Fly Fishing Insider Podcast
Central Oregon is one of the few places in the United States where anglers travel specifically to fish stillwater for trout. Within 30 to 60 minutes of Bend there are dozens of lakes, and each is known for a different target species - big brown trout, oversized brook trout, world-class rainbows, lake trout or largemouth bass.
Dalton Romanowski is an Oregon-based guide working out of a Bend fly shop, splitting his time between Central Oregon's rivers and the region's stillwater.
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Which part of the Deschutes River do most anglers fish?
When anglers talk about the Deschutes, nine times out of ten they mean the lower river - the section from Pelton Dam down to the Columbia River, home to the native redside and redband trout. The middle and upper Deschutes stay comparatively untouched through the season because visiting anglers drive north to the lower river instead. The fishing on the middle and upper stretches is as good or better, with more species variety.
What is the Crooked River like now?
The Crooked River is a tailwater running out of Prineville Reservoir, through Prineville and Smith Rock, down to Lake Billy Chinook, and it holds native redbands. The Crooked was a well-known blue ribbon fishery that hosted competitions, but a run of low-water years in the 1980s and 90s killed a lot of fish and gave the river a bad reputation. It has been climbing back slowly and now produces genuinely healthy fish again.
What makes the Metolius River different from other Oregon rivers?
The Metolius is a gin-clear, spring-fed river that is mostly fly fishing only and is one of just two rivers in Oregon where bull trout can legally be targeted. It runs extremely cold year round - cold enough that wet wading is a bad idea even in midsummer - and the big eddies and swirling currents make for treacherous wading, with few good places to stand. It also holds very few fish, on the order of 400 per river mile, which is part of why the culture there is closer to a steelhead river than a trout river, with plenty of anglers swinging spey rods and unusually generous about sharing advice.
Which Central Oregon lakes hold which species?
Bend sits near the middle of the state with dozens of trout lakes inside a 30 to 60 minute drive, and anglers pick a lake by target species. East Lake produces big browns and big rainbows plus kokanee and the occasional brook trout, is ringed by volcanic rock, and is wade friendly enough to catch fish over two feet from the bank. Hosmer holds oversized brook trout, Crane Prairie is a world-class rainbow fishery, Wickiup is known for big brown trout, and Davis Lake is a largemouth bass fishery. Several of these sit along Cascade Lakes Highway out of Bend toward Mount Bachelor, so it is possible to leapfrog multiple lakes in one day.
How do you find structure in a lake without a fish finder?
Structure in a lake can be scouted without electronics by visiting in the off season when water levels drop. Walking a reservoir like Wickiup in winter reveals whole beaches full of stumps that are invisible once the lake fills. On the water, read color changes: dark blue is deep, a lighter sandy tone is shallow, and the green band between them is the drop-off where big fish cruise and look up for food. Rocky points, any peninsula shape in the bank, and the edges of weed beds hold fish for the same reason.
How do you fish small leeches to cruising trout?
Sight fishing small leeches works because kokanee schools pull big trout into the shallows. When kokanee color up and move in to spawn, big browns and rainbows follow to eat eggs, and it is possible to see their backs and tails in shallow water the way you would spot redfish. Cast a small leech into or beside the school on a 12-foot leader and a floating line, let it sink, and use tiny one-inch strips - the slack in the line means the leech moves slowly and consistently rather than hopping.
What indicator rig works for nymphing lakes?
The stillwater indicator rig starts with 10 inches to a foot of 20-pound at the top, tied to a swivel. From there it runs one arm's length of 10-pound - the section the indicator rides on, so depth can be adjusted - to a second swivel, then one arm's length of 3X or 4X to a chironomid or midge, then one more arm's length to a balanced leech. A balanced leech has the hook eye mounted on the shank so it hangs horizontally under the indicator. Move it so slowly there is no wake on the indicator, and fish it on a 10-foot 6-weight, which mends better and keeps back casts off the water from a float tube.
Key takeaways
- Fish the middle and upper Deschutes for less pressure - most visiting anglers head to the lower river below Pelton Dam.
- Do not wet wade the Metolius even in summer, and be careful where you step; the currents there move fast and the river is very cold.
- Pick a Central Oregon lake by target species: East Lake for big browns and rainbows, Hosmer for brook trout, Crane Prairie for rainbows, Wickiup for browns, Davis for largemouth.
- Scout reservoirs in winter at low water to learn the stumps and structure you will be fishing blind over in summer.
- Read lake color changes and fish the green transition band where shallow drops into deep - that is where cruising fish look up for food.
- Cast small leeches into spawning kokanee schools with one-inch strips; big trout follow those schools for eggs.
- Set sideways rather than straight up on a wind drift, so water tension pulls the line tight instead of lifting it into the air.
