Your Biggest Deschutes Redside [Archive]

PTS

05-15-2008, 09:39 PM

Seems like people post catching 20 inch redsides very often. I've fished the Deschutes a lot since 1985 and have only caught two 20 inchers (actually measured). A 20 incher is a very very big redside. I suspect some of the 20+ inch fish are really steelhead. When they get colored they look a lot like a redside but are much thinner.

However, no question, they are in there and do get caught.

05-16-2008, 08:07 AM

Prior to kids (when I was able to fish more often), I hit the Descutes several times/year. Had some really great days and caught some nice fish. However, during those trips over the years, only two were over 20".

Those 15-16" fish can seem a lot bigger, especially if you get a hot one. The big boys seem hard to come by. We've all seen them in there though...

Man, I need to get back there....

Slow and Low

05-16-2008, 09:17 AM

I have caught hundreds...literally. My biggest officially 19.5. I have seen one other 19.5. I seriousely doubt many 20 inchers reported were measured.

D3smartie

05-16-2008, 09:28 AM

I have caught 1 fish over 20 in the D. My brother got one about 20 last year during the salmonfly hatch as well.
My dad fished it for a lot of years when he lived in Salem and in all the time he fished it, he never caught any over 21.
It seems to me that most of the big fish are 17-18 inches.

Abalone

05-16-2008, 02:19 PM

l have seen plenty in the 5 # range over the years and I am confident there are plenty more. I caught one on a rooster tail near White horse that was Five pounds and I have a picture at home of one my brother caught steelhead fishing using a tadpolly that was huge...

The day I caught the 5# trout I also caught a 5 # steelhead and the
5 # trout gave the better fight...!

ODFW does stream surveys using Electrity to shock the fish. Talk to a game biologist sometime about the fish they see.. Heck there's huge fish in White River also..!

cphatts

05-16-2008, 06:42 PM

I've caught hundreds as well in the last 10 years and my biggest officially taped was just under 19 inches. Because Deschutes redsides are so thick bodied, they look very deceptive. I can't even count the number of occasions when I thought I had one close to 20 on the end of my line only to tape it and find it to be 17-18 inches.

I fish the Deschutes alot for both steelhead and redsides and I can tell difference between the Deschutes strains of both pretty easily..... whereas I think some people have a hard time differentiating a colored up Deschutes steelhead with a resident redside.

In additon to being difficult to hook, a 20 inch redside is uber difficult to land in most cases. I am willing to bet that of all the fish hooked over 20 inches with standard trout gear, only a fraction are actually landed. Those Deschutes pigs will TEAR YOU UP! Thats why I love them so much :wink:

FishWonk

05-16-2008, 09:46 PM

.... I can't even count the number of occasions when I thought I had one close to 20 on the end of my line only to tape it and find it to be 17-18 inches.

Yup. What he said. Except mine end up only being 15 inchers! But they're strong, glorious, wild fish. What it's all about.

Outdoorbnd

05-16-2008, 10:35 PM

Last fall....17"....

Mad Mikey

05-16-2008, 10:56 PM

I've caught two redsides on the Maupin float that were a hair under 20", within a month of each other. I've been fishing the "D" for 20 years.

20+" trout are in the river, many of them on the Trout Cr. stretch.

Those are old fish.

If you fish near Oak Springs you may catch an old brooder in the mid 20" range that either escaped or was released from the hatchery(can't remember which it was, but those fish are there).

A buddy of mine got a 25" trout in the eddy below the hatchery outlet. It was pretty but fought like a log.

Those fish don't count.

A 20" redside is possible, but rare for us FF'ers to catch. I see so many posts of 20" fish caught but no documentation to back it up.

Talk to the guides who have been working the river for years. 20 inchers are there, you just won't see them much. Most 20"+ fish you find on the "D" will be covered with fungus and washed up on the shore in the Spring.

If you want to see some huge redsides you would need to trespass, fish right below Pelton with a big fat nightcrawler. Hoo boy, they do exist. But that's a spot we can't fish.

I have yet to see a 20"+ redside on camera, on tape, on this site.
No dis to you Greenhead Gunner. Your fish was fabulous, but did you tape it?

The girth of the "D" redsides can fool you.

I've caught 16" fish I would have sworn were 18"-20".

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/fish49.jpg

Hell of a fish there. I don't really care if it was 20" or not, IMO it was right about 19" or so, just girthy.

A 20"+ fish on the lower "D" needs to be proven.

