This summer I set a new personal record for working. I just completed 49 days in a row. Until July 10th, my last day off was in La Ventana, Baja on May 21^st.  I enjoyed all it really, because the work I do is fulfilling and diverse. Manysummer  days are on the lakes, and other days are in the fly shop. 
All of the days are going in fun directions. 
I am lucky. And now I am especially happy that I got to go fishing this week, in my own boat and watch my own dry fly and my own indicator, and play with a bunch of fish. 

So where did I go fishing on my day off? 
East Lake of course. And I am happy to report I put the hammer down on those fish this week. So did my clients the day before and earlier in the week. Be sure to read the EL report below. 

I also had 2 after work/evening outings on the Metolius River since the last report, and I’ll say where I was, both upstream and downstream of the hatchery it was very quiet for dry fly action until about 9 PM. But the wait was worth it both nights with some nice fish on Rusty Spinners. I dig fishing Rusty Spinners and ducking out of the way of the bats that are there swarming the river eating the exact same thing the trout are eating too. You can’t be afraid of bats to be an evening angler on the Met! 
However, a couple of nights ago I had a nice phone call with my  good friend Jesse from Bend. Jesse has been a customer and a fishing buddy and someone I have huge respect for as a serious angler. We do a good job at keeping in touch and last night was meaningful for more than one reason. I will share the fishing part with you here. Jesse has been doing his own after work evening sessions on a different part of the river and has seen WAY MORE hatches going on than I saw in the hatchery area. 
I am not going to spill his can of beans, and let you explore a little on your own, but I will say if it is dry fly action you want between 4 and 8:45, maybe head up towards Camp Sherman or down towards Lower Bridge and see if that improves the hatch and dry fly opportunities for you too. Jesse reported BWO’s, PMD’s, Caddis, and also Rusty’s and that is what we dream about on a summer night. I didn’t mind sitting along the river waiting for the hatch or spinner fall  to begin, but it sure would be more fun to get rising trout up for my session than just for 20 minutes before it gets too dark for these aging eyes to see anything. 
In the Upper River, the Golden Stone hatch is gaining ground, and some beautiful trout have been caught on our favorite Metolius pattern, the Clark’s Stone. Add some Yellow Sallies and Henryville Caddis for the Upper River, and I might also suggest the Yellow Missing Link. Why you ask? Well, a Yellow Missing Link covers 3 hatches from the trout’s eye. A PMD cripple. A Yellow Sally that is spent. And a light colored caddis. This is a pattern to add to your box this summer I promise. 
Of course the Euro/Tightline Nymph game is strong as always, anywhere you go from the headwaters to below Bridge 99. Here are 5 essential nymphs for this week: A Jigged 20 Incher, Olive Perdigon with Orange Hot Spot, Yellow Jig Napolean, Soft Hackle PT, and a Fat Ass Caddis Pupa. 
Adding a Golden Stone nymph and a Zebra Midge won’t hurt a bit. Maybe (temporarily) a trout’s upper lip and your wallet, but both are tempory. 
In a future report I will have to tell you my 2 favorite hooks in the body stories. They both involved passed out people, and one of those people was a 7^th grader from Bend with the initials JP. Hmmmm. The other was on my 1^st ever lake guide trip at Hosmer in about 1988 and went to the ER in Bend. 
I’ll save them for a future report. 
One last thing about the Metolius now is the lake run Bull Trout are coming up now. These are big Bull’s, and truly 8 weight size fish! They want to chase down a large streamer and we’ve got the best selection to help you get connected to the fish of your dreams. 

The Crooked River continues to impress us this season as an excellent fishing spot. Most of the mornings and afternoons are spent with a nymphs, and you can approach that in more than one way. (1) Swing a soft hackle.(2)  Fish a Hopper-Dropper. (3) Try a small or mini Oros indicator.(4) Dig out your pack of NZ Wool Indicators I made you buy in 2023. It didn’t go bad. (5) And switch your Euro Rig to the new Ultralight mono that is taking the competitions by storm. 
Hatches have been mostly PMD’s and Caddis, however keep an eye on BWO’s and Midges and even though both are small, they are often very important. 

