11/14/2025 – The gate leading up to East Lake will close after Nov. 17th. For those looking to head out that way, checking the weather report and dressing appropriately will be key. As it stands, it looks like its going to be darn cold out there the next few days.
Leeches on hover or intermediate lines are still doing well, though there has been a surprising lack of wind in the caldera lately; as such, leading the lake to be extremely glassy. During these times, the fish have been a bit spookier and may move a bit further off the bank. A little bit of chop will help a lot.
Flies to try: Hale Bopp Leeches, Woolly Buggers, Punk Perch, Soccer Mom’s, Thin Mint Buggers, and Ruby-Eyed Leeches.
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11/01/2025 – Well, East Lake is still accessible, though the weather is looking subpar to say the least. I was thinking about heading that way before work today before seeing forecasted winds of 25mph sustained with gusts up to 40mph.
The fish are moving in and out of the shallows. I would encourage anglers looking to fish East once or twice more this season to find a day where the weather looks less than ideal, but doable. Those are the days you’re looking for right now.
Stripped leeches, twitched leeches, dead-drifted, it doesn’t really matter; leeches are killer.
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10/24/2025 – As long as the weather system moving in today through Sunday doesn’t close down the road up, East Lake and Paulina Lake should both be fishable next week. I was looking through my notes from last year and the final time I made it out to the caldera was November 10th, so I’m cautiously optimistic that they will let the storm ride out and see if the sun next week can melt enough of it to keep the road open.
Eggs, leeches, and streamers can probably make up the entirety of your fly box if you’d like. The kokanee have started to spawn and their orangey-pinkish eggs should be everywhere. In addition, the brown trout are approaching their spawning time and will most likely be very aggressive. In times like this, there is nothing more fun that ripping articulated streamers and hoping something rips back. For those fishing from the bank, a floating line with a weighted fly will be totally fine, while those fishing from the boat will want some kind of sinking line or tip (Intermediate, I/2/3, S3, etc…) in addition to a bit of weight on the fly.
I would probably avoid East Lake at all cost this weekend, but it looks like next week will most likely still be an option.
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10/10/2025 – While threatening, the weather has mostly held out these past couple days in the caldera, making for solid fishing conditions. Stripping leeches and streamers are most likely not going to make for huge numbers days, but might land you a huge brown or rainbow! I would recommend a hot bead (orange, chart., or pink), too.
The fish should continue moving shallower and shallower until the end of the month/whenever the lake becomes inaccessible, so keep that in mind if you head out that way. Similar to what I mentioned in the Crane Prairie report this week, fly selection gets extremely general once the callibaetis and damsels have finished doing their thing for the year (which they have).
It’s going to be pretty chilly out there the next couple of days, so don’t forget your layers at home!
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10/3/2025 – It is fall here in Central Oregon just like that! The callibaetis hatch is no more and the crowds will be near non-existent as the weather continues to worsen over the course of October.
Fishing below an indicator of some kind or stripping flies are going to be the main two techniques at the current moment in time. The fish have started to shallow up a bit, so I would steer you towards the areas of 8-10ft of water for indicator fishing. Chironomids and leeches are on the menu with leeches seemingly getting the most attention. For leeches, sizes #8-12 should do fine, and #14-16 for chironomids. As the season goes on, sizing down your chironomids is a good idea.
For those who are willing to catch fewer fish but have the chance at a biggin’, stripping baitfish patterns at a bit of depth could land the fish of a lifetime!
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9/26/2025 – East Lake is fishing fairly well, with some callibaetis spinner action at first light and some emergers later in the day. They have been pretty picky with which callibaetis patterns they eat and I haven’t noticed any consistency.
I would primarily be focusing on leeches, chironomids, and callibaetis under some kind of indicator. They really seem to love chironomids especially, so make sure you have Sno Cones (or Ice Cream Cones), Vinyl Chironomids, Chironicones, Copper Top Chironomids, and Chromies and Creams (I think the reason why there are so many chironomid patterns is because of how fun they are to name. If I tied an original it would be called KC’s Khironomid I have decided).
They seem to be more active on moving flies in the shallows, so make sure you have an intermediate line with a callibaetis nymph or even an emerger and strip it back veryyyy slowly.
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9/19/2025 – Good reports coming out of East Lake for the second week in a row! The spinner fall in the morning has been solid, yet short. The callibaetis hatch on East Lake is just so hard to hit correctly. I might consider dropping an emerger or unweighted nymphs behind a callibaetis dry fly and see what happens! One can make it into quite the science experience.
