Fly fishing Central Oregon (first time)

[mozzles]

I've fished with a tackle setup my whole life, but next month my parents are coming to visit Sunriver and my dad wants to fly fish one of the rivers over here. He's done it a couple times but is also mostly a tackle fisherman, so we're both pretty new to this.

Wondering where our best bet would be to catch some fish, should be the early part of May around the 10th or so. Thinking about the Metolius but at this point I'm not sure, been reading old threads on here to get an idea of what might be biting. Looks like some people were having luck last April and May on the Metolius.

Zac

 

[OpaBob]

I'm not the expert, but I've had luck on the Crooked River that time of year. I just fish a Coachman wet and let it swing. Fish will likely hit as it starts to rise at the end of the drift. Wade out a few feet and roll cast out quartering downstream. Simple and peaceful day on the water.

 

[Irishrover]

Welcome to the forum. There are a ton of good places to fly fish in the area where you will be at. You will be right at the Deschutes and right near are lots of lake. As mentioned the Crooked River is a fine river to fish but it is a wee bit of a drive from Sunriver. Check out the Fall River and you might want to get a hold of the folks at The Sunriver Fly Shop. They are right there and may have the best options for you.

 

[FlyBum]

So... as stated you just started fly fishing and want to catch fish. The Metolius and Fall rivers can be pretty discouraging for people just getting into it. I'd spend a few bucks more and go to the Crooked if you actually wanted to have a better shot at catching something, and not just seeing them in the water and getting hungup all the time. That's just what I'd do and have done quite a few years ago.

 

[mozzles]

Thanks for the tips, guys. Hadn't thought about the crooked river, I'll look into that. Haven't been over that way at all since moving to Central Oregon.

Any particular spots on the river I should check out? We don't have any sort of boat or pontoon so are strictly going to be bank fishing.

 

[FlyBum]

Any particular spots on the river I should check out? We don't have any sort of boat or pontoon so are strictly going to be bank fishing.

Below Bowman Dam on the Crooked you have (I think) almost 17 miles of access. The Met, Fall, and Crook are all wade fishing no need for a boat. You can't fish from one on most the rivers around here anyway so unless you want to get out on the lakes it is generally unnecessary

 

[GraphiteZen]

Below Bowman Dam on the Crooked you have (I think) almost 17 miles of access. The Met, Fall, and Crook are all wade fishing no need for a boat. You can't fish from one on most the rivers around here anyway so unless you want to get out on the lakes it is generally unnecessary

Agreed. I have never fished the Metolious but from what I have heard, it's pretty tough. The Crooked is much more user friendly. Learned to fly fish rivers below the Bowman Dam. Great, great river. Rattlesnake Park is just EPIC scenery, but *some* of the wildlife is not friendly, hence the name.

 

[Van]

Listen to Flybum, he knows what he is talking about and catches a lot of fish. The Fall river is very pretty but gets a lot of pressure and the fish are wise to it all. The Metolius is probably the most beautiful river you are going to see. Again, tough fishing though. If i was in your shoes, i would either hit the Crooked or probably the Deschutes near La Pine state park. If you want to lake fish, you could head up to East Lake and rent a boat.

 

[lilsalmon]

I agree...The Crooked. I caught my first trout on a fly there. It is very accessable and has a lot of good water. Been there many times since.

 

[mozzles]

Sounds like that's where we'll be going, then... really we just want to have a good time but it would be nice to catch a couple fish, this will be our first time fishing this year and first time ever fishing this part of Oregon.

It looks like we can drive east of Bend, through Alfalfa to get to Prineville Reservoir, so that we don't have to drive around to Redmond and Prineville. Am I correct that we'll want to fish below Bowman Dam, which is at the reservoir? Would a good spot be somewhere between Prineville and the dam?

 

[OnTheDrop]

Sounds like that's where we'll be going, then... really we just want to have a good time but it would be nice to catch a couple fish, this will be our first time fishing this year and first time ever fishing this part of Oregon.

It looks like we can drive east of Bend, through Alfalfa to get to Prineville Reservoir, so that we don't have to drive around to Redmond and Prineville. Am I correct that we'll want to fish below Bowman Dam, which is at the reservoir? Would a good spot be somewhere between Prineville and the dam?

I haven't been out there in a few weeks and the last time I was below the Dam the watter was ripppppppppppin. Heard from a fellow angler it hadn't changed much yesterday and may have even gotten worse. Good luck if you go. Nymph show for sure.

 

[GraphiteZen]

I haven't been out there in a few weeks and the last time I was below the Dam the watter was ripppppppppppin. Heard from a fellow angler it hadn't changed much yesterday and may have even gotten worse. Good luck if you go. Nymph show for sure.

I would assume it's better now. It's a controlled flow; Prineville Reservoir is very long and collects a lot of snowmelt.

 

[OpaBob]

This link at USGS shows flows in case it is helpful to you: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?14087380 It is not immediately below the dam, but hopefully gives a general idea.

 

[Irishrover]

Sounds like that's where we'll be going, then... really we just want to have a good time but it would be nice to catch a couple fish, this will be our first time fishing this year and first time ever fishing this part of Oregon.

It looks like we can drive east of Bend, through Alfalfa to get to Prineville Reservoir, so that we don't have to drive around to Redmond and Prineville. Am I correct that we'll want to fish below Bowman Dam, which is at the reservoir? Would a good spot be somewhere between Prineville and the dam?

If that's where you are headed you want to fish the Crooked below Bowman Dam on Hwy 27 between mile post 12 and mile post 19. I like mile post 17/18 area. But like OntheFly mentioned you need to check the water leves this time of year. Right now it's over 900cfs. Here is another site where you can check quite a few rivers. http://levels.wkcc.org//?P=Oregon.html.

If you decide you like fly fishing, you might want to pick up a copy of The Curtis Creek Manifesto by the late Sheridan Anderson. It's a quick read that cost about 8 bucks and will shorten the learing curve greatly. Good luck and tight lines.

 

[FlyBum]

Ya, when I fish the Crooked I don't really fish below Cobble Rock CG, which is like the 4th one down, but there are plenty of CG's and places to pull off the road to fish

 

[OpaBob]

Nice links and duly noted. Thanks!

 

[mozzles]

Thanks for the help guys. It turns out we're not going fly fishing now, just regular old tackle and bait. Would that change where we should go? If the Deschutes or Fall Creek are any good right now, those are a lot closer. If not the Crooked still sounds like a good idea.

 

[steelhead_slayer]

fall river is fly fishing only. south twin is pretty close and was stocked with a ton of fish of all sizes

 

[mozzles]

I read all the fish in the lake were poisoned to get rid of bull heads. If they just stocked it with rainbow trout I'm not really interested, caught plenty of those at parks and what not was hoping to get something a little better.