If you were fishing around Central Oregon yesterday, you probably had a jacket on, and battled the wind on some of the lakes and streams. I know Sequoia came in to the shop after her Crooked River trip and was telling me how strong the wind was in the canyon. I heard from people who came off East Lake and Three Creek Lake and it was cold and windy above 6000 feet. It appears Fall is arriving, and I love this for so many reasons.
Finally water temperatures are coming down, and my guess is by the middle of this week we won’t be having any discussions about the need to monitor temps for our lakes. Hooray! This summer was relentless so this is a long time coming and makes me so much happier.
I know you can watch the weather yourself, but for a quick glance at the upcoming days you’re going to find today and monday the nicest if you like sunny and warmer, and then the rest of the week is going to get showery, breezy and temperatures below average for the region.

The best 8 weeks of fishing of the year is starting now on the Metolius! Are you ready for all the hatches? Are you ready for good nymph fishing? Are you bringing your 8 weight and some big streamers for Bull Trout?
Can you believe over the next few weeks these will be the hatches:
Pale Morning Duns. Likely to see both #16 and #18 as autumn days march on through September and into October.
Blue Wing Olives. Mostly size #20, but #18 and #22 are possible. On small hooks, the % difference if you are off a hook size is greater than being off between a #12 and a #14. Meaning you might not get away with it unless you match the hatch right on. And that hasn’t taken account for what stage these picky trout are after…
Mahogany Duns. A close relative to PMD’s in #16 and just a perfect match for the Quill Gordon or Upright Rusty.
Ameletus. #14. I like an Olive Haze, Jeff’s Flav (its a multitasker), Film Critic and Purple Comparadun
Flav’s. A true sign of autumn. Jeff’s Flav, Film Critic, Comparadun, Parachute, Olive Haze.
Green Drakes. I don’t expect to see them this week, but maybe they will pop on the rainy days? The september drakes are usually a #10 and #12 where the spring drakes are a #8 and #10.
Not this early in the month (of September) but by late month some Cinygmula should be mixing in too. #16 yellow mayflies with 2 tails. Don’t worry, all the PMD flies you bought or tied will match it too.
Spinners. Rusty #16-18-20, light Olive #18-20-22, green drake #10-12-14 and look for them in the mornings and the other 2 in the evening usually.
Caddis are in abundance with #20 Tan Micro Caddis filling the air most evenings, but they prefer warmth so tonight and tomorrow look good, but Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday might see less of them? Lots of #16 Tan Caddis (hydropsyche sp) , Olive #16-18, Gray #14 and October Caddis #8 are increasing in hatch numbers now each evening. I expect to see more of them this week with the cool weather.
Stoneflies will be very good this week and all of September with the most abundant species coming up as #16-18 Little Olive Stones, followed by #8-12 Golden Stones, #4-6 Salmonflies in isolated hatch areas, and #6-8 Cascade Stones mostly below Bridge 99 but could be up around Wizard Falls and the Canyon.
Midges are also a strong possibility to be a hatch of importance, so make sure to have some Griffiths Gnats #20-22 and other black emergers and pupa to fish if that shows up.
We are using more Ants and Beetles on the Metolius than before and they work.
Nymphs you absolutely need now are Green Drakes (TJ Hooker and 20 Incher) PMD Split Case, 2 Bit Hookers, Soft Hackle PT’s, Fat Ass Caddis, Golden Stone’s and Black Stones, October Caddis Pupa, Walts Worms and a myriad of Perdigons, especially in Brown, Olive and Purple.
Streamers include the biggest articulated stuff you can handle, along with more manageable flies like a Circus Peanut and Milk Shake, and Sir Mix a Lot, Busta Seamz and Sparkle Minnows. Mostly this is for Bull Trout, but you can also use smaller Squirrel Leeches and Slum Lords and certainly interest some Rainbows and Browns.
This is an intense hatch time for the next 6 weeks, and I listed a lot of flies to match the hatch. Overwhelming? Stop in the shop and tell us where on the river you’ll be, and what time you are going to fish and we can narrow it down a lot. Often to just a few hatches that will be most important in the right time and place for you.

The Mckenzie River fished well for our guides this week, with Steve’s report being super positive for 2 days ago using Chubby’s and the Croston’s Drop Back Callibaetis nymph that I would imagine is being eaten as a caddis pupa.
Leeches, Perdigons and Slum Lords have been good for us from the Blue River area down to Ben & Kay.
I have heard of some good fishing with Trout Spey anglers swinging sculpins, soft hackles and other small streamers, and also nymphing with golden stones, mega-prince, possie buggers.

The Fall River is fishing well and with the rainy days this week ought to be a dry fly bonanza. Hard to know for sure, but my prediction is a lot of PMD’s, BWO’s and maybe Mahogany Duns through the week.
Also look for midges, olive stones, ants, beetles and that amazing purple hippie stomper “hatch”.
Small streamers, eggs, heavy beaded nymphs like Walt’s, perdigons, 2 bits, split case, scuds and zebra midges.