The Fall River is fishing great and it has been nice to know that some of you are indeed going at dawn to avoid the inevitable crowds that arrive by 10 AM of so. 
Leeches and Mini Streamers are awesome, as are Eggs and any little tungsten nymph that matches the mayflies and midges and caddis pupa you’ll find hatching tomorrow on the river. 2 Bit Hookers, Micro May’s and Zebra Midges continue to produce well. 
Mosquitos are bad in some areas, especially near the tubes and falls in the evening. Bring your bug spray. 
Dusk will also bring on the Rusty Spinners and it is a good time to stay on the water to enjoy the last dry fly action of the day. 

The McKenzie River is starting to get a little thin in places for running the boat. No problem, but it is louder on the bottom of an Aluminum Drift Boat when it’s grinding over the river rocks in the shallow riffles. The fishing is quite good for us on dry droppers, and tightline Euro jig set ups. 
Caddis and Stonefly hatches seem about average for mid-summer, and there have been enough good mayfly hatch days to highly recommend fishing Light Cahill’s and larger Parachute Adams. The McKenzie is always a great summer guide trip option and since you can fish from the boat it is really nice for people with limited wading abilities. 

The Lower Deschutes evening fishing is damn good, mostly on adult caddis, but on pupa’s and emerging caddis, and Pale Evening Duns. You may also find success swinging Soft Hackles now. 
During the morning and mid-day it is going to be a nymph game with Caddis Pupa (grey 18 and Tan 14-16) and Soft Hackles fished deep, and Perdigons and Mayfly Nymphs (2 Bit Hookers, Micro May and Skinny Nelson’s are all good to try). 
Mix it up with Euro Jig Streamers, Crayfish, Leeches, Minnows, Stonefly Nymphs and don’t always fish the same riffles and try some new stuff and new places. 

The Middle Deschutes from Bend to Lake Billy Chinook is an excellent morning to noon spot, and after dinner spot. The evening PED and Caddis hatch is reason enough to go. The PMD’s and BWO’s could happen in the AM or the PM, and can offer fine dry fly options.
Euro game is amazing here and can’t be ignored. 

I didn’t have anyone on the Upper Deschutes this week. It ought to be great, but one thing to watch is the springs by now are charged up and the water is probably higher now than at opening day. That gets pushier and it is something to watch for less able waders. 
If I was going tomorrow I would have my 10’ 3 wt and I would have a bunch of Walts Worms, Rainbow Warriors and Perdigons, a few Euro Jig Streamers and some Caddis, PMD’s, Ant, Beetles and a Clarks Stone. 

