Finally made it out to the lower main stem of the “Willy”. The fishing was good during the cloud cover period of 11:00am to 2:00pm. The winter levels really made some changes to various islands and flat stretches. We were seeking the March Brown hatch and we did not see much, if any, of a hatch.
The cut throat trout were active and seemed to be holding in the faster water.
Redsides fell to a very large Adams and a Lou”s brew Silvey March Brown Size 16 soft hackle. Using the Adams trailing a soft hackle proved to be the most productive. The Silvey March Brown soft hackle was also productive. The nymph rod remained silent and was used very little. The fish were looking up and we had a very nice day of dry fly activity until we lost the cloud cover.
The Willamette River has really become a great nesting area for the bald eagles. We counted 2 nests, 6 mature and 2 immature. The coming week shows more cloudy and rainy days ahead. Looks like nothing but better fishing ahead….Get out there!
LV
I was on the lower ‘Mac” around the same time and had a similar experience, although with much poorer results, only two half-hearted strikes from small cuttys on wets and drys, little to no bug activity, little to no fish activity, no interest in big weighted nymphs. This spring has been the polar opposite of last year so far.