The Metolius River ·
The Metolius River near Sisters, Ore., is a beautiful place. It is a spring creek that fishes more like a large river, and it reportedly has lots of wild trout and great hatches in the summer.
It runs 29 miles from the headwaters northward to Lake Billy Chinook where it flows into the famous Deschutes River. There is a 12-mile-long, fly fishing only section from the headwaters to Bridge 99.
While the weather was warm, wet wading this river can really get you cold. We tried and with a water temperature hovering near 50 degrees, it does not take long to not be able to feel your feet. My recommendation: wear your waders.
Unfortunately, the first couple of times that we fished the river we only saw a few fish and there were no hatches to speak of. There was an occasional Golden Stone (Hesperoperla pacifica), the Oregon version of the bug.
My daughter was using a huge, heavily weighted, bunny-style streamer trying to attract a large bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) into striking. Stories of one of her friends hooking an 18-inch rainbow and that it being eaten by one of these monsters was enough for her. She wanted to catch one of these for her post on Facebook. The fly shop employee, Chris, also showed us a saltwater streamer that is used in fishing the Metolius.
She was fishing a 5-weight rod, which is extremely light for what she was doing. The light rod tends to be taxed to its limit when throwing such a heavily weighted streamer, but she pressed on throwing everything she had into it. She was rewarded with a follow and missed the take, which only fueled her enthusiasm.
I went back to the car to rig a bit differently for the spot where we were fishing. I got out a fast sinking line and tied on one of those bunny-style flies. Getting to the bottom where these fish dwell was not always easy with a floating line.
As I was walking back, my daughter was walking toward me. She indicated that she needed some help – the large fly was firmly buried in the fleshy part of her right arm.
We walked back to the car where I tried the old monofilament removal trick. By looping monofilament around the bend of the hook and putting downward pressure on the hook to try and clear the barb (yes, she forgot or did not do a good job de-barbing the hook) and pulling straight back, the hook is supposed to pop out. This did not work for me once in Baja with another friend because I did not pull hard enough. So, this time I distracted her and really popped it hard. The result was that the doubled 13-pound material popped. The hook may have moved some, but the only thing that happened was that it started to bleed. I knew this was not going to work without tearing out some flesh, so I opted for Plan B, a trip to the St. Charles Family Care in Sisters.
Once there, the doctor (Dr. Greer) a fisherman himself, had removed 50 hooks with the method I described above. He numbed the area and gave it several shots at removing it with the same method. It was his first failure in all of those attempts. He did say that this was the largest hook that he had been faced with removing.
He finally removed it by pulling the hook all the way through and using some wire cutters from the hardware store to cut the hook just beyond the barb.
After this experience, we decided to stay in a motel for a couple of nights in Sisters, so Leslie could use a good WiFi connection to do her work. Dad relaxed and even got a little laundry done.
FISHING REPORT
(See Sightseeing for water levels.)
Boca | Inflow is at 79 cfs and the outflow is 72 cfs. Try powerbait or nightcrawlers. Throwing lures from shore also has been working. Fly fishers have been catching some fish near the inlet mostly nymphing.
Donner | Fishing has been good. Nightcrawlers and Powerbait seem to be the bait of choice. Mackinaw and Kokanee fishing has been fair. Fly fishermen are catching some fish with streamers.
Lake Tahoe | Fishing has been fair to good for mackinaw. A guide is highly recommended if you are fishing for mackinaw for the first time. Toplining and shore fishing is fair. Most shore fishermen use inflated nightcrawlers. A state record Kokanee was recently landed by an angler out of Nevada City.
Little Truckee River | Flow is now at 79 cfs. This is a low flow for this water, but better than last week. Fishing will be tougher at this level. Try a hopper dropper set-up, now that grasshoppers are active.
Martis Lake | Zero kill. Catch and Release only with barbless artificial lures or flies. Some small cutthroats and an occasional large brown and rainbow can still be caught here. Smallmouth bass have been introduced in this water.
Prosser | The lake is fishing fair to good. Powerbait and nightcrawlers are the best bait. Smallmouth Bass are beginning to bite well with the warming water. Lure and fly fishermen also are taking some fish from shore and near the inlets.
Stampede | Fishing has been fair to good from shore. Kokanee fishing has been fair. Mackinaw fishing has been good. Smallmouth Bass are beginning to get active. Fly fishermen have been doing well near the inlets with nymphs and streamers for trout and in the coves for Smallmouth Bass.
Truckee River | Flowing out of the lake at 346 cfs at Tahoe City. The flow through Truckee is at 368 cfs as of Aug. 4. Fish have been caught on nymphs, emergers, dries and streamers. The main hatches now are Caddis and terrestrials, ants, beetles and grasshoppers. Flies imitating these have been the most productive. Streamers have also been good. Crayfish patterns should be a top producer this time of year. A hopper dropper set-up also is a good combination. Warm weather is causing the water to warm into the 70s by the evening. Carry a thermometer and limit your fishing to cooler periods. Try and fish early in the morning to mid-day for the best results. Fishing from Boca downstream should be your best bet now.
Bruce is a long-time area fly fisherman and past president of Tahoe Truckee Fly Fishers.