LAKES REPORT

Who here is a baseball fan? I love MLB and my team is the SD Padres. I don’t like the Yankees, Astros, Reds and Rays, but any other team is fine as long as they are not up against SD. We grew up a baseball family, and my little sister has been to all but 4 or 5 MLB stadiums and she is a huge fan of the Red Sox. My older sister is not far behind on stadiums completed. 
Knowing stadiums, Candle Stick was the iconic home of the SF Giants and it had a reputation for tough games due to the swirling winds. Homeruns were robbed, balls were swept foul and memories were made there. 
I have decided that East Lake is the Candle Stick Park of Lakes. Holy shit that wind swirls in weird and mysterious ways! Grand Slams were robbed, or helped by the winds. 
But despite these windy days, I love East Lake so much. 
I have been fishing East since I was 4 years old, and finally began fly fishing there in the 80’s with Chester when we just had round float tubes to get around in. I began guiding there about 20 years ago, and eventually got my own permit to guide there in 2010. It is as good today as ever, and I am delighted to see the water levels up a bit in 2025, and the trout and kokanee are looking  really healthy this year. 
The last 8 or 9 trips most of our fish were on a Callibaetis nymph fished with a Drop Back Bung or Oros Indicator, depending on wind. The sensitivity of the Drop Back Bung indicator is undeniable, but in heavy chop they are not worth using because you can’t see them well enough. In calmer conditions, I would say you will catch 30 to 40% more fish because of the sensitivity of the indicator. We’ve had good Hopper days, although Wednesday was better in the stronger winds (my client Lyle got a unicorn of a trout, a 17” Brook Trout on a Hopper in the strong wave action in 12 to 19 mph gusts!) . Twice this week in deeper water shoals we have kicked butt on a red blood worm (Duct Tape) set about 17’ under the bobber. Sam, my client on Sunday really killed it on this rig. A fly called a Hanging with my Chromies, and Ice Cream Cones and Summer Duck’s are also good now. Fish them deep too. 12 to 18 feet is where the action is on this. 
Callibaetis Dry Fly action is most consistent towards dusk, but anytime from 9 am to 2 PM it is possible to get the hatch going well enough to create good dry fly opportunities. Dry Fly means emergers, cripples and duns, and also spinners. Spinners are most likely to be the menu in the morning. 
Beetles and Damsel Adults are 2 other dry flies you want to be using up there now! I like a #14 Blue Chubby and a regular extended body Damsel to show the fish. One thing that is cool is tie the chubby on the end of the 9’ 4x leader and from the bend of the hook go 30” of 5x to the extended body. Show that the 2 different profiles to match the same hatch. I have a feeling which fly you’ll get the majority of the fish on, but write me back and tell me your experience. I love hearing from you!

Paulina Lake is fishing really well too. Not so much on Callibaetis, but there are some popping off in the AM now. Another thing you should encounter in the AM before the breeze comes up is midges and a Griffiths Gnat is a great fly on the shallow zones when the morning rise occurs. The midges and Callibaetis can be overlapping so it takes some fly changes to fool them some days. 
Beetles and Hoppers and Ants and Aero Red Legs are great afternoon dries, and look out for fish eating damsel adults, and grab a real extended body type pattern, but also a Blue Chubby. The Chubby has become my #1 when the trout are up on adults. 
Balanced Leeches and 2 Bit Hookers and Red PT’s are awesome now on the ledges and drop off’s. If you don’t have my Brown Balanced Leech with an orange bead for Paulina you should. And also a Water melon Leech and a Balanced Minnow. 

Here is Crane Prairie report I got from a customer yesterday:
Wanted to say thanks for the flies you recommended to my buddy and I for Crane Prairie. 

We absolutely dialed in the “cranebows” and, while we lost 3, we landed a healthy 25ish incher. Also had great callibaetis hatches in the evening in the Deschutes channel, while that mostly produced brook trout we got some bows to play along on the surface. 

Thanks again! 
Max— 

I want to go in the evening and catch Brookies on dries! WOW that would be fun there. 
Also, Crane Prairie is one of the lakes in our region to get a small mayfly called a Caenis. They are closely related to a Mayfly you might have fished in river called a Trico. We have some good little Trico/Caenis Complaraduns and Spinners here if you need them. Usually this is an evening occurrence, but mornings are possible too. https://www.troutnut.com/hatch/392/Mayfly-Caenis-Anglers-Curses

Here is a Hosmer Lake report from my good friend Tim. I will also say Mattias from the shop was up there a bunch lately and had amazing days. 
Fish report from Hosmer yesterday: channel held some fish (and I saw some big ones!), but not as many as prior trips (last year). Big damsel emergence in upper lake prompted big splashy rises, I had 5 grabs and only hooked/landed 1 (see photo – 23”, 5lbs). Caught several others on scuds and damsel nymphs. Saw some callis, but not a huge emergence. Hooked a nice one on a soft hackle calli that took me into the weeds and broke off. Very calm in the early AM (I got there at 0530), wind picked up around noon-ish. I left at 1400. Lots of skeeters in the AM, lots of splash & giggle crowds later in AM and PM. New boat worked perfect for Hosmer, great first time there!
BTW, the Caenis hatch is one you can count on at Hosmer just before last light and it happens best in the lower lake. I have had to resort to 7x tippet to get consistent eats, but my goodness a lot of fish show up in droves for this hatch. 

