Metolius Springs to Allingham Bridge
The river rises at Metolius Springs at the base of Black Butte, a short walk from the Head of the Metolius viewing area off Forest Road 14 south of Camp Sherman, and flows north through the community. The Fly Fisher's Place in Sisters puts the water at 42 to 45 degrees year-round. Under ODFW's Central Zone rules the reach above Allingham Campground Bridge (NF-1217) is open May 22 through October 31 only, fly fishing only with barbless hooks, catch and release.
Allingham Bridge to Bridge 99
From Allingham Bridge down past the Camp Sherman campgrounds to Bridge 99 (Lower Bridge, NF-1270) the river is open all year, fly fishing only, barbless, catch and release. Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery, an ODFW facility about ten and a half river miles below the springs, sits in the middle of this reach and the water above and below it is easy to reach on foot from the river trail. The fly-only water from the headwaters to Bridge 99 is roughly 12 miles and holds the bulk of the Metolius fishing.
Bridge 99 to Lake Billy Chinook
Below Bridge 99 the river turns east, the fly-only rule ends and artificial flies and lures are allowed, still catch and release and open all year. The first few miles fish well before the river drops into a roadless gorge on its way to the west end of Lake Billy Chinook; the river forms the southern boundary of the Warm Springs Reservation down here, so the north bank is tribal land. Every September kokanee move up out of Lake Billy Chinook to spawn in the Metolius through October, counted each year by the Warm Springs tribes, ODFW and PGE. The short reach from the cable car crossing near the mouth downstream to the markers is closed to all angling.
Rainbow trout
The Metolius is a wild rainbow fishery, and the Sisters shop puts its rainbows and browns anywhere from 8 to 24 inches. The clear water and long menu of hatches make them hard: blue-winged olives, PMDs, green drakes in late spring and again in early fall, golden stones in summer, Cinygmula, mahogany duns and October caddis, plus several caddis species. Fine tippet and a good drift matter more here than fly choice.
Brown and bull trout
Brown trout are present but are a minor part of the catch; the shop reports mention them alongside rainbows without treating them as a separate fishery. Bull trout are the Metolius's second headline fish, running from a few pounds to well into the teens according to The Fly Fisher's Place, and they are taken on big streamers, especially in the fall reports. Bull trout are catch and release on the whole river under the ODFW Metolius rules.
Season and regulations
All trout, bull trout included, are catch and release on the entire Metolius. Above Allingham Campground Bridge the season is May 22 through October 31; from Allingham Bridge to the cable car crossing near the mouth the river is open all year. Fly fishing only with barbless hooks applies from the headwaters to Bridge 99, and artificial flies and lures below it. Tributaries are closed except Lake Creek. Confirm the boundaries in the current ODFW Central Zone regulations.
Because the river is spring-fed its flow barely moves. USGS daily records near Grandview from 2010 through 2025 have monthly averages between about 1,380 cfs in the fall and 1,710 cfs in spring, with a floor of 1,200 cfs, so this page treats 1,300 to 1,800 cfs as normal; a reading outside it means rare runoff or snowmelt from the tributaries, not a change in the springs. The Grandview gauge is near the mouth below all the fishable water, and The Fly Fisher's Place watches the Oregon Water Resources Department gauge at Allingham for the upper river.