I have been around the sport of fly fishing since 1980, and developed an early passion for a lot of different elements of the sport, starting with fly tying and by time I reached high school my ultimate passion was technical spring creek fishing. Over the years my passion for technical spring creek fishing never waned, and at the same time to compliment that, it was fun to allow other elements of fly fishing to also invade the dreamy space known as Jeff’s fishing mind.
For many years that included steelheading on the Lower Deschutes with my favorite jet boat guide Don Hamblin. Every week in late July, August and early September I’d take a group on Wednesday and Thursday to fish for steelhead. It began with single hand 7 and 8 weight rods and evolved to spey gear. Then saltwater fishing, especially flats fishing for bonefish and permit hit me hard, and continues to be one of my top passions. Euro Nymping is another way I like to fish and I love the constant innovation that comes from the competition anglers around the world that makes all of us better. Of course if you know me, you know travel to fly fishing destinations is on the top of the list these days and I head off to far off locations to fish more and more now.
So what about these things bring a continuity of experiences to make me a better angler? Or better as a guide? It’s many things, but today I am going to focus on one. Fly casting.

I had an eye opening experience again this week on the water with customers in the boat. (It always feel weird to call some of them “customers” when in actuality they are friends, but for the blog it is important to know as a guide I am watching customers fish, and fishing through their actions, and on my days I get to go fishing with freinds, I am fishing my brains out for myself).
Throughout the blog today, we are going to talk about fly casting. The good, the bad and the ugly. Look for hints and observations embedded in the reports on things you can do to be better on the local streams, rivers and lakes.
I’ve always said that fly casting to me is a perfect blend of art and science. When done well, the artistry is undeniable. It is beautiful to watch a line gracefully cast! The geometry and physics of casting are easy enough concepts to understand, but not always easy to make our bodies remember to do. Plane, Arc, Timing and Tempo are the 4 parts of a cast to get the rod and the fly line to sync in to beauty and efficiency, and once you get that going the things you can do with a cast are infinite. Keep learning. Take a lesson and practice. Fly casting takes practice, and it is much bigger than the old concept of 10 to 2. Know how to change your loop shape from a tight loop to an open loop, and to be able to adjust that one thing is a huge step to your patch for better casting.
Speaking of lessons, remember that our fly casting instructor Doug Pendleton is a great teacher and I recommend signing up for a 2 hour casting lesson with him to take you to the next level. For $150 for 1 to 3 people you can get a private lesson with Doug almost any time this summer. And he offers more complete full day schools too.

Yesterday in the shop I heard 2 customers and an employee talk about fishing green drakes on the Metolius River in the last day or 2. It is now getting late for the hatch to still be present, so this will not last too many more days I am sure, but if you are headed to the river today and over the holiday weekend make sure the drakes are part of your kit.
The main hatches now include PMD’s #16 on all sections of the river, Yellow Sally’s #16 (although you could seen them as big as a #12 occasionally), Little Olive Stones #16-18, Blue Wing Olives #20 mostly on the middle river, Golden Stones #8-10 mostly on the upper river from Allingham up to the Headwaters, and a lot of Caddis including #16 Tan, #16-18 Olive and #14 Grey.
All areas of the river from the headwaters section down to below Bridge 99 to the Candle Creek area are good now.
Dry fly times are usually noon to 4’ish, and 8 to dark, but keeping your eyes open for the little hatches that could create a rising trout opportunity (an RTO) (HAHAHA) anytime of the day is a smart thing to do as an angler.
Here is where I’ll impart the better casting capabilities to the report. Not too many years ago when I actually had time to teach casting lessons I offered a class to clubs and to individuals called the skills class. It was designed for an intermediate and above caster and it focused on Reach Mending, Parachute Casts, Wiggle Casts and Off Shoulder Casts. It had nothing to do with distance and everything to do about achieving a longer drag free drift. Notice the difference here to what I will talk about later in the lakes section. Often, spring creek fishing, and most river fishing is not about distance, it is about control. Controlling your dry fly on the water is a skill that can be learned through more advanced casts and it makes a difference.
It can also make a difference in nymphing with a strike indicator, although in most cases you’ll be more connected to a nymphing presentation with a Euro-Tight Line method on this water. And with a Tight Line Mono Rig (Euro) casting skill itself is not highly important, but other elements require a learned touch that can be perfected with practice easier than making a 40 foot reach cast from river left.
Any second now the lake run Bull Trout will be arriving to the middle river. If not already there in low numbers.
The next several months are a great time to fish for big Bull’s.
And, while I already mentioned above about Golden Stones, I will say again that the 4th of July is when we always really get excited for the hatch to become earnest. And who doesn’t like an earnest bug? Get your Clarks Stones and Norm Woods tied up, or stop by the shop and buy a few fresh ones for the next stomp up river.
A few nymphs to tuck in the box for the week are a Jigged 20 Inchers, an Olive Perdigon with an Orange Hot Spot, Tan Caddis Pupa (right now we have the original Fat Ass Caddis in stock and we are are waiting for 50 dozen of my pupa to get shipped), Golden Stones, Soft Hackle PT, Fire Starter, Micro Mayfly, 2 Bit Hooker and Red Copper John are all examples of nymphs we recommend from FFP this week.

