Metolius River Fish Report for 5-17-2025
Metolius River Fishing Report
Metolius River - Metolius Springs, OR (Jefferson County)

by The Fly Fishers Place
5-17-2025
Website
Have y’all met Phil at the shop? He is the new guy behind the counter with a Carolina accent. I’ve spoken about Phil many times over the years as he has not only been a good friend of mine, but one hell of an angler and someone who has the Metolius River pretty dialed in. He has always shared his intel with me for my reports I share with you.
So good Ol’ Phil had one heck’uva Green Drake day a few days ago. Landing lots of nice redbands on the afternoon Green Drake hatch! He said it began at 3:40 PM and went to about 5:30 with a frenzy of takes on dries the entire time.
Before the Drakes you can expect a good PMD hatch.
Now, here is a Hatch Frustration Buster for you, courtesy of my main man Chester. He was watching fish eat dries the other day, and went through the usual suspects of mayfly emergers, cripples, duns and I think he said even spinners, and he could not get a fish to even look at his fly. And this is a dude who knows how to present the fly and get a slack line, drag free float.
He went into double secret detective mode and discovered Little Olive Stones were what the fish were gorging on, and tied on a Henryville and started catching fish right away.
So, while we often think of those little olive stoneflies as a late summer and fall hatch, they are more than that and it is important to keep a #16 and #18 Henryville or Olive CDC in your fly box now too.
As you know, the Upper River will have its long awaited opening on May 22nd. That includes the areas of the river upstream from the Allingham Bridge to the Headwaters. It ought to be fun and good fishing up there starting mid-week. I know some friends who are already planning to be there! I want to go, but after being in MX for a week, I should probably actually go to work for a bit on May 22, but hey, who knows. I keep telling myself that I will remember a trip or a fishing day on my death bed more than an extra day of work and that story continues to justify this awesome fishing bender I am enjoying right now.
To cap off the Metolius details for the week, we can’t forget about the very good and consistent nymph options you’ll encounter all day long. Tan Caddis Pupa (have you tried my new fly?), Perdigons, Walts, Micro Mayflies, Soft Hackle PT’s, 2 Bit Hookers, Zebra Midges, Golden Stone nymphs and Green Drake Nymphs.
This is going to be a good week to be on the Metolius and should remain consistent with these flies until the end of June. On warmer evenings stay late for Caddis and Rusty Spinners. If it is cool and windy (as I hear it is at home this weekend) you can likely be wrapped up by 5:30 and ready to go home and grill some steaks and enjoy a beverage. But a warm evening rise? Pack your cooler and stay until dark.
More Reports
The Fly Fishers Place Reports
for Friday, May 9th
Metolius River: The Metolius River is fishing well, and most days from here until the end of June
Deschutes River- Lower: On the Lower Deschutes the sighting of Salmonflies and Golden Stones have been increasing
Deschutes River: The Middle Deschutes is good
Crooked River: The Crooked River bumped back up a tiny bit and is over 400 again today
Fall River: The Fall River is fishing quite well
McKenzie River: The McKenzie River has been good on our guided trips this past week
Paulina Lake: Paulina Lake will open May 14th!
Crane Prairie Reservoir: Crane Prairie Report
South Twin Lake: Twin Lakes Report
The Fly Fishers Place Reports
for Saturday, May 3rd
Metolius River: The Metolius River for the most part showed us good fishing days this past week
Deschutes River: The Middle Deschutes is our beginning of the Salmonfly Season for 2025!
Crooked River: The Crooked River is still in the 700’s
Fall River: The Fall River has been good throughout the open areas of the river
Deschutes River- Lower: The Lower Deschutes is ever so close to the Salmonfly season
McKenzie River: The McKenzie River is good and we had mostly good days on the river last river
Crane Prairie Reservoir: Crane Prairie over all has been off to a good start for the 2025 season
Lava Lake: Roads Not Open Quite Yet
North Twin Lake: North and South Twin Lakes are both on the list for tubers and ever drift boats
Paulina Lake: Paulina Lake Access is supposed to be open May 14th
East Lake: East Lake will probably be a bit longer
Chickahominy Reservoir: Chickahonimy continues to be a great spot to head out to
Haystack Reservoir: Haystack is good too, and certainly worth the trip

Website Hosting and Design provided by TECK.net