They are there, but rare. I have yet to catch one.

:cheers:

DustyRod

05-16-2008, 10:58 PM

Will not take credit for any skill involved on this one but it is my largest...just over 21" above mack's in 2001. It came mid-day on a miss-cast in about 10" of water. Took a size 18 black gnat nymph?? (still do not know why I put it on, never worked before and has yet to work again). Did not have a camera but made my uncle row the drift boat cross river to measure.

This fish was hooked right in front of me so I saw it right after I hooked it, I was alternating between prayers to keep it on and curse words each time it made a run for the main current. Will never forget how small the fly looked in the lip of that fish.

wapiteaser

05-16-2008, 11:10 PM

Fished the river for over 45 years. Only two verified over 20". Several in the 18-19 inch range that I thought were over, but no go. ODFW shocked/sampled several years ago in the Warm Springs area all the way down to Rattlesnake Canyon below Sherars. In all the fish they sampled, there were NO fish over 20 inches except for three Bull Trout. I believe most of the fish were in the 12-16 inch range with a few in the 17-18 inch range. I think they sampled over a five year period in four sections of the river.

sothereiwas

05-17-2008, 06:37 AM

26" swinging for steelhead above Wagon Blast.

nookslayer

05-17-2008, 09:19 AM

I have one that was 22" but I was on the Resi with a guide. Going again on the 28th so maybe I'll have another! I have caught quite a few between 14" and 18" though

Wingdam

05-17-2008, 10:18 AM

I started fishing the river seriously in 1976. Back then bait was allowed above the Warm Springs Bridge and below Dant. This was before I fly fished, so my friends and I used worms early on until salmon fly nymphs where available. Needles to say the fishing was excellent but I never caught one over 18” with bait. Since then my largest has been 19” on flies. I’ve never witnessed an actual redside larger that was caught. I have seen many colored up steelhead claimed as resident trout, and I’ve seen large fish in back eddy’s that looked to be 20” or larger. I did see a film awhile back of a guided walk in trip on the reservation side either right below Pelton or in the flowing stretch between Round Butte and Pelton. In the film the client caught several large fish on stone fly dries. Those fish clearly were over 20”. Some appeared to be in the 6-7lb range.

Matthewc

05-17-2008, 11:34 AM

The redsides are just so cool looking!

a 16 inch Deschutes trout fights like a freight train.

AndyK

05-17-2008, 11:57 AM

silverhead

05-17-2008, 02:01 PM

I'm curious...I want to know how many 20 inchers are really out there... What is your is biggest Deschutes redside of all time?

And if you have a photo, please post to justify your claim...Let's see em!
If anyone is interested in catching 20+ native rainbows in Idaho just PM me and I will give some info. A couple of years ago I had a 25 fish day with 12 fish from 18" to 22". My biggest on this river is 24" last year my brothers friend hooked one he swears looked close to 30". These fish fight like deamons I have had some airborn 6 to 8 times.

clarkman23

05-17-2008, 03:13 PM

I've hooked a fish in a backeddy that was larger than any other fish I've ever seen on the lower D.

caught? the vast majority of the fish I've ever caught on the D were between 14" & 18". I've had one that went a half tail length longer than the length of my forearm with my fingers extended.

Last time I was out, I did happen to notice that there are two marks on my Steffen Bros. glass rod. One at 12" and the other at 16"...I can't believe I've never noticed that before.

~Randy

retaliate

05-17-2008, 04:12 PM

22" back in the early 80's near the mouth of the White River.

JD77

05-17-2008, 05:05 PM

I have never seen personally a 20 inch redside. I think we all can exaggerate given the hot fish. Just this last week a caught a fish (not Deschutes) that I swore was 20 inches given what I saw in the water and how much flesh there was between tail and adipose. While releasing I taped him to 18 and change, not even a legit 19 inches. 20 inches is a really, really big trout and on the D I've never seen one.

santiamflyguy

05-18-2008, 04:20 AM

I have measuring marks on my rods... depending on the weight of course, but my everyday trout rods are marked at 16", 20", and 24". I usually make a quick check of each decent fish before I release it, only takes a split second and has really helped in terms of being able to accurately guess fish sizes/weights.

FrozenFish

05-18-2008, 11:40 AM

I agree with most of the posts: the "big" redsides caught in the lower river are probably native steelhead. The redsides in the lower river spawn when they are as small as 14 inches; that might limit their total growth.

