Fish On!

Fall River

An angler smiles while gripping a huge Fall River rainbow trout. With a very active stocking program, this spring creek located just south of Bend provides year-round fishing opportunities.
Your Direct Line to the Water

Guide Report

Fly Rod Divider Design Detail Confluence Fly Shop Bend Oregon
1/3/2025 – Fall River is probably your best bet if you’re wanting to fish this week. As it’s a spring creek, all this rain we have got in the Bend-area over the past couple of weeks has hardly affected the fishing/water levels.

If you’re lucky enough to run into a midge or BWO hatch, make sure you bring #18-22 Rusty Spinners and Black Spinners. Good BWO patterns to include #18-20 Extended Body BWO’s, #18-20 Sparkle Duns (in olive), #16-18 Klinkhammers (also olive), and a size #16-18 Missing Link.


12/22/2024 – Both crowds and fish alike are reasonably thin on Fall River at this moment in time. As per usual, ODFW stopped stocking Fall River in early-to-mid October, meaning that the total number of fish in the river will only get smaller until they start stocking again in April. That said, it’s still worth the trip! I haven’t heard of any anglers getting skunked in the last month or so. Nymphing perdigons, midges, and attractors in sizes #14-22 in the deeper water will produce results. The fish aren’t as willing to move for flies during the winter, so it is important to get your drift as close to their face as possible.
General Weather
Details

About the Water

Bubbling right out of the ground, this roughly 8-mile-long spring creek travels in a northeasterly direction until it
joins the Deschutes River between the towns of Sunriver and La Pine. This spring-fed tributary is FLY FISHING
ONLY and courses gin-clear through stands of lodge-pole pine and high mountain meadow. The ever-reliable flows
of this spring creek, make it an excellent choice for walk and wade anglers when the levels of other rivers in the
region are low or in flux.

An easy 30-minute drive south of Bend, the middle and upper sections of the Fall have a good population of both
hatchery and wild rainbow trout. The stocked fish (often indistinguishable from the river’s wild rainbow trout) are
added several times a year and mingle with the other species of wild fish; brook trout, brown trout, and mountain
whitefish. The lowest section (below Fall River Falls) receives wild brown and rainbow trout from the main stem of
the Deschutes River.

As is characteristic of many spring creeks, this river is cold, clear, and meandering throughout most of its length.
Selecting fine tippet, tying good knots, and using leaders long enough to avoid spooking fish that see plenty of
anglers, is required. Beyond making good choices with your terminal tackle; fly selection, casting, and line
management skills to achieve good drifts, can be difference makers as well. Consider a half or full-day trip with
one of our guides to help you learn and understand how to apply these different spring creek strategies. There’s
really no substitute for time on the water with an expert. Guides are adept at helping you quickly recognize the
factors that impact trout behavior and grasp those techniques that will yield spring creek success.
Stop by the fly shop for a river map, advice on access, and the staff’s favorite seasonal fly pattern choices.

Dry Flies

Blue-Winged-Olives #18-20, Caddis – Saddle #16-18, Midges #18-20

Subsurface Flies

Blue-Winged-Olive Mayfly Emergers #18-20, Caddis Pupa Nymphs (Spotted) #14, Mayfly Nymphs (small) #18-20, Midge Larva and Pupa #18-22, Streamer-style fly patterns (2” to 4”) – imitating juvenile rainbow trout, whitefish, sculpin
  • SINGLE HANDED ROD: 4-5wt
  • FLY LINE: Floating
  • LEADER/TIPPET: 9’ 5x-6x Nylon tapered leader
    • 4x-6x Fluorocarbon and Nylon tippet
  • EURO-STYLE ROD: 3wt
  • TIPPET: 4x-6x Fluorocarbon tippet
All Oregon fishing licenses can be purchased online or by downloading the MyODFW app on your smart phone. An Oregon Angling License required for any and all fishing.

What To Fish For

Artwork by Tye Krueger