Lake season is officially rolling across Central Oregon. The low snowpack continues to make access better than normal for this time of year with both The Cascade Lakes Highway and access into East Lake and Paulina Lake opening yesterday.

Crane Prairie Reservoir continues to fish well with indicator/dry-dropper setups.  Balanced leeches are still doing most of the work, especially when fished slow and clean under longer leaders. Chironomids are starting to become more relevant, but we’re still not into the heavy midge hatch phase. Stripping leeches remains a great way to cover water and find more aggressive fish willing to move.

It’s still a little early for consistent damsel or callibaetis action, but we’re getting closer every week. Right now the best approach is still pretty simple—fish deeper, slow things down, and take advantage of how good the early-season access is this season.

Recommended Dries:
Double Chubbies #12-14, Para Cricket #12-16

Recommended Nymphs:
Balanced Leeches, KJ Diawl, Red Ass, Zebra Midges, Fire Starters, Chironomids