Wood River, Oregon Fly Fishing Report Updated 04/28/24
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Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies 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. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
Type of Stream
Spring Creek
Species
Rainbow Trout (Redband) Wild
Brown Trout (Wild)
Size
Small to Medium
Location
Southwestern Oregon
Nearest Towns
Fort Klamath
Season
Last Sat. of April through Oct. 31
Access:
Poor
Non-Resident License
State of Oregon
Weather
National Weather Service
Season:
The season is last Saturday of April through October
Spring:
The Spring season starts off with good fishing.
Summer:
Summertime is the best time for fly fishing the Wood River.
Fall:
Early Fall is good for the brown trout which spawn in the Fall as well as the big migratory Redband rainbows
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.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
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.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Fly Fishing the Wood River in Oregon
The Wood River is a gem of a Spring Creek. It flows through forest and farmland with huge trout hiding under every bank, or prowling the grassy bends for food. Migratory Redband rainbows and big browns will challenge your fly fishing skills to the utmost. The Wood River originates from a large spring in Kimball State Park just to the northeast of Fort Klamath. It’s ideal dry fly fishing grounds for those up to its challenge.
The migratory Redband rainbows are in the river during the Fall months. The large browns are resident fish that hide under the willows and deep undercut grassy banks throughout the season.
The Wood River flows through private property and is best fished from a boat. Its currents are smooth and steady and its waters never crowded. The best thing the Wood River has going for it is that it’s catch and release only.
Although presentation is very important, equally important is how well your fly resembles the appearance and behavior of the naturals. You can increase your odds of success if you use as realistic imitations of the naturals as possible. That’s why our Perfect Fly flies work so well on this spring creek.
There are prolific aquatic insect hatches that occur frequently on the Wood River. The high pH of the water provides the perfect water chemistry for many species of mayflies, caddisflies, midges and other types of aquatic insects. The stream also has plenty of scuds available for the trout to eat. Blue-winged Olives, Mahogany Duns, Pale Morning Duns, Spotted and Green Sedges, midges, damselfly and dragon fly larvae and other insects provide good fly fishing opportunities.
The banks of Wood River are grass lined and terrestrial insects are plentiful. Hoppers, beetles and ants often get blown or washed in the river. The large big browns and migratory rainbows can also be taken on streamers that imitate baitfish and sculpin.
This great fishing is in the shadow of Crater Lake. The stream has beautiful mountain views and is home of many different species of birds including owls, hawks and eagles. Not everyone enjoys spring creek fishing but if you do, fly fishing the Wood River
is about as good as it gets.
Be sure to squeeze down the barbs on your hooks. Rules require barbless hooks only.
Wood River Fishing Report:
05/01/20 Conditions are good. There are
some very good hatches taking place and
you should be able to catch good numbers
of trout.
05/16/20 Excellent condtions continue
with lots of hatching insects and trout
being caught.
06/02/20 The river is still in good shape
with good numbers of trout being caught.
There are some very good hatches.
06/26/20 The river is in good shape in all
respects with good hatches going on and
trout being caught by our customers.
07/09/20 The stream is in great shape
with lots of trout being caught. There are
multiple hatches taking place.
07/21/20 The conditions remain very
good. We continue to get good reports.
08/04/20 It doesn’t get much better than
this. Good hatches and terrestrials are
working good.
08/20/20 This is an excellent choice of
streams to fish as it is spring fed and the
water stays cool. We continue to get good
reports from customers.
09/12/20 Good reports coming in from
customers. There are a lot of insects
hatching and our terrestrial patterns are
also producing well.
10/03/20 The river is in good shape and
turning out good numbers of trout for our
customers.
10/22/20 The conditions are very good
and good numbers of trout are being
caught. Season closes at the end of the
month.
03/18/20 Season is closed. Let us help
you plan your next year’s trip.
04/19/21 The river is in great shape and opening very soon. Shoot us an email for a recommended fly and gear list.
