Big D

grumman16 · 07-31-2003, 08:42 PM

Going to fish the mouth of the Deschutes for steelhead tomorrow. I was thinking about taking the flyrod along and try to entice a redside or two. Any hot flies to try around there right now? (wet or dry) Should be there until dark if that matters.

boo · 08-01-2003, 11:39 PM

My humble advice is that you should use your flyrod to entice a steelhead. Why hunt rabbits during tiger season?
-as always, tight lines-
Boo

Mad Mikey · 08-02-2003, 05:49 PM

My advice is to take two rods. Last time I fished near the mouth I was swinging flies for metalheads with piggie trout taking caddis all around me.
I wished I had taken the 4wt.........

Navigator · 08-02-2003, 06:16 PM

I fished the east side up river from the mouth today. I was on the water from 6:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and went about 2-3 miles up. Nice and cool - overcast. Water is a ridiculous 70 degrees. River is low - just over 4300 cfs.

I went 0-3 today. Lost a nice redside on my first cast of the day

. At 10:00 a.m. - I hooked up with my first Deschutes steelhead [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img] . Darn near spooled me. Just when it looked like the fish was ready - it flipped its head and came unbuttoned [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] . Later on in the day, I hooked another steelhead in a deep slot. It was the head shake, walk the dog game until the fish decided to leave town. You guessed it, [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] . What was weird about this one was that I had someone else's fly on my dropper when I reeled in. That means I not only unbuttoned my fly, but someone else's as well [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] .

The irony of the day is that I hooked the redside swinging flies and got both steelhead dead drifting nymphs. I wish I could tell you which nymph the steelhead took - either a size 6 beadhead prince nymph (lead fly) or a size 12 Copper John.

Saw two fish brought back on the west bank and heard of two others brought back on the east bank. The fish are there.

[ 08-03-2003, 10:47 PM: Message edited by: Navigator ]

Abalone · 08-07-2003, 06:32 AM

Navigator: That fly in the Steelheads mouth wasn't a Greenbutted Skunk with about Fourteen inches of 8lb leader tied to it was it ? I lost my first Steelhead Fly last Friday above the Greenlight hole. It hit like a locomotive and snapped me off. I think what I did wrong was tie too small a eader on my tippet. The line snapped right below the Blood knott. I was using a double fly outfit. Now I have to go back and get revenge.

grumman16 · 08-07-2003, 08:33 AM

Boo,

That would be my preferrence too. But right now I only have a 5wt in my flyrod arsenal. Am I correct in assuming this is too small to be targeting stealhead with? I am still fairly new to flyfishing (been fishing for redsides for about a year and half) so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Navigator · 08-10-2003, 09:58 PM

Abalone -- No, was not a greenbutt skunk. It was a similar steelhead pattern - black and orange with orange and white bucktail wing and orange and white tail. About 3 feet of leader ...

Grumman -- I have a fiberglass fenwick 8 weight that has very slow action - not the best rod for these fish. Not enough lift to turn them and bring them in once they begin to tire. You can hook with a 5 wt, but then good luck. With warmer water and native fish - perhaps not the way to go. What is more important than the weight is a fast action rod with some backbone in the butt.

[ 08-10-2003, 11:01 PM: Message edited by: Navigator ]

boo · 08-12-2003, 04:36 PM

grumman16,

My girlfriend caught a steely on a 5wgt last fall, in a place I'd parked her with a nymph for some trout to keep her busy while I went downstream (this was near North Junction) to do some "serious" steelhead fishing. Someone drifted by and told me my friend had a huge fish on. I figured it was a trout and let it be. She caught and released (she know's the basics of this) a steelhead while I was skunked and I had to listen to her all night while drinking in the cabin (usually it's vica versa so I guess I was do for the heckling).

It can be done. Use strong leader and do everything you can to muscle them in quick.

greenbuttskunk · 08-13-2003, 01:26 PM

ah yes, the elusive greenbuttskunk! Those deschutes steelies love em! :grin: