It is Spring Break for kids and big kids all across our great state of Oregon. For those of you planning to do some fishing over the next week or two, we have good news for you.

Metolius is fishing well, with BWO and the first spring hatches of the beautiful yellow mayflies called cinygmula’s are out every afternoon between noon and 3. After the mayflies wrap it up in the late afternoon (and possibly also hatching in the late morning) you should see a lot of small brachycentrus caddis hatching. Usually the pupa is way more important than the adult, but an Olive X Caddis as a dry, and either an Olive Sparkle Pupa or Olive Stalcup’s Pupa.
The typical set up of a Golden Stone nymph with a Frenchie, Hares Ear, Micro Mayfly or Zebra Midge as a dropper has been productive all this week. Especially the Zebra.

Crooked River is excellent with very good BWO hatches and Midges. The water is low and there is pretty much no chance we’ll see any runoff issues from the dam this year.
Thread Midges and Zebra Midges in the morning, Frenchies, Skinny Nelson, Mighty Mite Baetis and Micro Mayflies. A Knock Down Dun, Klinkhammer, Film Critic and Parachute BWO are great when the fish are working the top.
Don’t forget your sighters, or your NZ Indicators for better nymphing success. And don’t forget your dry shake powder for keeping those dries floating between all the fish you’ll land.

Fall River is also quite good with tons of stocked rainbows in the system. There have been nice BWO hatches, with some midges mixed in on the top. We’ve been experiencing good fishing with French style leaders and Frenchie’s and Micro Mayflies when they aren’t rising.

Hearing good reports too from the Maupin area on the Lower Deschutes with good March Brown hatches bringing up fish most afternoons.
Besides the MB’s, Girdle Bugs, Lightning Bugs, PT’s, Euro Jigs and Sparkle Pupa’s are producing well in the riffles all day.

watching the weather, Sunday and Monday look cool, but by Wednesday and through next weekend it looks warm and nice. Go fish!

It’s my 3rd day back from vacation, and 2 days ago I felt more qualified to tell you the report for Lakes and Rivers in Tasmania than here at home, but I have been catching up fast, talking to my guides and my good fishing friends and have some good things to report.

Had some friends on the Fall River Sunday and Monday and there are good BWO hatches about 1 PM, with some Midges and Black Winter Stones mixed in before and after the BWO’s.
7x is quite helpful in getting the fish to take your dry fly with confidence.
Under the surface, Frenchie’s, 2 Bit Hookers and Zebra Midges have been best.

Metolius has a much better BWO hatch going on, with most of the emergence happening between 12:30 and 2:30. After that you should see some caddis hatching, although we’d recommend a pupa or soft hackle over a dry, but be prepared with a X Caddis Brown #16, or Siddac.
Golden Stone Nymphs are working well, with an Egg or small Hares Ear #18 as a dropper. Also Possie Buggers, Red Copper John, Lightning Bug, 3 Dollar Dip and Zebra Midges.
Bull Trout are taking Red Ice Cream Cones and Big White Streamers.

Crooked River is fishing really well. The river level is low, running about 50 cfs as they try to store water up in the reservoir before irrigation season begins in Mid-April. So the water is low but easy access.
In the morning and late afternoon the fish are on tiny black midges, and in the afternoon there is already a good BWO hatch going. I expect that to get better and better as we move to mid and late March!
Scuds, Cased Caddis, Zebra Midges, Thread Larva, Ray Charles, Frenchie, Skinny Nelson and Micro Mayfly.

Good fishing on the Lower Deschutes in the Maupin area too. Lightning Bugs, PT’s, 2 Bit Hookers, Sparkle Pupa, 3 Dollar Dip and Stonefly Nymphs are getting some nice redsides down river. Worth the trip.

We need snow and we need rain, but for the moment our winter has been pretty dry and mild. We keep looking at 4, 7, 10 and even 15 to 30 days forecasts and we hope like hell the snow piles up in our mountains soon so our lakes fill beautifully next summer and our rivers flow majestically like Oregon rivers do on good water years.
In the meantime, we enjoy these warmer days and make the best of them. Winter days like these don’t last forever so we take advantage of what we get and we fish!

