Officially, Fall arrives this weekend. The Sun will cross the (celestial) Equator at 8:44 AM Sunday, turning our lives to Pumpkin Patches, Football games, the best of the best Major League Baseball (go Padres) and about 8 more weeks of very dynamic fishing around the home waters.
For my friends in Chile and Argentina who have their fishing operations down in Patagonia, the excitement we feel every spring is upon them as they gear up for opening day and opening the lodges.
If you have an interest in a Winter get-away to Patagonia check out the 3 lodges we work with here https://flyfishersplace.com/guide-service/travel/
Also, we just added a 2nd week in April to Belize since our 1st week sold out. It’s a great trip and we’d love to have you join us for some tropical fishing. And this is last minute, but I have 2 spots there the 1st week of November if you can swing a last minute trip.

Even with Fall officially beginning, the weather for the time being is going to be glorious. Summer like temps will grace Oregon for at least another week. It is certainly a great time to be on the water and I am going to share with you the best info on the best spots where I think you will enjoy your invested to go catch some trout this week.

Overall the Metolius River is fishing quite well but here are a couple of little things to look out for. Yesterday my wife Tina was on the river and found the fish to be way more keyed on Flav’s than on the bigger Drakes. Our friend Phil who fishes the river a whole bunch reported that he was seeing Drakes much earlier in the day than when we most expect to see them. Say 1 PM instead of 3 or 4…. Is this a constant? Who knows, but the advice given is be ready for changing conditions. Have #10 Drakes and #14 Flav’s ready as early as noon. Don’t give up on either hatch until 5 PM.
PMD’s #16-18, BWO’s #18-20, Mahogany Duns #16 are the other 3 mayflies to count on throughout the day on the met now. You’ll find the Drakes and Flav’s from a little ways above the Canyon down stream to Candle Creek (and likely below there too, I just don’t go below there personally). The other three are on all stretches of the Rio and might hatch as early as as 10 or 11 AM and you can see them up to about 6 or 7 PM still on the water. No, not 9 hours straight of mayflies emerging, that is not what I mean. What I am saying is in different areas of the river, with the different thermal areas the Met has, you’ll likely see them have a hatch cycle that could last 10 minutes to 2 hours and probably also happen more than one time per day. You’ve heard the saying, I was in the right place at the right time. Well, there ya go.
Caddis continue to impress us and the trout. The Micro Caddis have faded away and the top 2 caddis to fish are #16 Tan and #14-16 Gray Caddis. October Caddis #8-10, especially as Pupa as quite important and mostly I’d drift that pupa as a nymph late afternoon into the evening hours as the light fades over the mountains these big caddis make their way to the surface more and more.
Stoneflies including Cascade Stones #4-6, Little Olive Stones #16-18 (we had one in our bedroom last night) and Golden Stones #10 which love these last days of hot weather and can continue to trickle out until the kids come Trick or Treating to your front door at the end of October. Besides, a Clark’s Stone has tricked enough trout to think it is eating an October Caddis, so double that fly up as a killer for Fall.
Nymphing is excellent all over the river. Perdigons, Caddis Pupa, Stonefly Nymphs, TJ Hooker’s, GD Nymphs, Soft Hackle Pt’s and Zebra Midges are all recommended.
So far there are no Kokanee coming up the river from the Lake. This event is near as the Fall Spawning Run is imminent, and the effect it has on the Bull Trout is great. Plus a lot of eggs in the drift for Rainbows and Whitefish.
Not to be deterred however, the Bull Trout fishing is quite good and bound to get better soon. Most of the Bull’s are coming on Big Streamers now.

The Lower Deschutes is really getting good for Steelhead, and it is nice to see fish all the way up to the Warm Spring to Trout Creek area. While most of the Steelhead remain farther downstream, they are quickly infiltrating all 100 miles of the Lower River creating equal chances of catching one on any drifts you choose to take.
As for the trout action, it is a little slower now. Some days they are active in the usual spots, and fishing will be great. There is a transitional time on the river in the Fall when we need the Summer weather to end and the real Fall weather to begin to stack the odd on the big river back in our favor on a more consistent basis. Do not let this deter you from a Lower D trout day. It doesn’t suck, you might need to be more creative and work harder for your fish. And nymphing with a Peacock Girdle Bug as your point, adding a dropper of a Brown TJ Hooker, Red Wiggle Worm, Oct Caddis Pupa, Tan Caddis Pupa, PT, Prince, Orange Psycho Prince, Lighting Bug or Rainbow Warrior will be good under the indicator.
Euro Nymphing Perdigons and other Euro Jigs including small Streamers is something we love to do and puts us in touch with the fish more as well.
As for the Steelhead, a lot of fish have been coming to the swung wet flies (Euphoria, Freight Train, Green Butt Skunk….) on a dry line. Get that while you can, because the shift to Skagit lines, Sink Tips and leeches is not too far down the calendar.
Book your October and November trips now. The calendar is really full the 1st 2 weeks of Oct, but opens up some after that. We would love to find a date to get you out mining for Steel.

