It’s been a warm week around Sisters and lot’s of good fishing to report on, some changes to the shop to discuss and a forecast of the weather and fishing for the coming week.
I am trying to update these every friday, giving people a chance to prepare for the weekend or look forward to the following week when they might get back on the water with a few less anglers to share the water with.

Speaking of sharing, the crowds are heavy in most places. Especially on weekends.
We saw some crazy stuff in the shop last weekend and early in the week with Memorial Day visitors coming in to Sisters knocking out the official start of summer. We very much appreciate the business, and at the same time we decided if this was the writing on the wall for how human to human interactions were going to be for the summer, we made the decision to require a mask in side the shop when shopping or meeting for a guide trip. In honesty, we need to protect this small staff from getting sick, and if one goes down with C-19, we all have to close up and we can’t do that in the summer. We want to be here.
So, I know this might ruffle some feathers and we sincerely appreciate you cooperating with us, and if you don’t want to wear a mask, OK, we can do front porch service for you as a compromise.
It’s a health issue for us, not a political issue. Please don’t make it anything more than keeping us healthy.

Metolius– Drakes were ok this week, maybe the bright sunny days put the bugs off a bit, but also saw drakes hatching at noon when usually they are 2 to 5. PMD hatches were consistent all week and that brought on some good rusty spinner fall action in the evening. You’ll see some BWO’s and a lot of caddis mixed in throughout the day, but especially after the sun begins to dip down and put shadows on Green Ridge.
The Upper River is great too, so really all the way from Tract C to Candle Creek is fishing well.
With cooler and cloudy weather coming I think a good week is in store for the Met the 1st week of June.

Lower Deschutes– Straggler Big Bugs are still bringing up some fish to big flies (chubby) but especially to Clarks Stones and Norm Woods. Caddis and Pale Evening Duns are coming on strong.
The WS Reservation side is now open too for anglers with a permit. And Harpham Flat has opened for day use meaning it is a good take out for a 3 day trip.

Middle Deschutes is good- It is perfect for PMD, Pale Eve Dun, Caddis, Purple Haze, Small Stimulators and Renegades from Bend to Billy Chinook. Euro nymphing has been very productive.

Fall River is good, with some Drakes and plenty of PMD’s. Ants, Beetles and small Yellow Sally’s are hatching well.

Crooked River is running normal at 265 cfs and the mothers day caddis is petering out. Still some good dry fly fishing with X Caddis, Renegades, Parachute Adams and Quill Gordons. Nymph fishing is best with the usual suspects like Zebra Midges, Micro Mayflies, 2 Bit Hookers, Skinny Nelson and Perdigons.

Hosmer is good. This week there were a number of flying ants, but that is short lived so by next week I would not get too worked up for that. Callibaetis were hatching mid day with a lot of black spinners on the surface about noon to 2. The Black Butte Callibaetis is a great for that!
PT’s with a zebra midge dropper under a Corq is a great way to fish now.
The MOSQUITOS are bad. Bring repellent and some skin covering.

Crane Prairie is about the same, with Chironomids and Leeches. Quinn is crowded and the rest of the lake is busy but not like Quinn for some reason. Highly recommend fishing under an indicator with the Leech or Chironomid Pupa. Stripping flies using a Hover or Midge Tip is another great option.

East Lake is ok. Still turning on, water temp’s were 47’ish when I was there early in the week. I’d guess with the summer like days and abundant sun it came up over 50 degrees now? I’ll know Sunday. Was going tomorrow but Nat’l Weather Service is calling for Severe Thunderstorms and possible High Winds tomorrow so will take the day off.
Lots of Rainbows trying to spawn on the shoreline. I’d leave them alone and let them get healthy for summer. Give ’em a week and they will be done with that and out on the weed beds filling up with calories burned now.
Of course not all the fish are there, and we found some good fish in about 8 to 14′ of water and got most on a Callibaetis nymph.

3 Creeks Lake is melted off well now. As of yesterday there was still a snow blockage at the dam, so a short walk was required to access the lake and the boat ramp was inaccessible . A friend said a Jeep made it through, but another Jeep got stuck. So it won’t be long. Black Leeches and Ants are the deal, working them along the bank lines out to about 4 or 5 feet of water. You can do that from shore or from a tube.

The McKenzie was awesome this week for our guides. Green Drakes and Caddis were bringing a lot of fish to the top!