Fly fishing for steelhead in the Feather River California has been slow with heavy drought conditions and low water

Fly fishing for steelhead in the Feather River California has been slow with heavy drought conditions and low water. Its part of what happens with nature and is interesting to watch first hand. Wading through riffles searching for that one pocket holding a mature sea run steelhead. Many fly fishers are not happy when they hook a small 10 or 12 inch juvenile. This is the beauty of low water. Fine tuning your skills and down sizing your fly fishing fly offerings. The young steelhead stay in the river for about a year before venturing out to sea. This resourse is a beautiful thing if you enjoy trout fishing. You need to match the hatch and focus on small steelhead. Then when you least expect it a yank on your line will be that of the reclusive 3-6 lb mature fish that will make your day or year for that matter.
We see many clients floating the river with guides like Frank Hastings from Nor Cal Fly Waters. http://norcalflywaters.com/
This is a smart thing to do for any fly fisher to do. The local knowledge to help you reach your goal is worth its weight in gold. On many days when we have not even had a hit the clients will pass on the report of only a few small juvenile steelhead. Well that means one thing, you are an expert angler or your guide has done his job.

This is a solid little guy from October 14, 2015 after a slow day of finesse fishing with little flies.
The small fish are the beauty of all rivers. If you can hook a young fired up steelhead your on the money. Fly fishing the Feather river in particular comes down to a natural selection match the hatch situation. Irideus has many custom fly fishing fly patterns that mimic these bugs,minnows,fry and alevin. We also like to take these flies to the next level creating fly offerings that mimic a few bugs at one time or a minnow pattern that is a close rendition to many swimming things on the steelhead dinner menu.

                                   Timothy Horner Irideus Mana Czech Nymph Collection
We say hail the small fish and perfecting your style to meet their challenge. once you master the small fish the big steelhead will come to your hand more often.
Now take this knowledge on the road and apply your small trout and steelhead knowledge to big water and trophy fish. You will learn you are now at the top level of the game. Many people do not think steelhead feed once they enter the river. This is a myth and they feed aggressively until they begin to spawn. Then after they spawn they feed again to fatten up on smolt, Caddis Fly and minnows before returning to the ocean and all the challenges it brings to their survival.

A monster Feather River  buck steelhead from a few years back pushing the 12-15 lb range.
Everyone in the steelhead fly fishing community knows we love the big ones. We try to treat them with respect as we do with all steelhead, trout and salmon. Each steelhead brings a new light to life and being on the water. The high from releasing a monster steelhead is not to be described. It is different for each fly fisher. But the Grey ghost is out there waiting for you to fine tune your skills and rise to the occasion. We say grab some Irideus flies and go get them!

This is some solid advise for our clients and friends who support our efforts. Passing on the steelhead legacy to the next generation and stimulating the old school with a shared passion. Thank you to all of you. May the small fish lead you to the big one often!

So you want to learn to the basics of steelhead fly fishing and more about the flies to catch them with do you.

Steelhead fly fishing is something very special. To some its a seasonal event that brings them outdoors when they hear the river is full of silver fish. To others its a year round adventure that brings us ever so close to the life cycles that exist in the non perfect world of nature. We are lucky to operate out of an area rich with steelhead and trout. We learn from these fish by watching them and how they utilize the rivers and streams they call home. It seems you could benefit from hiding and watching the water you intend to fish for hours before ever wetting a line. If you had weeks to study the water even better. There is something great about sitting on the fall leaves under a Sycamore tree in the shade and watching the water for silver flashes. Or a minnow being pursued by an adult steelhead on the surface. By watching the water and making mental notes you have begun your personal steelhead fly fishing journey. You can map out mentally your first casts and how to present that fly perfectly into the zone you know fish hold and feed.

Understanding the life cycles of the your local bugs and minnow life cycles will be of great value to you on any water in the world. Why not start to apply this to not only steelhead and trout fly fishing but beyond into the exotic waters of the world. You will find great enjoyment in flipping rocks to unveil the the nymph and stonflies that will become flying insects when spring break hits. Steelhead like trout do feed on natural selection menus. The can actually compete for food sources so being a good trout fly fisherman puts you on a solid steelhead path. If you are just getting exited about this as a new sport, well be exited! You have searched out a rightous path sure to reward you through natures powerful glory. Just to be on the water is a great privilege and take that to heart.

