Category Archives: Lower Willamette

Late August Fishing Report 2024

August of 2024 has been one of the coolest I can remember. The Willamette Valley has largely escaped the smoke and water temperatures have been holding steady at cooler than last summer temps. August is never a month with significant … Continue reading

Posted in Fishing Reports, Lower Willamette, McKenzie River, Middle Fork Willamette River fishing, Oregon fly fishing links, Oregon Fly Fishing Tips | Leave a comment

Local Fishing Report July 13

Fishing locally has been great despite our recent heat wave. We’ve made it through this heat wave without any wildfires here in the valley and without our local trout water getting too terribly hot. Water temperature is still a factor … Continue reading

Posted in Fishing Porn, Fishing Reports, Lower Willamette, McKenzie River, Middle Fork Willamette River fishing, Oregon fly fishing links, Oregon Fly Fishing Tips, Summer Steelhead, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Top 5 Summer Terrestrial Fly Patterns

Summer is in full swing and that means trout have terrestrials on the mind. This term refers to land based insects such as: ants, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, cicadas, bees, etc. On small streams with lots of streamside brush and vegetation, … Continue reading

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6/10 Fishing Report

Our rivers are at a great level for floating and wading currently! We are seeing a lot of bugs so summer dry fly fishing is on. Searching with a dry dropper setup is a great method to locate fish. Hatches … Continue reading

Posted in Central Oregon Fishing Report, Fishing Reports, Lower Willamette, McKenzie River, Middle Fork Willamette River fishing, Oregon Fly Fishing Tips | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Belly Bumper Golden Stone: Nymph Tying Tutorial

In this video, Simon ties a killer inverted golden stone nymph. This features a new hook from Tiemco that just came out: the 201R. The hook is reminiscent of a 200R, but has a slightly shorter shank, and a wider … Continue reading

Posted in Fly Tying, Fly Tying Materials and Supplies, Lower Willamette, McKenzie River, Middle Fork Willamette River fishing, Oregon Fly Fishing Tips | Leave a comment

Late May 2024 Local Fishing Report

Our local waters are shaping up for great summer dry fly fishing. The water is a little bit high, but is dropping into its summer flows which will persist until fall. There are loads of bugs out including PMDs, Green … Continue reading

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Summer Steelhead in the Willamette Basin

It’s been a few years since we have seen a hatchery summer steelhead run with any consequential numbers. 2024 looks to buck the trend with 7,000 and counting fin clipped, ready for the BBQ, summer fish. If the counts on … Continue reading

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Local Waters on the Drop – Fishing Improving

Quite a few McKenzie Green Caddis out this afternoon. PMD’s, Brown Caddis and a few late March Browns were on the water after 2pm. The high cold water is beginning to dissipate, look for hungry fish to start looking up … Continue reading

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Early May Fishing Report 2024

High water and cold water temps have been the norm of late. Fishing has still held up on the McKenzie River near Eugene. Blips of sunshine have shown what’s to come. Pale Morning Duns, Green McKenzie Caddis, stonefly adults, Little … Continue reading

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Mothership Salmon Fly: Dry Fly Tutorial

In this video, Simon ties a great extended body Salmonfly dry fly. Every spring some of the West’s largest aquatic insects make their emergence. The salmonfly often marks the beginning of trout season, and means summer is on the way. … Continue reading

Posted in Central Oregon Fishing Report, Eastern Oregon, Fly Tying, Lower Willamette, McKenzie River, Middle Fork Willamette River fishing, Proven Spring Fly Patterns, Southern Oregon, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cool Nights Slow Mornings on the McKenzie

There is no rush to get out there on these cold mornings. I kept close track of water temps yesterday with my new Fishpond Digital Thermometer and there was a swing from 45-50 degrees between 830 and 5pm. Once water … Continue reading

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March Brown Fly Tying Tutorials

With the March Brown hatch underway, we’ve collected a variety of past tying videos for some spring-time inspiration. We are seeing plenty of bugs on the lower river. Swinging wets is super effective for this hatch specifically. Plenty of fish … Continue reading

Posted in Fishing Reports, Fly Tying Materials and Supplies, Lower Willamette, McKenzie River, Middle Fork Willamette River fishing, Oregon fly fishing links, Oregon Fly Fishing Tips, Proven Spring Fly Patterns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

$27 Million Awarded For Springer, Winter-run Restoration In Willamette

THE FOLLOWING IS A NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE FEATURE STORY An influx of $27 million from the Office of Habitat Conservation under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act is reinvigorating efforts to restore threatened salmon and trout species in Oregon’s Willamette River … Continue reading

Posted in Lower Willamette, McKenzie River, Middle Fork Willamette River fishing, Oregon Conservation News | Leave a comment

This Billion-Dollar Plan to Save Salmon Depends on a Giant Fish Vacuum

Check out this informative article from Propublica.org about dam drawdowns in the Willamette Basin. If you have been wondering why Fall Creek, Cougar, and Lookout Reservoirs are like rivers right now this article will explain. Click HERE to read.

Posted in Lower Willamette, McKenzie River, Middle Fork Willamette River fishing, Oregon Conservation News | 1 Comment

August Native Fish Society McKenzie Chapter Meeting Reminder

Our next McKenzie Chapter Meeting is coming up on Wednesday, August 30th at 5:30pm at the Ninkasi Better Living Room in Eugene, OR and you’re invited to join!  What: August McKenzie Chapter Meeting–a fish-themed trivia night Where: Ninkasi’s Better Living Room, 155 … Continue reading

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