Good morning from Sisters. It is 52 degrees here at the house (5:55AM) and hard to believe it is almost going to double in temperature this afternoon.
I just made a fresh batch of hummingbird food and headed out to feed all my feathered friends this morning as all the feeders were empty when we came home from our East Lake camping trip yesterday.
This report will dive in to the places we know are good to fish (read safe for the fish) and suggest waiting for a cool down before headed to a few others.
We are lucky most of our rivers with the exception of parts of the Middle and Upper Deschutes stay really cold and over the years have been a safe zone for trout and whitefish even in heat waves and heat domes like we experienced a few years ago.
Looking at the extended forecast I hope they are right in saying that it looks hot today and tomorrow and starts moderating with more normal temperatures coming this week and next. That will make us more comfortable.

I am happy to report that the Metolius River is seeing good caddis hatches, mostly good hatches of PMD’s, some BWO’s, more and more Golden Stone Adults, Midges, Yellow Sally’s and keep an eye out as we cross in to the “mid-July” time, as we often begin seeing isolated hatches of Salmonflies around Bridge 99 and Wizard Falls and ever see a few mixed with the Goldens up by the Camp Sherman area.
As always, we recommend transitional flies: Does it look crippled? Or is it representing an emerging state? Is it an egg layer, laying spent on the water after incredible sex high above the ponderosa pines? 😉 Ask yourself, does the fly I am using need an Advil or a Marlboro, and if the answer is yes, you’re on the right track to fool picky spring creek trouts.
Have you read Kelly Gallop’s book Cripples & Spinners? It’s a good one and he proves the effectiveness of these flies working better more often than traditional adult patterns.
But heck, maybe you want to skip the dry fly action, or you’re fishing when the hatch or spinner fall isn’t going to happen and you want to concentrate on nymphs. Good news, nymph fishing, both Euro style and indicator work will get it done. Golden Stone Nymphs, Caddis Pupa, Zebra Midges, Frenchie, Rainbow Warrior, Jigs and Perdigons and 2 Bit Hookers have been excellent nymphs on our end. The good news is you can nymph and find fish anytime of the day, but the dry fly action comes in waves and may only last a short while on some days.
Last week the reports from my Bull Trout Crew was that they were a little harder to find. Seems weird to me since it was apparent that a lot of fish filtered out of the lake and up the river and I am sure they didn’t go back down. Keep looking and fishing the big streamers and you’ll do well. The best Bull Trout fishing of the year is ahead of us and we’ve got the streamers to make it happen.

The Fall River is another river that runs so cold that we never have to worry the fish are stressed by water temperatures.
It has been fishing well too, with recent stocking of trout from the hatchery and of course the holdovers and wild fish there are plenty of fish in the system from top to bottom to enjoy some good days on this beautiful little spring creek.
PMD, Henryville, Orange Missing Link, Beetles, Ants, Yellow Sally, Griffiths Gnat, Rusty Spinner, Hippie Stomper are good dries now.
Our FFP guide team has been doing best with Euro Jig Streamers and Perdigons. Pheasant Tail, Micro Mayfly, Zebra Midges, Caddis Pupa, Soft Hackles, Scuds, CDC Guide Hares Ear are also patterns to take on any given day this week and throughout the summer.

The Crooked River is running plenty cold to be good for the fish too. We are lucky the reservoir levels are so deep, so the source of the river is coming from that chilled reserve!
Still, it is hot in the canyon and mid-day fishing for a person is hot, so take precautions by drinking a lot of water, keeping cool by wading and wearing smart clothing choices to protect you against the heat. Also, you might find from 6 AM to 1 PM and from 6 PM to Dusk to be nicer times to be on the water fishing, and guess what, the hatches will think that too.
PMD’s, Parachute Adams and Purple Haze, X Caddis, Weiss’s Caddis Missing Link, Larimer’s Yellow Sally and small Hoppers.
Nymphs- Flashback PT, Scuds, Perdigons, Zebra Midges, Soft Hackle’s, Split Case PMD, 2 Bit PMD and 2 Bit BWO and Rainbow Warriors.

The McKenzie River is a gem now, with cold clear water and good fishing for our guide team. They are reporting very catches on various nymphs, especially perdigons and small Jig Streamers fished side-drift Euro Style, or under an indicator, or swinging.
Dry Dropper rigging with a Chubby has also been effective and the fish sometimes show a preference for the Chubby over the nymph which is a blast.
Look for some rising fish to be up on Elk Hair Caddis, Stimultators, Parachute Adams and H&L Variant’s.