The Metolius is our “home water”. We love it, and this winter is easy going out there. No snow to be seen, all roads are open from Hwy 20 to the Hatchery to Bridge 99.
I was on the river a couple of days ago and there was a nice BWO hatch bringing a few fish up on dries from about 12:30 to almost 2.
Nymphing has been solid. The usual suspects on patterns, with golden stones, lighting bugs, frenchie’s, PT’s, amber caddis pupa (for late afternoon), micro may’s, zebra midges and blue prince nymphs. Blue is an excellent winter color for nymphs!
Bull Trout fishing is good, and most have come on streamers, but in the winter a nymph like a red ice cream cone is a good bet too.

Crooked has been great, with quite a few days giving up better than average dry fly days. Mostly midges. On the Nymph side, Zebra’s, Skinny Nelson, Caped Avenger, Frenchie and Micro Mayflies have been great.
Still recommending the NZ Wool as an indicator! Or a sighter on a Czech style system.

Fall River has been good too. The fish seem to be sticking around, and there are some nice ones to catch. I haven’t been in a while but some of the guys who work here have been down recently and they are talking about good Midge and BWO hatches mid afternoon that is bringing fish up to the top. 7x is going to be your friend when that happens.
Nymphs (Frenchie, Micro May, Zebra, Skinny Nelson) and Streamers (Sculpzilla and Rufus) have been taking fish consistently too.

Looks like next Tuesday some weather change may really be happening, tomorrow (thursday 1/11/18 might be showery and windy, and then Friday through the weekend look awesome so get out and fish.

We continue to have nice weather in the Sisters/Central Oregon area making getting here, getting around and fishing a lot, lot better than this time last year. The roads are clear, there is little to no snow on most of the rivers and fishing is fair to good on the big 4.
So here’s the rundown.

Metolius is always a solid winter contender and fun to fish any month, but there is something special being out there in the winter with a good lunch, a thermos of coffee and the realization it is one of the quietest times you’ll see all year.
Not much in the way of consistent hatches, a few BWO’s, some midges and mixed caddis coming off but most days the fish are not looking up much. No problem.
Nymph action is consistent with Blue Prince Nymphs, Zebra Midges, Lightning Bugs, Jigs, Eggs and Golden Stones.
Streamers have been good for trout (think smaller patterns like Sculpzilla Jr) and for Bull Trout (with the gnarly streamers and sink tips).

Crooked River is a tiny nymph show and don’t do anything but fish them slow.
Do you know how to drop shot? Have you tried a sighter instead of an indicator? If you are sticking with an indicator are you using the right kind? It makes a difference, especially in the winter.
Our favorite set up would be a FTB sighter, 6x fluorocarbon tippet, the split shot on the bottom with the first fly tied 6 to 8 inches up from the shot on a 3 or 4 inch dropper tag, then the 2nd fly 15-16 inches above the 1st fly on a 3 or 4 inch tag.
Lot’s of short cast and controlled drifts. It really works!
If not that, then use a 9′ 6x leader, cut off 18″ of the tippet end and add 18 to 20 inches of 6x fluorocarbon to the 1st fly, then add 15 to 18 inches of 6x or 7x fluoro tippet off the bend of the 1st fly to the 2nd trailer fly.
Add (or not, depending on depth) a split shot right at the tippet knot,  and up from the 1st fly about 3 to 4 feet attach a NZ Wool Indicator.
Zebra’s, Midge Winklers, Micro May’s, Scuds, Ray Charles, PT’s, Purple Caped Avenger and possibly some risers up on Midge Pupa and Adults around 2 or 3 PM.

Fall River is one of my favorite places to fish in the winter. I love poking around looking for risers. It’s going to be one of two things this time of year, BWO’s or Midges. If they aren’t rising, it can be a challenge to figure out which nymph they will eat, but often a BWO 2 Bit Hooker or Depth Charge PT with a Zebra Midge dropper. Some days they love eggs and other days they ignore the heck out of eggs. That’s Fall River for you…
When the fish are up use a 7x tippet and an emerging or crippled Midge or BWO.

