Early March Fishing Report

After a winter of high water, cold weather, and ice, it is nice to have some more mild weather and to see our river’s clarity and levels in a more stable state. Fishing lately on our local rivers the McKenzie and Willamette has been good. Nymphing remains the most effective method to bring fish to hand as of late. Isolated hatches of Baetis (BWO’s/ Blue Winged Olives) have been popping off mid day. Long awaited March Browns are right around the corner, and on everyone’s mind. Spring hatches are triggered by warmth so they will move from lower elevation up into the mountains at higher elevation as things warm up here.

Baetis are coming off every day in the window from 11-2

Insect activity has been ramping up with the warmer weather. I’ve seen that some Salmonfly adults that emerged during last weeks warm weather up river, so the nymphs are on the move subsurface. March Browns are now coming off on the lower river. The nymphs I’ve seined up are mature and ready to hatch with fully developed wing pads. Most days you can catch a small Baetis hatch mid day. Overcast days are great days for Blue Winged Olives to hatch; find the fish sipping emerging duns in the tailouts of runs. I’ve seen some Grannom or Mother’s Day Caddis too, so fishing a caddis nymph, or swinging a pupa can be be deadly. With an abundance of insects beginning to emerge, having a variety of flies is helpful.

Grannom Caddis are loving this warm weather. Grannoms hatching mean spring is in full swing.

I’ve fished a number of Baetis hatches this winter, but not as many as years past. I think this is in part to the strange winter we’ve had. Because of this, I know there are lots of mature Baetis nymphs that still need to hatch this year. As things warm up here, I am guessing we will see BWO’s hatching alongside the March Browns into the spring. Here are my favorite patterns for fishing a Blue Wing hatch: Morrish’s May Day BWO 17/19, Hatch Matcher BWO 16/18, Almost Dun BWO 18, or a Tactical BWO Parachute #18. With some warm weather, any day here we can start seeing large hatches of March Browns popping off in the lower river. Here are some must haves if you’re out the day the March Brown Madness starts: Hi and Dry Western March Brown Parachute 12/14, Tactical Western March Brown Parachute #12, or a March Brown Klinkhammer 12/14. Having a few small dark Caddis isn’t a bad idea with the Grannoms coming off, here are some must haves: Peacock Caddis #14-16, Black Elk Hair Caddis #16-18, or a Hi-Vis Caddis #16.

Nymphing is by far the most productive this time of year. Several different types of insects are getting ready to hatch this time of year, so there are a wide variety of nymphs present moving through the water column. Fishing something heavy paired with something small can be productive; including an attractor style pattern can help draw a fish’s attention to your flies. For the salmonflies which are active currently, here are some proven nymphs: Sili Leg Stone #6-10, Mega Prince #6-10, or a Tunghead 20 Incher # 6-12. For small baetis imitations, try these: Craven’s Juju Baetis #18, Olsen’s Blowtorch #16, Roza’s Dark Neon Jig #16-18. With March Browns right around the corner here are some of our favorite nymphs: Hogan’s Clinger Nymph #14, Bead Head March Brown #14, or a Grilled Nymph #14. Lastly having some caddis nymphs can be helpful this time of year, these are some must haves: Ice Czech #14, or a UV Green Weenie #14. Letting any smaller nymphs swing at the end of your drift is suggestive of an emerging insect and can be a great way to pick up a fish at the end of your drift.

We’re seeing more and more Salmonfly shucks on the bank, make sure you have some large Sili Leg Stones

As things warm up, swinging wet flies will become more and more effective. March Brown nymphs shed their shuck subsurface so swinging wet flies is extremely effective. Here are some of our favorite wet flies to swing: Bead Head March Brown Emerger #12-14, March Brown Wet #12-14, or a March Brown Spider #12-13. Swinging caddis pupa is a great way to entice eats during a Grannom hatch. Often the fish gorge themselves subsurface and ignore dry flies, so having a few caddis pupa can save a day when they wont commit to dries. Here are some of our favorite emerging caddis pupa: Silvey’s Primetime Pupa #14, Holy Grail Hares Ear #14, or a Prarie Doggin Caddis Pupa #14. Swinging wet flies is also a productive way to fish a Baetis hatch, try swinging these smaller wet flies during a BWO hatch: BWO Soft Emerger #18, Drymerger Baetis #18, or a Spectre Olive Soft Hackle #14.

We are on the cusp of dry fly season. One more week of warm weather and we will see an explosion of insect activity, and the fish will notice and start looking up. Stock up on what you need now so you’re ready to rock when everything falls into place!

-Simon

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