Time’s fun when you’re having flies.
Doesn’t it seem like it was just 4th of July? How did the summer season fly by so fast? Here we are on the 25th of October and this report is going to hit on buttoning up some of the waters for the year, and the impacts of weather coming in soon, and look ahead to the first week in November when it looks like some good fishing days will be back.

If you enjoy the Upper Metolius you have 7 days to enjoy the river from Allingham Bridge to the Headwaters. We love this water for a lot of reasons, foremost the smaller size and usual abundance of fish makes it a little easier than some of the other areas of the big spring creek. Up high, it is intimate, and easy to wade generally, and fish are in spots that look like they ought to hold a trout. Hatches on the upper river from the headwaters to Gorge CG have been good, with a lot of mayflies and a good number of caddis. Look for Mahogany Duns #16, PMD’s #16, Cinygmula #16, Blue Wing Olives #18-20 and some October Caddis #8-10, Tan Caddis #14-16 and Grey Caddis #12-16.
Below Allingham Bridge is open all year and of course it is our favorite water to enjoy all the winter.
All of these hatches will extend down river in the canyon, the hatchery area and around Bridge 99 too.
I had a weird week that ended my lake guiding season with a dud. Monday, too much wind and snow, Tuesday, despite the perfect conditions my client cancelled due to a business trip (lame M, haha) and Wednesday was again way too cold and windy to be in the boat all day. I did take advantage of having Tuesday off and headed to the river where I was lucky enough to have the dolly hole to myself and about 2 hours of really good dry fly action! BWO Film Critics and a PMD Softie (a floating soft hackled PMD emerger), PMD Captive Dun (it is a dead ringer for a floating nymph in the process of emergence and tied by the immensely talented Rene Harrop). You might notice mention of 2 patterns I don’t normally talk about…. This was precipitated by the observed trout behavior which was 100% eating emergers coming up through the film, but not through the film. The way the trout were rising to them, and rolling under the film, sometimes turning slightly on their sides as they ate the emerger. It was stunning to watch. And fun to play the game together. Did you know that when a trout takes an insect on the surface it (usually) leaves bubbles as a tell tale sign of surface feeding.
Everyday will be different, and it’s smart to be ready with the right flies for where the fish choose to feed. Sparkle Duns, Parachutes, Comparaduns, Quill Gordon and still some Rusty Spinner action late afternoon.
Don’t forget Orange Rubber Legged Stimulators for Oct Caddis. Also Corn Fed Caddis, Amber Iris Caddis, Edible Emereger, Weiss’s Caddis, and X Caddis to match Tan #14-16 and Grey #12-16.
Of course the nymphing remains excellent and Eggs stay on the list for being so so so important as we end the Kokanee spawn season.
Golden Stones, Peacock Stones, TJ Hooker, 2 Bit hooker, Caddis Pupa, Soft Hackle PT, Perdigons and Euro Jig Streamers. The Bull Trout have been very susceptible to those smaller Jig Streamers, but also to bigger and heavier articulated streamers. When you choose the big stuff, bring an 8 weight for the fly and for the fish.

The Lower Deschutes also has 7 days left (including today) to fish both sides from Dry Creek to Trout Creek, and starting November 1st remember it is just waters that lay east of the main channel. So Warm Springs Boat Ramp, up the highway is all good, Mecca is all good, Trout Creek is all good, but if you’re floating from WS to TC remember that the side belonging to the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs will be closed until 4/22/25.
There are a good number of steelhead in the river all the way up to WS! Lot’s of good catch stories, and a few heartbreaking stories too. Better to have hooked and lost than to never have hooked at all. There is some kind of love metaphor that says something similar. And hey, who doesn’t love Steelhead?
On the Trout side, nymphing and euro streamers has been fabulous. Eggs are also great on the Lower D. Enough in the drift from Salmon that the trout know what to look for.
Stonefly nymphs, especially the Peacock Girdle Bug with the heavy Tungsten Bead we sell, October Caddis Pupa, Zebra Midges, Micro May’s, 2 Bits, Psycho Prince, Spicy Squirrel with the light pink bead and PCP Nymphs.
Spey anglers with the goal of steelhead should be set with skagit lines and T8 sink tips and larger leeches and intruders. Warmer days might get fish on a Scandi line and a Green Butt Skunk or Anderson’s Euphoria.
Looking at the November forecast for the first week or two, I think that we have a lot of good fishing days to look forward to and with that we will keep up our guided trips until it gets too cold to go. But at this point, that doesn’t seem to be happening soon.

