Fishing Season is Open in NE Oregon

Fishing season is open for trout and whitefish in our NE Oregon streams for the summer. Don’t be too discouraged by the high muddy water we are seeing as the snow leaves the mountains. High water has the fish more concentrated in areas of reduced turbulence, especially along the banks. The fish we have been catching on large profile flies like wooly buggers and stonefly nymphs look healthy. On the Grande Ronde we are already seeing golden stoneflies, yellow sallies, Pale Morning Duns (PMD’s) a handful of drakes and some Blue Winged Olives. Faster water with less visibility means a fish has less time to inspect your fly with his eyes so takes can be very aggressive. Choose flies with lots of moving parts like soft hackle, marabou, and rubber legs to help trout detect them in the water. Fish them with weight under and indicator close to the bank and get ready. During a typical year the largest trout caught on the Wallowa and Grande Ronde are hooked during high water in the spring.

A preview of coming attractions: Chinook Salmon season is slated to open on the Wallowa from the deadline at Minam State Park to the mouth of the Lostine and on the Imnaha on June 6 ^th . The Grande Ronde opens on June 13 ^th from Stateline to 100 yards above Wildcat Bridge. Lower than normal water levels should make for some pretty exciting fishing for Salmon and trout. Dates are already filling up so call to book your trip. We don’t know how long these seasons are going to stay open since Salmon are still coming over Bonneville Dam and quotas have not yet been set.

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