OWYHEE RIVER FISHING REPORTS 2021
SEPTEMBER REPORT
Little midges in the morning and blue wings in the afternoon. These are the two hatches that are driving the Owyhee right now. We are landing some nice fish on size 22 BWO split backs when at the adults start emerging early afternoon. But the big surprise is the little size 22 grey midges that emerge during the morning. These tiny insects are best imitated by a grey zebra midge.
AUGUST 6TH
The weather can be hot in the canyon but so is the fishing. The late summer hopper hatch is on. Size 8 and 10 hoppers with a small BWO beaded nymph as your dropper will produce fish. I like the hot windy afternoons. Pounding the bank with a hopper has produced some spectacular takes and enormous trout.
JULY 10TH
Things are still heating up in the canyon. Big fish are being taken now from top to bottom. And from size 22 to size 8 hooks. The main hatch is still the PMD. Spinners in the morning and Duns in the afternoon. You can catch fish in the middle of the day using a size #18 PMD split back. Then once the hatch starts switch to your favorite emerger. Our favorite is a sparkle dun in a size #18. But a transitional PMD seem to work well. Evening hatches can be spectacular. But we are into quality fish early AM also. I have been seeing some significant BWO hatches that one can take advantage of. Use size 20 and 22 BWO split backs and your favorite emerger to get into fish if you see these little guys coming off. As usual. Be courteous to others give each other space and please pick up any trash you see. Life is great. Live it well.
June 24th
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Some of the best dry fly action of the year can be experienced on the river right now. With a strong hatch of PMDs coming off daily. One can catch the spinner fall as soon as the sun warms the canyon air then later that afternoon catch the emerger of a new batch of adults. So two dry fly opportunities each day. I’ve been using a size 18 PMD comparidun for the early morning risers and a size 18 PMD sparkle dun to imitate the emerging insects. Both drifted naturally have been extremely effective. Use the size 18 split back to imitate the swimming nymph. Our heaviest fish to date was landed on one of these. As always stay safe and pick up any trash you see. Help us keep the canyon clean. Visit us on Facebook or instagram.
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June 5th
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We are still seeing outstanding action on the Owyhee River. Fly Fishing trophy trout on a clear western blue ribbon stream cant get much better. The Blue wings are still driving the action from top to bottom. Use a BWO split back in a size #20 early then switch to an emerger once the hatch starts. If you see noses coming up threw the surface you can target that fish with a size 20 BWO sparkle dun or something similar. Low in the river canyon expect to see some action on PMD's. Use a size 18 split back to imitate the nymph stage and a PMD sparkle dunn also size 18 to imitate the adult. June is booking up fast so get your fun day on the O scheduled. You won’t be disappointed.
May 24th
The weather is cool and unsettled but the fishing is red hot. An early afternoon BWO hatch is the main event. Nymphing a size 20 BWO split back is producing the most fish right now. When noses can be seen you can try casting a size 20 BWO emerger. There are a few PMDs hatching however the fish aren’t being seen taking any of these larger insects. Their day is coming. 😃. Tight lines.
May 15th
With the beautiful desert wildflowers popping out in the canyon another welcome site are the caddis hatches. Caddis hatches can be seen popping out all up and down the river so have your favorite caddis emerger pattern in light brown size 16-18. In the morning be ready with a size 20 - 18 BWO split back. This has been producing some exceptional fish right off the bat. The next surprise I saw this week was the first PMD hatch. It was an all out hatch of size 16 PMD sulfur yellow. Our favorite imitations are the sparkle duns and for the nymph a same sized dark brown to black PMD split back. Like always please help us keep the canyon pristine by picking up your garbage or any trash you see left behind by others. The canyon is in all it’s splendor right now and the fishing is great. Stay Safe...
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APRIL 29
Oregon resident fly fishermen that are traveling to fish the O are getting a real treat. Nice weather and a vacant river. This is due to Covid 19. With the river closed to non-resident fishing there is very little pressure. The Owyhee River is seeing sparse pressure and beautiful sunshine. The fish are lively healthy and eager to bit. The hatch to watch are the blue wings that begin around 2 pm and taper off into the later afternoon. Fish can be seen rising on these size 18 insects as they break threw the surface however most of our luck was produced sub surface as the larger fish can be seen gorging themselves on the nymphs. A size 20 to 16 BWO split back was our best producer. The water is low and clear and the canyon is a buzz with wildlife activity. Lots of primitive camping spots are available along the river. The pictures are classic for the Owyhee River. Milt and Dick had a great time stalking these two big browns as they fed on the storm of Blue wing nymphs below a nice riffle. It just took the right cast and the fish was on. Hope everyone is happy and healthy. Oregon residents can book a great day of fishing on the water with us here at Owyheeflyfisher.com.. Make some memories and get out of the house.
Tight lines
Brad.
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APRIL 2
There are two main hatches on the river right now. In the mornings we are having good luck fishing size 8 Skwala adults. Bodie, shown below landed this beauty using an adult Skwala and a Size 18 BWO split back as a dropper. A transitional dun or sparkle dune both size 18 are producing well when you see the Blue wings on the surface and fish are up feeding on them. It’s so fun to spot and stock big fish. The Blue wing hatch brings up some of the big fish to gorge on the dainty delicacies. The canyon is alive and greening up. The native birds are arriving and staking their claims with their attractive songs and behaviors. Flights of snow geese and Sandhill Crains can be seen on the way into the canyon. Watch out for rocks on the roads especially after the rain showers.
Tight lines.
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MARCH 2020
March 14 fishing report.
The canyon is awakening. Spring is a special but brief phase of the canyon. And we are in the midsts of that change right now. Shades of green are coming back and the first influx of riparian birds have arrived.
The Blue wing olives (Baetidae) are the main hatch on the river right now. These little mayflies, size 18, are very important to the fishery because their life cycles have an unusual vulnerability phase that trout take advantage of. These little swimmers make there way to the surface then they drift a great distance just under the film trying to escape their shucks. Even after they have broken the surface they may ride the current before taking wing. Knowledge of this will help you make better choices when watching “feeders”. Emerger patterns in size 20 and 18 are great and small nymph flies like a pheasant tail in similar sizes imitate the rising BWO and will produce results even when the hatch is not going on.
Phil Anderson and his twin boys Cody and Carson said they had a great day yesterday 3/13. Phil landed this beauty stripping a cray fish fly in the early morning. Later in the afternoon we had fun sight fishing to trophy fish taking the BWO as described above.
Stay tuned. Book your spring and summer trip now fishing is only going to get better!
Tight lines everyone!
Brad
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FEBRUARY 2020
It's the depth of winter on the river but as I ventured out, I found myself in the middle of a dry fly hatch - first of February. The hatch was already going on when I arrived bank side at 11 am. My intent was to euro nymph a couple of my favorite spots but it soon became evident that either my technique was off or the fish were just wanting to come to the surface, for tiny black midges. The size of fly that was working was a 22 midge pupa with ultra light leader and tippet. I even noticed some of the big boys coming up after these mid winter delicacies. It was noticed earlier in the week some large sized squawla stone fly nymphs lumbering around under the rocks. This first significant hatch should come off later this month and if the water is right, it could be some of the best fishing on the "O" so far this year. Stay tuned...If I were going to the river today I would defiantly have in my box an assortment of midge patterns, size 20 - 22, 6 - 7x tippet would be mandatory at this stage. Flows are at summer levels right now as the snow pack is above normal, so be careful wading. Tight Lines!
