Deschutes River Trout Fishing Report

I finished a three day trip this afternoon on the stretch of the lower Deschutes that runs between Trout Creek and Maupin. The weather was unseasonably mild for this time of year, but the fish didn’t seem to mind the cooler weather. We saw highs in the seventies, but the temperature would drop quickly when the afternoon thunderstorms materialized. Though high winds did occasionaly put a crimp in the dry fly action (and certainly the casting), the dry fly fishing and nymphing were consistently good.

Summer is caddis season on the Deschutes. During the peak of the hatch (usually sometime in July) there can sometimes be a blizzard of bugs hanging over the river, and the dry fly action can be widespred. These bugs come out in greatest profusion when the weather gets really hot (85 degrees or more), which is typical for the lower Deschutes canyon this time of year. When some other trout streams go through their summer doldrums, the Deschutes can really shine.

The weather was cool on this last trip, feeling more like May than July, but despite the cool weather, there were still enough caddis coming off to keep the fish looking up, with a mixed match of small mayflies to spice things up. Though the hatch wasn’t heavy, we found nice trout rising in various types of water from eddies to riffles and brushy bank lines. Top producing dry fly pattern in my boat included the royal wulff, peacock caddis, and parachute adams, and x-caddis, all in sizes 16 and 18. Simple flies work well here, provided they are well-presented, small and relatively sparse.

Some of the Deschutes’ native redsides can get picky this time of year, but sight fishing for these trout is really compelling. It pays to move slowly and carefully observe before you cast. Oftentimes the biggest trout are the most subtle risers. If you get a refusal, it pays to rest the fish and change the fly, usually to something smaller and darker.

Nymphing was also productive. When the wind started to crank, blowing most of the bugs off the water, we did well fishing various small nymphs about 7 or 8 feet under a thingamabobber. Various nymphs worked well. A Fox’s Poopah in tan and a pheasant tail fished in tandem were hard to beat.

We had a number of guests on the trip who had never held a fly rod before, but by the end of the trip, with some instruction and coaching, all had landed some great fish.

Deschutes River Flyfishing Report: The Salmonfly Hatch Is On!

The Salmonfly and Golden Stone hatch is out in force on the Lower Deschutes, and the dry fly fishing for the river’s wild redsides hatch has been good. Between Pelton Dam and Maupin, the Deschutes is host to the most prolific hatch of these bugs anywhere in the country. It is an epic hatch, one every dedicated trout angler should experience.

Earlier in the hatch, the dry fly fishing was a little spotty, with some high and off-color water, and many of the fish still in transition as the hatch worked its way upstream. More recently, however, the water has dropped and cleared, the fish have lined up where they should be, and we have had some spectacular sessions of dry fly fishing.

The water is still relatively high, but like anywhere, moderately high water doesn’t necessarily make the trout fishing good or bad, it just changes things to some extent. Some favorite spots will be washed-out, while many other places that wouldn’t necessarily fish at lower flows will become good spots. Especially during the salmonfly hatch, many fish will hold tight to the bank, downstream of trees, as well up underneath overhanging limbs. Dry fly fishing on the Deschutes forces you to work on your short game to work around these obstacles.

The grabs this time of year can be amazing. It is not uncommon to see a big rainbow chase your fly downstream to crush it. Sometimes two trout will charge the fly at the same time, and the bigger one usually wins. The same fish that in the summer months will be daintily sipping small caddis in a back eddy will charge out of a heavy current seam to blow up a fly nearly the size of a badminton birdie fished on a stubby 1x leader.

During periods of cool and wet weather, the bugs go dormant in the trees and grass, waiting for warmer weather to mate and lay their eggs. Given all the nasty weather we’ve endured this Spring, I think the good dry fly fishing the stonefly hatch offers will linger on for another week or two.

Deschutes River Flyfishing Report: The Salmonfly Hatch is Almost Here!

I spent the last couple days on the Lower Deschutes between Trout Creek and Maupin. My buddy Kyle and I were showing our friend Clay the river, training him to start running baggage this season, but we also got to do some fishing.

The river was running a little high (somewhere in the neighborhood of 5500-5600 cfs coming out of Pelton Dam), and a little off-color. The heavy snowpack in the Ochocos this year has the Crooked River running high and muddy as it melts, coloring the water in lakes Billy Chinook and Simtustus, as well as the Lower Deschutes River. The fish, however, did not seem to mind.

The nymphing was outstanding start to finish. Big flies seemed to be the ticket. Most anything seemed to work; various stonefly nymphs, mega-princes, possie buggers, whatever we tied on. We caught rainbows primarily, a few whitefish, and Clay caught this magnificent, butter-bellied sucker.

We saw very few rishing fish, but managed to bring a few nice trout to the surface, including this guy, who attacked an adult stonefly pattern.

The fabled Salmonfly hatch on the Deschutes is just barely getting started. We saw just a couple adult stoneflies flying around on our float, and all of those down closer to Maupin. In the coming weeks, the Salmonflies and Golden Stones of the Deschutes will grace the river with their annual emergence, and the dry fly fishing will really turn on.

Anyone interested in a top notch Deschutes River Flyfishing experience should call or email! Salmonfly season is already pretty booked, but we have the rest of trout and steelhead season to look forward to. The trout and steelhead fishing on the Deschutes is some of the best of what Oregon has to offer.

