Metolius super river

[bigfootfish]

I just spent part of my vacation at Camp Sherman on the Metolius River. I have completely fallen in love with the Metolius. The Warm Springs Indians and the ODFW plus thousands of other fans of the Metolius have joined together to creat the most amazing fish restoration project that I have ever heard of! My God what a fishery the Metolius is going to become! This is on top of the already FANTASTIC fishing on the Metolius. Whoo Hooo! More in a few...


BFF

 

[steelhead_stalkers]

Can you use jigs and floats there? barbless? What are the restrictions? Thanks

 

[Left Bank]

Can you use jigs and floats there? barbless? What are the restrictions? Thanks

Hey SS, Lots of restrictions for this beautiful river. More or less it's barbless artificial lures and C&R. Here's what the regs state:

• Open entire year.
• Catch and release for all fish, including bull trout.
• All bull trout must be released unharmed.
• Restricted to artificial flies and lures downstream from Bridge 99.
• Restricted to fly angling only with barbless hooks upstream from Bridge 99 (see fly
angling definition, page 6).
• Closed in mainstem upstream from Allingham Bridge and also in Spring Creek
Jan. 1-May 22 and Nov. 1-Dec. 31.
• Closed within 100 feet of Camp Sherman Bridge.
• No angling from a floating device.

 

[bigfootfish]

Okay. I'm back. The Metolius is a river that is born at the north side of Black Butte, the same Black Butte which the Black Butte Ranch is named after, near Sisters, Oregon. The Metolius comes out of the ground as two large springs, flows about 21 miles down into Lake Billy Chinook. Almost twopointfive miles downstream is a small permanent community of people called Camp Sherman. Camp Sherman is considered by many to be the number one spot for the best fly fishing on Earth. The river is cold cold cold 365 days a year. Large Brown, Rainbow, and Bulltrout, live in the Metolius. Before the dams on the Deschutes were finished back in the sixties(NO FISH LADDERS WERE BUILT!) the Metolius had salmon and steelhead runs which were, and still are, the stuff of legends.
Metolius means "STINKING WATERS" in the local dialect of the Native Americans which live just to the north. Stinking waters, you might ask? Well!! I'm not talking sulpher springs here, OFFers! The word was applied because of the thousands upon thousands of dead salmon bodies that would collect in the tributaries of the Metolius after the fish spawned. The completion of the downstream dams on the Dechutes without fish passage structures wiped out the runs overnight. Wah!!!
Anyway, things have changed. New fish passage technology has been completed just last year on the dams downstream. In anticipation of this event the ODFW hs been planting for the past seven years thousands of baby fish in the tributaries of the Metolius. What kind of fish? Spring Chinook, winter Steelhead, summer Steelhead and Coho Salmon. These fish were all native to the upper Metolius over forty years ago. So................something to think about!!:think::yay::yay::yay::clap:

BFF

 

[bigfootfish]

Okay, the Meolius is fly fishing only from the headwater springs for about 8 or 9 miles downstream to lower bridge, or Bridge 99. Downstream from Bridge 99 lures are also allowed, all the way to Lake Billy Chinook. No bait is allowed anywhere. It is also catch and release, period. All the tributaries are closed, with the exception of two small streams. Oh, and barbless hooks are required. So, it is a challenging stream to fish, aye?

BFF

 

[halibuthitman]

The Met is a very difficult river to fish, the fall river is probably the only body of water in oregon more difficult to fly fish, access is abundant, which is rare... but fishing it is actually quite difficult, floating it and getting out of the raft or kayak is boarderline legal.. but I don't recomend it, I have been all the way down the river 3 times.. it can be a very dangerous float. The river is still quite high for this time of year, while dry fly fishing is good, czech nymphing and dredging buggers is what produces most big fish. It is a stunning river... and very fun and challenging to fish.. I have fished it around 40 days total... and barely can produce a big day. Go... but don't take your begginer friends with you.. this is Gods water, and it breaks my heart to imagine hatchery steelhead and nooks on it... I wish they would leave well enough alone.. for with the return of the salmon...here comes the meat hunters..garbage... bobbers in trees and crowds... then I will have to drive all the way to the Fall River..But what-ever... Go ahead odf.. tax me some more to ruin my favorite spots... thanks

 

[bigfootfish]

The runs they are trying to bring back, if successful, would help restore the Metolius to its former glory. I see nothing wrong with that. The Metolius had it own subspecies of steelhead, unique in all of Oregon. The ODFW has supposedly located the descendants of the original steelhead, with the help of Warm Springs. Bait will never be allowed and the ODFW may continue to keep the entire Metolius CATCH & RELEASE, as it currently is. Have hope, HHM.

