Crane Prairie Patterns?

[Johnny Utah]

Since winter is in full swing and even the Central Oregon rivers are blown out, I thought I would do some tying. Even though Crane hasn't been fishing too well lately, I was wondering if anyone had some effective Crane Prairie patterns they would be willing to share.

[Gettin' Birdy]

Crane is a little bit more stubborn these days but it still has some good fishing for 'bows and brookies. Streamer patterns i.e. buggers, leeches, etc. Slime line with stickleback imitations fished slow and deep = BIG TROUT .

Got a buddy that fishes Crane almost exclusively every summer. He catches 20+ 4 pound or larger everyyear. Caught one last year 32 inches 10+ pounds. There still are great Callibaetis hatches too.

Fly and Field outfitters is a good source of info on lake and reservior fishing in Central Oregon.

Good Luck!

-GB

[TheCamel]

Dragonfly nymph imitations can be deadly.

[Johnny Utah]

Does anyone have or know where I could get some good tying recipes. GB- those big fish stories really have me ready to tie now!!

[Wyndknot]

Try Mike Lawsons "Wool Head Sculpin" in tan or olive. Short
erratic strip. If you get tapped and miss, strip as fast as
you can and hold on. Also your basic sz 12 olive wooly bugger, retreive as slow as you can stand. I like them w/o a bead or weight on an intermediate clear line. Skip Morris
has a maribou Dragon Fly pattern that is deadly. He had an article in one of the magazines a couple years ago with receipes. It should be in his still water book. Good luck

[srogers]

I have a question regarding Crane - I seldom fish stillwater, and this May will be hitting Crane for a friend's 50th birthday. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited to check out some new water. However, I have an issue. Being a river guy, I have a drift boat and am hoping to use it on Crane. No motor, just oars and my back. Is this realistic? Will I be able to manuever around Crane (and get back to the take out) without a trolling motor or anything?

Thanks

scott

[cully]

srogers,

You can row as far or as little as you want and still catch fish. General rule for me is never row further than i can row back. I find that early morning, the lake is calm and the rowing easy. In the afternoon, the winds pick up and can make rowing slow. So in the late afternoon, I stay a bit closer to my camp.

[Johnny Utah]

Scott,

I would camp at Quinn River or Rock Creek Campground. Both have good fishing nearby. If you camp at the main campground, you will have to row quite a ways to get to the Deschutes channel.

[srogers]

Thanks guys - I have the River Journal for Crane/Upper D, but I couldn't find any recommendations regarding rowing vs. motor.

I'm the "young buck" of the group, and I know I'll get stuck on the sticks...

scott

[Abalone]

What is the best month to fish Crane Prarie for trout ?

and for Bass ? I think it would be a hoot to try Poppers over there. One thing I noticed about Crane Prarie, fish deep.

I don't think the trout are that selective at Crane. Presentation is more of an issue.

Maybe I am wrong about this but the Trout fishery has depleted badly ??

[uhmw]

Spring time the first hot day :cool: I like to kick out to the trees and toss wooly bugger black olive w/flash a boo no bead head. I cast out as far as I can and let it settle to the bottem 12 ft leader w/ sink tip floating line and a long pole. Then pull it in one inch at a time slowwwwly. Clean off the weeds and do it again. The bows are not what they used to be(too much taken by bait in the 90s) I have been focusing on the brook trout and have caught some monsters 6 to 8 lbs. They are really a pig of a trout(fat) I think that lake may produce a record brooky they seem to be getting biger every year.

[Gettin' Birdy]

If you want to catch the biggest trout in your life, Crane Prairie is the place to do it for both rainbows and brookies.

Some days, 6-10 fish over the course of 5 hours which isn't hot for numbers but the average size will more than make up for it.

I second Quinn and Rock Creek.

Good Luck,

-GB