The Metolius is still seeing a great afternoon Green Drake hatch

Metolius River - Metolius Springs, OR (Jefferson County)


by The Fly Fishers Place
9-23-2023
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The Metolius is still seeing a great afternoon Green Drake hatch #10 mostly, and mixed in the medley of afternoon hatches are PMD’s #16, Mahogany Dun #16, BWO #18-20, Flav’s #14, Little Olive Stones #18 (this may be the last week of these for the season so grab some Henryville’s and trim the hackle flat and get after it) and a bunch of Caddis including October Caddis #8, Tan #16, Grey and Olive #14-18. The bigger stoneflies (Goldens #10, Cascade #4-6 and Salmonfly #6-8) are not super active unless it is warm and sunny. Today will be. After that though, I’d fish big nymphs and wait for another warm day to fish the dries and that looks to be at least a week away after this weekend.
It is a great time to swing or strip streamers for Bull Trout when the rain comes. I have always felt Bull’s like a freshet of rain on their river and respond by eating more when it is raining. Don’t just think big streamers, but small streamers too, and nymphs and balanced leeches. Indicator fishing is great under these circumstances so it’s not just about a giant streamer and a sink tip and a big long cast, and can be fun to target the fish in other ways.

And nymph action for trout and whitefish is strong now, with the Euro technique doing best for us.