Ants and beetles have remained staples in angler’s fly boxes, as have chironomids. There has been very, very little damsel action and I don’t expect that to change.
Callibaetis patterns I like: Sparkle Duns, Mosquitoes (not technically a callibaetis, but works well), Marabou Cripples, Morrish Maydays, Hackle Stackers, Film Critics, and Comparaduns. All of these are going to be the #12-14 range, though I would probably err on the side of smaller.
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9/12/2025 – After getting kind of screwed out of a good callibaetis hatch in July, they seem to be hanging around into September, which is fantastic! At this point in the hatch, getting them on dries and emergers gets a bit more difficult, though the nymphs are getting consistently gobbled up. Something interesting to try might be a callibaetis nymph on the bottom with a callibaetis emerger a few feet up in the water column and see if one gets eaten more often than the other. These type of “scientific experiments” are a really great way for a fly angler to learn about trout behavior and different bug cycles.
Chironomid/midge fishing has continued to produce in about 8-12ft of water; Vinyl Chironomids, Ice Cream Cones, Copper Tops, and Hangin’ with My Chromies in sizes #14-16 will do the trick.
As per usual, make sure to check out the weather before heading into the crater! Similar to Crane, getting caught in a storm on East Lake is not an ideal situation. By far the worst storm I have ever been caught in while fishing was on East Lake about this time last year.
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9/5/2025 – Fishing at East Lake has continued to be solid. The different stages of callibaetis have certainly been crushing with emerger patterns seeming to get the most love. I would look through my last couple of reports for good patterns, as I don’t have a ton more specific patterns to list. What I will say is that callibaetis are not hard to imitate and that there are a lot of well-known fly patterns that don’t have “callibaetis” in their name that are certified fish-catchers and definitely look very callibaetis-y. I would suggest looking up “callibaetis fly patterns” on Google and see if the any of the results remind you of patterns you almost certainly have in your box already.
As was the case last week, I would still avoid the shallows past about 11am due to high water temps.
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8/29/2025 – Another good week at East Lake! The spinner fall in the morning has continued to be solid; while our guides also reported a fall in the early afternoon, and another in the evening. While they seem to be rising the most during the morning they still rise to emergers, spinners, and duns throughout the day as they cycle through their life stages again.
Sub-surface fishing has been the most consistent though the water temps in the shallows have been creeping up towards that dreaded 70-mark, which is a huge no-go. Fishing 10-20ft with an slip indicator and any combination of leeches, chironomids, and callibaetis nymphs will catch fish. Keep adjusting that depth until you start getting some action!
It’s going to be hot out there the next 4 days or so, so bring sunscreen and a thermometer to gauge the water temps with.
Consult last weeks report for fly recommendations!
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8/22/2025 – Aha! The legendary “East Lake Callibaetis Hatch” has finally returned! I am very pleased to say that East Lake is fishing the best it has fished all summer. About half the days over the last week have anglers had a solid spinner fall in the morning and consistent eats on callibaetis dries/emergers throughout the day. As always, make sure you check the winds before heading into the caldera. Sustained winds of less than 10 are ideal, while anything over 10 is significantly less ideal (especially for anyone hoping to get some fish on dries). Hackle Stackers, Morrish May Days, Marabou Cripples, and larger mosquito patterns in the #12-16 range will do well in imitating the range of life cycle stages.
Ants and beetles are still killing it along the woody banks. A basic Foam Beetle in a size #14-16 will really do a number on those alpine lake fish. Most commercial fly-tyers live under the motto, “It doesn’t need to catch fish, it just needs to catch fisherman.” Do not fall into their trap! Sometimes the most basic fly is the best.
As the heat sets in again, be mindful of water temps in the shallows as they can get cookin’ without a ton of sunlight needed.
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8/15/2025 – Similar to many other local bodies of water, the heat of this past week pushed the fish pretty deep in the water column; about 20-30ft it seems. I expect them to shallow up a bit more as surface action (kind of) heats up and the ambient temperature stay in the 60’s-70’s. Deep water indicator fishing with chironomids, scuds, blob flies, and leeches is a strategy to have in your back pocket.
I have heard a few reports of a good spinner fall in the mornings. I hope that continues, as those who fished East in July and August last year will probably remember how exceptional and productive the callibaetis spinner fall was.
