The Deacon Led Off My Rockfish Revival

The Deacon! My first Rockfish on a fly!

My friends and I booked a trip with Rob Perkin of Connect Outfitters go fly fishing for Rockfish. This is something that I had heard about over the years, but had never had the opportunity to do. I was excited about the opportunity to learn about this fishery from a professional like Rob that I had heard so many good things about.

Headed out to the fishing grounds!

We headed out to the fishing grounds off the Oregon coast, and when we got to the area, Rob handed me an 8 Wt fiberglass fly rod, equipped with a sinking line and a clouser minnow fly. It was a cool set up, but I really did not know how the whole sinking line thing worked so I asked Rob for some advise. Rob was beyond great, and explained everything to me in terms that that I could easily understand. His gear was perfect and he masterful at setting the boat in the right postiion for the perfect drift. Once he had the boat positioned he gave us the green light to start fishing.

This was a great Rod for Rockfish and Lingcod!

I was excited about getting my first rockfish on a fly so I my casted my fly a few feet from the boat and started stripping line to let the fly work its way down close to the bottom. I liked the feel of the rod, it was so sensetive that I could feel the fly working pretty well at 35 feet down. Once my fly was in the zone, I started slowly stripping my in line, and a fish hit it right away. I set the hook, but nothing was there. I let a bit more line out thinking the fish may still be following, and started slowly stripping in line again. This time the fish smacked it harder and I hooked into my first rockfish on a fly. It was a really fun fight on the 8wt rod, and getting the fish on the reel with all the line I had out added a whole new element to it. Once I had the fish on the reel, the Fiberglass fly rod felt every move the fish made, and I loved it. When I got the fish close enough to the boat to see it, I realized that I had never seen a rockfish like this one. The fish was a blue grey color, with black spotting, and a mouth that looked a lot like a smallmouth bass. I asked Rob what it was and he told me it was a Deacon rockfish. It was fitting that my first rockfish on a fly was a species that I had never caught before. It was even more fitting that my first Rockfish on a fly was called a Deacon - My Rockfish Revival had begun and the Deacon kicked it off!

Deacon Rockfish are beautiful! The blue and grey colors are stunning!

I had to do a little research on the Deacon because it looked a lot like a Blue Rockfish to me. Here is the link to Blue vs Deacon Rockfish from Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife: https://myodfw.com/articles/rockfish-identification-tips. The major difference isthe comparison of thier jaws. The Deacon's lower jaw projexts out further than the upper jaw and that is the the best way to tell them apart. Here is a pick of the Deacon on the fillet table and you can see the lower Jaw proceeds out further.

Deacon Rockfish protrudes past the upper jaw when the mouth is closed according to ODFW.

I could not wait to get back in the water and catch some more rockfish on the fly. The action was hot for the next couple hours. We were all hooking and landing Black Rockfish, Cabezon , Greenlings and even a few Ling Cod. The action was so good that there was one point all four of us hooked up at the same time!

Fighting a Rockfish on a Fly Rod!

It might have taken a little longer to get our limit than if we had been using traditional gear, but the action and the fight on the fly rod was worth every extra minute. It was a spectacular morning that led to all of us getting our limits of Rockfish on the fly.

Capt. Rob with a Black Rockfish caught on a fly.

Once we had our Rockfish limits, Rob motored over to a Lingcod area, and we managed to get one keeper Lingcod and a few shorts on one of Rob's hand tied special flies. However, after a couple of drifts, the weather turned ugly and we had to head back to shore.

Lingcod on the fly!!!

It was a very cool day of fishing and I learned a lot. Catching Rockfish on an 8Wt Fly Rod makes me want to expand on this to Salmon, Steelhead and even Tuna. I will definitely be booking more trips with Rob, and I woud highly reccommend him if you are looking for an amazing fly fishing trip with a top notch guide. Here is a link to his website where you can schedule a trip with him: Connect Outfitters

Contact Rob to book a trip!

It was another amazing day in the Great pacific Northwest!

Thanks for reading.

Bill