Whether you are an experienced trout fly fishing fanatic or someone looking to get started in the sport, mark your calendars and plan to attend Trout Whisperers, an Evening on Trout Fly Fishing, Wednesday, April 5 in Portland from 7-9 p.m. Be one of the first 30 to buy tickets and receive an autographed copy of Dave Hughes’ The Deschutes River.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime event with four icons of Northwest trout fly fishing – Rick “The Bug Man” Hafele, Dave “The Tactician” Hughes, Scott “The Storyteller” Richmond, and Jeff “Mr. Metolius” Perin. During the evening, all four will be sharing their vast trout fly fishing knowledge and fishing secrets (most of them anyway), in a fun, casual and entertaining event that trout anglers will be talking about for years.
With nearly 200 years of collective trout fishing experience, Scott, Dave, and Rick are well-known and celebrated authors of numerous books and countless articles about fly fishing for trout.
Jeff, the owner and operator of The Fly Fisher’s Place and Guide Service in Sisters, Oregon, has spent his entire life pursuing trout and helping others become better anglers.
Presented by Deschutes River Alliance, Trout Whisperers takes place at Steeplejack Pizza and Beer, 4439 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Highway, Portland, Oregon.
Tickets are $39 and includes pizza and salad, a free raffle ticket, and a drink ticket. Plus, the first 30 people to register, receive an autographed copy of Dave Hughes’ The Deschutes River. There are also some great raffle items perfect for seasoned and novice trout fly anglers alike, plus a copy of Dave Hughes and Rick Hafele’s Limited Edition of Western Mayfly Hatches.
Space is limited and tickets are available online through DeschutesRiverAlliance.org.
Trout Whisperers Program
For two hours, prepare to be entertained and inspired, as well as learn a lot about insects, hatches, fishing techniques, and angling tips and tricks from four angling icons who have spent their lives understanding and pursuing trout.
The evening begins with a book signing event from 6:30-7 p.m. for those who bring books written by presenters. Following the book signing is a 90-minute panel discussion with Jeff as the moderator, posing questions to Rick, Scott, and Dave while these four larger-than-life authors, anglers, and scientists share a wealth of knowledge and experience that is certain to improve everyone’s trout fishing success as well as helping anglers appreciate the rivers and streams they love.
The evening’s topics also include effectively fishing the lower Deschutes River and how techniques and hatches have changed over the years. After the first 90 minutes of the program, the audience can ask their questions of the panel during the rest of the evening.
Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime to see these four legends of trout fly fishing share the stage and their fishing experience. Get tickets now before the event sells out. Tickets are on sale now.
About the presenters
Rick Hafele
Rick Hafele is widely known as “The Bug Man.” An entomologist by training and nature, Rick knows more about aquatic insect identification and life cycles and when fish like to eat which bug and which life cycle than virtually anyone on the planet. And, he has made a study out of how to fish each bug and life cycle effectively.
Rick caught his first trout on a fly at the age of 12 on a spring creek in Missouri. He moved from his home in Illinois to the Pacific Northwest in 1969 to attend Western Washington University where his love of streams, fly fishing, and aquatic insects became a lifelong pursuit.
Rick left Bellingham in 1974 to attend Oregon State University where he received a Master of Science degree in aquatic entomology. He has since worked as a professional aquatic biologist for over 40 years, specializing in water quality assessment using aquatic insects. He has written articles for scientific journals and penned the Aquatic Entomology column for American Angler magazine for more than 30 years. His books include An Angler’s Guide to Aquatic Insects and Their Imitations, The Complete Book of Western Hatches (with Dave Hughes), and Nymph Fishing Rivers and Streams among others. Rick has also instructed in eight fly fishing DVDs starting with the 1983 Scientific Angler release of Anatomy of a Trout Stream, which is still relevant today.
Rick is a founder and board member of the Deschutes River Alliance. He has also been awarded life membership to the Federation of Fly Fishers and the Flyfisher’s Club of Oregon for his contributions to fly fishing literature. He lives near Salem, Oregon with his wife Carol.
Dave Hughes
Dave Hughes is the master tactician on how and when to use the best fishing techniques, like swinging a soft hackle, dead drifting a dry fly, nymph or fishing mid-level with emergers, or fishing deep with nymphs.
Dave is a prolific author with 25-plus books including Western Hatches (with Rick Hafele), Handbook of Hatches, Reading Trout Water, Wet Flies, Essential Trout Flies, Nymphs for Streams and Stillwaters, Pocketguide to Western Hatches, and Trout From Small Streams.
Dave is also an expert wet fly fisherman, a highly productive technique too often overlooked by most anglers.
His articles have appeared in Gray’s Sporting Journal, Field & Stream, Fly Fishing the West, and Fly Fisherman, as well as being a columnist for Fly Rod & Reel and editor of Flyfishing & Tying.
Born in Astoria, Oregon, Dave was the founding president of Oregon Trout in 1983, awarded life membership in the Federation of Flyfishers. He also received the Pete Hidy honorary life membership in the Flyfishers Club of Oregon the prestigious Letcher Lambuth Angler Craftsman Award from the Washington Fly Fishing Club. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Japanese fly-fishing writer Masako Tani.
Scott Richmond
Scott Richmond, also known as “Uncle Fuzzy,” is known as a storyteller, weaving interesting tidbits and interesting morsels into his fly fishing books and presentations to fly fishing groups.
Scott was the founder and overseer of the pioneering Westfly website, popular with Western fly anglers. Sadly, it was, taken down in 2019.
Scott is the award-winning author of 10 books on Oregon fly fishing, including Fishing Oregon’s Deschutes River and Fishing in Oregon’s Endless Season.
Scott is also the author of River in the Sun, a compelling novel about three love stories wrapped around a thriller core and set on the Deschutes River.
In addition to his books, Scott has written numerous magazine articles and hundreds of internet articles.
Scott is a past president of the Northwest Outdoor Writers Association and is a recipient of the Enos Bradner Award, the organization’s highest honor. Scott currently lives in West Linn.
Jeff Perin
Jeff Perin is widely regarded as “Mr. Metolius” – an angler who knows more about the hatches, nuances, and fooling of fish on this mysterious central Oregon spring creek. Jeff is also a lake fishing geek who can be seen guiding on one or another of the central Oregon lakes almost every day of the season, always with more rods set up in his boat for various techniques than the average person could manage.
He is the owner and operator of The Fly Fisher’s Place and Guide Service in Sisters. He has spent his entire life in pursuit of trout after falling in love with trout at three years old on a central Oregon lake trip with his family.
Jeff angled his way into the Fly Fisher’s Place as a shop guy while he was in high school and then bought the shop when he was just 22 years old. In the past 32 years of owning the business, and also being a guide, Jeff has compiled a huge knowledge bank about fly fishing for trout. He puts that knowledge to work daily with customers in his shop and in guiding.
Jeff says he loves teaching people new skills and techniques and watching their growing success. Nowhere is that passion more evident than being in Jeff’s boat on a lake. Jeff, himself, fishes as much as he can and routinely tackles the challenges of the Metolius River.
While not a trained entomologist, he is a bug and hatch freak, and loves the challenge of “matching the hatch” and applying a variety of techniques to fool fish. He has traveled the world in pursuit of fish and says, if he could, he would relocate to the South Island of New Zealand with his wife and dogs and fish and live happily ever after.
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