Metolius River Fish Report for 7-12-2025
Worth the Wait!
Metolius River - Metolius Springs, OR (Jefferson County)

by The Fly Fishers Place
7-12-2025
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I also had 2 after work/evening outings on the Metolius River since the last report, and I’ll say where I was, both upstream and downstream of the hatchery it was very quiet for dry fly action until about 9 PM. But the wait was worth it both nights with some nice fish on Rusty Spinners. I dig fishing Rusty Spinners and ducking out of the way of the bats that are there swarming the river eating the exact same thing the trout are eating too. You can’t be afraid of bats to be an evening angler on the Met!
However, a couple of nights ago I had a nice phone call with my good friend Jesse from Bend. Jesse has been a customer and a fishing buddy and someone I have huge respect for as a serious angler. We do a good job at keeping in touch and last night was meaningful for more than one reason. I will share the fishing part with you here. Jesse has been doing his own after work evening sessions on a different part of the river and has seen WAY MORE hatches going on than I saw in the hatchery area.
I am not going to spill his can of beans, and let you explore a little on your own, but I will say if it is dry fly action you want between 4 and 8:45, maybe head up towards Camp Sherman or down towards Lower Bridge and see if that improves the hatch and dry fly opportunities for you too. Jesse reported BWO’s, PMD’s, Caddis, and also Rusty’s and that is what we dream about on a summer night. I didn’t mind sitting along the river waiting for the hatch or spinner fall to begin, but it sure would be more fun to get rising trout up for my session than just for 20 minutes before it gets too dark for these aging eyes to see anything.
In the Upper River, the Golden Stone hatch is gaining ground, and some beautiful trout have been caught on our favorite Metolius pattern, the Clark’s Stone. Add some Yellow Sallies and Henryville Caddis for the Upper River, and I might also suggest the Yellow Missing Link. Why you ask? Well, a Yellow Missing Link covers 3 hatches from the trout’s eye. A PMD cripple. A Yellow Sally that is spent. And a light colored caddis. This is a pattern to add to your box this summer I promise.
Of course the Euro/Tightline Nymph game is strong as always, anywhere you go from the headwaters to below Bridge 99. Here are 5 essential nymphs for this week: A Jigged 20 Incher, Olive Perdigon with Orange Hot Spot, Yellow Jig Napolean, Soft Hackle PT, and a Fat Ass Caddis Pupa.
Adding a Golden Stone nymph and a Zebra Midge won’t hurt a bit. Maybe (temporarily) a trout’s upper lip and your wallet, but both are tempory.
In a future report I will have to tell you my 2 favorite hooks in the body stories. They both involved passed out people, and one of those people was a 7th grader from Bend with the initials JP. Hmmmm. The other was on my 1st ever lake guide trip at Hosmer in about 1988 and went to the ER in Bend.
I’ll save them for a future report.
One last thing about the Metolius now is the lake run Bull Trout are coming up now. These are big Bull’s, and truly 8 weight size fish! They want to chase down a large streamer and we’ve got the best selection to help you get connected to the fish of your dreams.
More Reports
The Fly Fishers Place Reports
for Friday, July 4th
Metolius River: Drakes are still necessary
McKenzie River: The McKenzie River trips are great
Deschutes River- Lower: The Lower Deschutes is fishing well
Deschutes River: The Middle Deschutes is a lot of fun
Deschutes River- Upper: Slow to Good Fishing on the Upper Deschutes
Crooked River: The Crooked River is fishing quite well
Fall River: The Fall River is fishing great
Three Creek Lake: Three Creek is Hit or Miss
East Lake: Some good days at East Lake
Paulina Lake: Paulina Lake is good
Hosmer Lake: Hosmer Lake is good fun
Little Lava Lake: Little Lava Lake is good fishing
Lava Lake: Lava Lake is fishing ok
Crane Prairie Reservoir: Crane Prairie is slow fishing
The Fly Fishers Place Reports
for Saturday, June 28th
Metolius River: Metolius River Updates
McKenzie River: Top Guide Trip Winner
Deschutes River- Lower: The Lower Deschutes is trending well
Deschutes River: The Middle Deschutes is a great place
Crooked River: Better flows and better fishing
Fall River: The Fall River is fishing nicely
Little Lava Lake: Little Lava Was Fabulous
Lava Lake: Lava Lake is still fishing well
Hosmer Lake: Hosmer Lake is good
East Lake: Callibaetis hatch fest!
Paulina Lake: Not a lot of callibaetis hatches yet
Three Creek Lake: Three Creek Lake is fishing great

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