The Deschutes River needs to be looked at as several rivers, because each section is so different with water quality and water type that this time of year it can be broken down into 5 or 6 sections, some good and some needing a pass….
The headwaters section is coldest, and running well to support the heat wave. Best action has been nymphing running perdigons and soft hackle PT’s Euro Style, or under a small Chubby. Terrestrials, PMD, Caddis and late evening PED’s and Rusty Spinners.
The area between Crane Prairie and Wickiup is too warm to support C&R fishing, so best to leave that alone now.
The Section from Wickiup to Sunriver is fishing slow, with some dusk opportunities on dries, but I would say this is not the spot to fish until we see cooler nights and more normal days which may take us out to August to get that combination. Watch Water Temps through here too. 68 and above, stop fishing.
The area though Bend has a few little locals spots, and if you know where to go the last hour before dark you can catch some nice little wild trout on Purple Haze, Yellow Sparkle Duns and Parachutes, X Caddis and Renegades. Also nymphing Perdigons and Soft Hackles will find some fish.
Downstream of Bend headed towards Lake Billy Chinook is a mix of an old Clash song….Should I stay or should I go? Fast water and areas where springs enter the river (thinking Riley Preserve and near Steelhead Falls) will be okay for the morning and evening jaunts.
The Lower Deschutes from Warm Springs through the Whitehorse area is running cool and the fish and hatches are in good shape. I’ve even talked to friends who in the last few days have seen incredible dry fly fishing mid-day on Spinners and then transitioning to Caddis & Pale Evening Duns in the evening to dusk. We continue to enjoy good guide days and are spending days wading in shorts and our wading boots which feels amazing.
Below Maupin, especially Below Sherars Falls the river is warm, and not a place we recommend fishing until we see a cool down. I have no reports about steelhead yet, and that is a good thing as nobody should be fishing for steelhead in these temps. Imagine releasing a (unicorn) Wild Steelhead in these conditions. Not fair to the fish.

LAKES

I was pleasantly surprised being at East Lake Wednesday through Sunday how the water temps held up from Dawn to Lunch, and from about 7 PM to Dusk. Mid-day we pulled off the water when the water temps hit 68 and rested the fish and ourselves.
Ants and Callibaetis were our standouts.
I found fish eating Callibaetis in all stages so be prepared with nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners.
if you follow Oregon_Stillwater_Jeff on Instagram you already saw that I am a convert to the new Cortland 3′ Slow Sinking Tip for mimicking ascending nymphs! This line is really cool and I am seeing it get thrown in the mix on all of our lakes more and more for me this season. I can’t wait to try it again.
Damsel activity is getting hot and the fish are chowing nymphs near the shore, but also leaping in the air to nab an adult hovering over the water.
There is no doubt on the fact wind is our friend out there. Most importantly now if helps in these deeper lakes to mix that colder, deep water up on to the shoals and keep the areas we love to fish cooler. If there is no wind, there is no mix and that will drive temps up and fish out to the deeper spots.
During the afternoon, as long as the surface temps stay below 68, use type 3 and type 5 lines to strip callibaetis nymphs, leeches, blobs and soft hackles in. Fish are there, hiding from the suns intense rays, and they are finding optimal temps to feel comfortable and be able to digest their food intake. All of this is true on Paulina too.
So, Paulina Lake is bigger (than East. 1500 acres vs. 1000 acres) and has less shoal area than East and in my experience stays cooler. As long as the breeze blows we will beat this heat at Paulina this week and have safe water temps to C&R our beloved trout friends.
Beetles, Ants, Hoppers, Hippie Stompers, Chubby’s, Red Tarantula’s and Parachute Callibaetis and Callibaetis Emergers (Harrops Captive Dun is a favorite) are great dries. Balanced Leeches, Red 2 Bit, Black/Red Double Down, Callibaetis Cate, Chironomids including Hanging with my Chromies & Ice Cream Cones, Scuds and Blobs. Some of these will be under the indicator and you’ll also use sinking lines including Midge Tips, Hover, Intermediate and Type 3 and 5 full sink.

Three Creek Lake is fishing great and a little less mosquitos with the hotter weather. Still bring repellant.
Callibaetis hatches are going strong, evening Black Caddis plus Ants and Beetles.
A Red Hippie Stomper, my Jiggy Beetle and an RP Ant have been the winners lately.
Thanks to all of you who’ve come over to get Sheep Creek Specials….and I am glad so many of you have found success with them.
Olive colored Callibaetis Nymphs like the Poxy Back and the Callibaetis nymphs we sell that are Feather Duster Style (who remembers the Feather Duster?) are awesome.
Balanced Leeches and Wooly Buggers are also doing great.

I would not fish Crane Prairie, Hosmer, Lava, Little Lava or most of the lakes in the 4000 to 5000 foot elevation range until they cool off.
Some may justify finding cold channels, but that’s the only refuge the trout have to beat the conditions, and if you hook them and have to fight them up through the water column where its 70 degrees or more, we are going to be killing good fish and that to me is a selfish way to approach fishing.

We look forward to seeing you in the shop this week and out on the water too.
Quilt Show is next Saturday in Sisters. It’s a busy week and a lot of fun around our little town which turns extra vibrant this time of year.

We have guide days available this week and next.

Jeff
Now finished with the writing at 9:38 am and it is now 78 degrees.
Birds are fed, laundry is done, kitchen is cleaned.
I am a multi-tasker.