Good morning from the rainy Oregon coast.
It appears some of this rain is headed over to the rest of the state for the next few days too. Hallelujah, we need that water, and I hope it just keeps coming and coming.
I am pretty sure this storm is going to be about the end of the Newberry Crater fishing. It looks snowy and very windy up there for the next several days, with a break coming Thursday, but I wonder of the road will be accessible to the lakes still? If I find that it is, I will try to do a special update Wednesday evening. Any info you guys can share will be awesome to hear, I always appreciate the tips!
The Metolius fished really well this week. There were a lot of good afternoon BWO and Mahogany Dun hatches, a lot of October Caddis and some smaller caddis (tan #16 & grey #14-16), some PMD’s and even just a few straggler Green Drakes floating by in the right place at the right time (mostly around the Wizard Falls area).
Nymphing is really good, we’ve found Golden Stones, October Caddis and smaller Tan Pupa’s, Micro Mayfly, Frenchie, Eggs(!), 2 Bits, Green Perdigons with an Orange Hot Spot and our little Purple Perdigon with a Hot Pink Hot Spot have been BOSS!
Personally, the next month or month and half have historically been my favorite time of the year to target Bull Trout. You know, it is always good with Bull’s around, but this late fall period for me is usually the best for me of the year, especially on big streamers. A lot of friends have been getting Bull’s on Euro Nymphs lately. That can be sporty to say the least on a light tippet. Fight ’em hard and fight them fast.
The Fall River is fishing great too. Spring Creeks in the Autumn are very special of course, and the fish seem to know of winters approach and feed well. That doesn’t make them easy to catch but the fish are there and the feed is abundant.
BWO’s are the key hatch, but look for PMD’s, Midges and Caddis to be important on any given day.
Nymphing Euro/Tight Line style is awesome, but there are places where you might do best with a 12′ 6x leader and a NZ Wool Indicator system.
Small Streamers continue to produce well on the Fall River. Euro Jig Style, Pine Squirrel Leeches, Sculpins and even Buggers.
The Crooked is holding steady around 50 cfs. We’d love to see it 75-100 cfs, but under the circumstances of the drought I think this is lucky to have that flow. Fishing is good, afternoon BWO hatches and late afternoon midges are bringing fish to the top. Nymphing small midges, mayfly nymphs and scuds is super productive.
Just like the advice above on the Fall River, make sure to be ready to nymph both tight line/euro style and with a NZ Wool Indicator.
The Lower Deschutes trout fishing is holding steady, and we are having good days on nymphs with some occasional dry fly opportunities. Our FFP guides have been having the best luck on October Caddis Pupa, Girdle Bugs, Golden Stones, Copper Johns, Perdigons and a variety of Jig Nymphs.
Trout Spey on Sculpins and Leeches is a fun way to approach a nice run on the big water too. I am so excited for my new 3 weight Sage Trout Spey to get here!
The Middle Deschutes is fishing good too, but there won’t be too many more weeks for this part of the river. With the higher water it is prime for streamers and nymphing. Small Sculpins, Leeches, Various Jigs, Perdigons, PT’s, Oct. Caddis Pupa, Girdle Bugs and Golden Stone Nymphs.
It would be likely to get fish up to the surface during expected BWO Hatches, look for Mahogany Duns mixed in during the afternoon too, Caddis and attractors like a Purple Haze (my personal favorite Deschutes dry fly), Renegade and small Stimulators. Access from Bend, Tumalo, Lower Bridge and Crooked River Ranch is good.
I don’t have any updates on East or Paulina and as mentioned above I am wondering if we might have seen an early end to the season on the Volcano this year?
The next few days are going to be cold, wet, sometimes snowy and very windy up there.
Crane Prairie is a top choice by mid week again and from Thursday through halloween (the last day of the Crane season) it ought to be good. Leeches and Zebra Midges, scuds, water boatman, dragonfly nymphs and damsel nymphs all should be good. I would watch the wind over the next few days, especially Sunday through Tuesday as a strong storm goes over Oregon and drops snow levels and carries a lot of wind too. A big lake like CP can get awfully rough and not too many places to hide from the wind out there.
North and South Twin Lakes are going to be top choices for the lake anglers who have a tube, pontoon or even a drift boat. I’d guess we have another 2-3 weeks of fishing these little lakes unless we get a severe cold snap. In the fall we’ve had great success on both lakes fishing balanced leeches around the edges under an indicator. Red Leeches have been great, but all the normal colors including black, olive and brown leeches are going to be good too.
Chironomids, Damsel Nymphs and Leeches fished under the Bobber or stripped on a sinking line (recommended intermediate and type 3) will all be good.
Neither of these lakes close October 31st so they are fishable in November until they freeze or the roads become impassable.
I’d guess Hosmer and 3 Creeks are done for the season with this storm coming in. Too much snow and a good chance they will begin icing over. For sure, the roads accessing them will be snowy. For me, the choice is “I look forward to seeing them next summer”.
I see that Haystack Reservoir is 91% full today. It makes me wonder how that might be for some late season stillwater fishing? Have any of you been out to Haystack lately?
As always, thanks for reading and I hope all of you are getting some time to go out and get a little (or a lot) of fishing time in.
I always appreciate your comments, tips and encouragement.
Next week I’ll update on Friday, because next saturday morning I’ll be on a plane going someplace warm with some really big fish that pull hard and eat shrimp and crabs.
JP
October 23, 2021