The Deschutes is still a good option and with no road access problems going in and out of Trout Creek or South Jct, it adds a lot of access points to the river.
People have been catching some steelhead on the Lower River from Warm Springs to Macks Canyon.
Steelhead have mostly been caught on Sink Tips and Larger Intruder Style or A-Leech type flies.
Trout Fishing is decent. The fish are taking stonefly nymphs and lightning bugs as well as anything. Swinging Sculpins and Lead Eye Wooly Buggers is also a great bet for trout and can be quite good for Steelhead too.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the Middle Deschutes lately. My feeling is the water is high and cold and the Middle river is not that good this time of year. With limited day light and limited time on the water, it would not be my choice as a place to hit until spring at this point.

Today that dang high pressure system that created the inversion for the last 2 weeks finally blew out of here. We had some winds this morning, and all the fog was gone and a much warmer air mass is sitting over us here.
So happy to be out of the freezing fog. Right now it is a balmy 45 degrees in Sisters!

This is great news for fishing the next several days.
Here is what is happening on the local rivers.

Metolius has been good for Bull Trout (Adam from the shop got 2 swinging streamers yesterday) and good for trout on nymphs. We’ve had our best success on Golden Stones, 20 inchers, Small Cheeseburgers, Mr Peacock, Oct Caddis Pupa and running an Olive Micro Mayfly, Frenchie, Zebra Midge or Soft Hackle PT (jig style is our favorite). Egg’s are slowing down a little but the fish still want to eat them.
Even during that cold snap, about 1 PM the BWO’s came off for 20 minutes or so and usually fish were poking noses up on the duns. Worth having a dry fly rod ready in my opinion, but nymphing in December is your best chance.

Crooked was cold, but even though the water was about 40 degrees the fish are eating tiny black midge larva like the thread midge and zebra midge. We’ve also been taking fish on Frenchie’s and on Scuds.
I say this every year, but when the water gets cold and low in the winter, really stop using a thingamabobber. It’s not detecting nearly enough of the strikes you are getting. Increase your numbers by going Czech style with a sighter and tight line, or go to a NZ Wool Indicator or Tiemco Foam Indicator. We will show you how to use them and where to put them on your leader for optimal success.

Fall River is good from the Hatchery to below the Falls. Some Midges and BWO’s hatching in the the afternoon around 1, otherwise it is a small nymph show with a 2 Bit Hooker or Zebra Midge being the best flies on a light 6x fluorocarbon tippet.
If the fish are rising, we recommend 7x now for best results in actually getting the (dang) fish to look at your emerger, cripple or dun. A KD Dun is a killer pattern if they are on BWO’s, and we have some awesome Fall River midges to try.

Lower Deschutes is open from Warm Springs down and is worth the day for sure. Some steelhead are being caught on sink tips and leeches, and also on Cheeseburgers and Purple Copper John’s.
The trout fishing is OK, with water temps at 46 they are pretty active and taking sculpins, stonefly nymphs, midge larva, worms, eggs (chinook spawn) and drifting caddis and mayfly nymphs doing seasonal drift patterns.

Middle Deschutes from Bend upstream to Benham Falls is good. Mostly nymphing but also with Streamers. The water is low through there and easy to access in most spots.
Downstream of Bend is a little more iffy, as the water is higher and that makes wading and access tough.
Stonefly Nymphs with a Hares Ear dropper is a good winter combo, but san juan worms, eggs, midges and PT’s are certainly flies I’d nymph now, and Sculpzilla’s on a strip or swing off a sink tip will be fun if the bigger fish come out to play.

I just got home from a week in DC which included some good fishing on the Rose River in VA. Lot’s of good fish (stocked rainbows mostly) on midges.
It made me really want to get out and fish at home again, and as I look at the weather forecast for the next 5 or 6 days and talk to my friends who’ve been on the Metolius, Fall and Crooked over the last few days I will say, December fishing is looking good.

So, first look at the highs the next 5 days beginning Friday 12/8/17. It goes 51, 52, 52, 52 and even to 54 next Tuesday. If that isn’t fishing weather for December what is? Jeez, we’d take that most of March and be happy!

