I’m so sorry for the delay, the fishing report guy has been under the weather. After close to 3 years of avoiding it, I finally got the dreaded double lines and there has been no fishing going on in our family since before Christmas Eve.
A couple of important reminders:
The Metolius River from the Headwaters down to Allingham Bridge is closed until May 22. Lot’s of reports of angling above Allingham Bridge.
ODFW made a change to the Fall River regulations we didn’t know was coming, and that is the Fall River is now closed below the Falls until May 22, 2023.
I’ve been texting and DM’ing lots of friends, guides and employees and I gotta say, fishing seems to be really good out in Central Oregon right now.
The Metolius is seeing a nice afternoon BWO hatch about 1 to 2:30. Likely not lasting for an hour and a half, but during that period you should see enough bugs hatching to get the fish up to eat dries.
Otherwise, it is very good nymphing right now, with eggs, perdigons, jigs, blue psycho prince, golden stones, Mcgee’s girdle and October Caddis Pupa.
Bull Trout are definitely eating streamers, and we have not seen any sort of transition to smaller nymphs like what happens a lot of mid-winter periods. That said, Bull Trout love MOPS, Red Ice Cream Cones and Leeches in the winter.
Snow is piling up there today, so watch the roads, but it looks like a slight warm up is coming tomorrow.
The Fall River has a lot more snow to navigate than the Metolius, so make sure you’re prepared to get un-stuck if something happened. Access is best to the hatchery, but you should find less people from the Camp Ground to the Headwaters.
One of my buddies was at the Headwaters last week and said there were quite a few fish up there and there were good midge hatches and some BWO’s.
Nymphing and Streamer fishing will remain top producers for most anglers over the next month or so.
We are so lucky to have these 2 spring creeks to fish all year long.
The Middle Deschutes is too high and too cold to be a viable option for the foreseeable future. Usually by Mid February things shift there and we get the little black stone hatch that changes the game.
But right now, I’d say its a total no go.
The Lower Deschutes from Warm Springs down to the end of the reservation is now closed on BOTH sides of the river. No fishing WS to Trout Creek, Dry Creek, Mecca, Trout Creek, South Jct until April 22, 2023.
But, you can drive to Maupin and fish up towards the Locked Gate.
Euro Nymphing is by far going to out produce most other ways to catch trout and whitefish now. But shoot, a trout spey and a swung leech is certainly something super fun to do too, so bring both rods and have a day of it.
By mid February, we should see some better hatches with little windows of BWO, Midges, Tiny Black Stones and maybe even Caddis depending on the weather patterns 4 to 6 weeks from now.
This is a time for growth on the rivers, with biological clocks ticking fast towards spring hatches. Nymphs are growing (and moving) and as the water warms in the next 60 to 80 days everyone under those surface layers are going to know it is time to spring!
There are really no lake options I can think of at this time unless it was valley or coastal.
Speaking of Coastal, I am hearing of some nice steelhead coming in to the rivers on the coast!
Well, it was good to get back to the keyboard for a minute and connect with you again. My best to you for 2023 and I hope the year includes a fair bit of good fishing for you.
Talk soon,
Jeff