Down on the Willamette

On Wednesday mornings, Cole Siegler, 19, drives about an hour away from Eugene. Often, he chooses a new direction to drive his Tacoma, questing for a new river, and maybe, a new place to fish. On this May morning, Siegler has picked a spot about 40 minutes east of Eugene — along the middle fork of the Upper Willamette River. He chose this spot because of a recent March Brown Mayfly hatch, and he’s spent the last few weeks tying flies to mimic the size and shape of the March Browns. He hopes that the fish in this section will take notice of the hatching Mayflies, get eager for a meal, and take a bite of his hook.

Hailing from Evergreen, Colorado, Siegler has been fishing since he was eight years old, sloshing through different lakes and rivers across Colorado as he grew through adolescence. Fishing in Oregon has been a different experience since all of Oregon’s rivers connect to the Pacific Ocean. Whether it’s a change in fishing rod, flies, or his mindset, fishing in Oregon challenges him in ways he isn’t accustomed to

During his first year in Oregon, Siegler’s chief goal was to catch a “Steelhead” — A fully mature Rainbow Trout that has swam out to the ocean and returned to freshwater. After hours spent sitting in cold rivers across the state without a bite, Siegler’s time finally came. He wrangled his first Steelhead in February, and the victory was sweet.

“It was the first time I’ve ever had to try and forget everything I know about fly fishing,” he said.

Before he begins fishing, Siegler inspects the undersides of rocks along the river bed. Siegler gets most of his fishing information by talking to other fisherman in fly shops across Oregon .

“Fly fishing is dope because the only way you learn anything is asking people,” he said.

Here, Siegler is checking for Mayflies on the beneath rocks in the river bed. Quickly, he finds some, confirming what he’s heard about a March Brown Mayfly hatch. Now all that’s left is tying a fly to the end of his line, and wading slowly into the water.

Almost ready to fish, Siegler fastens his fly to the end of the line on his spey rod. The spey rod is new for Siegler, after using the more common single-hand fly rod for most of his life. Initially, Siegler chose to use a spey rod so his flies wouldn’t get caught in the dense foliage on the banks of Oregon’s river. While the initial choice to use a spey rod was pragmatic, it grew to be a philosophical one as well. After using the single-hand for so long, Siegler was eager for the added challenge of the spey.

“My object was to make it as hard as possible,” he said. “I bought the rod so I could suck at it.”

Siegler lets out one of his final casts of the morning and like all of the other casts that day, it doesn’t yield a fish. After unsuccessful fishing outings, Siegler often queues up the “The Fish Aren’t Bitin’ Today,” an old country song referencing the consistent failure that is inherent to fly fishing. Siegler suggests that one of the reasons for the lack of a catch on this particular day is the abnormally high water level of the Upper Willamette. The high levels decrease a fish’s visibility, which discourages them from rising to the surface to eat. But while the fish may have been discouraged, Siegler was not. The summer run of Oregon Steelhead begins soon, and Siegler is eager to take another crack at catching one.