Central and Eastern Oregon Fishing Reports
From avid fisherman Tim Moran
Crane Prairie – Fishing for “Cranebows” is good to great depending on the time of day and angler ability. Intermediate sink lines with size 6 and 8 leeches in black, rust and olive are all getting bit. The fish seem to change on the color during the day so play around with color until you find what they like. Orange and red heads on your leech patterns can make a difference so go prepared. Bass fishing does what Bass fishing does during a low…It died. But as soon as the weather stabilizes it should be great until it turns cold for good..
Hosmer Lake – Balanced leeches were the ticket last week for subsurface fly fishermen while zebra midges are still taking fish at Hosmer. Water boatmen and scuds are great Fall patterns here too.
East Lake – It’s on again off again like the weather. Some days are seeing big Callibaetis hatches and great Dry Fly fishing while the next it’s dead. When the hatches aren’t coming off try beetles and ants near the shoreline. Balanced leeches, prince nymphs, and buggers are great options too. As stated before – Wind drifting leech patterns and nymphs on an intermediate sink tip is a great way to take fish if the wind picks up in the afternoon.
Lower Deschutes River – Report from the river today is the White river has blown out the lower river due to heavy rains. If you want to fish, fish above the falls. Spinners and jigs are taking fish every day for the hardware guys and swinging flies is taking steelhead for the fly crowd. Several Steelhead have been taken as far up-river and Trout Creek so the fish are spread through the system. If you need up to the hour info on the river – Especially what’s happening below White River, contact Deschutes Angler in Maupin. Great info, flies, and knowledge abound in the shop!
Metolius River – Fishing has been good on the river with BWO”s and PMD’s, about to steal the show with the cooler wetter weather. When it warms again it will be a Caddis and mahogany dun show with some small stones mixed in. Big Bull Trout seem to show up on my feed every day so I know it’s been great! I’ve seen fish over 10 pounds on a fairly routine basis.
Crooked River – It’s been very good on the Crooked. BWO’s and PMD’s will make a showing this week and then caddis will be out in force. This should be a great weekend to hit this river.
John Day River – The river has been really slow late summer this year due to the cool weather which kicks off lots of Thunderstorms. We had great Fishing until August hit and it’s been one wash out after the next. When it’s muddy I’d switch to trout and head to the Crooked or Deschutes.
Columbia – Got a buddy who has been doing great recently in the Bonneville pool around Hood River. Lots of big smallmouth in the 3 to 4.5 lb range. They’re fishing points and shoreline rocks with 4″ curlytails. It’s been lights out when the wind is down. Salmon Fishing in the pool has been pretty decent too with fair to good fishing around the white salmon and Klickitat confluences.
Well -that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it! Best of luck everyone!
From ODF&W
Fall can be a great time to hike into one of high elevation lakes ODFW stocks with trout. The weather can be great, the mosquitos are gone and the trout are trying to put on a few ounces in preparation for the cold winter months. Find more information on planning your hike-in fishing trip.
The lower Deschutes is open for Chinook until Oct. 31.
The following water bodies are scheduled to be stocked this week: North and South Twin, Pine Nursery Pond and Walton Lake.
Trout anglers should consider Jubilee and Pendland lakes for their weekend fishing. The summer crowds are gone and cooler temperatures have put trout back on the bite.
Hunters in the area of the Umatilla and South Walla Walla forest ponds should remember to take a rod with them and enjoy a cast-and-blast weekend.
Trout fishing was excellent this past weekend at Blue Lake in the Gearhart Wilderness.
Balm Creek Reservoir is holding a fair amount of water this year, as well as a fair number of trout in the 8- to 15-inch range.
Fishing for yellow perch can be excellent in the Lower Williamson River, Pelican Bay of Upper Klamath Lake and Crystal Creek, if you can find them!
Fishing for brook trout is excellent this time of year in the Upper Sycan, Upper NF and SF Sprague, Upper Williamson, Long Creek, and a few high elevation lakes.
Recent rains are great news for fish and the cooler temperatures this weekend should create better fishing and more importantly catching.