The Crooked River is on the good list, with water levels beginning to drop to 226 cfs. I expect it to be much lower throughout the upcoming weeks. Scuds, Ray Charles, 2 Bit Hookers, Split Case PMD’s, Jig Napoleon, PMD Emergers and Duns, Purple Haze and Purple Comparaduns, Eggs, Zebra Midges and X Caddis.
Fishing is good from the dam down to mile post 12.

The Lower Deschutes remains closed for Steelhead until ODFW reopens it with an improved run up the Columbia, but trout fishing on the Warm Springs to Trout Creek stretch is very good, with good nymphing throughout the day and nice dry fly fishing in the evening to dark.
make sure to have stonefly nymphs #6-12, tan caddis pupa #14-16 and olive #16, brown perdigons #12-18, baby got bead in the natural with the pink bead. Also some streamers like slum lords and brown mini gulps for under the indicator or on your euro rig.
For dries, Purple Haze, X Caddis, Fin Fetcher Caddis, Weiss’s Caddis, Yellow Sparkle Dun and keep an eye open for Micro Caddis and BWO’s this week with the clouds. Could be really good.

LAKES REPORT

Just talked to my friend Bob who was at Crane Prairie fishing bass, and water temps over by Rock Creek are still getting up to 72 to 74 during the day. That’s no good for the trout, that is for sure. I hope next weekend we are saying something more positive about Crane for trout fishing. For me, I’m going to wait a little longer.

I got a nice report from a great local angler Fred from Lava Lake this week. Water temps were 66 at the surface. This is going in the right direction and with the upcoming weather I think things are looking good for Lava in a few days.

I wonder if Little Lava has also cooled? Has the algae bloom dissipated? I want to fish it this week so if no one chimes in, I will go look and see. If it doesn’t look good, I’ll head to Hosmer where I expect to see good upper lake temps, although it will be quite low. I hope to find more fish spreading down from the upper lake in the channel.

This past week I stuck to Paulina Lake and while it was good, it was less good than the week before when I thought we turned a corner on finding big fish. This past week was back to a lot of 9 to 11″ rainbows where last week the big fish were on the prowl in the exact same waters.
It has been fun though to fish several methods throughout the day, with bank line beetle bashing my favorite, then chrironomids and leeches under an indicator, some deep dangle action and even stripping intermediate and type 3 lines with Diawl Bach nymphs has been good lately.
Water temps in the volcano are dropping now, I bet by next week we will see temps in the 50’s the whole day and we’ll be away from the mid 60’s for the rest of the season.
As of now the dock is still in at the East Lake resort. I have not heard a date for removal but I am sure it will be soon after Labor Day.
Callibaetis hatches continue to be good around noon near the White Slide and Obsidian Flow, and Ants and Beetles are a good bet for surface action the rest of the day.
The water has become very low and weedy now, and harder for launching the 18′ Hewes Craft. If I go back later next week I will bring the smaller boat.

Three Creek Lake continues to be a good bet. There have been excellent callibaetis hatches with very willing fish feeding on the hatch. During the non mayfly hatch times fish will take a red or purple hippie stomper, and a beetle or an ant pretty regularly. Have you ever tried a yellow jacket on the lakes?
Leeches, especially an olive one with an orange head has been good lately. Bruised and Vampire continue their good run to the net as well.
Under the indicator you’ll want CB Cate, Red PT, and Croston’s CB.

SHOP STUFF

One of the special announcements I wanted to share (the other will be next week) is that after 25 years I was able to pay off the building the fly shop has occupied here at 151 West Main for the last 40 years! It has been a long time coming, and feels like such a milestone in my life. Harry and Dee Teel bought the building in the 80’s and when Harry was still working as an engineer at CH2M Hill, Dee came to their retirement home in Sisters and opened a Sears Catalog Store here. When Harry retired in 1985 he quickly became bored and they sold the Sears store off, and Harry and Dee along with their son Brad (Teel’s Travel Planners of Corvallis) and nephew Greg who was the Orvis rep began FFP right here.
I was very lucky to have met Harry and Dee, and they took care of me like another grandchild.
In 1999 the Teel’s sold me this building which has housed this little fly shop for all those years.
I have a commitment for at least 5 more years of work here at FFP, and will plan to be in the shop more over those 1825 days focused on making FFP the best it can be. Who knows what the next 1825 days will be? I am thinking one of the young guys taking over, me running Patagonia trips more and smoking a pipe on the banks of the metolius, cranky that the drakes are not hatching today.
Thank you for supporting us all these years.
Here is to many more.

Travel
January 9-16 are the only for sure dates for a hosted time in Argentina to travel with me. Maybe one spot Dec 5-12…
2 spots left in Chile Feb 19-26.
Starting to fill Belize dates May 1-7
Let me know if you have an interest in Baja in June. I have prime dates but I think I am going to take the year off, but maybe on the guys from the shop will go…

I really appreciate all of you!

Jeff