Metolius River Report

January 19th, 2021

Awfully nice weather for January has us fishing the Metolius quite a bit this winter. Of course we could join others to fish for the behemoth bulls but its refreshing to target the native bows also.  Hatches are consistent around 1pm on most days and will last for about 30 minutes to an hour.  Expect blue-wing olives to be the main bug but some yellow maylfies are making appearances also.  Its really a treat to be able to throw dries in January but with the short window of opportunity you need to be in the right position and ready.  Whether you use 5x or 6x is up to you but try to get nice short drifts over the fish.  If the fish you are targeting will not eat your fly reassess your angle of approach or change the fly.  Emerger patterns are often the ticket on this river and a Film Critic or Gould's Shuckoff are two good ones.

When not confronted by rising fish its typically nymphing time and we remain committed to the Chubby Dropper system even out here.  You probably won't catch any fish on the Chubby in January but its right angle drop to the Jig fly is super effective. Use 5x fluoro to the tungsten jig fly.  For flies we are using Firestarters, Roza's Pink Tag Jig and the SOB-Czech (Walt's Worm) with good success.  You would also do well with a New Zealand Indicator.  Euro Nymphing also continues to grow in popularity out here, and for good reason; you will catch more fish.  Best fishing will be from 11am to 3pm most days on the nymph stick.  

 

Metolius River Report

November 28th, 2020

Short days and colder nights are here but brief windows of good dry fly fishing on the Metolius exist.  Small blue-wings are going to get gobbled up for an hour or so most days.  Use a #18 and #20's and have a few different stages, with emergers being very important.  The Quigley's Film Critic is one of our "go-to" patterns on that river.

Nymphing is good and the windows of success are a little longer than fishing dries.  Small pheasant tails are always good and its a good idea to have beadhead and tradtional non-beadhead for different water types.

Bull trout fishing is good but it did seem that the kokanee run was smaller this year so maybe some of the lake run fish will head back sooner than the last few years.   Large streamers are going to get smashed if you can find fish that are not being pressured every day.  

Metolius River Report

November 4th, 2020

Getting towards the end of the annual kokanee run on the Metolius with Bull Trout looking for the last Kokanee McNuggets of the year.  Bulls will hunt down kokanee that are dead or dying this time of year so pull out the 7 or 8 wt. rod and chuck some meat.  Of course, you can fish an egg pattern or nymph but getting a big ol' bull to eat a large streamer is awesome.  Fish heavy leader, 15 pound is about right and look for runs below where kokanee spawned.  They often eat on one of the first casts and usually don't eat if something looks wrong.

Rainbow trout fishing is decent on dries and good on nymphs.  Blue wing olives will be the dominant hatch  If you are headhunting look for midday to be best with very limited activity before 11am.  Nymphing with jig flies, small stonefly nymphs (we like the Lex's Improved Stone) and pheasant tails will get some fish below the surface.

Metolius River Report

October 22nd, 2020

Guest report writer: Ron Romeis

The last 2 weeks has been unusually productive on our favorite waters. Everyone knows that the Metolius River is tough. According to one well known blogger, there’s no need to fish there, because there are no fish in the river. Right!. Well ,on one day recently, there was a  good reason to fish there. A former guide and friend, who happens to also be a single digit handicap golfer,  suggested we try the Metolius River. This time of year can produce prolific hatches and often really good dry fly fishing. We decided to try the afternoon hatch and hit the river a little before noon. As we approached a well known spot on the river, there were some trout rising in the middle of the river. As that spot has been described as a frustrating venue, we gave them a few casts, but soon decided to move on to another spot, hoping it would be available this late in the day. Luckily, our spot was open so we each took a position on opposite sides of a big eddy in the river.

It didn’t take long to realize this day was certainly going to be different. My friend only made a couple casts before connecting with a very healthy 16 inch redside. Encouraged, I searched my side of the big eddy and soon connected with a very nice fish on a Deveaux style dry. It was only the beginning. Before our afternoon session was complete, we had landed 12 fish between us and had several drive-by misses and refusals. The fish had eaten dry flies, emergers, and soft hackles. By far, our best day ever in that spot on that river.

Well, a few days later we had one of those warm wet fronts move in. It was mid-week so I was certain If I arrived early, I could hit my spot and the weather would be ideal for the afternoon hatches. As expected, I arrived at the parking area in a steady drizzle. I was able wader up and headed up the trail without another fisherman in sight. As soon as I arrived at the spot, a steady rain began to fall, so I hunkered down and planned to wait it out. The rain did ease up and everything was working as I had planned, except there were no fish rising in the pool. I waited patiently for a hatch to begin, and I waited longer. Finally,  I spotted a feeding fish, but the hatch just never materialized. Several other guys eventually came by and saw that someone had beaten them to the well known spot. I did finally connect with what appeared to be a very strong fish. Playing the fish carefully with my size 18 fly and 5x tippet, the fish made several strong runs in the heavy current. But, to my chagrin, when the fish was finally close at hand, I discovered he had been foul hooked  and the fly pulled loose.