Around here at Irideus we like to practice this one very important tactic. never put your feet in the water until you have fished the edges of the runs you intend to focus your efforts on. When left alone steelhead and trout will feed and venture into areas that may surprize you. Make note of these spots and try to find a good rock to stand on with an effective casting zone. Start out with short casts. As you fish more often and become more skilled you may also evolve into spey casting fly rods which is our true passion. Even with a spey rod the shallows are scoped out and patrolled with flies tight to the bank before the big casts start rolling out. We also enjoy fighting these fish with spey rods. The lower handle gives you an anchor to hold onto. If you catch a few steelhead you will soon learn the meaning of the two words hang on. Trying to describe the event is hard. Each fish is a whole new chapter in learning,adapting and embracing. it is a wonderful thing that deserves great respect. Catch and release is a given for us and nets are only used under certain circumstance's. You need to keep these fish in the water facing up stream. Wet your hands before ever touching any fish,

Now for the hard part. The wind will blow you off the water. Your biggest fish will become the one that got away. They will break your hard and make you cheer for joy in the same breath. This is life in the raw. Open up your self to the water in a new way. as you become one with your surroundings you will fly fish to be at one with what is truly going on right at that moment in front of you.

Your gear may need to be beefed up. Many people like fly fishing with 6wt fly rods for steelhead. We like to beef up to a 7wt or a 6/7 spey or switch fly rod. If we go to the coast or Alaska we will step up the an 8wt. The fresh coastal steelhead are gear breakers. They will teach you a thing or two about life. It seems landing or losing a fresh steelhead like that will bring as close to yourself as you may ever be, so enjoy it. Remember it and cherish it and that beautiful fish that came to your fly.
If you need to pick up some fly fishing equipment for your steelhead fly fishing give the Irideus line up a new home in your gear bag. Our fly fishing boxes made in Chico California from recycled material materials are one of a kind. Even after many years we are the only company we know of making this effort. Our fly fishing flies are a reflection of our own personal steelhead,trout and salmon fly fishing journey's. They really can not be compared to. Its a must to take a look through the fly menu. This will soon be updating on our website to put a personal touch on things. Our spey rods broke the ice for many great things in our sport. It was a complement to seee similar rods made by other companies in the fly fishing industry. We have exclusive Scandi and Skagit shooting head fly fishing line designs that are available only from Irideus. These shooting head fly fishing lines will balance many of the fly fishing rods on the market if you all ready have one. In any case the gear is here for you to enjoy when you go out to hit the rivers.

We have enjoyed sharing with our friends and customers and customers over the years. it seems through life's ups and downs we all ways have nature, family and friends. Its the little things in life that matter the most. Steelhead fly fishing is a little thing not to be missed. Yet, perfect it and master it. It is one of lifes true greatest rewards

A drought summer in California still yields some great steelhead trout and salmon fly fishing

The warmth of the summer evening and clean still windless waters that are boiling with life meet any fly fishers dream. The bugs and fry we love live out there life cycle and aray of fly fishing opportunity begins again. The long summer days went fast this year with the ever so present drought effecting our big rivers and high mountain lakes and drainages. The fish were still there and adjusting to the variations in water level defined success or failure for many California fly fishers. Some of the pro staff enjoyed the lake Almanor Hex hatch that put out some amazing trout fat with the earnings of successful hatch events. We all love fishing hex and minnow patterns on the surface this time of year. Seeing the trout smash your bug brings life to your heart and soul and is a true reminder of how special the sport of fly fishing is. Our company may be small yet the passion for the sport may surpass any commercial company on this earth. We still tip our hats to our Argentina crew who took this passion to the next level this year.

