The first fishing report of 2026, and thanks for being here reading it. Whether you are going fishing, or dreaming about the fish, or here for the irreverent humor and a story or two, Happy New Year and thank you for being a part of the FFP community.

I spent the morning walking around Buenos Aires to find an extension cord for my BBQ I bought here several days ago when I arrived back to the city. How does a fella with no car get a BBQ? and then how does he plug it in to make it work?
Well, let me tell you a small world story that begins in Sisters last fall.
Back in the early October the founder of Echo Fly Rods Tim Rajeff had his Argentinian distributor of Echo Rods in the Pacific NW to do a little fishing. (Echo is based in Vancouver, WA)
Tim and Katherine also have a little place in Sisters they call “the shack”. It is the perfect spot for an angler, and a good place for them to bring angling friends to enjoy how special life is in Sisters, Oregon.
In October they invited me to have an Argentine dinner with their friends Carlos, his wife Marta, Carlos’ sisters Cece and her husband Diego. We feasted on empanadas and shared stories of trout and dorado caught from all regions of their country. I knew at my first meeting with Carlos that we would be friends.
This week when I needed some help to find a BBQ, Carlos sprang to action, finding a slightly used Trommen electric parrilla online for me, and used his Volkswagen Tiguan SUV to help me get it from the Palermo neighborhood to mine in Recoleta. I borrowed an extension cord on New Years to do some cooking for friends, but I was lucky to have not caused an electrical fire based on what the unit needs for a proper cord.
Buenos Aires is a city of 14 million people. It isn’t like going to Hoyts Hardware or Ace in Sisters to pick up a cord or a nut and bolt. Finding a store in an urban jungle that sells extensions cords was its own fun adventure. Using the Google Translator App I found a few people along the way to ask, each new conversation was a clue to a new store, and a new street, with a new conversation taking place. Some with my owned skills learning spanish this year, and most with the translator.
I ended up finding a great hardware store, and met Oscar who was tending the store. He was patient and kind, and he helped me figure out that he didn’t have exactly what I needed, but explained to me that in Argentina I could purchase the wire by the foot, and then install the plugs on my own. He had that, but I didn’t feel comfortable with a DIY project that might burn my apartment down. A quick WhatsApp to Carlos determined that he and I will have coffee tomorrow morning and he will deliver a new cord to me.
Over all, I am settled in here really well. I’m cooking a lot of great food in the apartment and trying to live like a local and not a tourist. I can’t afford to eat out all the time for one thing, and neither can my waist line afford that. El Gordo is trying to lose the waistline, not add to it.
In a few days I am gleefully going to welcome a lot of good friends to Argentina. Some are going to Patagonia with me next saturday to fish with Esteban and his team, and some are going on their own separate adventures. But while they are here in the City, we will all see each other. I have several of them bringing all kinds of goodies from home for me. Tongs, a pairing knife, zip lock bags, peanut butter just to name a few. Although yesterday I did finally found some Peanut Butter for sale in the “Disco” (the name of the grocery chain here), I know I’ll cherish my creamy Jif coming in from Oregon this week.
The upcoming trips to Patagonia are coming up soon and I am excited to get back on the water and catch some amazing trout in one of the prettiest places I can imagine being in the month of January.

I have been getting good reports from back home about local fishing. Some of the crew have been really local, and others have been on the coast catching winter steelhead. I am so glad to see them on the water and enjoying the new year like that.
I see that the ski resorts are struggling with snow pack to stay open, and that sucks for skiing, it sucks for tourism in our economy and it makes me anxious and worried for the lakes (especially) in the 2026 season. But it is early, and snow pack percentages can change in a week so like you, I hold faith and cross my fingers that the snows will fall in abundance soon. #filleastlake

