Fly Fishing Report Metolius River Oregon: 04/14/24
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Spring Creek
Species
Rainbow Trout
Brook Trout
Brown Trout
Bull Trout
Whitefish
Kokonee Salmon
Size
Small to medium, 28 miles long
Location
Central Oregon
Nearest Towns
Sisters
Bend
Season
Year-round
Fly fishing only above highway #99
Access:
Good
Special Regulations
All catch and release, all fly fishing
Non-Resident License
State of Oregon
Summer:
Summer is probably the best time all around time to fish the river. Most hatches occur during the summer.
Fall:
Early fall can be a good time for fly fishing the Metolius River. Blue-winged Olives provide decent dry fly fishing at times.
Season:
You can fish year-round but the prime season is May through October.
Winter:
The water stays a constant temperature and you can fish all winter long.
Spring:
Late Spring begins better weather and the best fishing
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Fly Fishing the Metolius River Oregon Blue-winged olives and Midges are hatching. Use Perfect flies and watch your success increase. Trout get a good look at your fly in this one. We update the Metolius River fishing report often, so be sure and check back.
Rate: 1610 ft Height: 1.58 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 49
Clarity: clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data at Grandview
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Light Green and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, are very popular here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
Scuds, size 14/16
Fly Fishing The Metolius River Oregon: The Metolius River is another one of those rivers those that think they are great anglers should visit. It is a beautiful river that flows on the Eastern side of the Cascades. The water comes out of the ground at a constant temperature of less than fifty degrees. It is one of the largest spring fed rivers in the entire United States. One of the best things about the river is the way it is managed. It is fly fishing only, all catch and release and all wild trout. Stocking was stopped in 1998. It is managed the way all good trout streams should be managed. They don’t even allow commercial guiding on the river.An added bonus of this stream is its huge bull trout. Kokonee Salmon also migrate up into the river to spawn from Lake Billy Kokonee. Although aquatic insects hatch year-round, the stream is very difficult to fish. That doesn’t mean that you cannot catch trout from the Metolius River. You can catch them if you do everything just right. It is a great place to hone your skills.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Metolius River: The Metolius River flows through pine forest and is fed by springs and tributary streams that also have spring water. The Metolius River is one of, if not the, largest spring fed rivers in the United States. The fish are wild and difficult to fool. This is a perfect place to test your Perfect Flies. When the fish see a fly, they see it with only the lighting conditions affecting it. The clarity of the water usually isn’t a factor.The first important thing as with most any other spring creek in the country is to use long, light leaders and tippets. By the way, you must have to proper fly fishing rod in order to cast long, light leaders and tippets, so make sure you can do that before going to the Metolius River and finding out your fly line ends up on top of the leader. To get a little more specific, you will need to use 6x and 7x tippets that are three and four foot long often.The next important thing is that you must not spook the trout you are trying to catch and to explain that in a simple way – it ain’t easy. When you can see the trout, they can most likely see you. Now that said, understand the best, most effective way to catch a trout from the Metolius River or any other spring creek that flows smooth, is to first spot the fish. You have to do that in such a way as not to alert the fish of your presence, either by sound or sight. In other words, the key is to stalk the trout. This must be done very carefully. Remember that trout cannot see objects low to the horizon due to the refraction of light. The lower you stay, the better off you are. Get down and move along on your knees if you have to. The best way is to hide behind something, but that is most often not possible. The other big key is to fish the hatches. When trout are feeding on hatching insects they are occupied with that. Catching them is much easier than just offering them something when they are resting. Knowing what is about to hatch is very important. If nothing is hatching, then you want to be fishing imitations of what is going to hatch next and what is most plentiful and available for the trout to eat. The last key I will mention is that when the water is flowing smooth and undisturbed on the surface, it allows the trout to see your fly much better. If you concentrate on fishing the current seams and the riffles and runs when you can find any, you will increase your odds. Anything in the water large enough to change the speed and flow of the water will create these current seams such as tree tops, grass lines, etc. The smoothest, slickest places on the river are the most difficult to fish. However, if the trout are feeding in such places, you need to fish there. That is where the long, light leaders and tippets come in.The best situation is to find a feeding trout or one that is rising to sip insects near or on the surface. If they are not rising and they are feeding on something near the bottom, watch for their white mouths to flash. That tells you they are eating something. Needless to say, when you do find a feeding trout, you must make drag free presentations. That doesn’t only apply to fish on the surface, it applies to feed feeding beneath the surface also. A nymph coming down the stream on the bottom at a speed faster than the current is flowing on the bottom will only spook the trout. Fast current on the surface can cause that and you have to make adjustments in your presentation to allow for it.Fishing clear spring fed streams isn’t easy or I should say catching trout from them isn’t easy. When you do catch a nice trout, you can be proud of it. It brings out the best in an angler. The fish are there and can be caught but it takes some skill and thought, not just pure luck.
