Spring Trout Fishing Report: McKenzie River and Willamette River Fly Fishing

After some heavy rains late last week, the weather has improved markedly. The flows on the McKenzie and Willamette jumped. The lower reaches became very turbid below muddy tributaries, like the Mohawk. The trout fishing over the weekend, however, ranged from good to outstanding, as the March Brown hatch continues. The bugs always come off in the afternoon. Today the greatest profusion of March Browns emerged around 2:30pm. Both the McKenzie River and Willamette Rivers are fishing well.

The hatch always comes off best on cloudy days. Today we had some intermittent sun, with waves of bugs making their way to the surface when it disappeared behind the clouds. There were good numbers of nice fish feeding on the surface. We did well fishing dry flies to rising fish. Wet flies fished on the swing were also very effective.

It’s a great time to get out and enjoy what the river has to offer. The Spring is the best time of year to fish the lower McKenzie River. With daily hatches and a healthy population of wild fish, it’s an amazing resource.