Little Lava Lake continues to be a fly anglers paradise. Callibaetis hatches are great and plan to fish the cycle of the hatch with nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners. Olive Chironomids and Summer Ducks, Leeches, Damsels, Red Holographic Jig, Spicey Squirrel, Beetles, Ants and Hippie Stompers. Someone I was talking to this week in the shop was stripping a Red Hippie Stomper on his Hover Line and absolutely lit it up. That was a 1^st but I like the concept and feel like I should try it. 
Lava Lake is also good, and there is more room to spread out. Its all the same flies as Little Lava, really pay attention to the Bruised Balanced Leech with the Orange Bead and the same fly with a subdued Gold Bead. Add some larger #14 2 Wire Chironomids and Assassins. 

Three Creek Lake is good, but I would say maybe not as fishy as it’s been the last several seasons. Look for the Callibaetis hatch in the afternoon, with spinner falls likely in the morning and the evening and a possible 2^nd emergence of duns coming off in the evening. Also, midges hatch in the evening this time of year and a Lady McConnell and McKittrick’s Moment Midge will be good when the fish are eating the emerging adults. This is the time of year we rely on the Black X Caddis #16 for the Long Horned Sedge Emergers. It is essential. 
We’ve been having great luck this season with a new balanced leech that has a leather tail and a chartreuse bead. It’s a Vampire Leech with a suede tail. Try it. 
Scuds in low light, and Damsel nymphs in mid day light will be good. Red PT has been probably our #1 nymph this season with the Vampire Leech under the indicator. 

Add Beetles, Red Hippie Stompers, Ants and small Purple Chubby’s for prospecting dries, and matching food items they often eat in high lakes. We have Sheep Creek Specials and Flashback PT’s for the trolling techniques. Use those on your Camo Intermediate line and kick kick kick. 

Today is the Quilt Show in Sisters and town is absolutely packed. The shop is too and we seem to cater a lot of the day to Quilt Show Refugees (which translates to a lot of bored husbands). 
It is a beautiful day in Sisters and here is the shop today. 

One of our Camp Sherman locals asked to include a good reminder of driving through Camp Sherman on the way to the river. 
If you are headed down river to the store, or the hatchery and you’re in a hurry,  take the “upper road” at the Y and go past the headwaters. Through there you can drive 50 mph, but if you go past Metolius Meadows and Lake Creek Lodge and the Fire Station it is a 20 mph speed limit, and sadly way too many people are going double that through there and that isn’t cool to the folks who live there. Consider local people have kids on bikes, dogs, and even grandparents out enjoying the areas near the roads and speeding through here creates a danger no one wants.  

Winter trips are going great for bookings. The December and early January Argentina trips are full, the February and March Chile trips are full. We are thinking we will add the last week of January as a new trip for mixed groups. We were holding it as a womens only week, which Trini would host instead of me, but a mixed group I will be there too. I already have a few people who have shown interest in the week, so let me know if you want the info too. 

Our Belize trip April 11 to 17 is about half full. The week is pretty prime for Permit, as well as Tarpon and Bonefish. There won’t be the big Migratory Tarpon yet, but fish in the 10 to 25 pound are there for sure, and a lot of permit. The Blue Bonefish Lodge is 2^nd to none in my opinion for the Caribbean. 

We will see you on the water soon. 
It is so fun to run in to so many people in the shop, on the river or lake that read these reports. Thank you for the continued support. Jeff