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We offer the very best in Fly fishing products for the discerning angler from companies you know and trust like Sage, Simms, Ross, Rio, Umpqua, Fishpond, Korkers,G Loomis, Scientific Angler, Outcast, Smith, and many more.
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Your heart skips a beat as you watch a large native Steelhead snatch your skating dry fly on the Grande Ronde River. Kids laugh with excitement as their guide helps them land their first Rainbow on the Wallowa. You realize you just missed a nice strike at your fly because you were too busy taking in the shear rugged beauty of the Imnaha canyon . These are just a sample of the experiences you can have in the territory the Nez Pierce called “Land of Winding Water.” The Joseph Fly Shoppe is your full service fly shop for Eastern Oregon. Featuring an impressive selection of quality fly fishing tackle and a top notch guide program, our experienced staff will help you with all of your angling needs.
We believe customer service is our most important product, and look forward to helping you with your next fly fishing adventure. For information about Joseph and the WallowaValley: http://www.josephoregon.com/. For water level reports: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/or/nwis/current/?type=flow . For steelhead and salmon counts coming over the dams: http://www.cbr.washington.edu/dart/adult.html
https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/op/fishdata/home.asp
11/29/07 – Steelhead on the Grande Ronde. When there is no “slush ice” in the water fishing has been very good. The ODFW creel checker counts for 11/25-11/27 were around 5 to 6 hrs per fish in Oregon and Wash. (Troy/ Bogans area). Steelheading doesn’t get much better than that kids. That means some of the better fishers can’t keep fish off their hooks. At 850 cfs water levels are ideal. Snow and snow/rain is forcast for the next ten days, so keep an eye on water levels and nighttime temperatures. See the report for 11/21 below for additional info.
11/21/07 – Grande Ronde Steelhead. This time of year the trick is picking the right day for good water conditions. For example, the river levels shot up this past week (generally a good thing to bring more fish out of the Snake – but the best fishing is often during stabilized or dropping flows) and it was 5 degrees Fahrenheit in Joseph last night so slush ice in the river could be a problem if it remains cold. For this reason many of the fly fishing guide services, like ours, in the Troy area and in the lower river in Washington, call it quits for the year (some don’t). It is too difficult to predict fishing conditions for clients coming in from Boise, Seattle, et cetera. Having said that, I have caught hundreds of steelhead flyfishing the Grande Ronde and Imnaha in November and December – when conditions were right. Our problem is getting good reports on river/fishing conditions this time of year. Check our home page for links to the water flow web site.
At current water levels (1,160 cfs and dropping on 11/21) fishing on the Grande Ronde should be good. More fish than normal came over the Snake dams this year. With cold water conditions try to get your fly down to the bottom – whether swinging or nymphing. If swinging flies we like 10 or 12 foot class 6 or 8 sink tip lines combined with a weighted fly like a black or purple egg sucking “starlight” bunny fur leech. Cast quartering downstream, then immediately mend hard as necessary for depth and water speed to get to the bottom. Perhaps even more effective is nymphing. You will probably want to use a large strike indicator, but some “soft” runs don’t require one. Nymph like you would for trout, remembering to limit your casting distance for good line control and hook-set. Our favorite fly is a size 6 gold bead prince nymph, but we also like some close imitations including the same fly with a bright orange beadhead or the “tungsten BH Princess” – a flashback prince nymph with red wings and tail. Feel free to use a second nymph such as a black stonefly pattern, but expect most hits on the prince nymph or its variations. Typically the top fly is three to five feet below the strick indicator. Contact the Joseph Fly Shoppe if you need to order lines, flies, et cetera. Good luck and good fishing. We close our shop from January 1 to May 15.
11/21/07 – Imnaha Steelhead. Please refer to our Grande Ronde River report for a general discussion of steelhead flyfishing in this area -- this time of year. Like the Ronde the Imnaha can be a great winter steelhead fishery, if conditions are right. For the most part access to the river is good below Horse Creek on the bottom twelve miles of river -- above the confluence with the Snake River (although portions of this section are private). The road leading to this section is poor so a good four wheel drive is best. We like water levels between 200 – 600 cfs for lots of good “holding water.” However, the river can be fished at higher and lower levels. For flies and fishing techniques please refer to our Grande Ronde River report.
11/7 -Grande Ronde Steelhead- Quick update (see 11/3 report) - fishing near Troy has been fair to good with the last ODFW report showing 6.8 hrs/fish in Oregon, 16.3 hrs/fish in Wash. Our guide trips continue to find fish each outing. Unlike our last report, however, the river has not been too crowded this past week.
