Oregon's Best Late Summer Trout Fishing Destinations

Late Summer Fly Fishing Options in Oregon

It feels like summer has only just arrived, but those paying close attention to sunrise and sunset know the truth — our days are already getting shorter, and it's time to start planning one or two of those epic day-long adventures that require a few more daylight hours to fully enjoy.

Putting more miles on the odometer this time of year can be helpful for a couple of reasons. First off, it allows you to get up into the higher reaches of the Cascade range, where waters are still flowing nice and cold. Second, you'll find fewer crowds the further you get from population centers. But most of all, I love the opportunity to catch fish across multiple watersheds and waterbodies in the course of a single expedition.

Salt Creek Corridor (Above Oakridge)

One of my favorite places to explore when I have a bit more time to work with is the Salt Creek corridor above Oakridge. While this area can be susceptible to fires this time of year (be sure to always check a real-time fire map before heading into the wilderness July–September), it is one of the coolest, best-shaded creeks in the area and is absolutely packed with fish. Cutthroat and rainbows occupy this stretch in equal quantities, and there might not be a better place to spend an evening dry fly session in July or August.

Gold Lake — Fly Fishing Only

Not far away is beautiful, fly-fishing-only Gold Lake, full of trophy native rainbows and hungry wild brook trout, just off Highway 58. Over these next few weeks, mosquito activity should start to slow, and fishing will continue to improve between now and the first autumn freeze. You can fish Gold Lake in the morning, take a quick lunch break, and then finish up your evening on Salt Creek as you head home.

South & North Fork McKenzie Rivers

If you want to fish two of the Willamette Valley's most beloved and productive watersheds in the same day — or weekend, if you'd prefer to camp — check out the drive between Oakridge and Rainbow. This scenic bypass connects Highways 126 and 58, taking travelers past several reservoirs as well as the South Fork McKenzie, one of my favorite trout tributaries in the entire state, and the North Fork of the Middle Fork Willamette. For nearly the entire drive, you'll find yourself within a short bushwhack of one of these two beautiful streams. This is three-weight and four-weight territory, but there are some surprisingly big fish that occupy these reaches.

In fact, July and August are just wonderful months to explore the McKenzie River watershed. While the main stem river is a bit difficult to fish on foot, tributaries like the Blue River and Horse Creek are far more accessible and feature fantastic options for nearby camping. And don't forget, this whole area saw major fire damage in 2020 — the kind that tends to lead to bigger fish in the surrounding areas.

Upper Clackamas River

If you're looking for something a bit more local but still want to make a long and diverse day of it, one of my favorite local angling drives is along Highway 224 until it turns into NF-46. Along this portion, the road follows the Upper Clackamas River. You can stop off along NF-63 to fish the lower reaches of the Collawash River, then continue along NF-46 and fish way up along the main stem Clackamas.

Breitenbush River & North Santiam

Eventually, the road climbs over a small summit and begins to follow the upper reaches of another small creek that eventually becomes the Breitenbush River. Heavily stocked with chunky rainbows, the Breitenbush Canyon burned badly about six years back and is still in recovery. Crowds are minimal, and the fishing can be lights-out. NF-46 spits you out right on the Santiam Highway near Detroit Reservoir, and you can either head upstream to fish for stocked rainbows above the lake or target the Lower North Santiam below for big wild rainbows and cutthroat.

The Fly Fishing Gear You Need for Late Summer Trout

You'll want a good assortment of dry flies this time of year. You'll get most of your trout in the mornings on mayfly patterns, then find more interest in bigger caddis and terrestrial patterns as the day wears on. Fish should be willing to rise to dries throughout most of the day, but when the sun is high and directly overhead, a dry-dropper presentation will catch more fish. I also really enjoy fishing a two-fly dry rig in the evenings when fish are rising actively. This allows you to show a fish two distinctly different patterns on two consecutive casts without changing flies when it's prime time and the action is fast. Nobody wants to be the person who misses the best window of an evening hatch tying knots!

Be sure to stock up on both 5x and 6x tapered leaders; this is very clear water, and sometimes you'll need to size down your tippet to fool the biggest fish. An evening summertime hatch is also one of the few times I use desiccant, or powder shake floatant, on my flies. If I need to extend the life of a fly by a few casts with dark descending and don't want to tie on a new bug, it gets dipped into the shake and off we go. If I have time, I always prefer to tie on a new fly and use gel floatant only. Gel floatant is hydrophobic and wicks water away; powder is hydrophilic and absorbs water.