FlyFo - Oregon 2006

So, I've been doing alot of research lately on our upcoming June trip and this is what I have found so far: WFF site: "If you fish by the hatchery that will be the spot where most of the fish congregate. The key to catching a lot of fish is getting that fly DOWN. - It's no secret that the Fall river right at the hatchery is a good spot. I toss in a small nymph under an indicator right into the outflow current from the hatchery pen, let it drift across to the far bank, and almost always hook up. Then, move upstream a couple of yards from the hatchery, fish pocket water there, then move up to the area where the river is wide and flat. Almost always, unless someone has walked along the bank there will be fish right against it." "chironomids + long leaders = landlocked salmon at Hosmer Lake" "With 8 days you have time to fish East Lake-don't miss it. I like to put in at the first available launch and kick over towards the Slide. Fish the deep dropoffs with a Type VI line and large wooly buggers. For a preview of what you might catch check out the mounts on the wall in the store. Mayfly emergers and just sub-surface nymphs have worked well for me during intense hatches." "The Fall in my opinion was a waste of time. The access points where the fish are stocked are in very "developed" areas (fish hatchery, Big Camp Ground, and the headwaters). The fishing was okay on all sorts of small nymphs but the setting was Weak Sauce. On the crooked we hired a guide from Sunriver fly shop. He was a good guide and taught us a lot in the ways of tailwater fisheries and also helped imensely with my presentation and hook setting. We ( myself, my Dad, and my brother) caught quite a few fish in the 10-14 inch range and a couple larger were hooked but lost. Also, there are some monster whitefish in that river that we caught. This was all on egg patterns and small midge and mayfly nymphs. The upper deshutes was my favorite place to fish, and I ended up fishing in 3 days out of the week. It is a beautiful little creek with some big brook trout. First day I fished it we had to spend some time finding the holes on the river. The fish were stacked up in th deep holes, and the holes are far and few between. probably everyone half a mile to a mile apart. After fidgeting with my presentation for about two hours I finally got it dialed in. I had two nymphs, both small size 20 and 18. Pheasant tail and a red copper john. Once I got it dialed in I was pulling a fish in about every 3rd to 5th cast. These brookies were nice hard fighting fish. The biggest was about 16 inches and many more in the 12 to 16 inch range. In this specific hole you could see the fish and there must have been 25 to 30 fish, and all were of good size. I was fishing with my 6wt, and the bigger fish were giving a real good fight. Each hole was about the same. Fix your presentation until it is perfect and then fish on all afternoon. It was an awsome stretch of river. " "The Fall River above or below the falls would be where I would go (The section below the falls holds 75% of the rivers' browns and opens May 1). Metolius might also be a good bet, but is harder to fish then the Deschutes or the Fall. Both the Fall and Metolius offer highly technical spring creek fishing. The green drakes and stone flies start hatching right around when you're going to be there. The Middle D is also excellent. You don't really need a guide to take you fishing in the section of the Deschutes south of Bend- a quick stop at any one of the local fly shops can give you all the advice, and flies, that you'll need. If you're looking for easier stream fishing the Crooked River at Prineville, 28 miles east of Redmond, has a reputation for being an easier place to catch trout then any of the aforementioned waters. The best place to fish- the tailrace right below the dam at Prineville res, has slightly smaller fish then any of the other rivers in the area, but is almost always a sure bet to catch something. If you go, don't be shocked at the color of the water; it's always slightly cloudy and the fish don't seem to have trouble seeing size 18-20 emergers." "You will be comfortably close to the Cascades Lakes chain and can fish Davis, Wickiup, Crane Prarie, Hosmer, the Lavas, upper Deschutes and East Lake. There is also a dirt road east of Bend that takes you across the hill to the Crooked River. Plus there are many nice little hike in lakes in the area that are perfect to pack a lightweight tube into. East Lake in the Newberry Crater is one of my favorites-good hatches and big fish and not quite as crowded mid week as some of the lower lakes. Hosmer just gets hammered, a dusty road runs right through the campground and the lake is filling in fast. It is much smaller than when I first started fishing it. A sleeper lake in my opinion is Little Cultus during the Callibaetis hatch. It is more of a gear-guys lake but has some interesting shallows that hold fish. I have had some big days there. " I'll post more as I find more info..