Ants and beetles are still a staple at East Lake right now, especially along the areas of the lake with a sharp drop off right off the bank and the more heavily wooded banks. A #14 peacock/beetles Micro Chubby is still my favorite terrestrial, though a Cinnamon Ant or Foam Beetle could be close behind.
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8/7/2025 – Terrestrials have continued their reign of excellence on East Lake this year, though I would recommend fishing them early in the morning or late in the day. East Lake is very susceptible to sun’s rays and can really get hot during the middle part of the day.
My setup: a chironomid on a tag above a balanced leech/calli/damsel with a slip-indicator set between 15-20ft. Don’t be afraid to change depths often until you find the fish! Feel free to bop on over to the shop for some fly suggestions!
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8/1/2025 – East Lake has still been a bit of a mixed bag, though a mixed bag with more dry flies in it, so that is rather appealing. The shallows are still absolutely cooking, so the beach between the far Cinder Hill boat launch and East Lake Resort is not a good idea to be fishing right now. Perhaps just by those who make it up at first light on the cooler days in the caldera.
Ants and beetles continue to shine as a reliable option, as have callibaetis. As mentioned in previous reports, it is important to have all of the different stages of callibaetis when out on Paulina or East Lake. There are certainly days up there where the fish are absolutely gargling down emergers, yet won’t touch a dry; or are desperate for spinners, but won’t tough an emerger. Sometimes they are keyed in on the nymphs, though some days they want them dead-drifted while others they might want a lil movement to their meal. Moral of the story: a full fly box is an angler’s best friend!
Rigging up a deep chironomid rig (10-12ft+) with a slip-strike indicator is well-suited for finding fish that have dove into the depths in search of cooler water.
Damsels have also been hanging around, though normally not until the afternoon. The tactics outlined in my last report still apply.
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7/18/2025 – My opinion of the season at East Lake is starting to turn much more positive! Ants and beetles have been very successful. Unfortunately, much of this success on terrestrials has occurred in the shallows at East, which is not so much of an option right now. Water temps at midday and in the afternoon have consistently exceeded 70 degrees, which is a no-go for trout. For those looking for some good terrestrial action, the mornings are the time to be out there! Sunrise is at 5:40am for any of those who may be able to book it up the hill that early in the morning (extra points for anyone who can do it without the help of caffeine! I have to be at LEAST 200mg deep before I can work up the courage to get my butt in gear that early in the morning).
Callibaetis emergers and duns (on some days) have worked fairly well lately, though it’s still not lights out on the surface. This is a great time of year to attempt a deep dry-dropper setup with a Micro Chubby and a chironomid or two. We just got a MASSIVE restock on Cat LaFlamme patterns here in the shop from our friends at RIO, including a new one (to us here at CFS) called the “Red Assassin” that I really like the looks of!
In a perfect world, one would have three rods strung up at East right now: 1. A dry-dropper with the dropper anywhere from 3-8ft deep. 2. An intermediate line with a damsel or callibaetis nymph. 3. A classic dry fly setup, complete with a 9ft, 4x or 5x leader and your callibaetis or terrestrial of choice!
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7/11/2025 – East Lake has been extremely inconsistent this past week. There have been several really good callibaetis hatches in the mornings, though those East Lake fish tend to focus in on a specific stage of the callibaetis life cycle, which can make life much more difficult and frustrating. To avoid such frustrations one must make sure they have nymphs, emergers, duns, and spinners. Last year, the morning spinner hatch around this time was pretty nuts, so my unscientific guess-timation is that we will see a consistent spinner fall here in the next couple of days/weeks.
Other than all forms of callibaetis, beetles have been popping off. While this normally means ants will work, too, it seems people are having a bit more luck on the beetles. Charlie Cravens’s “Fat Angie” is my favorite pattern during these times. While I tend to see it as a beetle pattern, the segmented body and splayed-wing also creates the profile of a carpenter ant or similar. If fish are coming up to your Fat Angie, looking at it, and turning back down, I would recommend moving to a thinner-bodied fly like Egan’s Bionic Ant or the Mamba Ant.
As per usual, don’t leave home without leeches, chironomids, and damsels. I would like to single out the Tungsten Vinyl Chironomid for a special shoutout as it has been putting in a great deal of work in recent days!
