Flylines

There is a moment late in August, as the days shorten, when you will notice a change in the air, a subtle crispness that says fall is coming.

Not long after that, we are likely to have a few cool moist days, like the ones we had last week. They bring the temperature down a little more.

This slight turn of the weather is not the end of the sunshine by any stretch of the imagination. There are still plenty of shirtless days left. But it is an end to the oppressive heat. It signals that the dog days of summer are over.

As the air temperature drops, water temperatures begin to cool, too. Fish everywhere will become more active. Because of the large quantity of spring source water that feeds the Metolius these changes occur more quickly there than on other streams. I always look for the August fishing slump to break here just before the Labor Day weekend.

When the first of the fall hatches begin on the Metolius, it is sometimes difficult to know which form of fishing to choose. There are so many good options.

Fall Green Drakes certainly can't be ignored. These insects, which are slightly smaller than regular Spring Drakes, average about a size #10. The hatch is very regular about 1:30 or 2 p.m. every afternoon.

I think I like fishing the Fall Drakes even better than the traditional early insects because this hatch is not nearly as well-known nor as popular. By fall many fishermen are turning to thoughts of hunting; others are off chasing steelhead. Good fishing close to home is often left undisturbed.

At about the same time we are likely to find Pale Stones. The Pale Stone, sometimes called a Willow Fly, is an interesting insect. It is fairly closely related to the more traditional Golden Stones but usually runs slightly larger in size - about a #6. They have dark blue/black wing veins, with blue/black over the heads, back, and sides of the body. The underbelly shades from light tan to light olive in color; hence the name Pale Stones. Females often have a neon purple egg mass attached to the abdomen.

Many of the Willow Flies are flightless. The wings are often atrophied and crumpled, incapable of supporting the insect's body weight in the air. This may be some form of evolutionary process at work.

On the lower Deschutes, while steelheading, we see a variation of this insect that is even further advanced toward a flightless state. They have only halter stubs for wings and not even as much development as the Metolius insects. One wonders what advantage these insects could gain by abandoning flight in their life cycle - but there must be something.

Best fishing with the Willow Flies is usually early in the morning before the light gets on the water. From about 7 to 11 a.m. Until the day starts to heat up, fishing can be explosive.

The timing of the two hatches is such that if you fish Willow Flies in the morning, and take a break for lunch after the fishing slows down, you'll be into the Drakes almost as soon as you're done eating. You can give yourself a really full day.

As if these two hatches were not enough, an observant angler will also be able to find good fishing with Golden Stones, tiny Olive Stones, Mayflies of several types and an occasional streamer for the Bull Trout.

That's the trouble with fall fishing. There are just too few days and not nearly enough time for fishing. One really should try to get to it all.