It is a gorgeous morning in Sisters, Oregon. The snow we got yesterday is shining brightly in the morning sun, and it looks like the next several days include a small warm up in the mid 40’s, and over the weekend dry conditions.
Should be great to get out and fish.

On the Metolius, the trend is very good. Afternoon Baetis hatches have been dominating the daily feeding cycle of the fish. A good friend of mine had a really good midge hatch a few days ago and did well on Griffiths Gnats after the BWO hatch was over.
Later in the day you’ll be seeing more Silver Stripe Sedge and October Caddis mixed with some smaller #14-16 grey caddis. The Pupa of all 3 of these caddis are most important now.
And finally as we move into early February the little black stones become more important too.
Bull Trout fishing remains good on streamers. Bring your 7 or 8 weight for tossing the heavy flies.
Nymph fishing either Euro Style or with an indicator is very productive. I watched Troy (one of our FFP guides) fishing with his wife a couple of days ago hammer a few rainbows, a few whitefish and a nice bull trout all euro nymphing.
Golden Stones, mayfly nymphs, eggs, caddis pupa, pink bead hares ear, blue psycho prince, frenchie and red copper johns are high on our list.

Fall River is on and off. The fish seem to move around a lot, so places you might have seen them last week doesn’t mean they will be there today. It’s weird but I suspect a few things: Otters, fishing pressure and fish seeking out food.
I would love to see Fall River go to a C&R regulation as I know people are going there and whacking some of those big fish.
Afternoon hatches of BWO, Midges, Little Black Stones and a few Caddis are all on the menu.
Nymphs and Streamers are really solid bets, especially Zebra Midges, Tungsten Micro Mayflies, Tungsten Perdigons and Frenchies.

Crooked River is running a consistent 50 cfs this winter. It is fishing for the most part pretty well. If we get a big cold snap the water temps drop enough to put the fish off the feed a bit, but overall the trend is good.
Midges, Scuds and Perdigons are the best.
Look for dry fly action during midge emergences later in the afternoon as they seem to prefer to hatch about 3 or 4 and go to about dark.

The Middle Deschutes is about ready to pop for the 1st good hatch of the year. In Mid February the little black stoneflies are the dominate hatch of the month. Getting to the river about noon is about right and carefully fishing the banks with a float-n-fool or black elk hair is the ticket. The water is high so be careful wading, but the irrigation companies will be doing periodic stock runs which they turn on the canals for a few days to allow the farms to refill their ponds for animals. I’d go anytime, but if you can time your day(s) to coincide with the stock run, all the better!
Besides the little stones hatching, stonefly nymphs (including the really big salmonfly nymphs) are excellent choices to fish, with a Pheasant Tail, Prince, or Hares Ear dropper for Winter conditions.
Streamers are also fun to fish on the Middle D!

The Lower Deschutes is open down in the Maupin area and is a good bet for fishing in February. Look for afternoon hatches of Baetis. Nymph fishing is certainly going to pay the best dividends with big Stone Nymphs, Perdigons, Jigs, PT’s, Squirmy Worms, Zebra Midges and Frenchies.
I would recommend the area anywhere from Locked Gate to Mack’s Canyon and that is a lot of water to spread out in. There are also some great floats to be had if you want to get the drift boat wet! (don’t forget to buy a boaters pass).

I am getting the Stillwater urge super bad and hope to report on Ochocco and haystack by the next report.

Hope you are all well and looking forward to some fishing. I had a crap month for fishing in January (zero days) so glad that February is here and already one day on the books.