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7/4/2025 – Other than maybe Hosmer Lake, East Lake is normally one of your first chances at finding fish sharking callibaetis on the surface. As Hosmer seems to be having a bit of a stunted hatch, East will certainly worth a trip in the coming days; the weather this weekend is looking especially delicious for a dry fly fiesta!
Fish have been cruising in about 4ft-8ft of water fairly consistently. These fish are normally very willing to each a well-presented balanced leech, chironomid, or callibaetis, but are quite spooky, so those on a watercraft might want to plant themselves in a spot and let the fish come to them.
Similar to last week, ants and beetles, callibaetis nymphs and dries, leeches, and chironomids should take up the vast majority of space in your box.
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6/27/2025 – East Lake is another that has been fishing quite well since the unfortunate weather last weekend, which put a temporary hold on the callibaetis fishing. The callibaetis-action is back and is looking good again. A double-dry setup with a callibaetis and beetle or similar is a very fun way to elicit strikes on the surface. I like to fish a cripple or emerger-pattern when choosing my callibaetis. If it floats, cool, if it starts to slip below the film, even better. For those looking to try this technique out, I would recommend putting the non-callibaetis fly higher on the leader than the callibaetis, as callibaetis can be hard to see. If you see a fish rise behind your first fly you can assume it ate your calli. and should set the hook.
The majority of the fish seem to be in 4-8ft of water, with a lot of rainbows cruising within casting distance of the bank.
As always, don’t leave home without your Central Oregon stillwater classics: ants, beetles, calli. dries and nymphs (and anything in between, damsel nymphs, Chironomids, midges, leeches, and perhaps a streamer or two for those feeling particularly cheeky.
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6/20/2025 – While anglers this past week seem to have pretty darn good luck, I would definitely look to avoid the caldera this weekend. The weather headed that way is looking extremely poor. While normally I might still say to give it a go and see what happens, I think that might be a bit irresponsible thing for me to say about this weekend.
Next week is looking primo, though! The callibaetis action on the surface has been turning up a notch! While we are still a while away from “primetime”, anglers at East Lake next week should certainly carry some Hackle Stackers, Film Critics, and whatever cripple and/or emerger pattern you have the most confidence in!
Chrionomid fishing has also been pretty stellar recently! The only problem with this style of fishing is that it can be a bit difficult to locate where the fish are in the water column. Adjustable indicators like slip indicators or Airlocks make it very quick and easy to switch up depths. Don’t be afraid to test out a bunch of different depths until you find some consistent action.
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6/13/2025 – I was out on East Lake with some of our guides on Monday and it was a bit of a grind-fest. The water was perfectly still until about noon when the wind picked up and pushed everyone off the water. Finding ourselves the only boat on the water, we took that as meaning we would have our pick of spots. In reality, we probably should’ve left with the crowd. Unlike it’s sister, Paulina Lake, there are no real spots to hide from the wind on East Lake. It swirls around the caldera and hits you from all sides. For those who plan on taking a boat up that way, a duel-anchor system is a necessity to keep the boat in the spot you set-up in. The few fish we did end up boating all came on chironomids (except one measly leech-eating Tui Chub).
Like many of the other lakes, I expect the fishing to pick up significantly in the coming days with the weather shaping up in conjunction with the emergence of the callibaetis. If one had the opportunity to bring along three rods with different rigs, I would suggest a dry fly rod with some sort of attractor and a calli. about 2-3ft behind it; a nymph rod with a floating line, indicator, and long leader for fishing tandem nymphs (chironomids/leeches/calli./damsels), and a rod with an intermediate line for stripping damsels and callibaetis.
For pattern recommendations, consult the Crane Prairie fishing report.
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6/6/2025 – The callibaetis have already started to hatch on East Lake! This is a very exciting time for any stillwater angler in Central Oregon. The callibaetis hatch on East Lake (and it’s twin, Paulina Lake) can be absolutely legendary, so anglers who get out there for first light will often get rewarded. Make sure that you have Callibaetis spinners, too! I heard a lot of horror stories from anglers in 2024 who threw the kitchen sink at fish rising on callibaetis to no avail. While sometimes this can be chalked up to other external factors, often times it seemed to be because those fish were strictly looking for spinners and cripples. Don’t be caught without them if you’re heading up that direction! While much of the action is still taking place under the surface, every day that passes should bring more topwater action.
Patterns to try: Flasher Cripples, Hot Spun Comparaduns, Film Critics, Morrish Emergers, Film Critics, and Marabou Cripples in sizes #12-14.
