Good Morning, I am guessing a lot of you have skipped fishing this past week due to the all the freezing fog from the inversion? What an absolute crap weather pattern! I have been watching the forecast and it looks like the fog is going away, but still no rain or snow in the 7 day forecast. Ugh! I am getting concerned about the snowpack and hope for a miracle to occur in February and March.
Looking ahead to the 2026 season, especially for summer I have 2 concerns and a fair bit of positivity based on what kinds of waters we fish and how good the last couple of years for recharging the aquifers.
My biggest concern and it will be a real one, is floating the McKenzie, especially past July. If we don’t get some snowpack closer to average I doubt many of the stretches we do will be navigable in mid summer.
My other concern is East Lake. It was on a slight trajectory of filling back up making boat launches better. I am sure the fishing conditions won’t change but getting the boat in and out will without a good snowpack to keep filling my favorite lake. The good news is the Metolius and the Fall are spring creeks and the ground water is going to keep those flowing cold and clear all through the 2026 season, and that same groundwater on the Upper Deschutes area was so charged up last season that water levels were great on Hosmer, Lava, Little Lava and I don’t expect to see any problems with launching boats or fishing there or at Crane Prairie. The Crooked and Lower Deschutes are tailwaters and I don’t think will see much impact from this one low pack event, and the Deschutes will be floatable all season long without worry of banging up the boats on the rocks like the McKenzie IF our situation doesn’t get better.
I was hoping to get some skiing days in mid-March when I come back to Oregon, and if that happens there will be a lot of joy just from carving down a mountain with my friends Mike and Dean, but also knowing that if I get to go skiing in March it is because the snowpack is better (than the paltry amount as of this writing) and that will be a good reason to be happy!

Another good reason to be happy is I have picked a date for the Fly Fisher’s Place 40th Anniversary Party. June 27th, 2026.
We will have some lunch and drinks, I have had a couple of musician friends offer to play. I want it to be a fun day where we can get together and enjoy celebrating the milestone of making it 40 years in a fly shop.
Save the date.

The only actual fishing that I know of last week was some younger guys I know from the shop were Bull Trout fishing on the Metolius. And I know they caught some nice bull trout despite the freezing weather. For the rest of you sane friends, I agree that I wouldn’t have ventured out either.
With the forecast showing days in the upper 30’s and 40’s and no fog that I see I know desires will change to get a few casts in, and why not head to the river from 11 to 3 and stretch your legs, breath fresh air and see nature. Bring your nymph rod and fish a Tan Caddis Pupa and Blue Perdigon combo. You can keep it that simple, or add some Eggs, Golden Stones, Green Drake Nymphs like a Tungsten Jig 20 Incher, Jig Napoleon in Brown and Olive Perdigon with a Fluorescent Orange Hot Spot, A Purple Perdigon, Olive Micro May and certainly pupa for the October Caddis and Silver Stripe Sedge which are #8 and #12-14 respectively. Add some Jig Streamers like a Slum Lord or Soccer Mom to the box and be prepared for the Blue Wing Olive Hatch with a #18 emerger, cripple and dun (Film Critic, Sparkle Dun, KD Dun and Comparadun or Parachute).
Certainly Bull Trout fishing is a good bet in January and fishing a large articulated streamer is one tactic, also jig streamers with an indicator or on a tightline rig. Hedging the bet a little on success, get out early for the Bull Trout to give yourself a bit of an advantage.

The Fall River is the other good choice this week with water temps stable and levels consistent form the springs. No reports from there this week but we can build a pretty decent one from history of this time of year, and similar conditions repeat themselves. Midges #22-24 and Blue Wing Olives #18-20 on 7x tippet with the afternoon dry fly fishing that should make itself available between noon and 4 each day. Usually the BWO’s will be closer to noon and the midges ought to be later.
Slum Lords, Soccer Moms, Mini Gulps and also White Sculpzilla stripped are good little streamers for the Fall now.
Zebra Midge, Frenchie, Perdigons in Brown, Olive, Black and Purple, a Walts Worm, Pink Mop and Eggs.

I don’t have an update on the Crooked River but with the last week of never getting out of the 20’s I would guess water temps are cold, fish are a bit lethargic most of the day and there will be some ice along the edges of the rivers.
Is it unfishable? No.
If you wan’t to go, for sure do it. The predominate food sources are Midges which could present themselves as opportunities to you as a larva, pupa and adult, mostly always black now and 20 to 24 hooks. Baetis nymphs, but doubtful to see any significant hatch of mayflies from now until maybe mid to late February. A skinny Nelson, Micro May and 2 Bit Hooker are good ones. Scuds. Frenchie and Perdingons, especially the little micro Perdigons I got from Fulling Mill in Black, Purple and Opal.

I am going to make some coffee here in the apartment and walk over to meet my new group who all arrived yesterday. We have a tour of Buenos Aires at 10 AM and then tomorrow we fly to San Martin de Los Andes for another week of fishing.

Life is good down here in South America. I miss Sisters and the shop and my friends there, but mid-March is coming at Mach Speed and I would rather slow this down than rush to do anything. It is a time warp of sorts, with a lot of good days to enjoy and stay in the moment.

Until next time thank you for your support and for reading my reports. Thanks to all the people who have been in the shop and asked how I am. I am really good. And thanks to all the people getting their spring and summer guide trips booked already. You make a difference and you get the dates and the guides you want.

Jeff