Fishing the Crooked River

Central Oregon river can be a hot spot for anglers in late autumn

By Mark Morical / The Bulletin

But the Crooked River below Bowman Dam near Prineville is one stretch of water that anglers can rely on year-round — and this is the time of year to fish there.

The whitefish are spawning now through December, meaning both redband trout and whitefish will feed on the small eggs released by the whitefish.

“If you fish egg flies, you can have some of the best fishing of the year for redbands and whitefish,” says Ira Miller, an employee at the Patient Angler Fly Shop in Bend. “Trout get pretty aggressive on the egg flies. But the whitefish go for them, too. The trout are trying to put on weight for the winter.”

Tim Porter, a fisheries biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife based in Prineville, calls the Crooked River “a classic tail-water fishery.” The river holds a consistent water temperature and is rich in nutrients and bug life. It is also easily accessible, with countless fishing holes located at campgrounds that line the river below Bowman Dam.

“The majority of the (whitefish) spawning is in December,” Porter says. “It’s a very popular time for people to fish for them.”

Miller says he has spoken with many anglers over the past few days, and they all were raving about the fishing on the Crooked River.

“Everybody I’ve talked to has had really good luck,” Miller says.

He adds that the fishing can be good throughout the Crooked River below Bowman Dam, but anglers first must find the fish.

“I haven’t found one piece of water to be any more effective,” Miller notes. “I will say, if you’re not catching fish, move. Because the fish pod up. Guys are catching 30 to 40 fish without moving their feet. So if you find them, there should be plenty.”

Catching big numbers of fish during the fall on the Crooked River seems to be no problem. But the size of the fish seems to be smaller this year, based on ODFW samplings and angler reports.

Porter says the length of redband trout this year has averaged 8 to 12 inches, with a few fish in the 12- to 16-inch range. Larger whitefish are more common.

The biologist suggests that some of the fish being landed could be chinook salmon or steelhead smolts preparing for their migration to the Pacific Ocean. Smolts have a silvery coating over their scales to camouflage them from predators and shield their bodies in the transitions from freshwater to saltwater, according to the ODFW.

Millions of tiny chinook salmon and steelhead fry, some of them now smolts, were released into the Crooked River and other streams over the past several years as part of the reintroduction of those species into the Upper Deschutes Basin.

“The anglers are seeing a lot smaller fish (on the Crooked River), but that might have to do with reintroduction of salmon and steelhead,” Porter says. “They’re seeing salmon and steelhead smolts. The chinook salmon smolts, even at just 4 to 6 inches, can be pretty aggressive.”

Water flows are always a concern among anglers on the Crooked River, but flows during the fall and winter tend to stay consistent, making for good fishing. As of this week, the river was running at 92 cubic feet per second (cfs) below Bowman Dam, perfect for anglers.

When the river rages at rates of more than 300 cfs, angling becomes futile. A rapid snow melt this past January made for mostly unfishable conditions into June as water was released from Bowman Dam by the Bureau of Reclamation to keep Prineville Reservoir at the desired level for water storage.

“It should probably be pretty stable throughout the winter,” Porter says of Crooked River water flows. “We did have a pretty good water year this spring.”

When fishing the Crooked River, Miller suggests using egg flies in smaller sizes and in a variety of colors. Aside from egg flies, he recommends using dry-fly blue wing olives or nymphs such as copper johns or pheasant tails (size 18 or 20).

The weather on the Crooked River can also be a little more desirable than in other places in the region during the late fall and winter. The temperature is often a few degrees warmer, and the rugged, scenic canyon often blocks the wind.

“Sometimes it’s a little bit nicer there,” Miller says. “It’s a good place to spend a winter day.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0318, mmorical@bendbulletin.com