Photo by Dave Vedder

The upper Grande Ronde River is known for its fine trout fishery, mostly above the town of La Grande. In late spring and early summer, this section of the river has premier fly-fishing. But come fall, the action moves downstream -- way downstream.

Many maps do not even list the tiny town of Troy, Ore. Hardly a wide spot in the road, this is the central point for anglers who like fishing the lower Grande Ronde for steelhead in Northeastern Oregon's cold fall and winter.

To reach Troy, your best route is from the town of Enterprise, near the end of Highway 82 from La Grande. Once there, take a left turn at the post office onto Highway 3 and head toward Lewiston, Idaho. If you don't mind a few miles of steep gravel road, follow the signs and the turn-off to Flora. For those with a motor home, pulling a travel trailer, or who have a fear of heights, keep on the highway until you reach Boggan's Oasis. At least this way is paved, if not less steep, narrow or crooked.

From the Washington side, you will need to take Highway 129 from Clarkston until you reach Boggan's Oasis from the opposite direction. Turn upstream and in 14 miles, you will reach Wildcat Bridge. You will pass through Troy, but for the purposes of this article, I will start at the Wildcat Bridge, a few miles above Troy, and work downstream to the State Line Hole.

For this article, my source of information for the most productive fishing holes and methods was Mac Huff with Eagle Cap Fishing Guides from Joseph, Ore. Brad Smith and Bill Knox, of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Enterprise, are also a wealth of information for this region.

Mac suggests using a bobber and jig in the Wildcat Hole. Favorites with beginning steelhead fishermen, both the hole and the method are productive when used with the right skills.

"The bobber and jig is absolutely the deadliest technique," Mac said.

As steelheaders all know, a fish does send a signal that it has taken your offering, but you had better be paying full attention to your end of the line, or you will miss that signal. Not all fish will grab your jig or fly and dive for the bottom. Many will gently suck it in and never move from the location where they were waiting to ambush their next meal. You must keep the offering close to you and under your control, or you will miss the light touch of most steelhead.

Moving along with the current, we come to where Mud Creek enters the Grande Ronde River system. The hole here is slow enough for bobber and jig fishing, but is equally receptive to flyfishermen. Unless Oregon is in the midst of a drought, the current here should be fine for drift fishermen. At the writing of this article, the flow, given in cubic feet per minute, in the lower Grande Ronde was in the low triple digits.

People need to know that steelhead are basically big trout. However, this does not mean that they will take a fly or jig in the same manner as smaller trout. A key point to remember is that they are not going to hold up where a trout would, no matter their size.

"If you are standing in knee-deep water," Mac observed, "you're standing in steelhead holding water. Slower water is typically better than faster water, but every rule has an exception, including the basic rule: the lower the water, the higher in the hole steelhead hold. And vice versa: the higher the water, the lower in the hole you can find steelhead.