Good morning from Sisters, Oregon. It is absolutely beautiful here this weekend and the weather looks good for the forecast into mid-week, and possibly longer.
It will be a great week on the water and just to be out and about in the woods, near the water watching the birds and listening to the sounds of nature.

A couple of nights ago I was in Bend with my friend and good customer Milt to watch some fly fishing films at 10 Barrel Brewing. There was a good vibe to the event and it is always nice to see our community together in support of a cause and to celebrate our passion. There was one little thing that stood out to me at the event that I wanted to share. Kids. In this case, one special and lucky 10 year old who started out the night winning a Ross Reel, for no other reason than he was the youngest person in the audience. His true appreciation for the gift was quite evident by his smile and excitement. But it got better. At intermission Bucky from Fly Fishing Collaborative had more prizes to give away and guess who won the Rod/Reel package? He did! And his walk back to the table where he sat with another boy and a mom and dad was met with a warm, congratulatory hug from the other boy. This made the night for me. 2 kids who are there at a fly fishing movie on the school night, stoked for each other and warm enough in their personalities that hugging is cool.
That is the good stuff and that is all over the place in our sport.
Don’t forget it.

Off to the Metolius River we go, where we are seeing some very nice fishing days stack up day after day. There are still a few fresh Kokanee spawning but the vast majority of these salmon are past their prime.
But the Kokanee spawn continues, so look for it to be an important food source for Rainbows and Bull Trout. An egg is going to be a darn good choice, and a streamer to match different phases of the kokanee’s from fresh to zombie is a good bet for Bull’s.
Other nymphs you should pick up include my new October Caddis Pupa to use from today until sometime in mid-April.
Stonefly nymphs like a Variegated Girdle Bug (Orange/Black) is a good crossover nymph when the fish could be eating Oct Caddis and Stoneflies. Tuck some in your box for sure.
Other more exacting Golden Stones are always useful here, and don’t forget the smaller ones like a Sloan’s Stone in a size #12 because they ain’t all large and in charge. If you had a #12 and a #8 you’d cover different age groups and be well prepared.
There have been really nice Mayfly hatches with #20 and #22 Blue Wing Olives and #16-18 Cinygmula’s, and a few straggling Pale Morning Duns #16 and #16 Mahogany Duns in the mix. The flies you can’t miss having are #20 Olive Film Critic, #20-22 Olive Sparkle Dun, #22 CDC Parachute Dun, #20 KD Dun (cripple) and Yellow Drymerger #16, PMD Sparkle Dun and Comparadun #16, Yellow Film Critic #16-18, #16 Yellow Soft Hackle, #16 Gray Comparadun or Parachute Adams, #16 Upright Rusty Spinner and while that fly is more than likely eaten as a Mahogany Dun than a Rusty Spinner, make sure you have some spent wing patterns and be prepared to see spinner falls at the same time as you’ll see the afternoon hatch. You know in the warm summer evenings the spinners fall at dusk, but in the fall and winter it’s more likely to be mid-day. Keep an eye open for that.
Caddis continue to march on, with a ton of Oct Caddis this week! The fish are eating the adults too. I believe they eat the pupa more often. Grab some Tan Iris #16, Weiss’s Caddis in the Grey #14 and Tan #16 and Missing Link Caddis in Olive #12-18. We have a new October Caddis I am excited about. This new fly with a Goddard Caddis like body has some wild rubber legs for the movement that looks like a struggling egg ovipositor.
Bull Trout fishing is really solid now, mostly with streamers and I’d say usually the bigger the better on the fly size. If you have a 7 or 8 weight rod, the larger triple articulated flies with cone heads will work, but if your 6 weight is the largest rod in your quiver you’ll struggle with those giant heavy flies (and could break your rod with a bad cast) and we have plenty of smaller streamers that will get the Bull Trout’s attention and the eat. We also have a lot of patterns you can tightline nymph with or run under the strike indicator.
Remember the Upper River is closed from the Headwaters to Allingham Bridge until 5/22/26 to protect spawning areas.

The Lower Deschutes is good, we have been running guide trips, and a lot of the staff have been out enjoying days on the water and catching some nice trout and steelhead on their own. Thank you to everyone who so far has signed up for the November Special. We are totally booked up until Wednesday but after that we have some openings this week and we are W-I-D-E open for the week of the 16th to the 23rd.
Leeches and other small Micro Streamers on a tightline rig or an indicator rig have been responsible for quite a few redbands and several steelhead to the net lately.
Eggs, Stonefly nymphs, Berry’s PCP, Olive Perdigon, Blue Perdigon, Brown Perdigon, PT, 2 Bit Hooker, October Caddis and Tan Caddis Pupa.
One of my customers said there was a hack’uva BWO hatch the other day and he was sad to be there with no dry flies or a dry fly rod. Thank about packing for your own day and take in to account the possibilities.
From here until November 30th we are running Warm Springs to Trout Creek Float Trips for 1 or 2 anglers at $450 for the boat. It includes flies and the boaters pass. No lunch. Days open November 12-14-15-16-17-18-19-20-21-22-23 and more after that but these days have a decent long term forecast associated with the openings.

