Well, how’s that big spring creek down the road from us? It is good. It is good. If you don’t have the Metolius River on your radar right now you are missing some cool s**t. Just the visual of all the Kokanee spawning is worth walking the river to see the spectacle of it all, but the fishing that can occur from the eggs in the drift, vulnerable Koke’s weakened from spawning end up east prey for an aggressive Bull Trout. It is like a mini Alaska for a bit every season at this time of year.
Good news for dry fly anglers is that the Green Drakes are still coming down the pike from Canyon Creek to Bridge 99 every afternoon. This is probably the last week, maybe even the last few days of the Drakes but until we share the next report, tuck some #10 and #14 Drakes in the box. PMD’s #16 and BWO’s #18-20 and Mahogany Duns #16 will be the other 3 mayflies you’ll encounter for the rest of October.
Caddis include #16 tan, Olive #18 and Orange in #8-10 and 14. Get ready with Pupa and Adults.
I can give you a good reason to still be using a Clarks Stone and that is there are still some Golden Stones around but it also double duties when the Oct Caddis Adults are flying and Egg Laying. When it warms up again (I think it will) we will see some more Golden Stones around Camp Sherman and the fish will will still eat that fly up to Halloween.
The one thing I will say about the next few days or so is the wind. How will that change the fishing conditions? Pine needles collect in the eddies like crazy in these storms, sometimes making them impossible to fish. With for that because the eddies are some of the best dry fly spots on the river. Also, with the wind it can be hard to keep up with the drift of the Euro Nymph Leader and the way to counter it is a heavier bead to sink the tippet and straighten the mono rig better. I’d also personally go a little thicker on my mono, so go from 6 or 8# to 10# as the stiffer leader won’t be so limp against the wind.
I hinted about the Bull Trout earlier, well it is a moment to capture now with all the Kokanee in the river, the Bull’s can become frenzied over so much food. If you suspect the fish are chasing Koke’s, by all means a big articulated streamer is a darn good choice. I love our Purple/Black 3 articulation streamer, but an all black one is great as the Kokanee are past their color prime, and all White like a Circus Peanut is a good choice for sure. Rainy and Cloudy and Blustery days are lovely days to swing a Bull Trout fly.