Brown trout on the Metolious

Just got back from the Metolious, fun and interesting camping trip. Arrived early Friday, just as this latest winter storm was passing, and it was *cold*, 13 degrees was the high temp and it was still snowing a bit. I saw one angler pick up a couple whitefish while euro-nymphing but that’s about it.

After a bitterly cold night (sub-zero temps) today was moderate and sunny, highs in the 40’s. PMD’s and mahogany’s were sporadically hatching, but the fish weren’t really keying into them. Again, I saw some euro-nymphers pick up whitefish.

…that is, until about 3pm when I landed my first Brown Trout on the Met! This beautiful 18” fish was holding deep and under some overhanging brush, and fought well.

Caught on a perdigon hung 10 feet below a NZ strike indicator.




(bonus photo- my dog hanging by the fire)

 

[dirty dog]

Many years ago I was standing on the Camp Sherman bridge and there were big brown trout and big rainbows being fed bread by the tourist.
I never caught a brown in the "M" some bulls and RBs
.Caught some really big browns in the Deschutes N. of Bend and in the COI ditches around Bend, even caught some browns in the "D" south of Bend.
Hooked and lost some really big Browns in Fall river, way back in the "Good ole days"
The neighbor kid that lived across the street came home one afternoon with a Brown he caught in Drake park the was over 10 lbs. Caught on a 6" stick bait.

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

There are Bookies in the Lady M, but apparently there is little overlap between the Brookies and Bulls in the spawning tribs - seen a reference at one time, but cannot seem to find it (I'll keep looking), but this acknowledges their presence:

https://nativefishsociety.org/assets/watershed-assets/upper-deschutes/UpperDeschutesReport.pdf

cheers

... Also, there may or may not be a community member named @clarkman, who may or may not have caught a Brookie (or more) in the Lady M, and who I may or may not have commented to that I hoped he "bonked it", to which he may or may not have severely rebuked me, reminding me the Lady M is a catch and release only, after which I may or may not have felt rightly chastised.

In other words, I believe we have a least one eye-witness to the fact that the Lady M does indeed hold some Brookies.

cheers

 

[mcswny]

... Also, there may or may not be a community member named @clarkman, who may or may not have caught a Brookie (or more) in the Lady M, and who I may or may not have commented to that I hoped he "bonked it", to which he may or may not have severely rebuked me, reminding me the Lady M is a catch and release only, after which I may or may not have felt rightly chastised.

In other words, I believe we have a least one eye-witness to the fact that the Lady M does indeed hold some Brookies.

cheers

Was this the conversation on Westfly when someone said they caught an Atlantic Salmon (and yes, they were being serious).

 

[Brian in OR.]

A call to Jeff Perin would probably shed more light on the brown's history in the river...

 

[Snopro]

Was this the conversation on Westfly when someone said they caught an Atlantic Salmon (and yes, they were being serious).

I vaguely remember the conversation. They did raise Atlantic salmon for Hosmer at Wizard Falls hatchery so it's possible one may have slipped out. Not much crazier than the juvenile chinook I caught at Rocky Ford creek.

 

[mcswny]

I vaguely remember the conversation. They did raise Atlantic salmon for Hosmer at Wizard Falls hatchery so it's possible one may have slipped out. Not much crazier than the juvenile chinook I caught at Rocky Ford creek.

Yeah, that was the conversation!

 

[clarkman]

oh god....

yes, there are brookies on the upper upper Met. Sorry @Canuck from Kansas I did NOT bonk it/them...Maybe I should just bonked it though. They're great bait for bullies....actually, prolly shoulda stuck it in my live well in my boat I was fishin' out of whilst floating down the Met to stick a toad bull further down.....I honestly don't remember the W-fly convo....chances are though, I was kinda a dick. apologies all around.

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

oh god....

yes, there are brookies on the upper upper Met. Sorry @Canuck from Kansas I did NOT bonk it/them...Maybe I should just bonked it though. They're great bait for bullies....actually, prolly shoulda stuck it in my live well in my boat I was fishin' out of whilst floating down the Met to stick a toad bull further down.....I honestly don't remember the W-fly convo....chances are though, I was kinda a dick. apologies all around.

No apologies needed, I might have been me who was being a dick (I had completely lost sight of the C&R regs) - anyways, from what I have read, they do not spawn in the same tribs, with the Brookies tending to spawn in the warmer tribs and Bulls in the coldest; no evidence of any hybrids.

cheers

 

[clarkman]

No apologies needed, I might have been me who was being a dick (I had completely lost sight of the C&R regs) - anyways, from what I have read, they do not spawn in the same tribs, with the Brookies tending to spawn in the warmer tribs and Bulls in the coldest; no evidence of any hybrids.

cheers

yeah, I have no idea why there wouldn't be hybrids but the only one's I've ever caught were way upstream from Camp Sherman. The only Browns I've caught were either in Lake Creek (dunno if it's still open, but it used to be the same time as the water upstream of Allingham) and down to the gorge...never below.

 

[dirty dog]

I vaguely remember the conversation. They did raise Atlantic salmon for Hosmer at Wizard Falls hatchery so it's possible one may have slipped out. Not much crazier than the juvenile chinook I caught at Rocky Ford creek.

I also caught a juvenile chinook in RF

 

[Westfly Refugee]

Some Metolius fisheries details ....

Reportedly, prior to the Pelton Roundbutte dam projects being put in, there would be a run of Brown Trout that went into the upper Metolius. I'm a bit skeptical of this having never seen pictures. However this was told to me by a knowledgeable resident who definitely knew the difference between Browns and 'Dollies' as they were called back then.

Around 1985-87, a bunch of Atlantic Salmon got out of Wizard Falls Hatchery and for a few days fishing for them below the hatchery was very good. They quickly disappeared.

Brook Trout - Very small Abbot Creek has - or had - a sustaining population. In many, many outings on the Metolius I've caught just one, just below Camp Sherman Store. And have the pic to prove it.

Brown Trout - I've never heard of one caught in the river downstream of Bridge 99. Being they are caught in the vicinity of Camp Sherman, I'd wager they're migrants from the connected Blue Lake and Suttle Lake, and Lake Creek.

 

[GAT]

I learned to flyfish during the 70s on The Met. At that time, there were whitefish, brookies, browns, bull trout (called Dollies back then) and rainbow,(not to mention the kokanee) in the river. And I do in fact have a photo of a friend holding an Atlantic Salmon he caught in the river during one of the monthly trips we'd take over there. We asked the guys at the hatchery if they were going to start planting Atlantic Salmon in the river and they said no, a number of the salmon escaped into the river and that's the only reason they were there.

Way back when, the browns grew quite large that lived under the banks in the upper river. They were difficult to fool but when you did, it was a shock to the system.

Most of the steelhead size guys lived with the rainbow under the Camp Sherman Bridge. I got the feeling the browns were planted in The Met (long, long ago) but I never did get official confirmation on that one. I do know the hatchery did (and probably still does) have problems from time to time with fishing escaping the hatching and ending up in the river. How they could do that is beyond me but that's what I've been told by the hatchery guys.