The Caddis Fly: Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Around 1pm yesterday I watched March Browns emerge and wondered if the days fishing wouldn’t of been better spent chasing trout. Oregon’s coastal waters get their March Brown two to three weeks before the hatch gets heavy on the McKenzie and Willamette. Hundreds and hundreds of casts and “nary a sniff” from the elusive “ironhead”. Finally around 1:30pm a bright hen grabbed Lowly and it was game on. The river was low and the fish were jammed in fast deep cuts. Winter steelhead fishing has been tough but a few fish have been trickling in. Two more fish in the next hour made the call to go to the coast a good one.

Meanwhile Ethan and Kyle were sampling the early season trouting. The McKenzie has been good with nymphs and moderate weather points to an excellent early spring trout year. Both the Middle Fork of the Willamette and the McKenzie are experiencing Blue Winged Olive, Skwala Stoneflies and sporadic March Brown emergence’s. Get out there.–CD