In the middle river (from Bend to LBC), I have seen some huge rainbows, as long as 24 inches or more. I once watched a huge rainbow chasing a school of suckers in that stretch; a real big fish.

Agree with your thoughts about the bigger trout being steelies. Back in the 50's there was an annual fish bake down on the river at Cambel's ferry. I have seen the pictures from this time, with hundreds of fish lined up on the ground or hanging from all sorts of improvised racks. Even then the only real long fish look like snakey Kelts to me. The truly big fish in these photos, pre-project, were some very substancial Bull trout. Too bad folks at that time gave em the wood shampoo and a good toss up on to the bank, as they were seen as a threat to the trout and smolt populations.
If you want to talk to somebody who routinely catches redsides in the 20" range try looking up Doug Cook sometime. He's got names for em and can tell you where they will be living at different times of the year. -FF

D3smartie

05-18-2008, 07:00 PM

here is a nice trout my brother caught last year. just posting it up for fun.
http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/4484/dsc00338fz0.jpg

flyfishing24

05-19-2008, 12:23 PM

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y73/flyfishing24/fishy0001.jpg

flyfishing24

05-19-2008, 12:24 PM

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y73/flyfishing24/5.jpg

flyfishing24

05-19-2008, 12:25 PM

sorry.... for some reason I thougth it was your biggest Mac redside...

Slow and Low

05-19-2008, 02:54 PM

We Taped A 19" Fish Yesterday Below Mecca.

Slow and Low

05-19-2008, 02:55 PM

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y73/flyfishing24/fishy0001.jpg

I don't think this is the deschutes river is it?

Slow and Low

05-19-2008, 02:55 PM

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y73/flyfishing24/5.jpg

I am 100% this is not the deschutes.

PittsburghD

05-19-2008, 04:56 PM

I am 100% this is not the deschutes.

OR a redside, just for the record...

--D

Slow and Low

05-20-2008, 06:29 AM

Here is the alleged 19" Redside. He said he taped it. Looks short to me.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_1395-1.JPG

AndyK

05-20-2008, 06:51 AM

Here is the alleged 19" Redside. He said he taped it. Looks short to me.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_1395-1.JPG
It's 19 inches if his fingers are four inches long! Looks more like 15 (if his fingers are three inches!).

greenheadgunner

05-20-2008, 07:57 AM

that looks like a nice 16" fish.

PTS

05-20-2008, 09:34 AM

I am not saying this is the situation here, but try not to have a redside out of the water longer than you can hold your breath. Also, handle as little as possible with wet hands.

Slow and Low

05-20-2008, 01:19 PM

that looks like a nice 16" fish.

Kind of what I was thinking.

clacksteel

05-20-2008, 09:48 PM

chromeseeker

05-21-2008, 10:58 AM

Caught a 20" buck downstream from Mecca several years ago during June, it had just started drizzling and the fishing was off the hook for about an hour, landed about a dozen redsides on dries. This fish was bizarre looking, big, hooked jaw and bulging eyes. Right at 20" and thick. Wasn't that great of a fighter.

But 20" fish on the D, while possibly not rare, are rarely hooked.

CS

woodrow

05-21-2008, 04:09 PM

First try at posting a picture....I think thi one was close to 20

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/Deschuttes_2006_024.jpg

nookslayer

05-22-2008, 02:38 PM

Nice trout but not a redside

Blue Tip Spinner

05-22-2008, 03:09 PM

My biggest fish was :thisbig:!!!!

Bull7x6

05-22-2008, 03:54 PM

The redsides are just so cool looking!

a 16 inch Deschutes trout fights like a freight train.

Ditto. Every time I hold one I just marvel at the difference from your standard rainbow! Has to be my favorite fish to pursue.

As far as biggest...taped a 19" one just above Beavertail right before dark quite a few years ago. Thought for sure it would run out into the rapids but every time it got into the fast water I let up pressure on it and it would ease back into the more managable current.

Since then there have been a couple at 18". Most recent was a year ago next month. After a short float from Pine Tree to BT, we kind of went thru quick, and a quick nap I took the dog and ran down below camp to hit some riffles as the sun came off the water. It was one of those awesome moments when almost every rock had an active fish behind it! Caught 3 between 14 and 16, losing one. Finally had a Stimulator slurped under and run out into the main river by one of those fish that only moves when it wants to. Had to chase it down river and unwrap my line from a couple rocks it swam around before finally bringing it to hand. Checked him to my rod and he was a strong 18". Still had time to fish but figured that was my perfect ending for a perfect day and headed back to camp.