The Metolius is fishing well from Allingham to Gorge mostly in nymphs, although a friend told me the fish were rising to BWO’s yesterday afternoon about 1 PM.
The standard winter nymphs like stoneflies, red lightning bugs, eggs, frenchie’s, zebra midges, mercury midges, cdc guide hares ear’s, and olive micro mayflies are the best bets.
Bull Trout fishing is still good with some very big fish coming to streamers down near the hatchery and 99.

Fall River is good. I fished there before the DC trip last week and had a blast on nymphs and for a short time on BWO cripples.
It’s been good at the hatchery, the tubes and the falls.

Crooked River is also good. Water temps are getting cold now so the fish are a little more lethargic but a well drifted nymph and correctly weighted leader is still very effective to put up some numbers.
In the morning before noon start with small black (#22-24) Midge larva patterns, but after noon add some frenchie’s, #18-20 black zebra’s, olive or brown micro may’s #18, eggs and keep an eye out for the hatch of either BWO’s or Midges from about 1 to 3.

The Lower D is another option now too, especially at Mecca or South Jct for Steelhead or Trout. I’ve been watching social media over the last several days and saw quite a few steelhead caught on the Deschutes in the last week.
Do watch the fog situation coming up the canyon from the Columbia though as we are in a classic weather pattern to get locked in with a cold fog down there.

Have fun and go fish!

anglers, don’t forget the seasonal closure took effect on 10-31-17 so as of yesterday the river is closed a short distance from the Headwaters down through Camp Sherman to the Allingham Bridge. This is closed to protect spawning fish and has been a big help in creating the wild trout fishery the river has become since they stopped stocking in 1995.

From Allingham to Gorge the nymph action is good with BWO’s coming off about 2 PM right now.
In the late afternoon October Caddis are hatching, and while we prefer the pupa pattern every once in a while the fish will smack a big dry.

The Gorge to Candle Creek (below 99) is good and offers the best Bull Trout opportunity and good dry fly action mid day on BWO, Cinygmula, a few straggler PMD’s and Mahogany Duns. I expect after this cold front that is hitting us that cinygmula’s will be around for another week or so, and then just BWO’s for the rest of the winter mixed with Oct Caddis, Snow Sedge and Silver Stripe Sedge until March. Oh, and Midges although I rarely take fish on the surface with Midge patterns on the Metolius the Zebra Midge is a total go to pattern.

As we move into deep fall and winter fishing stonefly nymphs and eggs become staples along with caddis pupa and small mayfly nymphs. Some days a small nymph with pizzazz works way better than a more natural fly. An example of this is the Red Lightning Bug. Its a hot Metolius fly and has been for years.

Bull Trout fishing remains good most days. We’ve got some great (big) streamers for your success on these fish and can also make you a sweet custom cut sink tip if you need to get deep.

I was on the river yesterday after the big weekend storm. The river was very slightly off color and not noticeably higher although the gauge shows the river a few hundred cfs higher than normal. Its a big enough river to absorb that small percentage of flow to not be too noticeable .

It was glorious out there. Fall Colors! Incredible Autumn Light! Plenty of spawning Kokanee and a lot of fish rising to PMD’s in the afternoon. Besides PMD’s there were quite a few Baetis, a few mahogany duns, mixed Cinygmula’s, even a couple of Drakes which got slammed along with a few October Caddis that also got hit hard.
We did best on a Yellow Knock Down Dun and PMD Parachute and Sparkle Dun.

I’m getting good reports of nymph success from Allingham to Gorge on October Caddis Pupa and Eggs.

Bull Trout fishing continues to be good, and we expect the streamer fishing to be rocking for most of the winter. What I find later in the winter is the BT’s start liking small red nymphs a lot and can often be fooled better with those (Ice Cream Cone, Lightning Bug, Copper John, Zebra Midge) over streamers but it’s day by day and your choice. Right now, they are meat eaters so keep up the streamer chucking.

They keep coming. October 13th and the hatch was strong with both #10 drakes and #14 flav’s mixed with PMD and BWO this afternoon. Timmy (one of our guides) just is off the river.
We love it!