A classic hwy 32 summer scene at Calgon Pool. When the snow has melted and this water opens up its a trout fly fishers delight. Searching for the big fish will take you back to your childhood fly fishing memories or it will begin a new chapter for new people getting into the sport of fly fishing. If you are new to our sport tune into the Irideus fly fishing fly collections. You and seasoned fly fishing enthusiast will find tested and true patterns to help in your search for elusive trophy trout and steelhead.

Micheal pictured here in tune with the hatch and soaking up the great rewards of timing and skill. The big California brown trout are amazing creatures. It is not uncommon to lad a big one with another trout down its throat. They are aggressive during the hex hatch and will humble you on light fly fishing tackle. We love to search them out of with Irideus dry flies,nymphs and streamers. Catch and release of our California resources is a top priority. If a fish is out of the water it is a fast moment. Wet your hands before ever touching any fish. Never use a net if you can. If you do make sure you coll it down in the water and that it is wet when your fish hits the bag. It makes sense to take care of the things that bring such great rewards,

When a brown trout has a jaw life a German Shepard you know you have landed a true monster. This is a picture Of our friend Rodrigo who may have more trophy brown documented landings than any fly fisher in the world. This is one man who also treats these majestic fish with the utmost respect.

The low water drought conditions have made salmon season a slow one. Yet the strong chrome Kings with the will to spawn are not slowed one bit. There have been some amazing fish landed and released since the 2015 Sacramento river and Feather river seasons have opened. Here is Josh with one more big infectious smile for the world to see. It is an honor to fish with this a person who clearly is in tune with our local water and the worlds waters for that matter.

A plane ticket is will take you to your dream. If you have never heard of Panama we say book a trip soon! This place is a surfers and fisherman's dream destination.

Yes California has world class Chinook salmon fishing. This is one thick chrome example of why you should give California a shot if you can not get to Alaska for the fly fishing season.

The 360 day a year California steelhead fishery reminds us even a few early summer steelhead are worth chasing. If you happen to stumble on a 12 lb Sacramento river rainbow well...........hang onto your rod. never fly fish by reports or season marks. get close to your local water the life cycle is never perfect and offers year round opportunity's for people willing to explore. this has become a life style for many of us and we try to share it through Irideus and the well thought out fly fishing boxes,flies,fly lines and shooting head systems we offer. Our two handed spey rods bring people options that clearly inspired modern spey rod design. Getting credit for that may never come from the high hats of our industry but the dedicated customers we support enjoy this in our entire product line. Thank you to all of the great people who support Irideus. Working under the shroud of massive industrial companies shadows us yet our light is bright for all to find 24 hours a day 7 days a week. delivered to your door and sent in 24 hours or less. We bring a personal touch that has proved to worth all the extra work The fly fishing community is ever so worth it.

May your days on the water be many!

Irideus fly fishing boxes...........where the journey begins!

A beautiful early summer steelhead landed in Northern California. There is no doubt this is one of the greatest rewards fly fishing has to offer. Take to to build your collection of irideus fly box designs. Stream side organization is a great place to start your fly fishing efforts.

http://www.irideus.com

Irideus fly fishing lines on the front lines of spooling up the fly fishing community

Fly fishing line options on the market by Irideus have kept many of us on the water in style for years. We have fine tuned them and fished them hard on world class fly waters of the world. This summer we are making a special effort to get the Irideus fly lines on your reel. We will be having deals of the week and monthly specials running you will want to keep an eye on and be the one winning the line. We have served people well by providing fly fishing products that fish well for Pro fisherman and woman yet do not cross the line with obscene prices clearly most people just can not afford. Spool up and be proud to be lined up by our company. The small fly fishing company named Irideus is here for a reason. We flat out care about people and our sport. Passion can not be bought and we are lucky to have and share it with the our customers. 7 days a week 24 hours a day. Have fun people!
A nice link to the international blog is below.
http://irideusinternationallflyfishingforum.blogspot.com/2015/05/irideus-fly-fishing-lines-for-2015.html

Fly fishing our local trout streams and creeks with Irideus fly fishing flies and attractor nymph patterns

Living in the Chico California area we are blessed with an amazing array of wonderful blue ribbon trout streams that feed our local rivers. Its the time of year where the closed fly fishing areas are open and the others are fully thawed ready for the first cast. Grabbing the single hand rod and a trusty box of Irideus fly fishing flies the spirit of trout headwaters builds.

