to regular people," not military or religious, but just folks. "Civil" also means "courteous and polite." Dr. King fought for everyone's rights, not just black people and to prepare, meditate and write his speeches, Dr. King, Jr. fly fished.
His time with famed Bahimi Island guide Ansil Saunders is documented in the film Mighty Waters. It's hard to fathom that Dr. King was 39 years old when he was assassinated by a white supremacist for the audacity of existence. Four days before, Dr. King and Saunders shared what would be their last trip together. In the film the guide shares his original psalm with the leader who was "Tired of listening to myself." Such humility, grace, such selfless action is in short supply these days.
The fish remain in nearby TCAs, thanks to your donations to the Jim Holland stocking fund and Bubba contest and the continued efforts of Abe and Lindsey Beates and many others and the efforts and donations of the Ridge and Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited.
The weather has had seasonal swings going from lows in the teens to highs in the 50s. Clearly, the optimal times to fish are on the warm days, but you'll find die-hard anglers out there this week, too, when temps dip to single digits. If the water is soft - fish on!
The pattern I found most success with is a midge. The one I have been fishing looks like Lenny's "Fat Lady" or Jeff's "Black Beauty." I am still fishing the midge on 7x tippet, as a tandem fly tied through the eye of a #14 gold ribbed hare's ear. I am finding that the fish take the nymph on "warmer" days and midge when it is frigid. We can expect a few more swings of polar pendulum, too, with single digit nights this week.
As can be expected, there was a significant hatch of BWOs on Wednesday when it was sunny and warm. I was able to get out and witness a few surface takes. The Olives were fairly big #16 to #18 and were in the air and floating by on the surface. I was unable to entice any with an Adams or a proper dry BWO, but my tandem nymph/midge set up suggested that there was more than one bug active that day or perhaps the trout were just hungry and taking advantage of the mid-winter burst of activity.
Don’t be surprised if the parking lot is full, even on the coldest days, though. I have tried the KLG several times since the last report and am pleased whenever I can park, much less catch fish there. The flows remain low, which is fast becoming the understatement of the year, so the fishing in the gorge is even more challenging. Slow drifts and patience are key; check every tick of the indicator. Placing your fly in seams, around rocks and other structures is a fast lesson that big fish can hide in surprising places.
Be very careful this coming week which begins and ends with bitter cold. The latest round of snow has covered the trails and will freeze, turning to ice. We may see anchor ice and closing the edges of the river.
The shop is open again; we closed early on Saturday after a productive Fly Tying101 class and never opened on Sunday after local roads remained slick and streets needed to remain clear for plows. It was pretty nuts out there.
There’s a new tyer and new fly to our local tyer line up. Matt M. won this year’s Angler of Year competition and made the winning pattern available. Check Matt out at snowfresh_n_snowfly and peruse all our locally tied flies next time you visit.
Thy fly I have had luck with is simple to tie: 6/0 brown thread, XS copper wire, and peacock herl on a #18 curved hook (like Umpqua’s U201). Create a tapered body with thread and wraps with the wire on ⅔ of the hook. The thorax is a few wraps of the peacock herl. That’s it. Here it is:
See you out there,
Roy B.