Rivers Deschutes River Fishing Reports

OneFishTwoFish
OneFishTwoFish
Caught a nice Brown hen today..few Whiteys on the fly rod as well. NO RAINBOWS, oh well still figuring out throwing a fly. One other guy fishing but pretty calm day on the river. Thanks for the fishing advice IrishRover!
 
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markasd
LOL
The dog not looking too interested.. nice fish. Figuring out the fly rod is fun. If your close enough, Fall River has some 'bows swimming around.
 
troutdude
troutdude
Dog be like..."don't want nuttin' to do widdat man!" LOL

@Irishrover
 
troutdude
troutdude
P.S. Nice morels in your avatar!
 
OneFishTwoFish
OneFishTwoFish
On a Prince nymph picked up from Fin&Fire in Redmond yesterday. Yeah dog is well...quite the princess until the camera comes out, then its.. Nope! Not interested in your photography! Shes terrible hunting (like owner) but best river dog I've known, which is saying something for a heeler IMO.
@troutdude thanks! I'm a fanatical fungiphile, which helps when the fishing/hunting is lackluster
@markasd I really have been meaning to check out Fall River with a fly rod. It was packed with anglers this Summer so I didn't bother but imagine its fairly tranquil during the Winter.
 
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markasd
Well I have to admit its been 15-20 yrs since I fished it, and in typing that I now feel old! lol
Winter in snow was a blast and didn't see folks let alone foot tracks.. they plow the road right up to that last set of homes below camp ground so access was good.
Good luck and post up a pic or two of that river if ya would, kinda miss that place.
 
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troutdude
troutdude
OneFishTwoFish said:
@troutdude thanks! I'm a fanatical fungiphile, which helps when the fishing/hunting is lackluster

I've been picking since about '76. And my roomie, in '78, is now an international expert on Mycology. He taught me a bunch.
 
Irishrover
Irishrover
So did you go to Lower Bridge? Prince nymph was a good choice hairs ear and pheasant tail nymphs work well to. As for the dog, well I think she might prefer wooly buggers.
 
OneFishTwoFish
OneFishTwoFish
Lower bridge was running swift and high, so I rolled on down to Steelhead Falls.
 
The Guides Forecast
The Guides Forecast
The Lower Deschutes. Trout action is good from WS to Trout Creek and there are Steelhead all the way up from the mouth.

For trout, Euro Nymphing has been fantastic.

The Middle Deschutes is another good option from just upstream of Bend all the way down to Lake Billy Chinook. The PMD hatch is coming to an end but the Blue Wing Olives are taking up that slack.

It will close for the season on Sept 30th, but there is a week left to hit the Upper Deschutes above Crane Prairie.
 
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Blue Lines
Blue Lines
Had a great time on the Lower Deschutes! Camped in a BLM campsite south of Maupin and caught a couple native Redsides on BWO’s late in the day, October Caddis hatch isn’t really taking off yet. Fun fact- BWO’s in this area are almost black! I tried fishing some darker patterns provided by John at Deschutes Canyon Fly Shop (great shop, very helpful and knowledgeable ) but the dark variant is very difficult to see in lower light and the fish didn’t seem to mind the standard pattern. Only caught a few fish (had a monster on but he broke me off on the rocks) but those that I did catch were absolutely worth it. Most anglers were having their most productive times nymphing and I tried it in the morning without any success... I have yet to learn the way of the nymph.

I took a drive north of Maupin to Sherars Falls and the confluence of the Deschutes and White is beautiful! Some interesting water prior to the confluence too... Inspiring landscape and fun fishing, I’ll definitely be back.
 
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Aervax
Aervax
Take binoculars with you. My wife and I have fun pulling over to count how many bighorn sheep we can see in the cliffs above the lower Deschutes. Mostly lambs and ewes, but we occasionally get to watch a bruiser ram.
 
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Browntoe
Below White River is quite off color from the rains last week and, with a 20% chance tonight, looks like it’s not going to clear anytime soon. Over the 48 hours I was down there it cleared only a little.
Trout were very hungry and feisty from the White River all the way up. I can heartily recommend the Deschutes Angler fly shop. Their tungsten bead head princes were exactly what the trout want. With the eye off to 90 degrees and tied on a barbless hook, all my trout (and the one idiot sucker fish) got hooked in the upper lip and released with almost no difficulty. Pretty sweet fly. Read the rules and then ring the doorbell. Take your mask into the shop. No, not your stupid neck gator, take a mask. If these guys get sick, a lot of guided trips are not going to happen.
Lots of guys looking for the steelies down there. Didn’t look like many were being caught although I saw several “rolling” while I was chasing their freshwater brethren. Lost my rig to one.
One bobcat (twice, I think), one beaver, plenty of deer and a couple of rattlers. All in all a great trip.
 
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Peaceful
Peaceful
Right on! Just returned from fly fishing in NW Montana rivers, feeling ready to try my luck tight lining our desert rivers. What kind of rig were you using out there?
 
B
Browntoe
Peaceful said:
Right on! Just returned from fly fishing in NW Montana rivers, feeling ready to try my luck tight lining our desert rivers. What kind of rig were you using out there?
I was mostly nymphing a bead head prince with a bobber (strike indicator). Lots of grasshoppers around a few weeks ago and the hopper/dropper worked fairly well. I think they’ve had a hard freeze over there by now. The fast surface current was catching the “hopper” and dragging it around a lot, so I found the strike indicator a little better.
 
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Peaceful
Peaceful
That sounds great. About 5 to 7 feet deep where you were nymphing? I think I'll start at mecca flats and start building my database of go-to spots. I have started watching Deschutes Anglers' youtube videos, too. Super helpful, seems like a great guide.
 
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