On the Metolius River the fishing is good and definitely worth the trip this week, especially Sunday and Monday and then it looks like some snow might come in Wednesday and be better for next weekend.
The only reports I got this past week were nymph and streamer reports, but I have to imagine along with you that there are Blue Wing Olives hatching most afternoons sometime from 1 to 3 PM, and that in most cases you can poke around for some dry fly fishing on a #18 BWO emerger, cripple or dun.
I would also have some October Caddis dries and a few Corn Fed or Weiss’s Hi Viz Caddis to bob in the eddies and pools. A large orange Elk Hair, orange Stimulator, and a small #12 Clarks Stone can be really good searching flies in January, February and March.
The nymph action is really where it is at for most of the day. Golden Stones, Eggs, Zebra Midges, Perdigons in Blue, Purple, Brown and Olive are especially productive, Light or Dark Walts Worms, Soft Hackle PT Jigs, 2 Bit Hookers and all kinds of Caddis Pupa, especially Orange #8-12, Tan #14-16 and Olive #14-16.
I just talked to Sequoia at the shop and she has been having good luck on the Jig Streamers using an indicator and a good dead drift. Olives and Browns mostly, but she said a Black with an Orange Bead has taken a few fish too.
This is often a good time of the year to nymph with a #10-12 Red Ice Cream Cone. It has always been a good winter Bull Trout Nymph. With the mild winter and all, things seem to be more of an autumn pattern for the Bulls, and that makes articulated streamers the #1 go-to choice. On wednesday when the snow is coming down try one of the all black, rubber leg conehead articulated streamers we have. It’s a one of kind fly that we came up with (Eric B- Chief of Security and I) to have Dreamcast tie up for us. Dark fly on a dark day is a winning combo. Bring your 8 weight.
Remember the upper Metolius River is closed from the Headwaters down through Camp Sherman to Allingham Bridge in the winter until 5/22/26. Don’t fish the closed water and respect the closures as this is the sanctuary for spawning native trout and so important to the health of the river.

The Fall River has been good, but also quite crowded and tough fishing over the holiday break. This coming week should be nicer with the crowds as kids go back to school, people go back to work and not so many tourists in Bend and Sunriver for a bit. Of course with skiing being crappy, a few extra folks went fishing because they couldn’t ski last week. I heard some frustrations form folks about the crowds and bad fishing etiquette. Yep… Holidays can be tough.
My friend Jesse offered me the best report to share. Midges. Little guys #22-24, black and a total necessity to go to 7x tippet.
Nymphing action is good with Slum Lords, Mini Gulps, Zebra Midges, 2 Bits, Micro Mayfly in Black or Olive #18-22, Orange Eggs and Olive or Purple Perdigons leading the pack.

The Crooked River for January is in great shape, water level are good, there is not any partial ice cover now, and in the lower reaches of the canyon some good dry fly action with tiny dry midges and all over the river with small black Perdigons, Skinny Nelson, Scuds, Zebra and Midge Winkers and the smallest Flashback PT you can tie.
Approach the nymph game with a different plan for different water depths and types. Drop shot in the deeper runs with that little Black Perdi or Black Zebra 8 inches off the bottom, moving ever so slow as the split shot BELOW the flies rolls over the mossy rocks. Indicator it with a NZ wool or tiny Oros for strike detection that actually works in the winter when the fish taste the fly so softly in their lips. Euro nymph in the seams and runs,
Bring 6x and 7x tippet, the water is low and clear and you’ll do better with it than 5x.

The Lower Deschutes is closed at Warm Springs, Mecca, Dry Creek, Trout Creek and South Jct.
It closed on Dec 31st.
Sorry for the little bit of confusion on my report written from JFK last Saturday.
Certainly at that time in December these places (minus Dry Creek on the reservation) were open through 12/31/26. Now we wait to 4/22/26 to enjoy this water again.

Don’t forget to update your 2026 Oregon Fishing License! We can help you in the Shop or you can do it on the ODFW online store or App.

Gavin at the shop was going to offer some Fly Tying classes mid-day, mid-week at the shop soon. Let us know if you want to be a part of that. he had some good ideas for flies to teach when I saw him before I left. Flies you probably want to learn.

Now is the time to get on the books for a Deschutes River Multi-day camp trip! Call Aaron at the shop and have him help with the dates and booking. It is already getting full for next season.
Day trips for Salmonfly hatch are probably one to get on the books now too.

Hope all is well with you, it’s about an hour from Sunset in BA and 71 degrees. I am going to go find another 5000 steps to hit my daily goal of 10k, and then have a pistachio ice cream near the park.

Happy Life and Happy New Year!
JP