greetings from OREGON! It’s been a while but I am happy to report I was back at the FFP World Headquarters yesterday enjoying some shop time and seeing friends who dropped in. The shop had a great buzz, likely spring break people but with this great weather I could tell there was just a lot of people going out to enjoy some fishing.
I am going to enjoy some fishing on Monday at the Justesen Ranch, and later in the week on the Metolius which I really look forward to seeing my favorite river after so many months away.
Coming back from Argentina to the shop and seeing how well Aaron, Mattias, Gavin C, Gavin F, Sequoia and Cindy took care of things was a gift. Everything was in order, clean and stocked up and looking great. What a gift to be on a team that supports each other so much.
Thank you to so many people who have signed up for our spring special guide trips to the Crooked and Fall Rivers. We have another 32 days of discounted trips ahead before the prices go back to normal on Oregon’s official opening day of trout season on April 22nd.
In this report there is a ton of fishing to discuss, new waters opening up and amazing places to explore.

On the Metolius River you are going to find consistent nymphing results, and you’re going to need a little luck and patience to get in on the numerous hatches that are coming off, but really spotty or dispersed at the moment.
On the nymph side October Caddis Pupa and smaller Tan Caddis Pupa, Golden Stones, Green Drake Nymphs, Olive, Purple and Brown Perdigons, Two Bit Hooker, Soft Hackle PT and Black Zebra Midges are in the top 10. If you are on the Metolius this month and without these 10 patterns you’ll be at a disadvantage as these are matching what is maturing, and getting ready to hatch whether that hatch is this afternoon or in 6 weeks or more (drakes and goldens for example).
When hatches occur, or when they occur and the fish cooperate by feeding at the surface you should expect the top dry fly opportunities to be Blue Wing Olives, Cinygmula, March Browns, October and Silver Stripe Caddis, mid size Caddis in Tan and Grey, plus some more obscure but potentially important small Stoneflies and very small Midges. The first 3 mayflies in an emerger and dun will cover you well, add a big orange caddis and a Corn Fed Caddis, a Griffiths Gnat and a Henryville to your dry fly box and you’ll have what you need for 98% of what could happen this week.
I was talking to a customer who got 2 bulls tight lining small streamers yesterday. I also was hearing Gavin talk to some customers about how good the bulls have been biting articulated streamers in the sculpin color scheme. Keep in mind my comment from last week about the Chinook Smolt releases from Wizard Falls. A bigger white streamer is what you want for that feeding opportunity. I remember one year they released all the smolts at once, but it seems like the last couple of years they are doing them in phases I think to let pulses of fish get downstream in stages and not expose all of them to the dangers of that process at once. In any event, it is an exciting opportunity for spring fishing on the Met.

The Crooked River is our little gem this year. No high water obviously, and constant fishing. Gavin had a great day guiding there last week and had his clients on a Purple Haze all day and never saw any reason to switch as the fish just continued to be fooled hour after hour. That is pretty special when the fish get that keyed on feeding on the dry fly. But it is also not something we can count on every single time we go out, so be ready with other dries (sparkle duns, BDE, parachutes and comparaduns), Soft Hackle and a few more soft hackles, micro leeches, Mayfly nymphs and various perdigons, 2 Bit Hookers and Micro Mayfly in BWO color & size (olive or black #18-20) and one of my favorites the Skinny Nelson.

The Fall River was good for Sequoia and her guide trip clients last week, and watching a few friends on Facebook I can see that the fishing has been pretty consistent on the Fall lately. As April approaches and with the early warmth I would also tuck in a couple of PMD emergers to the fly box to compliment the more likely and strong Blue Wing Olive hatch you’ll encounter most days. March Browns are commonly seen hatching in mid-March to mid-April, plus Midges in black or red in 20-24, Olive Caddis #16 and with warming forest the ants and beetles are more prevalent and often enough they end up stumbling in to the water for many accidental reasons and trout love to eat them.
Eggs are a top nymph on the Fall, and seem to be producing a lot of fish. A fly called a Baby Got Bead has been one the FFP team is really behind, and it comes in a lot of colors (we stock all 5) the Black one has been the one to beat. Small Jig Streamers in Black, Olive and Silvery have been good as a nymph or stripped and be courageous with the Logs as you’ll find good fish hiding amongst them and an active streamer is a good way to pull them out of their hiding coves. A Pink MOP is another obscure but good nymph for the Fall plus Perdigons in all kinds of colors but I would gravitate to matching mayfly nymph colors at the moment as there are so many naturally occurring mayflies to be found. Then, more realistic patterns like 2 Bit Hookers, Micro Mayflies, Pheasant Tails, Scuds, CDC Guide Hares Ear, Zebra Midges will be good for sure.

The Middle Deschutes has some opportunity but watch higher flows below Bend and know your spots, wade carefully and stick to the edges. March Browns ought to be flying now, even though I have no confirmed reports as such it is time for them to pop. Skwala patterns and BWO’s, Tan Caddis in a #16 and Purple Haze in #12 to #18 will serve you well. In the slots where you can access a good nymph drift, Perdigons, Walts Worms, Stonefly Nymphs and Hares Ears top the list.
Also, this water level is great for streamers and sink tips!