I neeed to get back over there!

Two Fister

05-23-2008, 09:34 AM

I've been fishing the Deschutes since 1982. In that timeframe I've caught maybe one or two fish that were around 20". I've seen a couple of others in that size range caught, but nothing larger.

The biggest I've seen was a bruiser taking salmonflies out in the middle of the river a ways above Mecca. He was in a spot that was absolutely impossible to cast to, even with a 6 wt spey, because of overhanging trees, willows and a really strong current seam just this side of his holding spot. I watched him slashing at salmonflies and could only get a glimpse of him. He was kind of dark from spawning and had a kyped jaw that I could see plainly from the bank. When I decided just to watch and strung my rod up he came completely out of the water. He was built like a Coho: thick as a board, square shouldered, with just a massive head. The first thing that popped in to my mind was that he had to be at least 25" long. He was unlike any other redside that I've seen on the Deschutes. Easily 2 or 3 times larger in both girth and mass than any trout I've caught on the Deschutes. Every time I float that stretch I always try to make a cast or two in that spot.

I keep promising my self that I'm going to snorkle that section (used to do it for work). Maybe this year I'll really get that done.
TF

woodrow

05-23-2008, 11:03 AM

Nice trout but not a redside

Are you refering to mine as not being a redside??? Caught on the D below Pelton dam .... Not sure if it's a redside or not but it's a trout!!

hooksetter1

05-23-2008, 12:25 PM

Are you refering to mine as not being a redside??? Caught on the D below Pelton dam .... Not sure if it's a redside or not but it's a trout!!

It's a beautiful rainbow yes, though it isn't a redband. :wink: See page 16 in the synopsis.

Slow and Low

05-23-2008, 01:11 PM

It's a beautiful rainbow yes, though it isn't a redband. :wink: See page 16 in the synopsis.

?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????
You guys are kidding right? I guess we can tell the difference between guys who fish the reds and guys that don't.

Absolutely a Deschutes special.

greenheadgunner

05-23-2008, 01:23 PM

Awesome looking "light" redside. Definitely a deschutes beaut.

woodrow

05-23-2008, 03:04 PM

So is a deschutes "redside" a "redband trout" ??? Page 16 shows a picture of a Rainbow trout and a Redband trout.

I thought that all the trout on the "D" fell unger the catagory of Redside??

Slow and Low

05-23-2008, 03:09 PM

So is a deschutes "redside" a "redband trout" ??? Page 16 shows a picture of a Rainbow trout and a Redband trout.

I thought that all the trout on the "D" fell unger the catagory of Redside??

Redside is slang. They call them redsides in lots of places. The issue with some is that just like people dominant features and charachteristics vary widely. Just like males and females look different in Humans so its the same with rainbows especially close to the spawn. Ever see a double stripe wild hen steelhead? Doubt it.

I am not calling anyone out but the more colored up and dark the closer to the redds. Also age and maturity of the fish will have a major impact on the clors of the fish.

My .02

JigMast

05-24-2008, 11:27 AM

Isn't a redside a native resident trout? I fish the mckenzie and catch alot of planters, and all the native trout I catch have the "red side or stripe" on them. Is there a difference between redsides and native trout?

cooky

05-24-2008, 12:32 PM

Definitely not a good picture to display the length of this fish. I caught it a couple years ago while swinging for steelhead.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/deschutesteelhead39/Fishing/Trout/DeschutesRedside.jpg

First try at posting a picture....I think thi one was close to 20

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/Deschuttes_2006_024.jpg

These are what they are suppose to look like!!! Nice ones

clarkman23

05-24-2008, 09:15 PM

?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????
You guys are kidding right? I guess we can tell the difference between guys who fish the reds and guys that don't.

Absolutely a Deschutes special.

that's what I was thinkin'...

joemomma

05-24-2008, 10:37 PM

It's a beautiful rainbow yes, though it isn't a redband. :wink: See page 16 in the synopsis.

It's not a redband either! Redside's are rainbow's native to the Big D! Looks like one to me!

mandinga

05-25-2008, 02:15 PM

there are plenty of 20"+ trout in the Deschutes...they're called steelhead.

clack, i remember that picture...that was a pig.

smalldog

05-25-2008, 02:44 PM

Is anything over 20" considered a steelhead in the D?

clarkman23

05-25-2008, 04:33 PM

Is anything over 20" considered a steelhead in the D?

according to ODFW even if it's never gone to the salt...

sothereiwas

05-25-2008, 07:48 PM

Is anything over 20" considered a steelhead in the D?

