Grindstone Lakes Fly Fishing

GRINDSTONE OREGON FLY FISHING - trophy lake fishing in Central Oregon

Location: 10 miles east of Paulina, Oregon

Season: April - June

2020 Hosted Dates: May 28th - May 31st

Price: $1750 - 4 days hosted fishing, and 3 nights lodging.
Email [email protected] for itinerary, full gear list and welcome letter.
Deposit: 1/2 down, holds your spot.
Pricing includes meals, camp accommodations, and guides.

From the lake manager -
Currently, our fish are averaging 18”-22” in most of the lakes. These fish are in their 3rd and 4th years. There are older fish present in all of the lakes and fish in the mid to upper 20s will be available. We manage our smallest lake (20acres) as a “trophy” lake…there are fewer fish, but fish to 10 lbs are caught every year. 4 of the 5 lakes will be receiving a stocking of fingerling sized fish in late April. These fish usually don’t show up in the catch until they are in their second year and 14”-16”.

Fishing Gear Checklist:
• 5 and 6 weight fly rods. Bringing multiple rods can be very handy.
• Reels/spools to match rods. Floating and intermediate lines are most useful.
Occasionally, a type 3 sinking line works very well. Lines that sink faster than a type 3 catch more weeds than fish!
• Vest/Pack with 2x-4x tippet, leaders, forceps, nippers, floatant, etc.
• Long handled net with large hoop. Bag material should be soft mesh or rubber. Please no nets with knotted nylon bags, they are very hard on the fish.
• Flotation device. Float tube, pontoon, drift boat, pram, etc. Electric motors are permitted, but please keep in mind that we have minimal capacity to charge batteries (one small generator). If you do not have your own boat/flotation device, we have a limited number of Fish Cat pontoon boats available for customer use at no charge. These are available on a first come, first served basis. Please let us know in advance if you will be in need of a loaner boat.
• Waders and boots/booties.
• Sun protection: Hat, polarized sunglasses, sunscreen, Buff.
• Flies: See list below.
Suggested Flies: Feel free to bring your favorite stillwater patterns. The following is an abbreviated list of some of our favorite flies for Grindstone Lakes.

Nymphs:

• Callibaetis, size 12-16: Pheasant Tail, Hare’s Ear, Poxyback Callibaetis, Lightning Bug. • Damsel Fly, size 8-10, olive. Patterns with mono eyes work best. • Chironomid pupae, size 12-16. Red with silver rib, black with silver rib, black with red rib are all good options. Patterns that incorporate white beads (Ice Cream Cone, etc.) are best. Chromies are excellent early in the season.

Streamers:
• Buggers and leeches, size 4-10. Olive, black, brown are top producers. Bright colors like yellow, orange, or white work very well on occassion.
• Balanced leech size 6-10. Similar colors as above. These are deadly.

Dry Flies:
• Callibaetis, size 14-16: Parachute Adams, Hackle Stacker, Hairwing Dun
• Damsel Fly adults, size 8-12. Blue.
• Chubby Chernobyl, size 8-10. Black, peacock, tan are top colors. This pattern is usually overlooked for lake fishing, but it makes a great indicator fly for dry-dropper rigs. Plus, the fish love eating it.


View of Grindstone Lake


Each sleeping tent has area rugs, Big Buddy heaters, and lanterns for a comfortable stay.