The McKenzie River float trips for the FFP guide squad are going great. A lot of Dry Droppers with a Perdigon under a Chubby, plus some good Elk Hair Caddis action and larger dries like Parachute Adams and Light Cahills and Green Drakes.
Nymphing a Possie Bugger, King Prince, Leech, Euro Jig Streamer, Perdigon, Walt’s Worm, Copper John and PT’s either tight line or with an indicator is a great way to put fish in the net.

The Lower Deschutes is fishing well, with a noticeable increase in good dry fly action in the evening. The Magic Hour is a real thing on a warm summer night, and worth staying for. Or better yet, worth just going down for on purpose.
In the evening you will find a mix of Caddis, Pale Evening Duns and Pale Morning Duns and Rusty Spinners.
Here are some flies you want for sure on the dry side: Purple Haze, X Caddis, Iris Caddis, Fin Fetcher Caddis, Silvey’s Edible Emerger, Keller’s Caddis, Yellow Sparkle Dun, Drymerger, Quigley’s Half Down Dun and Yellow Parachute or Extended Body Cut Wing Duns for the bigger PED’s.
Throughout the afternoon you might run into some rising trout in an eddy or off a shallow riffle seam but count on your nymphing skills to take the majority of the fish. Euro Jigs, Perdigons, Stonefly nymphs, PT’s, Soft Hackles, Micro May and a whole ‘lotta Caddis Pupa. Tan #16, Olive #16 and Grey #18 will be good choices. Fish the grey pupa near weed beds where the Little Western Weedy Water Sedge hatches originate.
Early July usually means a few early steelhead in the lowest stretches of the river coming up 10 or 12 miles from the Columbia. These are fish that are hot and love a swung fly like a Freight Train or Green Butt Skunk. Watch water temps this week though, as the heat returns to Oregon in a day or 2.

The Middle Deschutes is a lot of fun this time of year and is a favorite after work spot, and also a good early morning to noon fishing mission.
I love the evening slot because I can fish 100% dries, often a simple Tan X Caddis, Purple Haze or Yellow Sparkle Dun will be enough. Keep an eye open for tiny BWO’s too. With tiny Blue Wing Olives hatching out of shallow weed bed zones the fish will move to water you would ordinarily wade through to get to “the spot”. Observe first. Then move. This time of year is full of surprises.
The morning session might be entirely about the Euro Nymphs with a Brown Perdigon or Micro Mayfly being #1, and add some Soft Hackle PTs and a PMD Drymerger to the dropper tag. Tan Caddis Pupa should be on your mind to cycle on to the tippet, so pay attention to what you see, or if the fish are not eating the mayfly nymphs as much.

The Upper Deschutes from Wickiup to Bull Bend has been slow for us. It is possible an evening trip would offer more than a mid-day excursion, but we haven’t gone through there that late to know for sure.
A lot of times there is a great caddis hatch towards twilight here and it can bring a lot of fish to the top. Streamer junkies might do well at twilight too, or a dawn and being done by 10 or 11 am.

The headwater stretch of the Upper Deschutes from Crane Prairie to Little Lava Lake is good fishing and the mosquitos are still bad but more manageable than they were when the swarms were unbearable 2 weeks ago.
Small Streamers are killer through here, as are a Perdigon Lightning Bug, Olive Perdigon, Jig 20 Incher, Dark Walts Worm (a whitefish killer) and Pheasant Tails.
For dries you certainly want some Ants and Beetles and try some smaller Grasshoppers this week when the heat comes back. PMD and Caddis hatches are the 2 main hatches but look for stoneflies, especially Yellow Sally’s and a few Golden Stones this week too.

