The Caddis Fly: Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Both the Middle Fork of the Willamette and lower McKenzie are fishing well and remain extremely low. I had a chance to get out and float from Dexter Dam to Jasper bridge and despite minimal hatches the fishing was very productive. We fished October Caddis, Parachute Adams and small Chubby Chernobyls on the surface and had best luck dropping a size 16 jigged nymph or copper john 18-24″ below the dry.

The weather is going to get wet in the near future but water levels are unlikely to get completely blown out. Our local reservoirs are simply so low that we can handle some serious water before the rivers become “un-fishable”.

Further a field to our south Salmon Fishing on the Elk river has been very good. Today’s storm should aid in pushing fall salmon up all of Oregon’s coastal streams this coming week.

John Bauer of Bauer Fly Reels invited me down to the Williamson River with he and guide Marlon Rampy this past week. It was a phenomenal day! One of those classic Oregon fall days where you get a little bit of everything. Freezing cold hands in the morning but by afternoon all the layers had been shed.

We fished swung flies, nymphed deep and shallow and we even had some dry fly fishing late in the afternoon, as I said earlier it was a great day! Marlon Rampy of flyfishoregon.com is a superb guide and knows every slot and ledge in the Williamson. Marlon was extremely helpful, making sure our drifts were in the correct zone throughout the day.

I hadn’t been to the Williamson in quite a few years and I greatly underestimated it’s water quality and character. It has such a unique variety of water. In one run you are swinging a tailout that looks like the North Umpqua. In the next you are fishing a fast run that has a “freestone” feel about it, another a weed bed bottom that resembles the Henry’s Fork. It was the waters variety and varied tactical approach that were so interesting and enjoyable for me.

The fish are definitely looking up for October Caddis patterns on the McKenzie and Willamette rivers. Fishing has been really good of late using Morrish’s Foam October Caddis and Kingrey’s Better Foam Caddis. Twitching and skating this pattern from fast flows to a bit softer edges of currents has been deadly.

The Willamette River near Oakridge is really low and very “wadable” in many areas. A couple of really productive spots are Black Canyon Campground and Greenwaters Park — walk down stream to the Salmon Creek confluence. Best fishing between 11am and 5pm.

It’s been a pretty tough year for steelhead on the Willamette this year but if you were going to give it a shot the next week is pretty ideal. Water conditions are great, around 800 fish came over Willamette Falls in the month of September and the fishing pressure has been all but zero.

Enjoy the beautiful fall weather!