The Lower Deschutes in the Maupin area is a great place to be fishing this week. Watch for ticks on you and your dog! It is March madness season so score some on a March Brown with hatches just getting started you have about a month of solid action ahead with these chunky mayflies coming out.
Blue Wing Olives are also a likely hatch that will be important now so a #18 Film Critic, Sparkle Dun and Comparadun will cover it.
There is a lot of action on Black and Golden Stonefly Nymphs as the hatch is coming up fast. I am betting on early May to see salmon flies this year. The nymphs are going to be very crawly (a super tech term haha) and when they are, they often end up in the drift. Often this is on purpose to redistribute themselves downstream prior to the hatch so in their upstream mating flights they lay eggs far enough up that the natural biological drifts down river have space to occur over the time they mature. For the big salmonfly nymphs that is a 4 year life as a nymph! These nymphs also will crawl across the bottom of the river to hold in different places in the winter than they might be holding now, and they do that to take advantage of food created by sunlight penetration with a lower angle of the sun in the winter. It is fascinating the life of these aquatic insects and how important they are to the health of the trout we love.
Caddis Larva and Pupa, and some Jig Leech Streamers will be good throughout the day here and at times that little streamer might be your #1 fly. Reminder again Warm Springs, Mecca, Trout Creek and South Jct are closed to fishing until 4/22/26 so the Lower D is open below the Warm Springs Reservation boundary but not on waters on or across from the reservation.

The McKenzie River continues to see a large release of water from Cougar Reservoir and is not at its best for now. We will start running guide days as soon as that release is over in April.

The Blitzen was in my report as an option for Spring Break but I understand that it is running a bit high suddenly with the hot weather and the mosquitos are ready to carry you away. So….

LAKES

Bass Fishing the Lakes of the Willamette Basin near Eugene is great. Our guide Adison is having great days with Smallmouth and Spotted Bass on Balanced Leeches. His approach is pretty cool and he is a stillwater guru for sure.

North and South Twin Lakes are open and my friend Sean reported good fishing at North on black leeches. South I don not have a report on yet, but usually early season is great with Damsel nymphs and Leehces and some Ice Cream Cones either trolled slowly or under an indicator.

Chickahominy Reservoir is a long drive, but the fishing is off to a banging start. My friend Eric says a lot of the throat pump samples are full of small damsel nymphs and some scuds, but a balanced leech is working so well who cares. A nice problem to have.

Haystack Reservoir is also fishing well and my report from yesterday talking to my friend Bob is Balanced Leeches and Balanced Minnows, mostly fished under an indicator, but remember that an indicator doesn’t lock you in to a static, never moving presentation. You can hand twist or strip slowly and generate some movement to the leech or minnow with good success. Chrionomids and Callibaetis Nymphs are recommended and don’t be surprised to see the mayfly adults coming out in the afternoons now so add emergers and duns and spinners for the trip to the lake already.

Justesen Ranch is fishing amazing, and with chironomids leading the way you’ll want Red, Black and Silvery (gassed up) pupa to match what lies beneath. Leeches, Water Boatman, Scuds, Damsel Nymphs and Callibaetis Nymphs too.
Call us to book it or let Amanda know we sent you.

TRAVEL

I have dates set for Argentina now and also have exciting news that Esteban from Southern Loops Fly Fishing is coming to Sisters to visit and to promote our businesses and trips we offer together. He will be here in Mid-May and we will have some events surrounding his time here so watch for those announcements.
Our dates for Hosted Trips with me are:
December 5-12, 2026
January 9-16, 2027
January 16-23, 2027
And we can offer you and your partner a booking any week from Mid-November to early April through the Argentina fishing season if my hosted trips don’t fit your times. I believe I add a good value to the trip as the host in Buenos Aires and in San Martin de Los Andes as I know so much about both places and have a lot of fun with outings, tours and meals with you while we are together!
We added an amazing new hotel in Buenos Aires that will knock the socks off any traveler and is especially great for couples enjoying the trips together.
I also have an addition to talk to you about at the Los Helechos Lodge with private stream access, lake fishing, horseback riding and beauty beyond compare. It can be added on to any of the weeks either before or after the Southern Loops program, but after allows us to have more fun together in BA before the fishing. Chris and Marisa are amazing people with a very special offering to make your trip to Patagonia last longer with more experiences and lakeside perfection.
In Chile we have the lodges reserved for February 20-27 at the Patagonia Baker Lodge and February 27 to March 3rd at the Magic Waters Lodge.
Patagonia Baker is the finest fishing lodge I’ve ever seen. From there we fish the Rio Baker leaving from the lodge to the boats is about 30 steps! Easy. Lago Bertrand has a couple of access areas one as close as 10 minutes up the road from the lodge. Lake General Carrera is 45 minutes away. Lago Brown is 2 hours away and is my favorite as it is such a pretty drive and amazingly beautiful lake. They have some other waters but these are the ones we focus on mostly.
At Magic Waters Lodge near Coyhaique there are about 60!!! different areas to fish near the lodge. it is insane what is there.

In 3 weeks I will be in Belize at the Blue Bonefish again (my favorite) and I will work with Chris to get dates set for April or May. Also, I can always get you and your partner booked throughout the season here on a non-hosted trip too. This lodge has the kindest guides and staff and offers very good access to bonefish, tarpon and permit.

We will also be setting dates for Baja after our June trip again with Angling Baja. Look for that announcement later but May or June 2027 will be the target, and Santi has also opened up in December an operation in Mag Bay for some really big fish on the fly! In March, April, May and June we work with his team in La Ventana which is a great place to be then.

I am going to make some breakfast and head to the fly shop. Will I see you there today?

Go fish,

Jeff