The Crooked River is fishing quite well, and should be a great and consistent choice for fishing this week. The main hatches are midges, PMD’s and tan caddis, and add a few attractor style dries and grasshoppers to the fly box.
Much of the day will be spent with a nymph set up, and you can choose between a Mono-rig, Indicator (I recommend the NZ Wool or the XS Oros) or a Dry Dropper.
Pearl, Olive and Brown Perdigons with an orange hot spot, Brown Micro May with a tungsten bead, Black Zebra Midges, 2 Bit Hookers to imitate BWO and PMD nymphs and Scuds.
In addition to this check out this report Drew sent to me after last weekend:
Had a great time on the Crooked teaching my niece’s husband how to fly fish. No issues following the shock count on Friday. Landed dozens including some beautiful 16” plus rainbows. They were eating tiny emergers in the evening so a bead head pheasant tail did most of the heavy lifting. Also landed over a dozen on yellow and olive soft hackles, both swung and tied as a tandem dry set up. Purple Haze and Eggs were also hot flies.

The Fall River is fishing great and in the early morning you can get there and beat the afternoon crowds, or go after dinner and do the same.
In the morning the fish are mostly going to be caught on leeches and streamers, and as we get more sunlight on the water you’ll start adding nymphs to imitate midges, mayflies and caddis pupa to the day.
By 10 or 11 AM hatches will be possible and after noon they will be quite likely. PMD’s and Olive Caddis will be the main hatches, but Midges can add to the confusion some days and it is necessary to have some little grey midges to match the hatch.
Evenings will finish with Rusty Spinners on most days.

LAKES REPORT

Three Creek Lake has been more hit and miss than we normally see it this time of year, but there have been absolute moments of glory and it remains a top priority for us for all of July! Balanced Leeches, Red Jigged PT Nymphs and Callibaetis hatches are the dominating 3. Beetles, Ants and #16 Black X Caddis are your next 3, and should be more important this week with the hotter days and evenings coming. I think one of the reasons for the slow evening bite has been strong winds. It has been windy up there and it’s throwing off that evening hatch and bite we love.
Oh yeah, the mosquitos are still bad when it is calm, so make sure you have the bug spray. Bi Mart and Ace sell it in Sisters.

I had some good days at East Lake this week and it was from this experience that I really wanted to discuss the difference of what can be done when longer, better and more accurate fly casting is achieved.
I had Tim Q and Rich F in the boat 2 days ago, both very good casters and both with a good understanding of how to retrieve a fly to #1- make it swim like a natural, or #2- to make it attractive to the fish to eat it. Sometimes those are the (kind of) the same thing, and other times they need to be considered two different things. In this case, at times a slow hand twist retrieve was often the big winner for bites, but a faster strip also induced takes too.
Above all, none of this was achievable unless the anglers had the skills to cast farther than what I see on average with clients in the boat. If a client can cast 50 or 60 feet then we can play the game with the sinking lines. If it is under 30 to 40 feet, I think it is usually a better choice to stick with the strike indicators. Why would that be? We need space to allow the fly line to achieve the depth it is designed to go to efficiently. And once to depth, in that space we are able to retrieve a fly far enough for the cast to be effective. The sinking line game is really cool and I appreciate how much different it can make a day by adding something more to what we do. I use a lot of different lines throughout the season, and sometimes in a single day. On Wednesday with Tim and Rich, I had Rich on the shallow side of the boat with a Hover Line and 2 callibaetis nymphs, and Tim out on the deep side of the boat with a Type 3 full sink line and a Flashback PT and callibaetis nymph. Both did well, although the deep side produced more Kokanee and the shallow side was the spot for bigger trout. In that moment. Remember it changes due to available food. Check out the sinking line charts I use for my lake fishing presentations I give to fly clubs and this will give you a sense of the lines that should be most effective for you on Central Oregon Lakes.
If I was to choose my favorites I would say the Scientific Anglers Emerger Tip (or Cortland Ghost Tip), a Rio Camo Lux Intermediate and an Airflo Type 3 Full Sink (I like the Rio too, but I like the colored sections on the Airflo to track the retrieve and do the hang).
If I had more spools to fill and the wallet to match, add a Hover, a Type 5 for deeper retrieves and a Type 7 for Deep Dangling chironomids in the summer.
East Lake is getting one of the more consistent Callibaetis hatches now of all the lakes and somedays are absolutely on fire, and other days the wind knocks them down. The fish usually want to eat the nymphs one way or another each day and you choose the indicator or the sinking line with a retrieve and play how you want to play.
I was delighted to get our 1st fish of the 2025 summer on Hoppers this week! Also Ants and Beetles did the trick.
Scuds and Damsels need to be considered, and never go to East Lake without Chironomids this time of year. Hanging with my Chromies, Ice Cream Cones, Blood Worms and Olive Pupa are starting points. Double Down Black/Red is a good searcher on the bottom with a Callibaetis Cate dropper. Do you tie your own nymphs? Do some Cate’s with a Red Ribbing for East Lake.