11/3 – Grande Ronde Steelhead: Water levels continue to drop – with no rain forcast in the near future. Current levels are 634 cfs (vs normal flow of 885) – which makes the Minam to Troy float pretty skinny. Fishing near Troy has been fair to good this past week. The last ODFW creel cheek for Oct. 25/26 was 8.7 hrs/fish in Oregon and 17 hrs/fish in Washington. Recent guide trips near Troy have produced some nice fish for our clients. Best catch rates came from nymphing, although swinging flies remains the most popular approach. The river has been fairly crowded so avoid weekends or bring your own rock.
11/3 – Imnaha Steelhead: Nothing new. The water flows have dropped to 118 cfs - not much holding water. Still, there are fish from town to the mouth and some locals are having fair to good success.
10/24 – Steelhead on the Ronde: The recent spike in water levels did move fish upstream. Current water levels and conditions are near perfect (as is the nice shirt sleeve weather). Expect both more fish and fishers. The warm weather the past few days has brought on a nice hatch of October Caddis. One fisher reported steelhead rolling and playing on the surface, so think about waking/skating. Weather is expected to cool, but fishing should stay good.
10/24 – Steelhead on the Imnaha: Fish are now scattered throughout the lower river with reports of several fish being caught near the town of Imnaha. At these water levels, holding water is still somewhat limited. Expect fishing to continue to improve as time passes. Fishing below Cow Creek has been fair to good, but expect to find jet boats stacked in the Snake near the Imnaha mouth.
10/24 – Trout on the Wallowa. By the time you read this it may be too late – but the very warm weather the past tree days have October Caddis hatching all over the Wallowa. Forget about nymphs, the trout aren’t interested. Use a salmon fly pattern like a large (sz 8 or 6), stimulator or sofa pillow or Kaufman foamulator and fish the seams/boulders/banks from mid afternoon until dark. The native trout are big and aggressive. Cooler weather later this week may put down the hatch. Remember trout season closes 10/31 so after that date you must fish for white fish or carry a steelhead card.
10/20 Steelhead!! Wow. river flows have doubled the last few days, and are starting to drop. Hold your breath -- as soon as the Grande Ronde and Imnaha stabilize and clear look for some great fishing. Link to the "water levels" site on our home page.
10/10 – Steelhead!! A few are being caught on both the Grande Ronde and Imnaha, but both rivers remain fairly low – it’s still a bit early. We could use some rain or snow to move more fish upstream. Counts over Lower Granite Dam exceed 135,000, so the fish are in the Snake somewhere. Of course a few special flyfishers are picking up multiple steelhead daily, although the ODFW average was 27 hours per fish on the Ronde last week. On our last guided trip a few days ago, a client landed his first two steelhead on a fly using a nymph – at three in the afternoon, near Troy. We expect fishing on the Ronde to continue to improve as the month progresses. The fish are in the Snake so it is only a matter of time and/or water levels. The Ronde is currently running 600 cfs – 77% of normal for this date. The Imnaha is running at 108 cfs, 74% of normal. At this level holding water is limited. Trout fishing on the Wallowa has been fair, but somewhat erratic as weather conditions seem to change daily.
10/4 – Steelhead fishing on the Grande Ronde has picked-up this week. Water levels have increased from their lows of 450 cfs to over 600 cfs – approximately 80% of normal flow for this time of year. In the past few days we have received numerous reports of multiple steelhead taken on flies in both Washington, and in Oregon near Troy. Over 90,000 steelhead have passed Lower Granite Dam -- exceeding the 10 yr average for this date. We will be guiding steelhead fishers in the Troy area most of this week and will report activity. We do not have current reports of steelhead fishing on the Imnaha River, but with flows at 112 cfs (75 % of normal) we would expect to find some fish in the lower river. Trout fishing on the Wallowa River remains fair to good, with sporadic October Caddis hatches during mid day. Copper Johns continue to produce trout and whitefish in the boulder fields near the banks.
9/24 – Not much new to report since our last report of 9/10 (see below). The Wallowa River continues to fish well. When the sky is overcast dries are working well throughout the day. Small to medium bedhead nymphs work well for trout and whitefish under most conditions. The river is still low, so look for the deeper holes/faster water/boulder fields. Also remember that during this cool fall weather the hatches come off earlier in the day, and that the bite can shut down as early as four to five PM.
Steelhead: Again, nothing new to report. As of 9/23 over 300,000 steelhead have crossed over Bonneville Dam in 2007, and 42,000 have crossed Lower Granite Dam on there way to the Grande Ronde/Clearwater/Salmon/Imnaha. However, the Snake River remains low and warm and many of these fish are holding in the cooler water in or near the Clearwater River. We are getting zero reports of fish being caught in the Ronde (currently only 460 CFS). We need rain!