Despite my well planned approach to the day, things just didn’t come close to the last time in the spot. The Metolius had apparently returned to its normal behavior. Every now and then you can have one of those days you’ll long remember. But, it was a different day, and it was certainly a different outcome. But, I’ll be back, those fish are still there and maybe next time they’ll be looking up.

 

 

Metolius River Report

October 1st, 2020

October is the real kickoff for good bull trout fishing on the Metolius. Of course, bulls are available all year but they are on the prowl right now. Bulls are looking for eggs coming from the spawning kokanee, and as the month progresses, the kokanee themself. If you want to catch a bull make sure you bring the right tool for the job. Your 5 wt. is not the right tool for the job. Look at bringing a 7wt. rod with a head heavy line(the Rio Outbound Short or SA Titan Taper are great) to help turnover the large streamers needed to entice a bull. Bulls are often"hiding in plain sight" and are usually hanging near their food sources. Don't pass up shallow water and dropoffs downstream of shallow water this time of year if kokanee are in the area. We use a Black/White Dolly Llama in size 2 as it's a good place to start but if you are creative fly tyer don't be afraid to "Go Big" with the flies. Generally, dead-drifted flies are going to work best but as the kokanee start to die off you can be more aggressive with your presentations in stripping and making the fly look like an erratic zombie kokanee. Bulls are just like any other predator. They notice when another animal is struggling and will take advantage. It's your job to make the fly tell a compelling story and make the fish buy your story.

Metolius River Report

September 7th, 2020

The Lionshead Fire is growing rapidly and has forced the closure of all the campgrounds along the Metolius River. Now is not a good time to fish or access the river.

 

Metolius River Report

September 2nd, 2020

September is a great time to try your hand on the Metolius. With a myriad of hatches brought upon by the coming Fall, now is a good time to put some time in out there. Of course, you will have quite a few other anglers, as well as hikers and campers around, but the chance of finding rising fish for much of the day exists. Hatches include the end of the Golden Stone hatches on the upper river, the unique Willow Fly ( a large bodied short-wing stone) found on the middle and lower river, hoppers in the canyon, Little Olive Stones in size 16 or 18, Caddis, and an assortment of mayflies from Drakes to PMD's. Bring all your flies because they won't do you any good at home or the car. It will be pretty hot there this week but with the lower sun angle now the fishing can still be pretty good even midday.

Nymphing is good for the native rainbows and whitefish especially before the hatches and streamer fishing for the migrating bulls can be good if you pick the right spots. Kokanee will start showing up in about 3 weeks and the streamer fishing can be outstanding after that.

 

Metolius River Report

August 13th, 2020

Evenings are best on the Metolius right now. Quite a few different things are on the menu with some caddis, assorted mayfly hatches and evening mayfly spinner falls. Just like most rivers in Central Oregon, the hatches are fairly sparse and trout feeding activity light in the heat of the day. However, as shade starts to form when the sun dips to the west over the pines, bugs start to make an appearance and the trout notice. It's a great place to be when the feeding activity concentrates in just a few hours each evening. Some flies to bring to the Metolius in the next 2 weeks include: Purple Haze #16-18, Quigley's Film Critic #16-18, Clark's Stone #10, Tan Sparkle Pupa #18, Rusty Spinner #16-18, and X2 Caddis #16. A small fly box with these flies, your favorite 4 or 5wt, some 5x and a good attitude are what you need for a great Central Oregon night out on the Metolius.

 

Metolius River Report

June 18, 2020

We are at about the 6th inning of the Great Green Drake hatch on the Metolius. Although the PMD's seem to steal the show some days, the Green Drake is the main draw and will go for another week to 10 days. Remember, the Drake doesn't need to hatch in the thousands to get Metolius bows to look for them. Drakes must be very tasty as the trout seem to relish every opportunity to pluck them off the surface. Most of the best feeding will occur from about 3 to 5pm every day so don't feel the need to rush out of the house. Slow roll, take a hike first, come up with a game plan, have an RPM IPA and be at the right spot and patiently wait for the first Drakes to make an appearance. Make the cast and set the hook. Admire the beauty of a Metolius trout.

5x leader and tippet is usually enough to fool and land the nicer trout on the Metolius. 6x is popular too but if you are fishing a modern fast action rod you will need to be Cool Hand Luke on the hook set...or have another RPM and slow those reflexes down a bit.

Flies to bring for the Green Drake hatch include the Green Paradrake, Lucent-Wing Drake and the Carnage Green Drake. For the PMD's bring some Stalcup's Winger PMD's, PMD cripples and the Sparkle Dun is size 16 and 18. As usual, Purple Haze's are never a bad ideal to bring along.

Nymphing is gaining in popularity on the Metolius with the increasing use of Tungsten Jig flies. Look for shallow water with dropoffs below and you will find plenty of mighty whities and trout looking for a meal.