Crooked River

[K.P.]

The wife and I are heading to Prineville this weekend. I have never fished the crooked river as we will be staying with some friends who live close by.

Has anyone ever fished this stretch? I think we will be closer to the dam and resevoir. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,

KP

[Wyndknot]

Last I heard the water levels been up. Use high water tactics, fish the edges close to the bank and the soft water. The water is always murky so dont let that put you off. Fish basic nymphs, GRHE, Prince and scuds,drag them as close to the bottom as you can. Might be a hatch in the afternoon, most can be covered with a #18 adams or a #20 black midge/mosquito. Fish the 7 or 8 miles below the dam to the frogwater. You might reward yourself with a larger than average fish (14"+) by running a streamer thru the deep slow sections. Saw a rattler last weekend, so keep an eye on kids and dogs. Good luck and let us know how you did.

[K.P.]

Thanks for the help and the update on the rattler. Man, I hate those things! They scare the poop out of me! I think it's okay to say poop.

I came upon a rattlesnake den once when I was quail hunting let me tell ya that was an eye opener for sure.

See ya,

KP

[greenbuttskunk]

if it's very murky, fish globugs and orange scuds, below a black wooly bugger. Yes, fish close to the banks. Avoid the areas with alot of shore weed growth. Fish the pockets and eddies. Good luck!
GBS

[DukAddict]

Heard from a buddy that the water is moving at a VERY high pace right now, and the water is very dark. It hasnt rained as much lately but you may get lucky and its cleared up a bit. Let us know how you do.

[MacFish]

Keep in mind that the Crooked River below the dam is pretty silty under the best of circumstances, so unless the water's pretty brown it doesn't bother the fish.

[K.P.]

The river was moderately clear and looked very good. Had great weather for a little bit and Caddisflies were all over the place. They were swarming all around and landing on my arms.

I thought for sure we were going to nail them, but to my surprise we were skunked.

Saw a total of about 10 people from the gate to cobble rock campground. Two guys pulled in as we were about to leave.

We ran way behind and didn't start fishing till around 12:20pm. We left at about 2:20pm. The wind started blowing pretty good right before we decided to head out.

We tried elk hair caddis and some emerger patterns, but no takes.

Oh well, anytime on the water is better than no time at all. Plus my wife got better at fly casting, and we didn't see any snakes.

My wife is heading out of town on the 31st for a week, and I'm thinking of planning a weekend trip to the Big D for a good hard fish outing.
Thanks for all your help and tips!

KP

[greenbuttskunk]

the secret is a "slowwater caddis" in dark grey. When the caddis are swarming like that, this pattern pays big dividends.
better luck next time! It's a fun river to fish.
GBS