Get Trouty

For the West Cascade trout angler, May 22nd can’t come soon enough. The opener is closing in but we are still a couple months away and until then we look east and southward for our best options to wet a line. The weather forecast for the next week or so has me optimistic in many respects. I expect an increase in bug activity and happy trout to go along with it. See below for a handful of trout options as well as live reports coming through our door to this very moment. 

Deschutes

The river took a nice dip down to sub 6,000cfs last week and has since climbed back up a bit to 6,500cfs. Still a fishable level, with great clarity above the bipolar White River. Your best bet is to focus upstream of the White in the Maupin area. My go-to setup for this time of year is to bring two rods, a subsurface rig and a dry rig. I expect to spend most of my time fishing subsurface with a larger stone fly accompanied by a pheasant tail dropper, or your euro setup of course. I have my dry rod by my side along the way as at any moment there could be a short lived hatch of BWO’s and if you’re really lucky, March Browns. Although it is March we need to see water temps in the upper 40’s to 50 degrees to expect any sort of significant appearance of these guys. Be patient, because in a couple weeks the March Brown will have the stage on the Deschutes River. 

Metolius

All of your fishing will take place below Allingham Bridge as waters above are closed until May 22nd. With that said there is still plenty of great water and fishing to be had in this open section. We’ve had numerous reports of bull trout still lurking around and many following your trout to hand. Similar to the Deschutes, be prepared with a nymph and dry rig. The caddis have been making their appearance and the rainbows have been keyed in on them. Orange Caddis in size 10 and 12 are a must have in your arsenal to get in on the action. Fishing the Metolius is notorious for being a tricky river and some days making us wonder, where are all the trout? I have found that being stealthy and fishing with your eyes before casting to a pool can make the difference between a lousy day and a successful one. These fish can hold in some unlikely places. In sum, avoid bombing into a run and casting blindly until you've thoroughly observed from a far with your eyeballs. 

McKenzie & Willamette Rivers

These systems have found some high flow relief as of late and with that we are pleased to report an uptick in bug activity and willing trout. You will no doubt find most of your success fishing nymphs on these systems this time of year. BWO’s (Blue Winged Olive) are the name of the dry game right now but are sporadic. Start thinking BWO’s come lunch time. With this warmer weather in the forecast one can only hope to participate in the March Brown explosion we all dream of in springtime. It still might be a bit early to charge the river with this expectation but one can only hope and be prepared. If nothing else, busting out the trout spey could be a great change of pace in the afternoons when water temps creep up a bit. Go equipped with some smaller sculpin patterns like the Sculpzilla in size 6, and you better have some March Brown soft hackles. Silvey’s Soft Serve March Brown, and Cohen’s HEMB in size 12 and 14 will prove to be worth your consideration. Swing’em with confidence and you might just find what you’ve been looking for all along!