The Crooked River is a great choice now, and I am 99.9% sure we won’t see any spring runoff unless we get biblical rains this spring. One never knows for sure, but they will want to be holding back water in the reservoir and not wasting a drop.
Reports of early Blue Wing Olive hatch success have been frequent, along with tiny black midges and excellent nymph fishing.
In lower water it is not uncommon to need to go to 6x (or lighter) on the dries, when the dries are #18 and #20. Comparaduns and Sparkle Duns are your top choices, but get some emerging profiles in the selection too, like a Film Critic or RS2. A small Purple Haze or Parachute Adams in an #18 can work some magic and is a pretty decent fly to run 20″ of 6x fluorocarbon tippet with a Skinny Nelson as a dropper nymph or an Rs2 you spit on (really, soak it in saliva to make it sink quickly) and run it over an area where the trout are rising.
On the nymph side, Fire Starter, Brown and Olive Perd’s, Flashback PT, Skinny Nelson, Micro May BWO and Soft Hackles. Scuds and Eggs and Zebra Midges are smart choices on a tailwater any time. From March 1 to April 21, 2026 we will be running our spring guide trip special again for $400 for up to 3 anglers on the river for a full day trip. BYOL. Flies Included. $350 for a half day.