McKenzie Bridge Area

[Grassgrower]

Trying to plan a 50th get away with some friends and have decided on the McKenzie Bridge area of the McKenzie either in late May of June. Which would be the better of the two for trout fishing and where should we concentrate our efforts etc. Never been to this area and really looking forward to it. Just a little worried about snow runoff, tactics and where to go.

Thanks,

Sean

[Ned Morris]

Call the Caddis Fly Shop in Eugene and get a Guide. It's worth the $$$ and will make for a much more memorable experience there. Took me a year to figure out that river when I was in college up there

[koffler]

Agreed. Chris Daughters has owned the shop for 20+ years and they have a lot of good guides out of there - I guided for them back in the day. A good drift is from Springfield to the McKenzie bridge and there is a good amount of public access. The north fork of the Willamette is about an hour away and is definitely worth a look.

[JasonB]

McKenzie bridge is many miles above Springfield...
Lots of bridges over the McKenzie river, but only one “McKenzie bridge”! Brings back many fond memories. Very much agree that Chris Daughters and Co are a very valuable resource, probably well worth hiring a guide for the upper reaches of that beautiful river

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Maybe get a drift boat guide for the first day to insure some success.

Lots of info on the web....

[Grassgrower]

Thanks everyone. Will make the call to the shop. Koffler what do you think flows are like at the end of May first half of June? Is it as heavily impacted like most areas of the west during snow melt? Have a feeling there is going to be a lot this spring! Thanks again for the replies.

[Fly Right]

Trying to plan a 50th get away with some friends and have decided on the McKenzie Bridge area of the McKenzie either in late May of June. Which would be the better of the two for trout fishing and where should we concentrate our efforts etc. Never been to this area and really looking forward to it. Just a little worried about snow runoff, tactics and where to go.

Thanks,

Sean

The McKenzie is a good fishery for redbands for those who know the river.....hint, hint, guide. Also access by foot for wade fishing is very limited, especially lower down. A driftboat is really the only way to fish to ensure a decent outing.
Good luck, beautiful country.

[hwchubb]

I’ll echo the other sentiments - beautiful fishery, gorgeous fish, may be a bit early for a vastly improved summer steelhead fishery, but maybe not. Also a quick warning. Springfield has a BIG meth problem, don’t leave anything of value visible or even in the car if possible at the lower accesses and parks. Otherwise, have a great trip.