The Lower Mckenzie continues to fish well as April comes to a close. As is the case during Spring, the fishing is quite dependent on the weather. Cloudy days with intermittent showers have been the best because its when we’re seeing the most insect activity. On Friday, the March Browns were out in full force between 11am-5pm. There were also plenty of tan caddis, blue winged olives, and a few McKenzie green caddis as well.
For most of the day the most productive method was swinging march brown soft hackles, but when the rain began to fall the March Browns began to flurry and thats what the fish were waiting for. Even though the times where the fish were keyed on the dry fly was short-lived, it was incredible to see so many fish looking up at once. The catch was a mixed bag between rainbows, cutthroats, and eager smolts that were recently dumped into the river. In the end, we were fortunate enough to come in contact with a few quality Mckenzie redsides on Friday, and its those fish that make the Spring fishing days really special.
There is still some great Spring fishing to be had on the lower McKenzie. Cloudy days are when you really want to be out there, but sunnier days have still produced decent fishing particularly on nymphs. With the upper river now open, we are entering that time of the year where our angling options become overwhelming–a good problem to have if you ask me.
Andy Archer
Glad to hear green caddis have been spotted on the river, fun times ahead!