It seems the big pools below the water falls had us all running and scrambling over the rocky terrain like kids. The big fish seemed to find our patient friend down stream. The slow water at the end of the stadium style holes looked great but few of us fished it. As we got back together mid day it was clear that an Irideus wooly bugger bugger cast by an expert hand had put together a three trout hat trick that blew us away. Try to swing wooly buggers over these areas while keeping yourself well hidden from any trophy trout. Steelhead will hold this way at times but it was unique to see a few massive rainbows holding the same way. We spent some time having lunch and watching a few big trout holding right below the bedrock wall. The barley fit under the tiny ledge and were very hard to see. It seems once the pick a food item out it has little chance of getting away from this pack of trophy trout

This picture does not do this heavy weight rainbow justice. This is one fat beautiful Northern California Rainbow trout. Be very careful when holding trophy trout. Wet your hands before ever touching them. Keep them in the water facing up stream. if you hold them up out of the water make it fast. This is one more trophy trout returned catch and release style.

Irideus Attractor Nymphs seemed to be staple food high sticked with an Irideus Czech nymph trail fly attached. most of were finishing the day out with wooly buggers and some of the irideus custom articulated big trout streamers. It was nice to be back on top of the hill with a select few personalities to make the day full of laughs and trout tails. Take time to share in our passion for fly fishing through the Irideus custom fly fishing fly collection. You will find a diverse group of fly fishing flies, fly boxes, fly lines, sink tips, leaders and our custom spey rod and switch fly rod series sure to please all trout anglers.

May even your slow days on the water be great ones. The sound of the water is there to sooth our souls and relax our spirit. The trout in your hand on a lucky day is  confirmation your living the good life. If you ever run into a tough time in life retreat to the waters edge. It will offer you all you need to find answers and peace. We wish all of our customers a life full of all the riches of nature as experienced through the sport of fly fishing.
May your days on the water be many!
Below is a link to some of the custom limited edition big trout streamer and nymph flies. Click on the link and enjoy what you find!
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE IRIDEUS FLY MENU FOR SPRING
Enjoy all the fine Irideus fly fishing equipment for 2015!

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Irideus Steelhead Flies for 2015 using trout fly fishing tactics proves trout shall be king for the day!

A beautiful Feather River steelhead that fell for a 2015  Irideus Caddis fly fishing fly pattern. Any trout fisher would be proud of this momment. This picture proves your trout fly fishing tactics can be a success on steelhead also. Its part of the sport you do not here much about beyond the glamour of giant coastal chrome fish with giant tube flies and intruder fly patterns hung op in their lips. The light at the end of the tunnel is a finesse game that demands total perfection to master the natural drift and bug selection. What will humble many will become a true fly fishing passion for others. Some of these folks will drive for hours to be here to play the steelhead game. Some days these fish will break your heart and others they will light you up like Time square New York on New Years Eve.

It is a great time of year when your on the coast swinging bright Irideus steelhead flies for chrome fish entering the river systems. The myth these steelhead do not feed is just that. Part of the game is sustenance. Steelhead need to feed to keep on the move to complete the life cycle they live. The array of bug and minnow feasts prove to help them get the most of the spawn. We have seen a fresh steelheads stomach pumped on a small stream to find out it to had been dining on the local Hydropsyche olive caddis. The stomach pumper was not an angler we know and we do not recommend this as an aspect of matching the hatch.

This California steelhead showed approval for this Irideus nymph fly fishing fly. High sticking and roll casting tiny flies on the Irideus 6/7 spey rod has proved to be a great approach to the natural feeding steelhead fly fishing side of the sport. This steelhead would be a trophy for any trout fly fisher. If your interested in this side of the sport the Irideus fly fishing blog has some great information for beginners in our sport.

A big grumpy buck steelhead that was slashing minnows at the bottom of the riffle was after the Irideus epoxy minnows yet was hooked on a #14 Irideus Caddis fly fishing fly. The Irideus Zen shooting heads are now available for single hand fly rods aalso this year. The Irideus zen Shooting Head line up offers some custom line grain weights to balance any fly rod on the market. We enjoy our spey and switch fly rods and have tuned our Zen shooting heads to meet a distance casting approach with a finesse touch.

