October Caddis began hatching this week and the fish are on the pupa really well. We are also getting plenty of fish on smaller Tan Pupa, Jigs, Copper Johns, Small Mayfly Nymphs, Soft Hackle PT’s and smaller Stonefly Nymphs.
On warmer evenings the dry fly action is still alive on Purple Haze and X Caddis.
Here is an absolute beast of a Rainbow one of our guests caught this week while fishing with our guide Troy Leedy.
It was good all week up on the lake. The best success was coming on slow sinking lines stripping leeches with small mayfly nymph droppers.
We are also getting some good, strong Brook Trout days on Micky Finns. Strip them fast.
Some dry fly action with dwindling callibaetis hatches and a few caddis, midges and beetles.
The weather today is cold, but the 7 day forecast looks great for getting up to 6500 feet and going fishing.
East Lake was good this week, still with Callibaetis hatching and fish looking up. Beetles along the banks has also been a solid choice.
Wind drifting and stripping leeches with a mayfly nymph dropper is a very good bet. I prefer this on an intermediate line, but will go to the Hover or Type III if needed.
Chironomids under an indicator has slowed but can be productive at times.
Kokanee Spawn is on so fishing an egg under an indicator can get some good trout now.
***Keep in mind some of the Boat Launches at EL CG and at Cinder Hill are currently closed for USFS (safety) logging operations. Hot Springs and the ramp at the Resort remain open.***
Crane is getting better and better on Leeches, Damsel Nymphs, Water Boatman and Chironomids.
Deschutes Channel and Quinn Channel are both fishing well and Rock Creek point is a solid place to go too.
We love Balanced Leeches under an indicator.
Lava is improving with cooler weather and its a good time to fish streamers and buggers on sinking lines, or balanced leeches under an indicator.
Wickiup is a no go for the most part. It’s at 2% capacity. It’s just a river now.
PMD and BWO hatches are strong and the fish are really looking up on the dries in the afternoon.
We’ve also been hammering fish on small Mayfly nymphs, Zebra Midges, Scuds and Euro Jigs.
If you want to go learn how to Euro Nymph, Ben, Mary Ann, Adam, Troy and Steve are all amazing teachers and we can supply everything you need for the day. We do full days for $425 or Half Days for $375. That is for up to 2 people. Its just a standard guide trip but we will focus on teaching you cool stuff!
I got on the river a couple of times this week and it was awesome. Early in the week it was a dry fly day on the middle river and yesterday on the upper river all I carried was my Euro Nymph rod and a box of nymphs. Both days were fun and very productive in there own right.
The Drakes continue to pound. Mostly size 10’s with some 12 and 14 mixed in. PMDs and BWOs and Mahogany Duns round out the mayflies.
Caddis are abundant including October Caddis now. We prefer pupa’s for the Octobers but a Clarks Stone or Orange Stimulator occasionally gets whacked. This time of year I love the little CDC patterns in a size 16 mostly.
I recently learned putting a little Aquel floatant on CDC is really effective. I used to think not, but I was wrong on that. It is killer. And then once the fly needs dried out or has caught a fish use powder to maintain it.
Kokanee are showing up. This means 2 things to me. It’s egg time for Rainbows and the Bull Trout are going to be eating better!
Bull Trout fishing has been very strong this fall. It’s worth it, but don’t bring a 5 weight and think you can cast the streamers with a light rod.
A lot of Caddis on the water in the evening, so Pupa patterns throughout the afternoon are great as a nymph and then emergers and adults as the sun hides behind the canyon.
PMD’s are not done, and we have great luck on Purple Haze when the PMD’s are out on the D.
We’ve been having great fishing on small stone nymphs trailed with PMD Micro Mayflies and 3 Dollar Dips under an indicator, or Euro Jigs and Perdigons with a sighter.
Some Steelhead up the WS to TC area but very few so far. Best chances of Steelhead is Maupin and below.
If you want to swing, bring a 4 or 5 Switch or Spey and swing Black or Olive Sculpins and hang on, because any cast could be a trout or something much bigger.
While it won’t be long before the higher altitude lakes start slowing down, at the moment 3 Creeks is still hot!
