In this report we will discover how water conditions are improving on the Lower Deschutes, how the steelhead runs are progressing, better hatch activity on the Metolius and crappy dry fly action on most of the lakes (but good fishing to be had). We will head all over Central Oregon and break down the waters that you love the most. We might even inspire you to try a new place or a new technique.

On the Metolius River, August is always a good month for me, because it’s the month the summer doldrums that plague us a bit in July finally end. And the best is still coming.
Now we are seeing good Golden Stone and Yellow Sally dry fly fishing in the Upper River from the Headwaters area to Gorge Campground.
The entire river is seeing good #16 PMD hatches, #16 Tan Caddis, #16-18Little Olive Stones, some #20 Blue Wing Olives and the beginnings of an explosion of Yellowish Micro Caddis #18-20 in the Middle River. Any of these hatches could occur at any time of the day from about 11 AM to Dusk, and at Dusk you’ll want a good Rusty Spinner pattern tied on your tippet if you want to add a fish to the end of the day total.
We’ve had a lot of really good nymphing action, mostly with Perdigons, Frenchies, Walts, 2 Bit Hookers, Caddis Pupa (Fat Ass Caddis), 20 Inchers (Green Drake Nymphs for prematch bugs that are getting restless) Soft Hackle PT and Micro Mayfly to meet the needs of BWO and PMD pre hatch drift. Add some Zebra Midges to the box and fish them deep and some Stonefly Nymphs, usually I would say Goldens about 90% of the time, but with the Cascade Stone hatch coming up in a few weeks also roll some large black stonefly nymphs under an indicator.
There are plenty of big Bull Trout around now and we’ve seen some good catch rates, using mostly big steamers like the Milk Shake (it brings all the Bulls to the yard) and all Black Articulated, Black and Purple and Olive and White. Rolling them along dead drift under a big strike indicator is a good bet, and swinging them is also a great method. Give some of your presentations a strip across the currents too. Also some of the bigger Euro Jig Streamers like a Sir Sticks A Lot is quite good for Bulls.

The Lower Deschutes Steelhead Run is off to the races this year and fish are being caught all the way to Maupin so far. This early summer run is best fish on a floating line and a swung fly. We love Purple which is why the shop logo is a Freight Train, and I assure you the Steelhead like purple as much as we do. But don’t forget a Green Butt Skunk in your Steelhead box and a few Muddler type flies too.
As of a few days ago the bottom release from the dam has begun which significantly cools the water temps on the Lower Deschutes, including the water all the way to the Columbia. This is a good thing, especially with hot weather coming early in the week again.
Trout fishing up river from Warm Springs to Trout Creek and even down through the 3 day trip section is good.
Here is a report from the guys who just finished a 3 day trip with us this week:
Jeff,

Just letting you know, Mike and I had a great trip with Tonn and Aaron on the lower Dechutes  this week. Tonn was exceptionally attentive To our skill level and needs and offered appropriate guidance in allowing us to achieve our goal of catching lots of fish. Never too pushy – just kindly suggestive and making appropriate suggestions. Great Experience!

Aaron made a great camp and cooked fantastic meals. It was totally comfortable for us and he took care of and anticipated all of our needs while in camp. That pair make a great combination and I look forward to future fishing trips with them both. 

Thanks and Regards,

David G

I know the Red 2 Bit hooker was the HOT FLY on the 3 day, but overall Tan #16 and Grey #18 Caddis Pupa, Jig Napoleon, Micro May’s, Soft Hackles, PT’s and Girdle Bugs have been great on the nymph side, and X Caddis, Corn Fed, Fin Fetcher, Missing Link, Dead Bug and Elk Hair Caddis, Yellow Comparaduns, Parachute, Purple Haze and Spinners to match PMD and Pale Evening Duns are all dry fly gold. Keep an eye on fish sipping midges in the eddies now too. Mid day shadowy eddies often have a plethora of weird and dead aquatic insects swirling around and midges are in the mix and can be what is keyed on in the moment.

The Crooked River was good for the guide team this week. On and off PMD hatches were found, but a lot of good catches on nymphs from the Dam (MP20) down to about MP 16. As we move towards September for whatever reason I like fishing MP 12 to 16 too. I am sure the fish are there now too.
Keep an eye peeled for BWO hatches and Mahogany Duns to get a foothold now from now until at least mid-October.
Scuds, Zebra Midges, Skinny Nelson, Micro May and 2 Bit Hookers, Rainbow Warrior, Walts and Perdigons (Purple, Brown and Olive). Euro Style or indicator with a NZ Wool or small Oros.

The Fall River is good fishing for the most part, with high fishing pressure in the afternoon especially near the hatchery.
Early AM and late afternoon to dusk will be great times to enjoy the river with fewer folks around.
Afternoon hatches though are on point with PMD’s, Olive Caddis and Midges creating most of the fun dry fly action.
Rusty Spinners and Tan Caddis for evenings, and don’t forget the little streamers and leeches for the river any time of the day.

The Creeks in the region are prime for summer. These are Whychus, Tumalo, Upper North Santiam and even some of the little ones that run in or out of the lakes. A single bead head nymph is a good option, but I love the idea of traveling light with a small box of Renegades, Adams, Elk Hair Caddis and Ants and Beetles.
The Middle Deschutes is also a great option, and of course the Middle D has many different river types to enjoy from Bend to Lake Billy Chinook. Some of it is gnarly pocket water, some gentle and some like a wide spring creek. Each section has good things to fish!
PMD, Pale Evening Dun, BWO’s and Tan Caddis are the main hatches, and keep it open to fish attractors like Purple Haze, Renegades and Patriots. Patriot is a sleeper attractor and has worked well for me when PMD’s have recently hatched.