Paulina Lake is good but one little problem (pun intended) is ODFW just stocked a lot of 10 inch rainbow trout and they are making it harder to find the bigger fish.
We did okay on Beetles and Ants and got some nice fish that way. A brown balanced leech with an orange bead under an indicator was very effective this week. But almost all small stocked rainbows.
Look for damsels to improve this week and throughout the coming weeks. Chubbies and Hoppers ought to be a good choice along with a Red Tarantula for you.
A 7 foot Ghost Tip with a Balanced Leech on the drop off zones is a fun approach that has produced well for me and a Type 5 full sink line in the afternoons on the deeper weed beds is a fun way to find fish and my favorite pattern to search that depth with is a Olive Wooly Bugger with an Orange Bead.

Hosmer Lake is good fun in the upper lake and channel now. Soft Hackles, Damsels, Callibaetis Nymphs and Leeches stripped, and Chironomids, Scuds, Balanced Leeches and Red PT or “Cate” on the bobber rig.
Dry flies to take include Callibaetis emergers, duns and spinners, Traveling Sedge (Goddard Caddis), Black X Caddis and Black Elk Hair Caddis (also suitable to match Alderflies), Damsels (including the exact match extended body versions we are all used to , but also blue chubby’s). Add some Ants and Beetles to the mix and fish those babies on the edges and over the weed beds. The Crow Beetle is a low floating version and is often #1 at Hosmer. Try it.

Little Lava Lake is good fishing and is a nice size lake for a Tube, Pontoon or Drift Boat.
We are seeing a really good callibaetis hatch here and also taking a lot of fish with ants and beetles.
Callibaetis nymphs can be fished under the strike indicator or stripped with a Ghost Tip, Hover or Intermediate.
Try anchoring in deeper water which at Little Lava seems to be 16′ and use a longer chassis style leader to get a Red Blood Worm 8 to 12″ off the bottom. A slip strike indicator is necessary for this but it is a great way to catch fish here. I find a lot of #18-20 Olive Chironomid Pupa in throat pump samples, but also a fair number of #14-16 grey or black or dusky red pupa too. Fish those patterns on your dropper tag 3 or 4 feet up from the Blood Worm.

Lava Lake is fishing ok too, but Little is outpacing Big so far. All the same flies and techniques for boat places although I tend to fish a lot of leeches at Big, including Balanced Leeches on a regular basis.

I have no current finger on the pulse of Crane Prairie. My friend Tay is there this weekend camping using his cool new boat, and texted me 1st thing this morning that he’s had slow fishing and that is the consensus around camp. There a lot of great CP anglers out there that are doing well I am sure, and they know the channels and get it done. For me, I like to wait to mid August and usually by then the lake is clear again I like how the fishing picks up about that time. For me, CP is a pass in July. If you do go, Balanced Leeches, Chironomids, Blood Worms, 2 Bit Hookers, Damsels will be solid choices.

Alright, who is going to practice casting? Are you going to practice for distance? Or accuracy? Or practice your skills to change loop shape, or mend the line in the air?
I encourage you to do all of that.
Fly fishing is fun no matter how we approach it, but I think for a lot of people it is more fun if we keep being a student of the sport.

Next Tuesday 7/8/2025 at 8 AM my partners in Argentina Esteban Urban of Southern Loops Flyfishing and Trini Goyeneche of Travel Dreamers in Buenos Aires and I are offering a fun Zoom Presentation mostly for ladies to promote our January 20-23 (city) 24-31 (fishing) Ladies trip to Buenos Aires and San Martin de Los Andes. Please email Jeff at greendrakehatch@gmail.com for a link to the event. Several women who have done this trip with us before are going to be on the Zoom if they can help answer any questions for other women who have an interest but want to be sure its not only safe, but the right trip to take for them! Please join us next tuesday and learn more about Argentina as a cultural and fishing destination.

I have 2 posts open for my hosted trip in Argentina January 10-17th.
Belize is filling up April 11-17.
Baja is full with a waiting list.
Dn’t delay. Spend the kids inheritance and do the trip you always dreamed of.

See you in the shop or on the water and enjoy the holiday weekend.
I greatly appreciate all of you.

Jeff