Cascade lakes advice? (Oregon)

boltej

boltej

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I'm headed out with my son next week for some camping/stillwater fly-fishing on one of the smaller Cascade lakes in central Oregon above Bend. Being pretty much a rank novice when it comes to lake fishing (I'm pretty much a moving water guy), I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions regarding fly selection, color, presentation, or anything else that might be relevant for this time of year in that part of the planet. I'm assuming smaller leeches are good place to start, but beyond that I'm fairly clueless. We'll be bringing a couple of pontoon boats. Any guidance would be appreciated!
 
Have a few terrestrials in your box. Hoppers, beetles, ants, etc. fished near shore and bushes. Two flies e.g. dry and dropper. If damsels/dragonflies are flying around, damse/dragonfly nymphs e.g. Carey Special.

Keep your eyrs open to see what it tells you...
 
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It depends on the lake you will be fishing in CO - but leeches are always a good search pattern to start with until you starting seeing some hatches occurring. I just got back several days ago, and at the three lakes I fished I was surprised to see a pretty good callibaetis hatches occurring and the fish were somewhat on them. I also saw a few damsels still around, so fishing a damsel pattern won't hurt as well.

I fished Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday and the water temperatures were still fairly high but dropping, but with this cooler and rainy weather we have had the past two days will help, but please be cautious of the water temps, I had to get off the lakes around lunch time due to the rising water temps.

Feel free to DM me if you want more specifics - there are a couple of lakes that are fishing well right now in CO.

Peach
 
RCF said:
Have a few terrestrials in your box. Hoppers, beetles, ants, etc. fished near shore and bushes. Two flies e.g. dry and dropper. If damsels/dragonflies are flying around, damse/dragonfly nymphs e.g. Carey Special.

Keep your eyes open to see what it tells you...
Click to expand...
That subtle hint is actually a mouthful. Lakes talk all day, including when silent. They're constantly telling you something useful.

Based on your post, the most useful I thought of is having a full sink line for starters. Something in the traditional type 4 or 5 range (fast side of middle sink rate without being a deep diver). One of the most popular ways to struggle in lakes is to be too high up, thinking a floater and sink tip or hovering line will cover enough depth. You don't need to go much beyond 10 feet or so, I never do, but putting your fly down even a few feet effectively takes more than people realize.

Searching - assuming the lake isn't saying much, I know the shoreline and general trolling out in the open are popular. But if you can, find a shoal or expanse of 0-10 ft depth and look around a while. Nothing tricky, just put it down below halfway best you can. Trolling still ok, or do a cast-count-retrieve. A few minutes of that usually tells you how active or not the lake probably is.

Final tip. Again assuming it's slow, I always tell myself, "the deader it is now the aliver it's gonna be later." And sometimes later is minutes away.

Have a blast down there. Think its been 20 years for me, but that area is a favorite.
 
I fish those lakes somewhat often, mostly in June and September/October. In fact, you might even see me out there at one of them later next week...PM me if you'd like to know which one I'll be fishing.

I love those lakes because I actually do best with dry flies. There are days when a leech, callibaetis nymph or red chironomid will do well for me below an indicator, but most days it's better for me on top. Lots of callibaetis which the fish have been feeding on every day since late June. A basic Adams parachute or a callibaetis emerger are my go-to flies. But my favorite fly is a #12 or #10 beetle. I haven't fished ants but hear those can be great too. As is typical on lakes, the bite will go on and off, and when it's on I'll usually see rises on the smaller lake I fish. Good luck and have fun!
 
boltej said:
I'm headed out with my son next week for some camping/stillwater fly-fishing on one of the smaller Cascade lakes in central Oregon above Bend. Being pretty much a rank novice when it comes to lake fishing (I'm pretty much a moving water guy), I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions regarding fly selection, color, presentation, or anything else that might be relevant for this time of year in that part of the planet. I'm assuming smaller leeches are good place to start, but beyond that I'm fairly clueless. We'll be bringing a couple of pontoon boats. Any guidance would be appreciated!
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Pick up a copy of Fishing in Oregon's Cascade Lakes . Might be a bit dated but it's loaded with information and tips. The cover art isn't too shabby either.
 
Paulina - bring beetle/hopper/ant patterns and park them on the seam where the shallows drop off into deeper water. The fish cruising below the ledge will come up to inspect/take a terrestrial when spotted. I leave them parked for about five mins before casting to another location. Black or Olive orange bead Leeches and small wet flies on indy or a sink tip in 5' to 10' of water can do the job.
East Lake - the callibaetis hatch is spotty, nymphs under an indy or slow retrieve on a sink tip. Chironomids always a go to, olive good this time of year.
If you're tubing the wind will be a factor. The east shore campground at Paulina provides the most protected water.
If you end up at East Lake the SE corner weedbeds can get really good in the evening, mid day the fish can be found just outside of them, and the nearby 'cliffs' hold some big fish that will grab onto a deep trolled leech.

cheers
 
This is great timing. I'm heading to Bend for the long weekend and may head up to East/Paulina or over to Crane
 
Tim L said:
That subtle hint is actually a mouthful. Lakes talk all day, including when silent. They're constantly telling you something useful.

Based on your post, the most useful I thought of is having a full sink line for starters. Something in the traditional type 4 or 5 range (fast side of middle sink rate without being a deep diver). One of the most popular ways to struggle in lakes is to be too high up, thinking a floater and sink tip or hovering line will cover enough depth. You don't need to go much beyond 10 feet or so, I never do, but putting your fly down even a few feet effectively takes more than people realize.

Searching - assuming the lake isn't saying much, I know the shoreline and general trolling out in the open are popular. But if you can, find a shoal or expanse of 0-10 ft depth and look around a while. Nothing tricky, just put it down below halfway best you can. Trolling still ok, or do a cast-count-retrieve. A few minutes of that usually tells you how active or not the lake probably is.

Final tip. Again assuming it's slow, I always tell myself, "the deader it is now the aliver it's gonna be later." And sometimes later is minutes away.

Have a blast down there. Think its been 20 years for me, but that area is a favorite.
Click to expand...
I have lived on the same small lake for 26 years. I was a volunteer lake steward for the county for 5 years+. Yes - keep your eyes open is a mouthful and then some. Every time I go out fishing I learn something, even after 26 years... A large part of why fishing lakes is fun...
 
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Super helpful advice, very much appreciated! Tim L, your "the deader it is now the aliver it's gonna be later" comment is great, I can roll that out on any number of occasions. And I'll definitely be trying to pay attention to what the lake is trying to tell me, again great advice for any number of situations. I'll try to post a trip report. This board is such a great community!
 
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