The 2025 Umpqua Fishery Enhancement Derby - Tony Amato

January 11, 2025

Last year (2024) I had the pleasure of fishing for Winter steelhead with guides Chris (Dad) and Gabe (Son) Hargate on the famed North Umpqua River. My first personal experience in the area dates back to some family drives in the Summertime back in the 70s.

The day begins. Zac and Alan get ready to shove off with Guide Chris Hargate.

The warm sunshine, rugged rocks and rolling hills were amazing. I also discovered on that trip that palm trees could live in Oregon — boy that was a shocker. Fast forwarding to 2024 on the trip with Chris and Gabe I was able to see the rolling hills in a brightly colored shade of green. It was like a scene from "The Sound of Music" if you have grey hair you'll know what I mean.

As I headed South from Portland I picked up outdoor writer Randy Bonner, the author of the Bead fishing Bible. He lives in the Corvallis area and we proceeded to head South on Interstate 5 to Roseburg where Chris let us stay in his spotless 5th wheel trailer. These are the kind of trips that ear-plugs always come in handy so I bring some for everyone else to wear.

We awoke before the crack of dawn and left for the river with two drift boats in tow. We were on our way to meet Zac Kauffman owner of Sawyer Paddles and Oars and his friend Alan. Our put-in destination was Colliding Rivers Boat Ramp located a few blocks downstream of where the North Umpqua and the Little River run directly into one another. Some serious bedrock at that location has driven the two river systems into a head-on collision. Apparently there are only a few places on earth where this takes place.

"Colliding Rivers", Little River on the left collides head-on with the North Umpqua on the right.

With the drift boats banked by the launch Randy and I jumped in with Gabe and Zac and his friend Alan With Chris. And of course we had to turn it into a Father/Son competition as soon as we started fishing. We put in a good beat down on the run next to the launch but did't haven any luck.

The next drift has assumed the title "Steelhead Alley" and for good reason. It goes for what I would say 3/4 of a mile with the water flowing at a nice walking speed appearing to hold fish on both sides of the river. Apparently if you strike out here it can be a tough hit. But we didn't.

Chris, with a big grin, accusing us of low-holing him as he floats by.

I was the first to get on the board and was immediately accused of low-holing. On the next pass I hit a second fish and the Gabe crew was now off to a small lead in the first quarter. It was Gabe two and Dad zero. We were also keeping track of how many steelhead were caught on beads vs. eggs. To get the complete stats you'll have to read the article to the very end. By the time we left "Steelhead Alley" both teams were on the board two to one after Alan picked up their first fish.

The author about to release his second North Umpqua steelhead.

Alan releasing their first steelhead of the day.

The weather that day was mostly overcast with some drizzle at times. While I was watching the sun beam like a spotlight onto the green grass in the hills across from us—a scene that is best visualize in person—Randy picked up a "golden dorado" on a rubber worm. Not counting the dorado I believe our Son team held the lead for most of the day as our boats played hopscotch. I was able to pick up another steelhead at this spot and now it was three to one.

Randy's "Golden Dorado" with some lips only a Mother could love.

Then Zac hooked into a steelhead in some fast boulder-strewn water and simultaneously his green mono jumped from his spool from memory and was knotted up in the reel. Zac hand-lined it through his rod guides. Luckily the fish was agreeable and he was able to get it to a calm spot along the bank about 200 yards downstream from where it was hooked where Chris was able to net it. Zac's fly fishing skills kicked in for a point. Three to two.

Zac using his fly fishing skills to handline a fish while drifting.

Zac's hand-lined steelhead about to be relased by Chris.

Then Alan hit a fish in a deep pool that was strewn with boulders. We were below Chris at this point as Alan played his steelhead. We motored our way back to the top of the deep run hoping to find another fish but had no such luck. We were now tied up at three to three as we closed in on the takeout at Whistlers Bend Park.

Randy with his largest rainbow to date.

Randy was a little off that day. A few days prior a mother/son cougar team killed 3 of his sheep and he hadn't had much sleep. But even with tired eyes he was keen to catch at least two species of fish from the river that day. Zac had a chance to take the lead with fish number four for them but the steelhead wrapped itself around some boulders and snags and worked itself off. Then almost immediately after that Randy hooked into the biggest rainbow trout of his life a real beauty that was in the 18-inch range. Would this trout be worth a quarter or a half of a point. I'd like to say that we ended the day with Dad at three and Son at three and a quarter. Either way we had a great time and made some memories that will last all of us a lifetime. And I almost forgot. We ended up catching three with beads and three with bait.

Zac carefully followed their number four tie-breaker around submerged boulders and sticks where it came off.

This year (2025 Jan. 30th - Feb. 1st) I'm fishing with Guide Chris Hargate in the 2025 Umpqua Fishery Enhancement Derby and making a video that you can watch on our Salmon Trout Steelheader YouTube page in February. Chris has been involved with the organization for 7 years and his son Gabe for 3.

This will be the 32nd year of the event. All proceeds are donated to restoration and education projects. They work with the local community both young and old to educate and "enhance" the North Umpqua river system. Without stewardship opportunities to enjoy the outdoors like catching a steelhead could be lost. If you would like to be in the derby or make a donation please contact Tina Roy 541-672-0757 tina@dougtimber.org you can also visit their Facebook page.