05/02/21 The stream is turning out some good trout for our customers. There are some very good hatches and trout are being caught subsurface as well as on the top by our dry flies.
05/11/21 Excellent conditions exist. The stream is producing some very nice size trout for the few anglers fishing. We are getting some good reports from customers. Send us an email or call us for a recommended fly and gear list.
05/20/21 Lots of insects are hatching. Pale Morning duns, BWOs, Spotted Sedge and Green Sedge caddis and others. We continue to get good reports.
05/28/21 We are still getting good report from customers. Our Perfect flies work great on the Fall because the trout get a good look at the fly in the clear water. There are some very good hatches taking place.
06/06/21 More good reports thanks to the good hatches taking place. Call or write us for a recommended fly list.
06/17/21 Good hatches are taking place and we continue to get good reports from customers. Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations.
07/03/21 Another good Oregon stream that stayed cool in the hot weather. We are getting very good reports from customers. Good dry fly fishing.
07/14/21 Thanks to the cool spring water the good reports from customers continue to come in. Send us an email (www.sales@perfectflystore.com)lor call us 800 594 4726 for recommended fly and gear recommendations.
07/20/21 The stream is still being under fished. We continue to get good reports from customers thanks to good hatches.
07/28/21 The stream is in very good shape. All sections are turning out trout for our customers. Using Perfect flies will increase your success as they look like the real thing.
08/05/21 The river continues to turn out some nice catches for our customers. The water stays cool and the trout active. It does help to use Perfect Flies in the slow, clear water. They look much like the real things.
08/15/21 Excellent reports continue to come in. This is one of Oregon’s best destinations with the unusually hot weather. Some very nice size trout are included in many catches. Good hatches continue.
08/23/21 We received two good reports from customers this past week. Scuds and sculpin streamers were two of the hot flies.
08/31/21 The stream is still in good shape and turning out some nice catches for our customers.
09/10/21 The stream is still producing some nice catches for our customers. Hopper droppers rigs worked good for one customer.
09/18/21 The river is in good shape in all respects. We continue to get good reports from customers. Scuds, terrestrials and our BWO, Spotted Sedge caddis, Little Sister caddis are working good.
09/27/21 The stream is still in excellent shape. We received two good reports from customers this past week.
10/10/21 This under fished stream is a great option. Our customers are catching some good trout. Our sculpin streamers, scuds, Spotted sedge caddis and BWOs are working great.
10/20/21 Conditions remain very good. We continue to get good reports from customers.
10/31/21 The season is closed.
01/27/22 It isn’t too early to start planning that next trip. Give us a call (800 594 4726) or email us at the below address and let us help you do that.
03/24/22 Getting close to the start of the new season. Let us help you plan that next trip.
04/26/22 The new season begins this weekend.
05/04/22 We haven’t received any reports yet, but conditions are good and you should be able to catch trout. Let us hear from you.
05/12/22 Two good reports came in this past week. Good hatches are taking place and dry fly fishing is good. This coming week should be a very good one.
05/20/22 More good reports came in this past week from customers. Scuds and damselfly nymphs are also working in addition to matching the hatches.
05/28/22 We are still getting good report from customers. Our Perfect flies work great on the the stream because the trout get a good look at the fly in the clear water. There are some very good hatches taking place.
06/11/22 The stream is high and stained but in some respects, that helps. You should still be able to catch trout.
06/17/22 Stream conditions are good with normal levels and clear water. We received two good reports from customers fishing recently. Good hatches are coming off.
06/25/22 A few good reports are coming in and that is because only a few are fishing it. Conditions are very good.
07/02/22 The stream continues to be in good shape with good hatches taking place. We received two good reports from customers fishing this past week. Terrestrials like our Japanese beetles, carpenter ants and sandwich hoppers are also working good.
07/09/22 Stream levels are still in good shape and the water clear. We received two more good reports from customers fishing this past week. Good hatches are taking place, terrestrials are working and so are scuds and sowbugs.