The Upper Deschutes is good too! From Crane Prairie up to Little Lava Lake is a good place to spend a summer day. The hot weather the next 2 days is going to be good to be up in the mountains fishing a cold cold river. Your best fishing is going to be euro nymphing on perdigons and lightning bugs and Berry’s PCP. Evening risers are to be expected and a Purple Haze, Adams and X Caddis will be as good as anything.

Our guides are having good days on the McKenzie River with Dry Droppers, including some small dries like Parachutes and smaller Caddis. Chubby’s with a dropper nymph has been $$$ too.
Some of the absolute best catches are coming from a euro nymphs side drifted off the drift boat.

Lake Report

I will tell you the absolute BEST take in trout fishing is on the Deep Dangle. It is better than a steelhead on a swung fly. It is better than stripping a streamer. It is simply awesome and the more I do it this season the more I fall in love with it. WOW. WOW. WOW.
This comment is going to get hate mail, probable mostly from people who have never deep dangled a type 7 line in 30 feet of water.
Check out the video on Oregon_Stillwater_Jeff (Instagram) I posted yesterday and another I posted today and see for yourself the fight that comes from the Dangle. I’ll show you my dangle if you show me yours.

This season has been a weird bummer for Dry Flies on the lakes for me. How about you? I have put in a lot of days on the lakes and have had the smallest percentage of dry fly days (or hours) I’ve ever seen. Especially on Callibaetis hatches. It’s not cool.
Chubbies, Hippie Stompers, Beetles, Ants and Hoppers have been good and provided fun action on top for a lot of our lake days. Mayflies have been “Off” and I don’t understand it.

Paulina Lake has been good to very good on terrestrials and chubbies. Try Hoppers and Beetles 1st, back it up with Chubbies and Red Tarantulas and Ants. It is also good on Balanced Leeches, Chironomids, Red PT’s, Red and Tan 2 Bit Hookers, Rainbow Warrior, Black Double Down and Olive Wooly Buggers with an Orange Bead.
Fish the edges, drop off’s and the deeper weed beds and use indicators and sinking lines depending on the area of the lake you choose.

At East Lake the Callibaetis hatch is very so so, and I don’t know why. I am hopeful the 2nd brood that hatches in August and September will happen with big numbers of adults each afternoon. Time will tell.
I finally saw this week a great amount of damsel adults and the fish were leaping for the hovering adults and some of the takes were absolutely vicious.
Many fish seem to be running deep in about 15 to 32 feet of water. Fishing a Type 7 full sink line with a red blood worm on the point and a blob on the dropper tag has been paying off well for me this summer.
Most days the terrestrial game is a good bet along the edges and rocky shorelines. Beetles are my favorite, but the hoppers and ants are necessary too.
I’ve heard that the evening dry fly bite is better, so maybe the answer is 6 to dark for dries….

Little Lava Lake continues to be good, with good catch numbers and a nice average size on the fish.
This has been one exception to the poor dry fly year, as I have had, and have talked to a lot of good fishing friends who have had good callibaetis fishing over the weed beds. Beetles are also a good bet on the lake here, including over the weed beds and along the edges. Ants too.
Fishing callibaetis nymphs either on a sinking line or under an indicator is super good. Leeches are the same.

Hosmer Lake befuddled me a bit this week. Tuesday was the best with around 30 fish to the net, then Wednesday was around 20 to the net, and Thursday was only 8 to the net. And the fish became harder and harder to find as the week progressed. The fish are not much in the channel yet, and seemed really spread out in both the upper lake and lower lake. The lower lake water temps are safe, but after sunday and monday high temps please watch that.
Red Chironomids, Damsel Nymphs, Red PT, Callibaetis Cate were all good this week. Good casters who can get a 50 to 60′ cast with a Hover or Intermediate can strip a soft hackle with good success. My freind Addison was up there Wednesday and was stripping Phil Rowley’s App Worm and doing well. Cool.
Hardly any dries here….That I see.

I didn’t hear any new Crane Prairie reports this week and don’t plan to go until later in August. I’d love to hear from you if you’ve been.
Should be Balanced Leeches, Chironomids and Red 2 Bit Hookers. Sometimes this time of year a Tan or Black Zebra Midge is a good one!

International Trips with Jeff:
December 6-13, 2025 San Martin de Los Andes FULL
January 10-17, 2026 San Martin de Los Andes FULL
January 24-31, 2026 San Martin de Los Andes 7 spots open @ $4950 each
February 21-28, 2026 Baker River Chile 2 of 12 spots open due to recent cancellation
February 28-March 7, 2026 Estancia del Zorro/Cinco Rios Lodge FULL
April 11-17, 2026 Blue Bonefish Belize 2 spots open for sure, maybe 4
June 4-9, 2026 Angling Baja FULL

I’d love to get these Patagonia trips full so let me know if we can get you more info! This is such a great trip and you will love Argentina and Chile and I will love to spend time with you in my favorite places.

Thank you for everything, all the support and love is so appreciated.

Jeff