BFF

 

[halibuthitman]

whats wrong with the glory it exist in now.....? what is this hard-on people have with fixing broken sh*t? I swear ODFW could screw up getting laid in a whore house... If they had their way... there would be a returning franken-steel run returning to my down stairs bathroom toilet.. and then I would have to pay $50 bucks just to take a turd in it.. but only if it was a clipped turd... on a thursday... while facing east.. during a time of a democrat majority senate... But I will try to be fake and say I can't wait.

 

[mlw]

I'll agree with halibuthitman, I wish we could trust odfw to do the right thing, but I don't. I camped overnight on the Metolius a couple weeks ago, only got an hour or so fishing in (I was traveling), but caught a nice fish on a green soft hackle.
Michael

 

[halibuthitman]

oooh.. I bet it was a fatty! swinging softhackles or skating stimulaters works awsome in the transition of the hatch! I love using the soft hackle spiders or like a Britton fly in the evening.. then literaly at dark the blanket hatch comes off.. microscopic black ants work really well in the upper river too..all day.. its my go to fly at 1 in the afternoon.

 

[steelhead_stalkers]

Are there any weight restrictions on your flies? I would like to fish some micro jigs there sometime and I promise to not leave any of my small indicators in the trees Halibuthitman.

 

[Markcanby]

I think the way it works is the Weight must be on the fly in fly only waters. I dont remember reading anything about how heavy the fly could be

 

[Markcanby]

whats wrong with the glory it exist in now.....? what is this hard-on people have with fixing broken sh*t? I swear ODFW could screw up getting laid in a whore house... If they had their way... there would be a returning franken-steel run returning to my down stairs bathroom toilet.. and then I would have to pay $50 bucks just to take a turd in it.. but only if it was a clipped turd... on a thursday... while facing east.. during a time of a democrat majority senate... But I will try to be fake and say I can't wait.

Somebody started gulping the sipping whiskey early today!

 

[halibuthitman]

external shot may be used unless prohibited in specified waters.. but a jig would have the lead built into the fly.. so it would be good, but judging by the looks of a micro jig you probably weight the line above the jig as well? anyway, your biggest requirment would be the fly gear.. but a flyrod and a center pin reel would fall under fly gear. The best fishing on the river in my own opinion is below the bridge in the barbless hook anything but bait goes section, the river is a jig fishers dream with tons of good level slower water.. loooong drifts. I hope when I make a broad statement like bobbers, that the guys who leave them in the trees, and the guys who don't know who they are, and they are two different kind of fishermen.. so no offense I hope... unless your that guy who has been decorating all the deadline wires at every hatchery in the state!:shock:

 

[nyersa]

I dunno, I understand the intent behind all the rules and regs on some bodies of water like this, but come on, its like you practically have to be a frigging lawyer to fish the water.

 

[steelhead_stalkers]

No offense here. They are to expensive to leave in the trees! :lol: We fish the Rouge in the summer where its fly only with no added weight on the line. I can make some pretty heavy micro jigs. LOL

These regs are mild, try reading the ones for the fly only water on the North Umpqua. Its basically dry fly only!

 

[bigsteel]

the metolius is definitely one of the cleanest rivers i have fished......i like below 99 bridge or around allingham.

 

[bigfootfish]

I dunno, I understand the intent behind all the rules and regs on some bodies of water like this, but come on, its like you practically have to be a frigging lawyer to fish the water.

It is a most challenging river to fish. And speaking of lawyers, quite a few like to fish the Met!

BFF

 

[bigfootfish]

stir the pot

stir the pot

Well, I'm glad to see so much interest in the Metolius. I really like the passionate verbalizations some of you have made. HalibutHitMan, I agree with your feelings about the ODFW. I still remember the Winter Steelhead that would make their way up into the Middle and South Forks of the Santiams back in the late fifties and early sixties, spawning in late May and early June. The completion of Foster and Green Peter Dams wiped out those runs. I was a kid then but I will never forget the pools on the upper Middle and South Forks being filled with Winters spawning.

BFF

 

[bigfootfish]

a few pics

a few pics

Here are a few pics I took while up at Camp Sherman. I am going under the knife on Tuesday. I got a good surgeon. He loves the Metolius too. I will hopefully recover quickly enough to spend another week or so up at Camp Sherman. I hope to make it back up there around the 25th or 26th.ray:



BFF