FLY FISHING ON THE CROOKED RIVER
The Crooked River is one of the state’s most popular spots. This small stream is known as a year round fishery and most of the time it lives up to that designation. It has the most prolific trout population of any stream in Central Oregon and lives up to it’s reputation as a very good fishery.
Spring, Summer and Fall often gives us amazing fishing opportunities with BWO’s, PMD’s, Caddis and Midges accounting for the very best fishing of the season. Nymph fishing with small zebra midges and micro mayfly nymphs is absolutely the best way to take trout and some really nice whitefish on the Crooked. Around the middle of May to the middle of June you should encounter some monster caddis hatches. In the fall add Mahogany Duns to the list of hatches and look for them in September and early October in pretty decent numbers.
Winter fishing is often good, there are good midge hatches to be found and drifting a zebra midge is hard to beat.
Scuds, Eggs and Prince Nymphs are often a really good bet for the off times of hatches or biological drift activity.
The Crooked River is best fished in the Tailwater section from Bowman Dam back downstream towards Prineville to Mile Marker 12. This 8 mile stretch of river is the best section of water to fly fish. There are also limited opportunities to fish the Crooked River near Smith Rock State Park and near Opal Springs.
CROOKED RIVER BLW OSBORNE CANYON, NR OPAL CITY, OR