SPORTS PULLOUT & CLASSIFIEDS INSIDE
• B SECTION • FRIDAY, JULY 2, 2021
THE REGION’S HUB FOR
OUTDOOR ADVENTURES
Each week in this section, you will find the area’s
most complete guide of what’s open and closed;
outdoor activities and events; top picks of places to
explore; conditions of hiking and biking trails,
fishing holes, water flows, camping spots, parks
and more — as well as features from outdoor
writers and field experts.
Beat the heat
on the Metolius
tently cold even during ex-
tremely hot weather. And, it’s
a pretty special place to wet a
line.
AMP SHERMAN —
Limited to fly-fishing (up-
It is rarely hot enough
stream of Bridge 99) and
in Central Oregon to
fish the Metolius River without catch-and-release angling, the
Metolius is a majestic
waders.
product of the Cas-
But this past week-
cade mountains. Lo-
end, it certainly was,
cated northwest of
and my son, Mason,
the town of Sisters, it
and I enjoyed cool-
flows 23 miles on a
ing off in the frigid,
WATER
route north and then
spring-fed river as we
southeast to Lake Billy
cast for trout in our
Chinook.
shorts and sandals.
The crystal-clear river pro-
Other anglers ditched
vides the opportunity to hook
their waders, as well, as a re-
cord-breaking heat wave swept native rainbow trout, and bull
trout when they migrate up-
across the Northwest.
stream from the reservoir in
The Metolius is not a bad
place to be when temperatures the fall.
For all its untamed splen-
soar into the 100s.
dor, the Metolius is known as a
Bursting out of the ground
challenging river for anglers.
from springs beneath Black
But finding a fishing hole
Butte, the river stays consis-
BY MARK MORICAL
The Bulletin
ABOVE: A fly angler fishes for
rainbow trout Sunday near Pine
Rest campground on the Meto-
lius River.
LEFT: Bend’s Mason Morical
bikes along the Camp Sherman
Trail on Saturday.
C
How to float the
Deschutes River
this summer
Mark Morical/Bulletin photos
Green Drake hatch that runs
from late May to mid-June,
but there was a flurry of may-
fly and caddis activity in the
evenings. The Golden Stone
hatch is also starting, and we
saw several of those larger
bugs.
on the river is easy, as trails
trudged by anglers line the
banks.
Mason and I hiked up-
stream from our campsite at
Pine Rest campground to find
numerous fishing spots.
In the early morning or eve-
nings when the fish are rising
to the surface, dry-fly fishing
with PMD or caddis patterns
can be productive on the Me-
tolius.
We just missed the fabled
tions, it will continue
to please river users
The weather is heat-
with recreation activ-
ing up, and chances
ities.
are very good that res-
In recent sum-
WATER
mers, more than
idents and visitors are
200,000 river users
hitting the water this
floated and paddled the river
summer. We’re fortunate to
between Memorial Day and
have the Deschutes River run-
Labor Day. As we come out
ning through the community,
of the pandemic, river fun is
and despite drought condi-
BY JULIE BROWN
For The Bulletin
Hiking
For those not necessar-
ily seeking the challenge of
fly-fishing the Metolius, hiking
the shady trails along the river
is an ideal way to take in the
beauty of the area.
See Metolius / B10
still possible with some plan-
ning.
Here are some tips for get-
ting the best river day this
summer:
Plan ahead for rentals and
shuttle service. Limited capac-
ity means advanced reserva-
tions are strongly encouraged
this summer.
See Float / B9