So they say, I dont buy it. Its the D, not the Klamath or Rogue. There are far more 20-24" rainbows in the D then sub 24" steelhead. They dont look the same.

Brad

MikeT

05-25-2008, 08:34 PM

So they say, I dont buy it. Its the D, not the Klamath or Rogue. There are far more 20-24" rainbows in the D then sub 24" steelhead. They dont look the same.

Brad

While the redsides >20 inches are legally considered steelhead, I don't think anyone believes those fish are in reality steelhead.

As for the "There are far more 20-24" rainbows in the D than sub 24" steelhead" remark, I don't buy that at all. Redsides in the 20-24" range are extremely rare, while 23"--24" steelhead are extremely common. I taped every steelhead I caught on the D last summer, and the most common size was 23"-24". In fact, the first four I caught in July all taped out in that range.
Mike

Fishrite

05-26-2008, 08:32 PM

There are 20" redsides on the Deschutes, guys! -- but not many. I have taken a few (over the last 42 years) that have measured 20" and my son has as well, but I agree with most on this site. They fight so hard and they are so thick that many people think they are much bigger. So if you ever catch one --measure it and take a picture before you let it go!!!!

sms

05-29-2008, 12:00 PM

OK OK. Obviously, myself and others need some clarification. I have always been under the assumption that there are "Redside" rainbow trout in the Deschutes as well as regular rainbow trout - 2 different fish. I'm thinking my assumption maybe wrong. :cool: I must not have been paying attention to my uncle when he explained it to me 15 yrs ago. I'm a good listeners - it's just that i was 13 yrs old and it was my first trip to the D..:excited: I believe my reasoning is also fueled by the fact that 90% of the rainbows i have caught *look* similar to those caught in rivers in OR and MT. Where the other 10% were no doubt, thick, broad shouldered, deep purplely, piggy, red stripe, big spots all over, REDSIDES.

I understand that age & spawning cycle play a factor in the color of a fish, but just last August @ Beavertail I caught fish of similar size that looked like 2 enitely different species!!

So, I guess my question would be - Is any rainbow in the D, other than a Steelhead of course, a "redside?"

Slow and Low

05-29-2008, 01:20 PM

So, I guess my question would be - Is any rainbow in the D, other than a Steelhead of course, a "redside?"

As far as I'm concerned...Yep! These are wild fish and they are a strain of redband similiar to the Blitzen and the MacKenzie fish. I have seen no rainbow trout except these three that exhibit the "redside" look.

woodrow

05-30-2008, 01:13 PM

This was also caught on the D...is it a "redside "or a regular rainbow??
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/FISH_PIC_1.jpg

Slow and Low

05-30-2008, 02:54 PM

Redside. Nice one too!

East Fork

05-30-2008, 03:09 PM

I always thought of this as a redside but it might have been a small steelhead. It was caught nymphing 6-7 miles below Warmspings. I'm guessing it was 20 plus - it was not measured.

Wingdam

05-30-2008, 10:28 PM

I’m going to chime in on species identification. All the resident rainbows on the Deschutes are known as “Desert Redband Trout”. The term “Redside” was coined in the early days because a large percentage of “trout” caught on the river were somewhere in their spawning cycle. This cycle starts in April and lasts into July but keeps the fish colored up for a large part of the season. The bright resident trout are not another strain just the same fish either too young to spawn, skipping a cycle, or several weeks recovered from spawning. Past planting of hatchery trout did little to alter the gene pool and after this many years what little effect they had is bred out.

Wingdam

05-30-2008, 10:35 PM

I always thought of this as a redside but it might have been a small steelhead. It was caught nymphing 6-7 miles below Warmspings. I'm guessing it was 20 plus - it was not measured.

This is clearly a resident trout.

Slow and Low

05-31-2008, 06:38 AM

Well put.

FishonDon

06-03-2008, 01:01 PM

My largest is a 23" resident redside, not a steelhead. I know the difference. I had a picture at one time, but can't find it right now. I actually hooked this fish twice. The first time he busted my tippet. I re-tied fished up stream for a while, and 20-30 minutes came back to the same spot I first hooked him. Sure enough another big trout picked up my nymph, and gave me a huge battle. When I landed him, saw my other fly in his mouth with my original tippet dangling behind him.