Good fishing on Callibaetis, Black X Caddis, Chironomids, Leeches and Buggers, Ants and Beetles and Water Boatman.
It can really fun to strip a Micky Finn along the shore line for aggressive pre-spawn Brookies this time of year.
I’d guess all of September is going to be good up there and we will watch the weather moving into October and see what’s up.
East Lake was interesting this week. Sunday was good on Callibaetis, Tuesday was really hard in the morning because there was a Flying Ant or Termite #16’ish that was kind of a Honey Orange color mixed with #18-20 Flying Termites (Black) absolutely covering the water. Fish were going nuts. NUTS! Hard to match. We had a Harrops CDC Honey Ant and rose some fish but it wasn’t exactly what they wanted.
Callibaetis and Beetles saved the day later.
It’s been really good on Callibaetis. A Purple Haze during the hatch has been $.
For the time being I’d say Chironomid fishing is slow.
There are a lot of Bright Cherry Red Kokanee jumping at the surface. Fun to see. Haven’t seen any on the reds yet but when they do it attracts some nice Bow’s and Browns to the area.
Scuds, Water Boatman and Streamers are important flies at East for the Fall.
Hosmer is good. Callibaetis and Damsels are still good, and always have black ants and beetles for Hosmer this time of year.
We”ve had nice fishing on Balanced Leeches, Red Eye Damsels, Red Chironomids and Mohair Leeches.
Mixed action at Crane Prairie. Up and down reports coming in. Phil from the shop got a beauty yesterday on a leech at Quinn. Not many fish beyond that.
A young customer who I respect a ton for his amazing abilities caught a heap of fish fast stripping (and hanging) small mayfly nymphs last week.
Leeches, Chironomids, and Mayfly Nymphs will be key now, and Water Boatman and small Dragon Fly Nymphs are important for the next 7 weeks until the season ends.
Its awesome. Tons on little nymphs and a very good PMD hatches. Some BWO’s are coming on mixed in with some (and likely improving) Mahogany Duns.
We are killing it Euro Nymping.
If you need us to tie you a Euro Nymph Leader we either have them done or can do a custom tie for you. They are $7.95. Just add tippet and go.
I love writing September reports for the Metolius. So many hatches to talk about.
Mayflies:
Green Drakes #8-10 2 pm to 5 pm especially from the Canyon down to Bridge 99 and below.
Flavs #12-14 2 pm to 5 pm. A smaller Drake that overlaps the big guys. Important in September especially for the next 2 weeks.
PMD’s #16 mostly but a few #18’s mixed in. You can see PMD’s in all areas of the river from the Headwater stretch down to the Candle Creek area. Could hatch at different times of the day but look for them mostly noon to 5.
Blue Wing Olives #18-20. These smaller mayflies get over shadowed when the Drakes are out, but can be equally important to the trout. Usually they emerge later in the afternoon to the early evening this time of year.
Mahogany Duns #16 are another important Fall hatch. Not a ton out quite yet but any day now there will be. They are all over the river.
Caddis:
There are so many different caddis out in September. Later in the month we’ll begin the first October Caddis Emergences, but for now it’s Yellow and Black Micro Caddis #18-20, Tan Caddis (spotted sedge) #16 and Olive Caddis #16-18.
We rely on flies like the Missing Link, Iris, X Caddis and CDC Caddis to fool selective Metolius feeders.
Stoneflies:
September is the time we see the Golden Stones in more areas of the river besides from the Headwaters to the Gorge. It’s common to see Goldens in the Canyon and near the hatchery and even by Bridge 99. A Clarks Stone is still our #1 pattern.
The real deal on stones in September is the Little Olive Stones. They hatch in huge numbers for the first 2 1/2 to 3 weeks of the month and the fish love them. It can be hard to match but we’ve got some great flies to do just that.
There are still some Yellow Sally’s out.
It’s common to see a BIG stonefly near the Wizard Falls area called a Willow Fly this time of year and a few Salmonflies believe it or not mixed in as well. It’s certainly worth having a pattern or 2 to match these for the next 2 weeks.
Bull Trout fishing remains strong with streamers.
Euro Nymphing and Western Style Nymphing with indicators is also a great bet especially early in the day before the hatches get started when the sun warms the water.