Sub-surface patterns: 3D Glass Chironomids, Ice Cream Cones, Cat’s Fro-yo, Chromies and Cream, and (smaller) Jumbo Juju Chironomids. As per usual, bring an assortment of leeches–both balanced and otherwise.
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5/30/2025 – Fishing at East Lake is really starting to come into form. The weather has started to get much more predictable, with water temps warming up and the metabolism of the fish on the rise. Stripping bugs on an intermediate line or similar has been very productive, with anglers reporting great success on the leeches and damsels. I’m sure the same can be said for callibaetis nymphs, as well, I just haven’t spoken to anyone who has reported giving it a go. For those fishing from a flotation device, chironomids are the bugs of choice. If you don’t find yourself getting much action, adjust your depth every 10-15 minutes until you start finding those cruising fish. For extra points, see if you can tell which fly they are munching on. Fishing more than one chironomid/midge/leech etc… allows for anglers to test multiple depths, as well as color, size, and type of their flies.
Chronomids to try: Chan’s Summer Duck Pupa (#12-14), Burnt Ends’ (red or black (#12-16), Buzzers (#10-14), Hanging with My Chromies (same colors and sizes), and Vinyl Chironomids (#14-16).
Others to try: Mayer’s Mini Leech (olive, black, claret in #14-18), Pine Squirrel Leeches (same colors and sizes). Hula Damsel’s (as always), CDC Callibaetis nympsh (olive and tan in sizes #12-16), and Schrantz’ Callibaetis Nymph.
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5/23/2025 – As mentioned in last weeks report, East Lake is open and accessible, but most anglers I’ve talked to have reported mediocre success. Lots of smaller rainbows and browns getting caught along the edges and dropoffs. There is not yet a dock to launch at, so if you plan on going out on your boat you may want to consider Paulina instead. It’s $10 to launch at the resort in case you decide to take that rout.
Final notes: While it’s a bit slower right now, when the bite turns on at East, it’s going to REALLY turn on. It’s worth a visit any day in the coming week or so, especially as we have some super solid weather on the horizon. Pretty much everything is sub-surface currently, so make sure you’re loaded up on callibaetis and damselfly nymphs, midges of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and leeches. Basically, your standard Central Oregon alpine lake box.
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5/16/2025 – Welcome to the first fishing report of the year for East Lake! The gate leading to the lake officially opened on May 14th! Unfortunately, the calderas seem to have got inches of snow in recent days and might access a bit harder. There will almost certainly be some ice in the areas of the lake that receive less sunlight. Leeches under indicators will probably be the best tactic to start, though if they seem to like a twitched leech under an indicator, consider stripping some on an intermediate or heavier sinking line.
I have yet to hear from any anglers attempting to make it out there, and it might be a goof idea to wait a couple more days (maybe a week) before making the trek down South.
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11/22/2024 – The road up to East Lake is now closed, though the lake remains open all year. If you find yourself up there, consider fishing the deepest water you can find as the most of the fish have left the shallows and starting to hunker down for winter.
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11/8/2024 – East Lake has progressively got better as the weather has gotten colder. Many of the fish have taken to cruising the shallows, perhaps in hopes of a nice meal in the form of a dying Kokanee or leeches along the weed-beds. However, the forecast is suggesting that the road up to the lake may soon be closed for the season due to snow. While the lake will remain open, it will become virtually impossible to reach. As such, this may be your last chance to fish East Lake this season.
In case your heading out that direction in the next few days, a few patterns to try are: #8-12 Woolly Buggers, #8-14 Balanced Leeches (which can also be stripped without an indicator), or #16-20 Zebra Midges (red) are all killers. An egg pattern may also be effective as the Kokanee continue to spawn in the shallows.
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10/26/2024 – For those willing to brave the (potentially) poor weather, East Lake is a great option this time of year. The brown trout have chased the Kokanee into the shallows, and are now just cruising in a couple feet of water, waiting for something to cross their path.
As per usual, leeches are a staple in the diet of just about all stillwater fish. #8-12 Leeches (especially those with a fluorescent bead) are a great option; as are #12 Pine Squirrel Leeches. Chironomids and midges are also present in the lake at this time: #18-20 Flexi Midges, Tungsten Zebra Midges, and Demon Midges are killer patterns. Chironomids like #12-14 Gray Money Chironomids, Chan’s Holographic Pupa (same sizes), and Ice Cream Chromies all will fish well.