2011 Summer Steelhead Apprehended on the McKenzie River

While guiding Ken Mackay and his grandson, Ian, a couple days ago on the lower McKenzie, Ken hooked, played, and landed a 29 inch, bright 2011 summer steelhead, the first I have seen this season. There are not many summer fish in the system yet, so we can thank the moon and stars for aligning correctly and the fish gods for smiling on us. What made this encounter even more miraculous was that Ken hooked this fish while swinging wet flies for trout on my 9′ 4wt. z axis. It ate a #12 Silvey’s Soft Serve March Brown swung down and across on the end of a 4x fluorocarbon tippet. The fish took the little wet fly on the hang down. There was a huge swirl and the line came tight. When I realized exactly what was going on, I thought our odds of landing this fish were slim at best: light rod, light tippet, high water, no net, and nowhere in sight to pull the boat over so I could get out and tail the fish. This was going to take a while. Most of the credit for our success should go to Ken; an experienced fisherman, he kept steady pressure on the fish, giving quarter when he needed to, but exerting as much pressure as the light tippet could take to try to keep the fish under control. To make a long story short, we followed the fish downstream for 3/4 of a mile before the fish began to tire, I anchored the boat on a shallow gravel bar, Ken managed to turn the fish as it made it last runs, slowly relented, and came to hand.

The summer run fish here in the Willamette Valley return early. Many seasons, we have fishable numbers of summer steelhead around by sometime in May. With winter steelhead season ending in April and summer fish showing up on their tails, steelhead anglers in this part of the world hardly get a break. That, as they say, is a good problem to have.

Spring Flyfishing Report: Will It Ever Stop Raining?

In general, there is a lot of great fishing here in Western Oregon in the early Spring. It often offers some of the best fishing of the winter steelhead season, and great opportunities to fish for wild trout on rivers like the McKenzie and Willamette. This year, however, the weather just has not been very cooperative. Here in Eugene we had only two days last month without precipitation, which led to a lot of high and sometimes off-color water. That being said, these last few weeks were not without their highlights.

In general, the winter steelhead fishing has been best on the smaller creeks and rivers that drop into shape quickly after a heavy rain. These can be some really cool places to fish, sometimes offering the opportunity to intercept chrome-bright fish fresh from the Salt. Most of the bigger streams that I like to swing for late winter steel have been in shape only briefly if at all over the last several weeks. Many winter steelhead streams are now closed for the season, while some remain open unil April 15th, and others don’t close at all. Consult your ODFW regulations before you go fishing. Some of the closures can be confusing.

The trout fishing on the lower McKenzie and Willamette has been good whenever the weather cooperates. The McKenzie has many charms, but amongst its finest qualities is the clarity of the water and its resistance to turbidity: the river maintains its clarity very well even when it is quite high. Fishing in high water can be intimidating, but remember, you are fishing for trout, and they need to eat. The same spots that you like to fish when the river is at a more normal level may not work well, but the fish will be feeding somewhere. When the river is high and rising, the fishing is almost always tough, but if the flows are stable or dropping, the river can fish very well at a surprisingly high volume.

The March Brown hatch has been inconsistent, which we can probably blame on the weather. It has come off in fits and starts, with good abundance of bugs on calm, warm, overcast afternoons. Sadly, we have had too few days like this.

I guided the last three days with pretty good success, finding some nice wild rainbows and cutthroats each day. Saturday and Sunday were particularly good with high water receding, good afternoon hatches of both caddis and march browns, and some nice fish feeding on the surface. I saw very few other anglers on the river over the last several days. I think most people were scared off by the relatively high water.

Unfortunately the river blew out again today and another inch of rain is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow…Ouch! Let’s hope that we are about to turn the corner, and a drier weather pattern is in our future.

Oregon Trout and Steelhead Flyfishing Report: March is Magic

March is among my favorite months on the fishing calendar, with great opportunities for both steelhead and trout. While most of the hatchery runs have petered out, good opportunities remain to fish for wild steelhead on many of our coastal and inland rivers. The weather is typically more mild this time of year than it is earlier in the winter steelhead season, which can make the act of fishing more enjoyable, and can also make it more productive; as water temperatures climb slightly, the fish often respond better to flies, especially swung offerings.

As we enjoy the last month of our winter steelhead season, the trout fishing on the McKenzie is set to really turn on. Throughout the last month, the nymphing on the lower McKenzie remained good for some nice-sized wild trout. With the advent of the March Brown hatch and milder weather in the forecast, fishing on or near the surface will really pick up.

This picture was taken on the lower McKenzie last Friday. While the weather was cold, the fishing was not. A guest on a guided trip, Gregg Leet, found good numbers of nice rainbows on nymph patterns. This fish made a dramatic finish for our day on the river.

Spring Special on Half Day Lower McKenzie Trout Fishing Trips

Now through May 15, I am offering a discounted rate of $275 on half-day trout fishing trips on the lower McKenzie, a $50 savings off the normal rate. This price is good for 1 or 2 anglers. The half day trip is around 5 hours of fishing, and includes tackle, flies, and all fishing accoutrements. All you need to bring is a fishing license, some rain gear, sunglasses, and a hat.

The late winter and springtime offer the best fishing of the year for the lower McKenzie’s mature wild rainbows. Already, there has been some great fishing out there, but the best is yet to come. Thus far, the lower McKenzie’s wild trout have been responding well to nymphs, but by the end of February, the March Brown hatch will pop, bringing the fish to the surface to feed.

For those of us that live in the Willamette Valley, the lower McKenzie offers some great fishing and easy access. The spring time trout fishing on the McKenzie is not to be missed.