9/10 – Trout fishing remains fair to good on the Wallowa (see report for 9/1), but all eyes are on the BIG run of steelhead headed our way. Over 275,000 have crossed over Bonneville Dam in 07 (better than the 10 yr average), and approx. 20,000 have recently crossed Lower Granite Dam (the last dam on the Snake River before the Grande Ronde and Imnaha Rivers). A few steelhead have been caught near Troy, OR in the past two weeks. HOWEVER, the Grande Ronde River is only running at 475 CFS and the Imnaha 100 CFS. We need some serious September rains to move fish upstream. When we get rain, be ready to grab your rods and hit the river.
9/1/07 – Back in the saddle – well, sorta. The Wallowa River is very low and mossy, BUT recent rains and cool nights have lowered afternoon/evening water temperatures to the mid 60’s – and trout fishing this past week has been good. You have to find the deeper pools/slots/boulder water (some long stretches are only ankle deep), but the fish are concentrated in the deeper water. Fish are being taken on the surface with stimulators and hoppers, and smaller (sz 12 to 18) bead head nymphs. Everyone agrees the fish are “feisty” and a nice mix of larger fish (to 20”) are breaking most people off.
8/10/07 – Alert – Low, warm water! The Wallowa River is running at near record lows. Although water temperatures drop to the upper 50’s to low 60’s during the morning hours, the “Canyon” between the towns of Minam and Wallowa is warming to the mid 70 degrees by late afternoon. Still some nice trout being caught in the deeper pools and oxygenated water. Try to fish in the morning hours, or consider: 1) fishing the mountain headwater streams like the upper Imnaha or Lostine; 2) fishing Wallowa Lake or the “High Lakes” of the Eagle Cap Wilderness; or fishing the lower Grande Ronde or Imnaha for bass.
7/17/07 Alert – warm/low water. The Wallowa, Imnaha and Grande Ronde Rivers are all running approximately 35% of normal flow (ODFW predicts the Wallowa will run lower than it did in 1977 – lower than their one in twenty five year projected “low water event”). We measured the water temperature on the Wallowa in the canyon upstream from Minam yesterday and found it to be 70 – 72 degrees – warm enough to stress fish that are hooked. We recommend fishing the Wallowa (which is fishing very good) early in the morning from sun-up to 10:00 AM, when water temperatures can be 10 degrees cooler than late in the day. As an alternative to the Wallowa River try fishing the mountain streams and creeks such as the upper Lostine or the upper Imnaha Rivers where the cooler water has been attracting trout from the lower, warmer sections of those rivers. Or, change plans altogether and head down to the Grande Ronde River near Troy, or the Imnaha River near Cow Creek (near the Snake River) and fish for Small Mouth Bass that are coming up from the Snake River. Or fish Wallowa Lake or Kenny Lake.
7/7/07 Quick update: Scorching temperatures this past week have us concerned. Irrigators are pulling extra water from the rivers, mountain snow is about gone, and river flows are 25% - 30% of normal for this time of year. DESPITE THIS, fishing on the Wallowa River remains good as of this update. Although the river is getting too low to raft, wade flyfishers are finding good action with nymphs and dry flies in the late afternoon and evening.
7/1/07 We hate to see June end. The Wallowa River fished “lights-out” all month with great stone fly and caddis hatches, and larger than normal trout in the mix. Reports of the occasional 17 plus inch trout were not uncommon, and many first time Wallowa River fishers were impressed with “the number of trout and how hard they fought.” As I write this update the fishing remains “very good.” There are still enough golden stones around that we are still using Kaufman “foamulators,” and medium to large stimulators when there are shadows on the water. Size #14 and #16 caddis can also trick the big boys. During the day we are fishing #12/#14 copper johns in a variety of colors as well as regular and purple prince nymphs, rubber leg hare’s ears, et cetera. Word has gotten out about the good fishing, so expect to find a few more flyfishers than normal on the river.
Now, a word of caution. The Wallowa River is dropping fast. All of our rivers are low this year -- the Grande Ronde, Imnaha, and Minam are all running 30% of normal. Wallowa Valley irrigators are adding extra irrigation sets, and Wallowa Lake is very low for this date. We will probably have to stop using rafts to guide the Wallowa in the next few weeks. However, unless water temperatures get too high, the Wallowa is a great river to wade in July and August. The bigger fish can be harder to find, but fishing for 8” to 14” fish can be good.
Best access to the Wallowa River is along the 8 miles of road that parallel the river upstream from Minam, or along the railroad tracks on the east bank of the river below Minam.
The Imnaha River should start producing good bass fishing on the lower 12 miles near the Snake River, and fair to good trout fishing above and below town – if you get permission to fish on private property. Fishing the upper Imnaha near the camp grounds along Hwy 39 is generally poor – since this area is not “stocked” and native trout are not required to be released.
Wallowa and Kinney Lake are both fishing well for stocked trout. Think about booking a guided trip in June or July.
Visit complete fishing report...
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