The Middle Deschutes is starting to see a small bump in flows as some of the irrigation canals are taking less water. This to me signals more opportunities for streamer fishing, and what better time of the year than Fall to fish streamers than when Brown Trout are getting grumpy and aggressive in their pre-spawn period.
Besides that, Euro Nymphing is very good, with morning to early afternoon sessions a great time to hit the river.
PMD and BWO and some Tan Caddis and October Caddis are hatching and important dry flies or emergers to fish during the hatch.

I currently have no new info on any section of the Upper Deschutes.

The Fall River is really good fishing, especially with little streamers right now. Eggs, Rainbow Warriors, Purple Perdigons, Zebra Midges, Tan Caddis Pupa and Red Copper Johns have been best.
Blue Wing Olive hatches are getting better and better and PMD hatches remain important and might be hatching (remember the recent masking hatch post) at the same time. These fish get choosey, so you need 6x, 6.5x or 7x and cripples (KD Dun) and Emergers (Captive Dun, Film Critic, Winger, Sparkle Dun) for both.
Midges, Caddis and Terrestrials round out what the fish are likely to eat on the dry fly side. 3 Flies I would not be w/o on the Fall would be a black ant, a hi-viz griffiths gnat and a missing link caddis. Okay, okay, 4 flies. A tan cdc caddis in a #16 needs to be added. Three. Four. What the heck? You want to fool fish on good flies, tie on one more.

The Crooked River is still one of the hottest spots in Oregon to be fishing now. I don’t see this slowing down until really cold weather comes this winter.
PMD hatches continue to impress us and add increasing numbers of Mahogany Duns and BWO’s to that and you’ll usually have afternoons filled with a lot of dry fly options.
It won’t all be on the dry fly of course so think about matching the cycle of hatches and have #16-18 Brown Mayfly nymphs, #18-20 Olive or Black Mayfly nymphs and a lot of Midges, Scuds and Perdigons in your box. Our Tungsten Micro Mayfly Nymph selection is on point for this fishery.

We’ve been having great days drifting the McKenzie River! A tough one to fish from the bank, a drift boat and a friend to share rowing, or a guided trip is the best way to experience the river as it is meant to be. It is a challenge to row, with some dangerous areas so make sure you know you have the experience and equipment to succeed.
As for the fishing, the FFP guide team (Troy, Steve, Tonn and Mike are the main 4 who run the McKenzie) are doing best on Perdigons, Jigs, Mega Prince, TJ’s, Soft Hackle PT, Oct Caddis, Girdle Bugs and Soccer Moms.

LAKES REPORT

“It is impossible to grow weary of a sport that is never the same on any two days of the year”
Theodore Gordon

As an angler, and more so perhaps as a lake guide I know that Theodore Gordon’s words ring so true.
On Tuesday at Paulina Lake the day was cold and mostly light breeze. We bundled up and used the Drogue to wind drift large swaths of the lake using Purple Chubbies and Jiggy Twist Beetles and caught a whole bunch of fish. The next day, the wind shifted 180 degrees and was coming from the east and boy oh boy did that slow down the bite, and the areas in which we found fish feeding.
One day was 100% dry flies and awesome fishing, and the next was a day with moments of glory, but much slower. Interestingly, on the slower day the weather was warmer and sunnier and by mid-day the wind died to nearly nothing, and with that there were some decent amounts of callibaetis hatching and we did get some on dries and emergers but what really got the fish’s attention is a fly called an Aero Red Legs which is a Bibio imitation. I’ve had occasional success with that fly at Paulina and East, and I am glad the hunch paid off to try it Wednesday afternoon.
We also found a few fish on Blood Worms and Chironomids under an indicator in about 14′. Not super hot on the bite, but added a few to the net. Somedays are easy and somedays are a grind. I’ve got a lot of days ahead at Paulina this fall and look forward to being on that lake as the October fishing is usually amazing here.