The nice thing about using trout fly fishing tactics on steelhead is you will hook many small fish you may have missed. These little guys or half pounder steelhead as we call them in California range from 1-3 pounds and prove to acrobatic hard running fish that deserve the respect of international fly fishers around the world. If your a good trout fly caster you will make a great steelheader in any zone.

Steelhead and trout fly fishers share many of the same things in common. This would be a picture we can both agree says a million words. "Read the water like a good book it will serve you well." Well that's 12 words yet very fitting.

It is going to be an early spring! Take sometime to build a collection of Irideus fly fishing boxes when you need some new homes for your bugs. We take pride in being on the forefront of our sport when it comes to fly box designs. Being on world class blue ribbon fly water brings out the best in our buggy fly boxes and designs.

Exploring the Sacramento River for steelhead with a fly box full of streamers. These we a few that got wet. We picked up a bunch of small rainbow trout that made for some big smiles. Yet again trout fly fishing tactics on even big river water work. We hope the fly fishing community takes part in this great side of fly fishing. Thank you to all the wonderful people who stay in touch with us after all these years. Being a small company is not easy but the rewards are a true love for our sport and being on the water.

The journey of the coastal steelhead and the beautiful silver flashes they provide fly fishing anglers of the world

Steelhead fly fishing in the mist of the salt air in eye sight of a few good friends and an amazing bunch of dogs. The simple life is the good life. Check out the write up on the link below. Its a simple message to the people who could use a touch of the Irideus fly fishing company. Its also a golf clap and a cheer sent out to our friends, families and like minded long term clients. We love what we do and after all these years its starting to show.
http://irideusinternationallflyfishingforum.blogspot.com/2015/01/irideus-fly-fishing-and-coastal.html

As 2015 gets under way we hope to bring our fly fishing products to your neck of the woods. If you see us on the river be sure to say hello. This is passion we share and unites us. Like minded fly shops we would like to see you take a few products on this year so contact us. We do not use pushy high pressure sales tactics. Our goal is to hear from you. We also enjoy delivering right to our customers front door from the website and other promo sales outlets. Irideus fly fishing equipment is something very special that evolved on the steelhead,trout and salmon water we utilize and cherish.
Go fly fishing this weekend!

Happy fly fishing new year 2015 from Irideus fly fishing and our home town water the Feather River California

A wonderful late season hopper enjoying the beauty of the irideus Distance casting Pro fly fishing line in the late November sun. Cheers to the bugs that make our day on the fly fishing waters we love.

Irideus is a small company born out of a family legacy and love for fly fishing. We send out our best wishes today to the fly fishing community. May all your dreams come true this year. Search out the rivers and fish that bring a smile to your face. Share that passion with the people you are close to. we are all lucky to have fly fishing in our life as the new 2015 fly fishing season stars. We hope everyone who reads this will let people know about a very special company named Irideus. We are here to share and inspire your fly fishing journey. Check out the time tested collection of steelhead , trout and salmon fly fishing products and exclusive fly fishing lines and shooting head fly line systems for 2015. Cast like a pro this year with Irideus fly lines. At the end of your fly line remember to trust in our custom steelhead fly patterns that will tempt trophy trout also. Put those Irideus fly fishing flies in one of our fly boxes for 2015. We paved the way with unique fly box designs over the last 10 years and still make some by hand here in Chico California.

A trophy Feather River California steelhead that blessed us with a glimpse of his majestic beauty. It is this face that drives us to stay in the industry. The passion for your journey and goals in life far outweigh any monetary gains. Be true to yourself this year.

Golf clap Irideus fly box style.

May the fish of your life come to hand early in 2015. We hope to share in your passion and personal fly fishing journey this year. Best wishes for the new year of 2015 to all our local friends and international fly fishing community. Bring Irideus fly fishing equipment home this year!
Enjoy the 2015 Irideus fly fishing equipment line up!

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