Wallowa River Oregon Fishing Report & Options for Selecting Flies: Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone/ Tailwater-note: Wallawa
Lake was a natural lake raised by a
dam. It is no longer used for
electricity, only for water storage.
Species
Steelhead
Rainbow Trout
Size
Small to Medium, 50 miles long
Location
Northeastern Oregon
Nearest Towns
Wallowa
Season
Varies with species
Access:
Fair
Non-Resident License
State of Oregon
Weather
National Weather Service
Season:
The season varies with species, so be sure to check the current regulations
Winter:
Steelhead fishing peaks from January through February
Spring:
Late Spring can be okay for rainbows depending on the runoff and weather.
Summer:
Fly fishing the Wallowa River for rainbows is best during the summertime.
Fall:
Early Fall can produce some rainbows
Recommended Tackle & Gear
For Steelhead and Salmon
Fly Line:
7, 8 , 9 or 10 weight for appropriate typerod, sinking, sinking tip and floating
Leaders:
10#, 12# in 9 to 15 feet lengths
Tippets:
10# and 12#
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly 7, 8, 9 and 10 ft. single hand rods
Fly Reels:
For 7 to 10 weight lines
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
KISS Strike Indicators, Lanyards, etc.
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Fly Fishing The Wallowa River Oregon
The Wallowa River’s headwaters begin in the Eagle Cap Wilderness as a small stream that flows into Wallowa Lake. The main river flows from Wallowa Lake in the Wallowa Mountains of Oregon a distance of about fifty miles to its confluence with the Grande Ronde River.
The upper part of the river below the lake, flows through a valley of farmland. The lower section flows into a rugged canyon and at its end, joins the Minam River. This is a very good rainbow trout stream with steelhead appearing the first of the year and peaking in February and early March. Fly fishing the Wallowa River is good during much of the year.
The steelhead are caught on most traditional fly patterns using nymphs and swinging wet flies. The rainbows are mostly caught using nymphs but the dry fly fishing can be good at certain times of the year.
The lower section of the river, approximately ten miles long, isn’t easily accessed. Steelhead move into this part of the river from the Grande Ronde in January and continue to move upriver into the more accessible areas in February.
Above the town of Minam there’s about nine miles of the river directly accessible from highway #82. It’s a beautiful canyon section of the river and a popular one during the peak season. This section of the river, consisting mostly of pocket water, is also a great area for catching the resident rainbows. The best rainbow trout fishing takes place from sometime in June, depending on the weather, through September.
Most of the rainbows average about 12 inches but go up to as large as 18 and over. The section from the lake to Wallowa flows through private property. In most cases, you can probably obtain permission from land owners to fish.
Something unique about this area is the “steelhead train” that runs up and down a ten mile stretch of the river each Saturday in February and March. It drops anglers off in the morning and picks them back up in the afternoons. This is a function of one of the lodges.
Whether you prefer to chase steelhead or wild rainbows, the Wallowa River provides you the opportunity in a beautiful setting. The Wallowa River is an excellent rainbow trout fishery from the point it leaves Wallowa Lake to flow through the Wallowa Valley, through the Wallowa Canyon. Steelhead are in the river during the Spring and Fall. There’s two hatcheries, one at Big Canyon and one just below Enterprise. Although steelhead are found in all sections of the river at times most of the fishing is done below the Big Canyon Hatchery
Flies:
We have a complete line of flies for steelhead and salmon. We have selected them as the most popular flies from thousands of patterns that have been developed over the years. We have some of our own Perfect Fly steelhead and salmon patterns. They imitate the hexigenia mayfly nymph, certain caddisfly nymphs, stonefly nymphs and fish roe or eggs that are found in the river throughout the year. We also have a full line of popular wet flies, egg flies, Spey flies that are very popular. We hope you will give our flies a try.
Trout Flies:
We definitely recommend our “Perfect Fly” trout flies. They are by far the best flies for the Wallowa River because they are the most realistic flies you can purchase. We have imitations of every insect and other trout food that is present in this stream. If you haven’t done so already, we ask you to give them a try. We know you will not be disappointed