Hello everyone, I am writing today from Seaside on the Oregon Coast. There is no fishing this weekend but I am looking forward to my week ahead which includes 4 more days of guide trips on the lakes (and if the stars align a day on the Metolius). We walked the beach in Gearhart today and saw some Surf Perch anglers out there wading in the waves, and even saw one of them reel in a little perch.
Back home in Central Oregon it looks like the weather is going to be incredible again all week, until next weekend when it appears some more fall like, October weather is going to return.
This should bode well for a good week of fishing and the fact the full moon is now waning away which I think had the fishing a little off last week, at least on the lakes.

On the Metolius we should see Green Drakes straggling to the finish line this week, and that should be about it for them until next May. Tina and I fished the river a couple of times last week and caught all of our fish on the Jeff’s Flav, GD Sparkle Dun and GD Film Critic.
Besides Drakes, look for BWO, Mahogany Duns, PMD’s, several types of Caddis (Olive #16-18, Tan #12-16, Grey #14-16 & October #8-10), some Golden Stones and a small number of the little Olive Stones left.
As we move towards that cooler weather later in the week BWO’s will be really important and I’d say looking back over the years at October hatches when the weather cools that Mahogany Duns will make a stronger appearance. 3 flies I like for Mahogany Duns include a Gray Comparadun, Quill Gordon and an Upright Rusty Spinner which is an incredible little brown parachute pattern that works all over the place, but becomes a real favorite in the fall.
The Kokanee spawn is on, so add Egg’s to your nymphing game.
Lot’s of great Bull Trout opportunities now on big streamers.

Crooked River is fishing well, but keep in mind now they just lowered the river from 200 cfs to 70 cfs and that can put the bite off a little for a few days. Once it settles it’ll be fine. We are frustrated to see the river so low already and it was a goal of the new management plan to keep it flowing at 100 cfs in the winter to assure better trout habitat and winter survival. But 70 is way better than 30 which we’ve seen them drop it to for extended periods so let’s hope for the best.
BWO, PMD, Mahogany Duns, Midges, Scuds.

Fall River is also fishing well and is one we love for October and November for sure. BWO’s are the main hatch at this time, but PMD’s are not over yet, and with warmer days there are still good caddis hatches to be found. Ants, Beetles and even the occasional Hopper will turn fish too.
We’ve been doing best on Euro Nymphing techniques and Dry Flies.

The Lower Deschutes is good from Warm Springs to Maupin. Steelhead are being caught throughout the river and that is great news. Trout fishing is good, mostly on nymphs but there are some decent hatches of small caddis, October Caddis, BWO, PMD and Mahogany Duns. Look for risers in band side eddies and nymph the runs and even very shallow riffles this time of year.
Swinging and Nymphing for steelhead has been producing fish.

The Middle Deschutes is seeing rising flows as the canals are being shut down for the end of irrigation season. In some areas this is a great thing and other areas it makes access tough. We like the areas around Lower Bridge and Steelhead Falls for the rest of the month. Euro Nymphs and Streamers are going to be the best ways to target the river.

For the most part, everyone I spoke to said Crane Prairie was challenging last week. Full Moon? Too much bright sun? nearly 10 degree water temperature fluctuations daily? I’m not sure…. We caught fish up there on Brown Leeches on a hover line for the most part, but it wasn’t what I expected. I ran into an old friend in the Quinn Channel and he said he had very hot fishing for a short time on a Tan Chironomid #18.
When we did fish indicators I ended up going to the Loon yarn indicator because the fish were taking so softly that the yarn is a better indicator for soft takes.
There has been a pretty good callibaetis hatch on the Deschutes side mid day. Fish are looking up for them and you’ll need a spinner for your mix of dries 100%! If you tie, tie them on a Tiemco 102Y #17.

Paulina had a tremendous hatch of little Tan flying ants (termites or honey wasps maybe) this week. The fish went nuts for them. I doubt we will see any this coming week, but with the warm weather I expect to see fair callibaetis hatches and good terrestrial action.
Chironomids and Leeches are going to be important at Paulina and up the road at East Lake. With cooler nights (especially in the high country) East Lake is improving a lot. This is the time of year that East lake can really be hot fishing. Stripping leeches and streamers is a hot bet in the fall. I also like to search out Kokanee spawners and fish an egg under an indicator near the redd’s for Browns and Rainbows that are taking advantage of that frenzied opportunity that comes each fall.

I look forward to the cool down coming for some improvements at Hosmer. These extra bright and warmer than average days have the bite off a bit at Hosmer. Certainly the fish are around and can be caught now. Fishing a water boatman, a small scud, a callibaetis nymph, zebra midges, leeches and even an egg. A few fish rising to callibaetis, midges and flying/floating water boatman but dry fly fishing is mostly an after thought now.

Three Creeks Lake is another good bet. It should be soon that the Brookies really start schooling up on the edges. It was October 24th 2 years ago I had one of the best days of Brookie fishing ever using a Hot Head Olive Leech.
In the mean time the fish are probably off the shore line a little and would be better targeted with sinking lines or indicator methods. Leeches, Scuds, Zebra Midges, plus Ants and Beetles on the surface. Get up there while you still can.

I want to say thank you to all of you who’ve been so supportive and those who have been coming in to the shop on the way to go fish and to those who have added an extra guide trip or two this fall. All of us at FFP really appreciate this and it’s been so nice to end our summer season on a higher note after the really tough September.
All the best to you. Stay safe and go fish.