Fish are cruising fairly close to the banks

East Lake - La Pine, OR (Deschutes County)

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Fly and Field

by Fly and Field Outfitters
9-10-2021
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East Lake continues to fish very well. Access is still difficult/impossible for large boats, a pontoon or float tube is a great idea. The lack of access means the waters are receiving less pressure than normal, making for great fishing. Fish are cruising fairly close to the banks. The callibaetis hatch has been excellent. Most of the duns are size 16 or smaller. We’ve noticed that sometimes a baetis pattern (blue wing olive) has been working well to imitate the smaller callibaetis hatches. The high-vis patterns help a lot on smoky days due to the odd reflections on the water. Terrestrials can still work well but I wouldn’t fish one without a nymph dropper. Callibaetis nymphs are the hot nymph right now, especially in water that’s no deeper than 8 feet or so. Size 14 - 18 chironomids have been working well for deep areas along with balanced leeches. Now that we are getting close to fall, brown trout will be especially aggressive. Stripping leeches and streamers is a good way to catch a nice butterball. The long-range forecast shows chances of snow two weeks from now, so get up to the lakes now before it’s too cold.

Suggested Flies: Bird’s Nest Hare’s Ear #14-18, Dark Assassin #14-18, Bird’s Nest Or Black Depth Charge #14-18, Red or Black Zebra Midge #16-18, Black or Red Chironocone #14-18, Poxyback Callibaetis #16-18, Feather Duster Callibaetis #16-18, Flashback PT #14-18, Red or Black Yankee Buzzer #14,  Bruised Balanced Leech #10-14, Ruby Leech #10-12, Black Wooly Bugger #10-12, Olive Wooly Bugger #10-12, Black or Rust Slump Buster #10-12, Thin Mint #10-12, Olive or Black BH Mini Leech #12, Balanced Damsel #14, Dainty Damsel #14, Scotts Damsel #14