Middle Deschutes near Redmond 4/13

jamisonace
jamisonace
I was on my way to the Crooked River when I decided to call Fly and Field to see if they had a report. They steered me away because the flows were so high. So I headed over to the Middle Deschutes and the water was clear and the water level was very fishable.

I started off with pheasant tail and caught a very small fish at the end of my drift just as it started to swing. A little later I put on a prince nymph and caught a decent sized brown. Moved upstream and felt the pressure of a nice sized fish. I thought it was a lunker trout but turned out to be a hog of a whitefish. Fished the prince for awhile longer with no luck and switched to a hares ear and got two more. Just as it was getting dark I tangled my line so I cut it all off and slapped on a black wooley bugger with a few strands of flashabou. Fished the far bank swinging the wooley bugger and finished the evening with a 15" brown.

I had a lot of strikes that I missed so the fish are definitely biting. There were no hatches between 5 and 8. I wish I weren't working so I could hit some of the midday hatches but nymphing seems to be producing well too. By the way, all the nymphs I used were beadheads.
 
Raincatcher
Raincatcher
Sounds like you got good info from the tackle shop and made good use of it. There is one problem...no pictures?! lol I am betting the Lower Deschutes will be seeing more of you in the future. Congrats on a productive day/evening on the water.

ps
Did you ever get that boat for the kids' sandbox? Maybe someone here has one...
 
Irishrover
Irishrover
Sounds like you had a good day. I like that part of the river down from Tetherow Crossing to Lower Bridge. This time of year the water level should be dropping in that part of the Deschutes. It's just the opposite of what happens on the crooked. North Unit Irrigation district pulltheir water out of the Dwschutes at Bend and diverts it to the NUI cannel. So from Bend to Lake Billy Chinook the water level drops and you can do a lot of wading. On the Crooked they pump from the river so more water is dumped into it.

Some day I want to explore the river from Lower Bridge to Steelhead Falls. I know there are fish there and its great fly water.

I have to head over to Culver here in a couple of hours, guess I'll take along the fly rod and find time to hit Lower Crossing. Oh and yes I'll have some bead head prince nymphs with me;)
Thanks for the report Jamisonace.
 
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B
bigsteel
sounds like you did good,,,,,nice report...
 
jamisonace
jamisonace
Sorry about no pictures. I'm really bad about getting pics...especially when I'm by myself. I did get the boat sandbox made for my boys. It's a 17' canoe. The boys love it. I do have pictures of that I'll post when I get home from Bend. I'll drop you a note when I get them posted to my page so can check them out.
Raincatcher said:
Sounds like you got good info from the tackle shop and made good use of it. There is one problem...no pictures?! lol I am betting the Lower Deschutes will be seeing more of you in the future. Congrats on a productive day/evening on the water.

ps
Did you ever get that boat for the kids' sandbox? Maybe someone here has one...
 
Irishrover
Irishrover
I made it down to Lower Bridge on the Deschutes today for a few hours of fun. It's a nice small river at that location. Lots of birds Red Wing Black birds, ducks and geese to keep you company. Speaking of company there were five other fly fisherman there. First time I have been there and seen anyone else. The nice thing is I only saw one other guy while fishing and he was no where near close. We just kind of all met up when we left the river. One of the guys said the reason there were more guys fishing the Deschutes is because the Crooked is running at close to 1000 cfs. It fishes best at around 200cfs.

Fishing was good the othere guys all said they had a 6+ day. I landed two nice browns on dry flies (callibaetis sparkling dun). I was usuing a prince nymph but a good size mayfly hatch started so I went up top. Right now it's a good place to hit the river with a fly. I had not noticed before but there is a sign there that said barbless flys only. I thought guys cold use lures there guess I'll re check the regulations. Anyway it was a nice day with lots of sunshine and only a little wind.

The reason the place is called Lower Bridge (AKA Lower Crossing) is because up river not to far is Tetherow Crossing. Both places were used by the pioneers who backfilled Eastern and Central Orgeon in the 1870s to 1930s. The Lombardi Poplar trees in the third picture is where the homstead was located for the folks who ran the toll crossing.
 
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jamisonace
jamisonace
Irish,

Glad you made it over there. I like that part of the river too. Did you go upstream from the bridge? There are some nice spots around there. If you're planning on fishing anytime in the afternoon next week let me know and I'll come find you. I could break away from work early one day to get on the river a little earlier. I'm pretty sure its not barbless in that area. The only river I know of that is barbless over there is Fall River.
 