07/16/22 We continue to get good reports from customers. Good PMD, spotted sedge and green sedge caddis hatches are taking place and terrestrials and scuds continue to work.
07/23/22 Two more good reports from customers came in this past week. Good hatches continue to take place.
07/30/22 The river is in very good shape with good hatches and lots of terrestrial insects accidentally getting into the water. We continue to get good reports.
08/06/22 Good PMD hatches are Western Ginger Quill hatches are taking place. Terrestrials and scuds are also working. We received two good reports from customers this past week.
08/13/22 The weather is very hot and no rain expected until this coming weekend. We did get two good reports from customers fishing this past week. The water is still cool.
08/20/22 The stream is still in great shape and we continue to get a few good reports from the few anglers fishing it. A great choice in this hot weather.
08/27/22 The stream is still a good choice to fish. We didn’t get any reports but you should be able to catch plenty trout.
09/04/22 We received one good report from a customer fishing it this past week. Conditions are good including good hatches.
09/11/22 Very good conditions continue. Good hatches also continue to take place. Let us hear from you.
09/18/22 We received two good reports from local customers fishing it this past week.
10/08/22 Good conditions continue to exist. Terrestrials are still around and BWOs, October caddis and other insects are hatching.
10/27/22 Good fly fishing opportunity still exist and few are taking advantage of it.
04/28/23 The season opened today. Conditions are very good. Looking forward to receiving your reports.
05/14/23 The stream is still in good shape with good hatches taking place. Let us hear from you.
05/25/23 We received one good report this past week. Good hatches are taking place and trout are taking dry flies.
06/07/23 Good conditions continue to exist. Our terrestrials are even beginning to work good.
06/14/23 The stream is in good condition with good hatches taking place. We received a good report from a customer fishing yesterday.
06/24/23 We received two more good reports from customers this past week.
07/02/23 Conditions are good. One customer reports some good catches on our Sandwich hoppers and Japanese Beetles fished near the grassy banks.
07/12/23 We didn’t receive any reports but we feel certain conditions are very good.
07/20/23 The stream is in good shape. We received one good report from a local customer. Good hatches are taking place.
07/31/23 The stream is turning out some good catches of trout for our customers – two this past week. Good hatches continue to take place and our terrestrial imitations are working good.
08/05/23 The stream is still in good shape turning out some nice trout for our customers. There are good hatches and our terrestrial imitations are working good as well.
08/17/23 The stream conditions are excellent. We didn’t get any reports this past week but locals keep their mouth tightly closed. Terrestrials are working good as well as hatching insects.
08/21/23 The stream is still in good shape. Good hatches are taking place and our Carpenter ants, Japanese beetles and sandwich hoppers are working good.
08/28/23 The stream is still in good shape with good hatches.
09/05/23 Conditions are still good. We are still getting a few reports mainly because few people are fishing it.
09/12/23 The stream is still in great shape with good late season hatches.
09/19/23 We received two good reports from customers fishing it this past week. It is in good shape with good hatches still taking place.
09/26/23 Good conditions continue to take place.
10/03/23 We received a good report from a customer fishing it yesterday.
10/12/23 Conditions remain good. Good hatches are still taking place and our scuds and streamers are also working good.
03/08/24 The season opens the last Saturday of April. Now is the time to get your flies in order for the new season. Give us a call or email us for recommendations.
03/21/24 The stream is a little high and stained but you should be able to catch trout. The light stain actually helps. Scuds and Sculpin streamers are working good. Midge and BWO’s are hatching.
03/28/24 The stream is still a little high and lightly stained but that can give you an advantage. Good hatches continue to take place.
04/04/24 The stream is flowing near a normal level and clear. Good hatches are taking place. Let us hear from you.
04/14/24 The stream is in good shape. We received a good report from a customer fishing yesterday.
04/21/24 Good conditions exist. Good hatches are taking place and we are getting good catch reports from customers.
04/28/24 Conditions are still okay and the stream turning out some good catches. Stained water usually helps the fly fishing opportunity. Good hatches are taking place.
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations.