We have plans in a couple of weeks to float the Lower Deschutes River from Warm Springs to Trout Creek. While I say Salmonfly hatch, we’re more likely to fish Golden Stone imitations as they’re the second major stonefly to hatch on the Deschutes at this time of year. I’ve been tying a lot of flies…
I happened to see my first Salmonfly of the season recently on my home waters. This isn’t a huge hatch like other waters in Central Oregon or the rivers you fish. But the Metolius is known for a Golden Stone hatch in the upper river starting around the 4th of July. We have a trip…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Little Olive Wonder Wing Stone. I tied this size 18 fly using olive CDC for the body and barred dun for the wing and hackle. In researching a different fly, I found that Chauncy Lively tied a Little Black Stonefly using Wonder Wings to imitate the natural…
I’m in a period of transition from fishing a lot to the fly tying vise. It’s a few days earlier than most years. I say someone throws the weather switch on November 1 and dry fly fishing changes dramatically. This year, the weather changed in two days and daytime highs of mid-70’s have been replaced…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Lee Clark’s Twisted Body Stone. The Twisted Body Stone is a different technique of using 100% polypropylene to create a body to imitate larger flies. Lee is better known for his original Clark’s Golden Stone shown below using the same material to imitate a body with it combed…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is a Norm Wood Special encore. If you read this week’s post, Water is Life on the Deschutes River, you’ll recall we used the Norm Wood Special as one of our successful flies. Here is what I wrote about the Norm Wood Special back in 2020. Norm Wood was…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is a Henry’s Fork Yellow Sally Stonefly. I was looking for a fly to highlight today and decided to look in my library to see if I could locate a Yellow Sally stonefly imitation. Why a Yellow Sally fly, you ask? I’m headed to the Deschutes River next week…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Jim Slattery’s OD Stimulator. The OD stands for “original design”. I’ve frequented Jim Slattery’s Campfire Lodge Resort, located on the Madison River between Hebgen and Quake lakes quite a bit when we are in the Madison Valley during our fly fishing road trips. I first learned about it…
I wrote about the Cascades Stone a few years ago, but have seen them on the river recently and thought it was time to highlight this seldom seen hatch by fly fishers. It’s actually called the Doroneuria baumanni, a cousin of the Golden Stone. But I’m getting ahead of myself. When we first noticed this…
I’ve heard Salmonflies are here! They’re out in force on the Deschutes River. It’s an exciting time of year as the fish key on eating these big bugs. I’ve heard from others these stoneflies are all over the grasses along the river. Golden Stones won’t be far behind. They are a little smaller and lighter…