East Lake is okay. The water seems a little murky green to me…. Beetles, Ants, Chubby’s and Hoppers are decent around the edges. Callibaetis have slowed a lot but this last warm to hot weather period we are getting this week might be great to see the last surge of duns? Balanced Leeches and #16-18 Red Ice Cream Cones under an indicator in 12 to 17′ will find some fish near the Hot Springs or out from Cinder Hill.

Crane Prairie is good, with some great days on the Cultus side recently with good reports from my friend Phil F on Hippie Stompers! Quinn, Rock Creek and Deschutes are all good. Balanced Leeches and either Black/Red or Black/Silver Chironomids and Blood Worms seem to be the best. Damsels, Chubbies, Double Down, Water Boatman are all recommended for fall days on Crane.

Little Lava Lake is a great spot for the week. Chironomids and Blood Worms fished near the bottom in 10 to 16′ either under the indicator or with a Emerger tip or Ghost Tip sink tip line and a S-L-O-W retrieve.
Chubbies and Beetles along the edges and weed beds. Still some afternoon callibaetis too.
If you haven’t added the Red Holographic Jig to the lake box, and you’re headed to Little Lava (or Homer) come grab some or tie your own on a #14-18 jig hook, a 2.3 gold bead, CDL tail, stripped peacock herl body and about 3 turns of red holographic tinsel for the thorax. It’s killer and is becoming one of my top “go to” flies for all the lakes.

Lava Lake is a great spot for the week, especially for those of us with bigger boats who want to get over to the North Side and all down the Western Bank shoal. All the same flies as Little Lava and good action too.

Hosmer Lake was my shining star this week. Sean and I had excellent fishing using the new Fulling Mill Drop Back Bung indicators (these are cylindrical shaped indicators which are pulled under the water easier than a cylindrical shape indicator, which helps on delicate takes). I had a hunch the fish would be persnickety so I set up Sean with 2 feet of Seagaur 10# fluoro butt section to a tippet ring and 3.5 feet of Rio Fluorocarbon Tippet to a #14 Olive thread body with red krystal flash rib and a bronze drop bead 3.8mm. We hammered them on that set up.
Went to the Upper Lake for a bit after lunch and was pleasantly surprised to see a decent callibaetis hatch with fish rising until the wind whipped the hatch away. So it is not over….
Leeches, Damsel Nymphs, Soft Hackles, and assortment of Chironomids including the blood worm stage plus Scuds and Water Boatman need to be in your Homser kit for the rest of the season.
I would also add Hippie Stompers, Small to Mid Size #10-14 Chubbies, Beetles and Ants to the box and fish them close to the reed lines in the lower lake and channel.

Three Creek Lake is much slower than it was a few weeks ago but it is still on the radar for a good place to go fish for us. Going from Red Hot fishing to fairly good fishing is expected at 6500 feet in the fall. Hatches have slowed and water temps are cooling fast, so those change fish habits.
Balanced leeches have been the best for us up there this week. Definitely try some damsels, scuds and Red Cream Cones, the Red Holographic Jig and Beetles, including a Hippie Stomper in either Red or Purple versions.

That’s it for the week. I will finish by saying when I moved to Bend in 1980 my neighborhood friend Rand was inspirational to me because his dad was a fly angler. I’ve mentioned this before, but what I didn’t mention was that Rand and I played a lot of basketball in my driveway. my dad secured a Spalding Backboard and Hoop to the garage and a lot of us shoot hoops there. Rand was a Lakers fan, and he and I made our own Lakers Jerseys at a local screen print store on Greenwood, his was Magic Johnson and mine was Kareem Abdul Jabar. We’d put these on to go play in the driveway and I tried to perfect the infamous Sky Hook. At about 4’11” that was an impressive feat.
Yesterday I received this nice email from a good old customer and friend named Mike (who is coming over for 3 days of guide trips this week) and the legend of Kareem apparently lives on. Here it is:

Jeff,
Reread your September 7 fish report. You’re quite a writer, insightful and very thoughtful. Your style reminds me of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Official Newsletter on Substack. Really look forward to being with you next week. The weather outlook is promising. I’ll just be another year older and not any wiser. We’ll have a lot to discuss and when it’s all said and done, “We better land that fish!”
Mike

You’ll see me and Mike out on the lakes trying a new cast called the Sky Hook. See you out there.

Jeff