CAST INTO A STREAM OR A NEARBY LAKE

CROOKED RIVER FISHING

The Crooked River, an experience of rugged dramatic canyons, scenic tracts and wildlife, offers dry fly and nymph fishing for hard-fighting native Rainbow Trout. This river is open for fly fishing year-round. There are numerous easy access spots from which to cast your fishing line, set up camp, or spend the day. The main catch is Redband Trout and Mountain Whitefish.

DIRECTIONS: Take Hwy. 126 east to Prineville and then take Hwy. 27 south along the Post-Paulina Highway, just east of Prineville

FISHING LAKE BILLY CHINOOK

Lake Billy Chinook is best known for its trophy 20+ pound Bull Trout and a year-round fishing season. Anglers are encouraged to release all Bull Trout unharmed. Angling is restricted to artificial flies and lures only. The best fish populations are upstream from Bend to Benham Falls and downstream to Steelhead Falls. Bull Trout are present downstream of Steelhead Falls with a bag limit of one fish over 24 inches. Lake Billy Chinook is also popular for Kokanee salmon fishing — which is a land-locked sockeye salmon. Kokanee salmon are easier to catch in the summer months when they come up to feed on zooplankton.

DIRECTIONS: From Redmond: Head north to Culver and follow the Cove Palisades State Park signs for approximately 8 miles to the lake.

PRINEVILLE RESERVOIR FISHING

Open all year, the 3,000-acre Prineville Reservoir is stocked with Rainbow Trout, Bass, Brown Bullhead and Black Crappie. The best fishing is from the shore, but it is also a popular site for ice fishing. Fly fishers troll Black Woolly Worms, Scud Imitations and Prineville Specials–trolled shallow with a lot of line out.

DIRECTIONS: Take Hwy. 126 east 30 mi. to Prineville. Then take SE SR380 to Juniper Canyon Rd. Continue S for 15 mi. to Prineville Reservoir.

DESCHUTES RIVER

There are at least ten different stretches of this 252-mile-long river and they all include enormous populations of Rainbow and Brown Trout. The Deschutes River is known worldwide for its fly-fishing. Whether you’re after the elusive Steelhead or the native Redside Trout, your experience will be enriched by the beauty and majesty of the river as it flows on its journey to the Columbia. The lower 100 miles of the Deschutes River is famous for blue-ribbon wild Trout and Steelhead.

The best population of stream-inhabiting Brown Trout in the state lives in the upper Deschutes River below Wickiup Reservoir. Highly accessible, the river changes dramatically below Wickiup Dam to become a slow, meandering, powerful body of water.

The Deschutes River has special regulations in effect. All fishing is done while wading. Fishing from a boat is not allowed.

There are many places to fish on the Deschutes River—consult our Central Oregon local fly shops.

METOLIUS RIVER FISHING

The Metolius River, one of the nation’s largest spring-fed rivers, runs through the tiny community of Camp Sherman northwest of Sisters and is legendary for its stunning beauty and some of the best year-round fly-fishing in the world. The Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery is a fun place to learn about fish and to feed the fingerlings in the outdoor pools.

DIRECTIONS: From Redmond, Take Hwy. 20 west through Sisters. Follow the signs to Camp Sherman and you will see signs to the Metolius.

GETTING A FISHING LICENSE

You can pick up a resident or non-resident fishing license for a day or a season at the Super Wal-Mart located on the north end of Redmond.