Irishrover
Irishrover
jamisonace said:
Irish,

Glad you made it over there. I like that part of the river too. Did you go upstream from the bridge? There are some nice spots around there. If you're planning on fishing anytime in the afternoon next week let me know and I'll come find you. I could break away from work early one day to get on the river a little earlier. I'm pretty sure its not barbless in that area. The only river I know of that is barbless over there is Fall River.

I should be back over here next week. I have to head back to Sandy tomorrow. I should be back by Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm not to far from that place so what ever time works for you will work for me. I checked the regulations and it jut says artificial flies and lures. Someone must have gotten carried away when they put that sign up. I parked by the bridge and waded upstream. I didn't have to go far before I was into the fish. I always take my lap top with me so we can hook up next week. See you on the river.
 
F
flycaster
The water above Tetherow used to fish real well......

The water above Tetherow used to fish real well......

Been a few years since Ive been down there. Should be some March Browns still hatching. Waters usually high but the fish will move right up to the edges. ;)
 
jamisonace
jamisonace
My biggest brown came right off the bank with a wooley bugger.
flycaster said:
Been a few years since Ive been down there. Should be some March Browns still hatching. Waters usually high but the fish will move right up to the edges. ;)
 
F
flycaster
Went down there this afternoon and just like I suspected, March Brown hatch was pretty thick. Fish all over em. Size 12-14 brown comparadun or Parachute, emergers and pheasant tails all working well. Surprisingly I caught mostly rainbows. Only a few small browns. Im gonna have to hit it hard next week.;)
 
jamisonace
jamisonace
Flycaster,

What time did you see the hatch? I was only able to fish evenings last week but I'd like to break away and fish a good hatch next week.
flycaster said:
Went down there this afternoon and just like I suspected, March Brown hatch was pretty thick. Fish all over em. Size 12-14 brown comparadun or Parachute, emergers and pheasant tails all working well. Surprisingly I caught mostly rainbows. Only a few small browns. Im gonna have to hit it hard next week.;)
 
F
flycaster
I got down there around noon or so. BWO's were already popping and then started to see a few March Browns. They were still popping when I left around 3:30 or so. Lots of adults riding the surface and a few fish were on them but they were keying in on the emergers. Try a soft hackle PT in size 12-14 with a little BB split shot above it. Cast up into the heads of riffles and then allow the fly to swing up at the end of the drift... DEADLY!!;)
Im hoping to head back down on Tuesday. Gotta work this weekend. Weathers gonna warm up so it should just get better. Water was not as high as I have seen it in the past. It has recently come down. Maybe Ill see ya down there ....:think:
 
Irishrover
Irishrover
I was down there yesterday right around 1pm. As soon as I hit the water I saw pleanty of mayflies. When I swithced to a dry fly I saw some fish right next to the reeds by the shore raising after those march browns. I wish I could have been there today instead of back here in Sandy. I'm going to be there next week for sure . Hope to see you guys there, it would be nice to meet you guys.
 
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jamisonace
jamisonace
I'll get to Bend about 1pm on Monday. You name the day, time and place and I'll meet you there. I'm a rookie on that water so I'll look forward to fishing with someone that is more familiar with it than I am. Maybe I can return the favor on the Mckenzie or Mid Willamette for trout someday.
Irishrover said:
I was down there yesterday right around 1pm. As soon as I hit the water I saw pleanty of mayflies. When I swithced to a dry fly I saw some fish right next to the reeds by the shore raising after those march browns. I wish I could have been there today instead of back here in Sandy. I'm going to be there next week for sure . Hope to see you guys there, it would be nice to meet you guys.
 
F
flycaster
Today would be perfect. Warm temps in the upper 60's to mid 70's, overcast skies....The BWO's should be real thick. Dont forget about emerger patterns before and in the early stages of the hatch. Get em deep and dead drift them then slowly raise the rod tip to swim 'em to the surface at the end of the drift. March Browns will start shortly after the BWO's. They are a much larger mayfly but they are similar in color to the Baetis nymphs. Tie on # 12 PT with a split shot above it. Then tie in a #18-#20 BWO nymph/emerger as a dropper about 16-18 inches below.
 

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