Metolius River Hatches and Trout Flies: Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Metolius River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726 The first and probably the most important mayflies to hatch on the Metolius River are the Blue-winged Olives. They start as early a January and last through most of June. These are bi-brooded insects that hatch again from the middle of September through December. This includes several species. Green Drakes hatch from about the first of June through the middle of July, but this isn’t a huge hatch. The Small Western Green Drakes, or Flavs as many call them, hatch from mid September to mid October. It is not a major hatch either. Pale Evening Duns hatch during the month of August and Mahogany Dun hatch during September. The second most important mayflies are the Pale Morning Duns, called PMDs by most anglers. They hatch from the middle of May all the way through the middle of September. Western Ginger Quill hatch during October and on into the first of November. Caddisflies are very plentiful on the Metolius River. The Spotted Sedge is probably the most plentiful with its several species. They start hatching about the first of April and can last all the way through September. Little Short-horned Sedges, hatch even longer, or from the first of April through September. Green Sedges also hatch over a very long time. They usually start around the first of May and last through September. The most important stage of life of the Green Sedge is the larva stage. They are imitated with what is usually called “Green Rock Worms”. These can be very effective on the Metolius. Golden Stoneflies can hatch from the middle of June until the middle of September. Imitations of their nymphs work year-round. The Little Yellow Stoneflies, called Yellow Sallies” hatch from the middle of June to the middle of August. Terrestrial insects are on the Metolius River available for the trout to eat from the middle of June through September. Imitations of beetles, ants and grasshoppers all three work great during this time period.Midges hatch throughout the year and trout can be taken on imitations of their larvae, pupae and adults most anytime of the year, but the most important times are when no other large insects are hatching.If you haven’t tried our “Perfect Flies”, you are missing out on the best you can purchase. They not only are the most realistic, they are the most effective flies to use on any spring creek. We hope you give them the opportunity to work for you on this great stream.
For Trout:
Fly Line:
We recommend either a 4 or 5 weight floating line for the trout. Some anglers may prefer to use a 6 weight fly line for their nymphs and streamer fishing, but it wouldn’t be absolutely necessary.
Fly Rod:
We recommend a rod for the 4, 5 or 6 weight line that is nine feet in length in a medium fast to fast action.
Fly Reel:
The reel for the four, five or six weight rod should have a decent drag. It should be smooth. A disc drag that adjust in fine increments would be best.
Leaders:
You should use leaders from 71/2 foot to 12 foot in length for the McKenzie River. I suggest
having them in sizes ranging from 0X for streamers, up to 6X for small dry flies and midges, in the various lengths.
Tippet:
You should have extra tippet in sizes ranging from 0X to 6X.
Waders:
Waders are necessary for the McKenzie River. We prefer the breathable type. You may want neoprene waders during cold weather.
Wading Boots:
Much of the bottom in either gravel, sand or rock. You would not want cleats. Felt soles are the best.
Landing Net:
A landing net is purely optional.
Trout Flies:
We definitely recommend our “Perfect Fly” trout flies. They are by far the best flies for the McKenzie River because they are the most realistic flies you can purchase. We have
imitations of every insect and other trout food that is present in this stream. If you haven’t done so already, we ask you to give them a try. We know you will not be disappointed.