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The North Umpqua is home to some of the most challenging and rewarding fishing along the entire west coast. Finding its headwaters near Mount Thielsen, the North runs west until its confluence with the South Umpqua west of Roseburg. This river supports one of the strongest runs of wild summer steelhead in the area. These fish make their annual pilgrimage to spawn in the pristine waters of Steamboat Creek and other tributaries. Each season anglers from all over the world come to the gorgeous waters of the North Umpqua to take on the ultimate challenge in fly fishing: landing a large wild steelhead on a dry fly.
Without doubt, the busiest and often the most exciting time on the North is the summer. The snowmelt of spring and early summer trigger the first summer run fish to enter the river in mid May. This bulk of the run can be experienced in July with good opportunities remaining throughout August and September.
During the summer run, the water is often low and clear so fishing during the low light hours is best. In more crowded sections of river you can often see headlights pulling up at river accesses an hour or two before first light. It should be mentioned, that steelhead have been known to rise to a dry fly during the full light of day. If you're an early bird, get out early. If not, try to find some shade on the water and go fish with confidence. This river fishes intimately. If you step into run and pull out ten strips of line and start casting toward the far bank, you've probably missed an opportunity at a fish. Start short - cover the water effectively. Be calm, if the fish takes your fly don't set the hook, just let them run. Success is often counted in encounters with fish on the North, because these brutish fish often get the best of us.
Fall on this river is really worth experiencing. Although the fishing can often be slower than during the height of summer, the imagery of the changing leaves is incredible. You can travel all over the world and you may not find as beautiful as the North Umpqua in the middle of fall. After the low and clear water levels of August and September, the fish tend to slow their migration and spend more time in each run. Consequently, while in the runs, they will see more flies making them more difficult to catch. Although the fish will rise to dries throughout the fall, most anglers trade in their floating lines for heavier skagit heads and sink tips this time of year.
Although fishing this time of year has gotten more popular over the years, winter on the North often means solitude. The water levels are usually twice that of what you'll find in the fall or summer, so fishing during these higher flows means using heavier sink tips, and bigger flies. Success during the winter run requires finding runs that are about five to seven feet in depth moving at walking speed. Often your favorite run in the summer or fall is just too high or too fast to fish well during the winter. In addition to higher water levels, the water temps are often quite cool. In these conditions, steelhead are much less likely to move for a fly than they are in the fall or summer. So it is imperative during the winter to fish as deep and slow as you can without hanging up on the bottom.
The winter run of fish are typically larger than the summer fish, so you are better off fishing either a stout seven weight spey rod or preferably an eight weight. This will help you both in landing the fish and also casting the heavy set ups this season requires. We have a great selection of winter steelhead flies for this river, and we would be more than happy to help make your next trip up North a success.