The Crooked River is good now and the Whitefish have begun to spawn. This can lead to really good egg action with smaller yellowish eggs (not the orange ones we use to match the kokanee and trout eggs, although I know they work too, but are not as good of a match)
There have been enough BWO’s hatching around noon most days to get fish on an emerger or dry fly.
Midges later in the afternoon are another hatch to keep an eye on, and even if the dry fly midge action doesn’t impress, but a nymph like a Winker, Zebra, Glass Holo (Purple) or Thread Larva (Black is the one to get).
There are some areas a Euro Nymph tightline rig is a good set up, but with 100 cfs I like a NZ Wool indicator to support the nymph off the weeds is a better idea.
When fishing the eggs or the Thread Larva or Winker, set them up with a Drop Shot with a BB Shot on the bottom of your tippet and 10″ above the split shot tie the nymph on a 4 to 6″ dropper tag. The drift you’ll get with lightly weighted flies is really perfect. You can set that up with or w/o an indicator. BTW, the XS Oros indicators are great for the Crooked too. I think the Wool is a little more sensitive though.
This is another river where we are running our November Special and I know Sequoia is there now with one of our good customers Greg enjoying the day. She’s super to guide and teach you on the Crooked and has good openings this week and next. $375 for one or two anglers, flies included. No lunch.

Fall River is one of my favorites in November and December until the snow stacks up, and even then it is pretty good fishing, just harder to access depending on how deep the snows get.
Right now there is zero snow and access is 100%, but remember the river from the Falls to the Deschutes is closed until 5/22/26.
One of the attractions for me to the Fall River this time of year is it has on any given day the most likely best BWO dry fly action of any of the rivers. Since dry fly fishing is my religion this is holy for me.
I love so much to fish a 7x tippet and a cripple or emerging mayfly. It fires me up as much as anything in the angling world.
Besides BWO’s try some Griffiths Gnats, Orange Missing Link Caddis, Tan Edible Emerger Caddis, and Purple Comparaduns. We have recently got on board with a bunch of Euro Style dries like the Pliva. These simple little CDC dries are a good choice over picky fish. Have you tried any yet? They are also pretty hi-viz with the orange hot spot tied in the center of the wing.
This is another river where we are running our November Special and has good openings this week and next. $375 for one or two anglers, flies included. No lunch.

There is still access to many of the lakes this week and you might as well take a look at the following options:
Diamond Lake continues to be good, strip leeches on an intermediate line or under an indicator.
North and South Twin Lake have shore line wade fishing access and Balanced Leeches under a Strike Indicator would be my first choice. I’d also try some Black or Red Ice Cream Cones.
East Lake has great shoreline wade access and striping egg sucking leeches, soccer mom, scuds on an emerger tip or hover is a good bet. From a boat cruise in shallow areas from 4 to 10 feet and indicator with a balanced minnow, leech or ice cream cone.
Paulina Lake has some good opportunities from a boat working the shore lines with lightly weighted nymphs and leeches. Why highlight lightly weighted? Because the fish are shallow and in that water they get spooky.
Little Lava is another good bet and last I heard fish were still hitting the beetles, but an Ice Cream Cone under a strike indicator in about 8 to 12′ is probably going to offer good results too.
Suttle Lake where Link Creek enters the lake is interesting. Big browns are there but tough to catch.
Ochocco Reservoir is a good one in November and work the edges near the dam and boat ramp areas with leeches and minnows.
I am not certain what Hosmer conditions are. It might be starting to freeze up.
Crane Prairie and Wickiup are closed with the General Trout Season as of 10/31.

Travel-
All Argentina trips are 100% full, and it looks like Belize in April will be full, Baja in June is 100% full….
but there is still 2 wonderful spots to the Baker River in Chile February 20-28, 2026 we want to fill.
Call me or write me and let’s talk about this incredible lodge and world class fishing in the prettiest spot down in the Andes you can imagine. A great place for couples and any angler of all kinds of skill levels. Add on some days in Santiago and enjoy a wine tour, a trip to the coast and make it more than a fishing trip, but a real luxury experience .

Today is about my last day of working in the shop for sure until December 15th. I am going to be taking care of my mom from a knee replacement surgery until I leave November 30th to Argentina, then I’ll be in Argentina until December 14th.

Thank you so much for being so amazing. All of the FFP staff cherish so many of the relationships we have with so many of you. Being in the fly fishing business is a gift.

Jeff