WILD BLOG: Zog's Grande Ronde rodeo
POSTED Dec. 4, 2009 / 7:40 p.m.

What did I say?

For months, all we heard on the show was incessant pissing and moaning about “no rain”. Each time, I gave the caveat: “Be careful what you wish for, soon we’ll all be crying for the deluge to stop.”

And what happened? Don’t wanna be an "I told you so", but I TOLD YOU SO.

We've been experiencing a conga line of storms, all spaced perfectly in two- to three-day shots that keep all western Washington rivers at or near flood stage. Each time we get a small window of dry, rivers begin to drop and get tantalizingly close to being fishable ... zooosh.

Thanks for playing. Now put down that length of $200 rolled graphite and wait some more for the first opportunity at winter hatchery fish.

We're finally beginning to dry out after one of the wettest Novembers on record. Rivers are finally dropping, winter steelhead will be there. Meantime, what do we do? Wring our hands, gnash teeth and bitch loudly, perhaps spend incessant hours on the air re-hashing blackmouth trolling ... or take advantage of the best run of summer steelhead we've ever seen? 

I'll take the latter, your honor.  May I show the jury Exhibit A, the Grande Ronde River in the far southeast corner of this fine state?

Have we forgotten about the thousands and thousands of summer steelhead in the Columbia system? These fish are genetically different than Westside fish, they stay in remarkably excellent shape (brightness, fighting quality) in spite of swimming hundreds of miles inland. These steelhead will not spawn until April. Not large, they mimic Methow fish in size and appearance.

But these fish have shed every bit of marine and now act - and look- like inland rainbows.

The rarity of the Ronde

The Grande Ronde is a true desert stream in its lower reaches where we fished, from its junction with the huge Snake at Heller Bar to several miles upstream to Schumacher Grade, approximately 7 miles of water. Here thousands of steelhead over-winter before traveling upriver in the spring. In September and October, this area has become annoyingly popular, with vehicle plates from Montana, Idaho, Oregon, BC and yes, Washington parked at every pull-out.

At the bottom of Hells Canyon, the multiple layers of basalt that make up the steep countryside is a sharp contrast from our tree-festooned west.

Sagebrush and grasses. Mule deer, turkeys, quail and bighorn sheep at every turn. Beautiful place that can really get under your skin.
 
Pardon, But Doesn’t It Get Really Cold Over There?

Oh, yeah.

Normally, by the second week of November, daytime highs in the desert canyons here barely climb above freezing. Steelhead activity follows suit. Water temps drop to the mid 30s. Game over. Everybody goes home.

But a strange phenomena occurs when we get these “pineapple express” warm wet patterns pummeling the coast. The inlands warm up to October-ish temperatures. Daytime highs near 50. Lows at or just above freezing. River flows in the mid to lower 40s. Good fishing until the fat guy in the red suit breaks into your house.

With the warmth comes aggressive steelhead. Everyone’s gone home, no frozen guides, comfortable days, and a river loaded with lonely snapping summer steelhead. Giggity. This is what the four of us (my cousin’s Dickie, Garrett, Beth and myself) found last week.

So, how good is the steelhead fishing on the Grande Ronde this fall?  My great friend and long time Peninsula guide JD Love spent 5 weeks camped on the lower river, hooking to his estimate over 100 fish using no more than a dry line and a waked Muddler Minnow pattern.

We showed up on a Monday to an empty stream bank. I assisted my cousin Beth (who, by the way, has never before attempted to catch a steelhead) wading out into the Ronde. Armed with a jig/bobber - good ol’ training wheels -  I instructed her on where to cast.

The float landed, I meant to say, “Now, pick up all your slack, allow the float to travel down on a dead drift, follow the float with the rod tip and when the bobber goes down set the hook.“

All I got out was “when the bob-….!!!!” Took Beth 4 seconds to hook her first steelhead.

And so it went the first day. Forty one steelhead to the beach, who knows how many we missed or came off after short bursts.

No one around. Warm weather, rolling snapping steelhead as far as the bloody eyes can see. There’s even a place provided by the State to go poo. Any thoughts of our misfortunate brethren on the other side of the mountains cursing at the flooding unending rains never crossed our hookup addled minds.

Har.

How to catch late-season Grande Ronde steelhead

Unlike other strains of eastern steelhead, which turn their collective noses at most of our techniques (see the finicky little turds that swim up the Klickitat and Methow that want nothing to do with our spoons, spinners or swung flies), Grande Ronde steelhead strike a cornucopia of terminal tackle. The river does run clear, plus these fish are very trouty this far from the ocean.

Think "dull" and "small" for lures and flies. Jigs, of course kill: best are 1/8-ounce black, purple or red marabou or bunny.

Next comes metal, best are #3 brass Vibrax spinners followed by ¼-ounce (yes, ¼-ounce) brass BC Steels (530-841-0904). Brass is the key “color”, not copper or nickle, Ronde fish definitely prefer brass by a large margin. Because these fish live in slower water any heavier or faster sinking style lure becomes too difficult to keep off the tackle eating ledge rock.

The ¼-ounce BC Steel flutters far faster with less current due to its greater surface area to weight ratio. Flat deadly.

I made my cousin Dickie take the thing off after nearly destroying a pool with the spoon.

Both spinners and spoons are retro fitted with a No. 10 black swivel and a No. 1 Ultra Point Mustad barbless siwash off the bottom split ring. 

Your side-drifting rod is ideal for floats/jigs or tossing spoons and spinners. I used my X96LLS Lamiglas Certified Pro 90 percent of the time when gear fishing. A thin 10-pound test for lures or 8 pound Ultragreen for floats/jigs works best in the clear water and heavier tackle is never necessary for steelhead averaging 6 pounds. A 10-pounder is a trophy.
 
Fly fishermen, go now. The Ronde is the cosmic funk for the swung fly, and these steelhead are possibly the most responsive fish I’ve ever cast a fly to.

Remember, the fish are laying in quieter softer water, so a dredging sink tip is not the way to go. A 15-foot clear intermediate or 10-foot 3.9 i.p.s. sink tip is all you need to reach them. These steelhead will come up a long ways to grab a fly.

Swing a No. 4 black or purple bunny leach on an 8 pound Ultragreen tippet, it works a s good as bait. Use a light rod to get the most out of these relatively small swimmers, a 6 weight single hander or a 13-foot 6/7 spey is ideal and covers the water well.

Grande Ronde steelhead lay nearly everywhere this time of year, preferring slightly deeper and/or slower water due to the colder temps. We found them consistently in 3 to 5 feet over cobble, boulders and ledge rock, the latter a certified bitch to wade across. Bring a wading staff or I gare-un-tee a dunking, if not several.  

After four days of basically seining the lower Ronde with jigs, spoons and flies, how did the four of us do?  Well, we didn’t land a hundred ...

But the number was damned close! We experienced four days of some of the best steelheading I’ve ever seen. And kids, I’ve seen a few fairly good days.

Like I say each week on the show, summer isn’t over until I say so. As long as we keep getting racked by warm, wet storms on this side, the endless summer steelheading will continue on the east.

Yes, I’ll be heading back over, even with dropping rivers on this side.

I think the Beach Boys would approve.

Metal to The End,
-BH

PS - Circle this Saturday, December 5th  on your calendars for the annual Three Rivers Steelhead Seminar featuring Heavy D (Dave Vedder), myself and special guests! See you there!

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