The Crooked River is still rolling along as probable our best overall trout fishery in terms of numbers and catch rates for the time being.
This week we saw a ton of BWO and PMD mayflies, although that PMD hatch has to be short lived as we hit November and it will be all BWO’s until colder weather comes later towards Thanksgiving.
The hatch is best just after lunch and lasts some days for a few hours of good dry fly activity. With the water low, it’s a good idea to fish a spring creek type leader and 6x tippet to fool more fish.
Comparaduns, Sparkle Duns, Film Critics, BDE Dun, Purple Haze and also Knock Down Duns especially if it’s windy or breezy and the duns wings get blown over during emergence, that bedraggled wing profile can really fire up the trout.
Nymph fishing is also great, with small Mayfly patterns like a 2 Bit, Micro May, Skinny Nelson and even small PT’s. Scuds and Midges will round out important flies you need for the Crooked now.

The Fall River in the fall is always a favorite, and a lot of days in November are super good good fishing and often a lot less folks on the river.
Blue Wing Olive hatches are now the predominate afternoon hatch, but don’t count out seeing PMD and Mahogany Duns this week. Add Amber Caddis #12-14 and some good Midge activity and that adds up to be a cycle of many things the fish will eat throughout the day as nymphs, emergers, adults and in some cases egg layers.
Eggs, Mops, Jig Streamers, Rainbow Warriors, Caddis Pupa (try the Prairie Doggin’ Pupa) and a good selection of Perdigons in Brown and Olive body colors especially. We’ve had good fishing at the Headwaters and the Tubes so remember the Fall River is more expansive that the Fish Hatchery area.

Lakes Report-

Our friend Ed was at Hosmer Lake yesterday and reported this good report

Glad I went! Caught a number of Brookies, most in spawn colors, and a legit 17” rainbow, all on a gold brass bead hare’s ear stripped in the channel. I changed my dropper a few times but they all took the HE on point. No luck in the lower lake at the end of day. High was 43F both air and water temps. 33F when I got there at 10, and water was 39F, but they were still biting. Saw 5 other guys on pontoons, so it was pretty damned fun. Felt like a real stillwater fisherman!

This said, at Hosmer we have some real early winter weather coming for the last week of October. Today through Sunday might be about it for the Hosmer experience until next Summer.

East Lake bank access is doing well with some good catches of mid size browns. Wade the shoreline from East Lake CG Boat Ramp to the White Slide for good access to a number of fish. You’ll notice in the morning a lot of the browns jumping (same at Paulina) but once the light gets up they stop doing that as much. I do believe they are still close by, maybe sliding to a little deeper water but close enough to access by wading if you have a 50′ cast. You do, right?
Olive Mini Gulp and a Sir Sticks A lot can be fished under the strike indicator, or stripped on a Hover. Balanced Minnows and Balanced Leeches are good.
I would use a Purple Chubby as the indicator just as happily as an Airlock or Oros.
2 or 3 nymphs to choose would be the pink beaded spicy squirrel, an egg and a red holo jig.
Tubers and Pontoons might access a few other fish the bank folks won’t, but honestly I’d just wade and keep moving and be quick, agile and mobile. I realize the average ago of my readership (hahaha) but let that statement be an inspiration. Quick. Agile. Mobile. Hell yes you are!

Paulina Lake is really good for rainbows along the shorelines but there is no better time of the year to have the opportunity to catch a big brown. Remember 28.5 pounds is the state record and it came from here. Chubby’s, Beetles, Red Aero Legs and Red Chubbies continue to be very good dries. Run a Lightning Bug, Red Holo and a Callibaetis Cate dropper.
Fishing under the indicator with balanced leeches and balanced minnows is a wise choice when browns enter the equation. Mid day in the flat from the PL CG Ramp to thew resort and slightly east from there those browns circle around in the deeper water and can be caught on a leech and a scud but patience, a long cast and good retrieve (slow) will pay off. The weather at East and Paulina is going to pretty rough on and off this weekend and next week. Check the Windy App for Paulina and look at the maximum wind speed on some of the days. Believe me when I say some of the days you won’t want to be there.
If the USFS doesn’t close the snow gate I think the 1st week of November offers some interesting options, though the days will be short it will be worth the 3 or 4 hours you can be on the water. This statement is going to be true for a lot of the lakes as we get to the end of the year of fishable days.

Crane Prairie is open until October 31. I had some good reports from there on Balanced Leeches this week, especially in the Cultus Channel.
Watch wind but there are good days to enjoy this coming week before it closes for the year.

Justesen Ranch is on fire. $140 to $150 per person per day but it is very likely you will experience some awesome awesome days of catching solid rainbows.

North Twin and South Twin will be the lakes we close out the Cascade Lakes on, likely going into mid November . Balanced Leeches are usually about all you need in the fall on both lakes and fish seem to be in the shore zone in 3 to 6 feet of water. Bank access or tubing is possible.

I had a couple of guys out at Chickahominy and said there action on Olive Balanced Leeches around the edges was outstanding. It is good to see that fishery back!

I hope you get on the water soon. There is still a lot to enjoy but dodge the bad weather days that will be on and off this week.

Be well,

Jeff