Deschutes Questions

Travman · 04-22-2010, 07:23 PM

Hey all, I spend most of my time on the hunting and LIG parts of Ifish but I have a few questions about the Deschutes. I've slowly been picking up flyfishing over the last few years and think I would consider myself to be a decent flyfisher. After moving here a year and a half ago I still have yet to fish this river and was wondering if a guy could reasonably expect to make a day or two trip and find success in the form of catching some of those famed redsides. I've gleaned some good info from some past posts and looked at some maps and it looks like there is some good wading access. I guess my biggest question is whether this is a good destination for a mediocre flyfisherman like myself or if it is a little on the technical side with well educated trout that won't take a second look at a less than perfect presentation? Any opinions?

Wild Chrome · 04-22-2010, 07:31 PM

Go! The Deschutes is a desert oasis. Catching fish is merely the icing on the cake.

DirectDrive · 04-22-2010, 08:00 PM

I'm not a flyfisherman, but one of the most fun times that I ever had fishing was on the D during the salmonfly hatch.
Keep an eye on it and be there when it happens. Late May early June, IIRC.

No fancy casting required....the fish are near shore gorging.
You wade your way upstream, casting parallel to the bank.

JD77 · 04-22-2010, 08:00 PM

Travman,
I am no expert, but I found the Deschutes to be very tough to learn. In fact, I got skunked more than once before I caught a fish. A typical trip for me is a couple fish landed and I would call myself just an OK river fisherman. The river is big, the fish hold in particular places (different times of the year) and like most outdoor sports, 10% of the guys catch 90% of the fish. If you can find a guy to take you and show you around, it helps a lot. Expect to mostly nymph fish. It is a cool place and I've never had a trip there that wasn't interesting (well,except the time it was well over 100 degrees and we forgot the lunch at home).

Zugbug66 · 04-22-2010, 09:10 PM

The Deschutes is a great river, and the Redsides that swim in that river are some of the hardest fighting trout around. 15" fish that have the potential to find your backing. I would check it out. But success comes with learning the river. You will hook some fish, if you pay attention to the hatches. One good way to get a head start is to take advantage of a guide trip.
Good Luck,
Wayne

There are guides who post on this site, here is a link: http://www.riverborneoutfitters.com/

JBG · 04-23-2010, 06:22 AM

I just moved to Seattle i miss that place already

Slow and Low · 04-23-2010, 07:19 AM

The Deschutes is not a technical fishery. I would say go, pay attention, and talk to other anglers who appear to know what they are doing. There is a recommended fly list on our website http://riverborneoutfitters.com/deschutes_flies.html

If you plan to float the river you should understand the hazards, if not go to Maupin and fish adjacent to the road from the falls to locked gate. Enjoy, we look forward to seeing some good reports.

Travman · 04-23-2010, 07:53 AM

Uh....well....OK, you guys convinced me I need to make a trip or two this year. Thanks for the input!! I'll let y'all know how it goes.

tumalt · 04-23-2010, 10:58 AM

Here are a few tips for success:

On small streams finding fish is easy. Pretty much every spot that is deep enough holds fish. On the deschutes there are lots of trout, but its a big river and lots of water doesn't hold any fish or very few. All that water can be intimidating.

The key is to keep two things in mind. Think like a fish looking for food and think like a bug drifting downstream. The most fish will hold in the spots where they have access to the most bugs floating downstream. This sounds simple, but its the key to finding the fish on the deschutes. The best spots are were surface insects and subsurface insects are concentrated.

For dry fly fishing you will often hear people tell you to fish the foam lines. That's because the foam line is where the water is concentrating things floating on the surface, insects included. Trout often station themselves below the foam line where the river brings them dinner.

The inside curve of an bend sometimes looks like wonderful fish water, and there will usually be a few fish in that spot, but not as many as good fish water on the outside of a bend where insects are concentrated. There are exceptions where you come across an inside bend loaded with trout, but usually there are less fish and sometimes you will even notice that the trout are less chunky than the typical deschutes redside/football.

The best spots are where insect life is concentrated, there is structure, its not to shallow, there's a strong foam line and the current isn't ripping.

This is kind of the mental process that I went through on the deschutes when I first started fishing it. I grew up fishing tiny cutthroat streams and I felt lost on the deschutes. Cutt fishing was easy. Find water deep enough and put just about anything in front of them and it was fish on. I didn't like the deschutes at all at first, but I love the river now. You have to understand the river more and the deschutes fish while not terribly picky, are selective - it pays off enourmously to "match the hatch." It adds enough challenge to make the deschutes a wonderful and endlessly interesting river to fish.

358norma · 04-24-2010, 12:33 PM

Since it is your first time on the river I would avoid the salmon fly hatch(late may-late june). The crowds can be amazing that time of year and the fishing can be tough. I fish the river 2-5 times a week during the salmonfly hatch and only hit it when it's "hot" a handfull of times a year. I would recomend waiting until late summer and coming for the caddis hatch. The fish are relaxed after the pounding they recieved in june and on the feed. You will have your pick of runs and hungry, cooperative fish. 30 fish evenings are not that uncommon in late summer. Dry creek on the res side would be my pick of locations.

Travman · 05-09-2010, 08:21 PM

So, I think things are going to work out so I can hit the river this next Saturday. Are there going to be tons of people to contend with since the salmonfly hatch is closing in (I don't really enjoy fishing around lots and lots of people)? As of now I plan to fish either adjacent to the road between maupin and locked gate or park at locked gate and hike from there, depending on how big the crowd is, does that sound like a decent plan for a first timer on the D

?

tumalt · 05-09-2010, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travman

So, I think things are going to work out so I can hit the river this next Saturday. Are there going to be tons of people to contend with since the salmonfly hatch is closing in (I don't really enjoy fishing around lots and lots of people)? As of now I plan to fish either adjacent to the road between maupin and locked gate or park at locked gate and hike from there, depending on how big the crowd is, does that sound like a decent plan for a first timer on the D

?

Tons of fish all over that stretch. Good luck.

clarkman23 · 05-10-2010, 04:53 AM

you'll find lots of fish in that area...I would focus on current seams, back eddies & boulder gardens.

a couple of things to watch out for:

Spawning fish, if you're catching dark fish, they are spawners, please move on.

If you're wading, watch out for the redds, they will mostly be located in areas of moderate flow 3-6' deep over gravel & you'll see spots of gravel that look like it's been "cleaned". don't wade there, that's protecting the future of this fishery.

Also, don't fish over the redds, many times, if you pull a fish off their redd, they won't come back.

River Borne · 05-10-2010, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clarkman23

you'll find lots of fish in that area...I would focus on current seams, back eddies & boulder gardens.

a couple of things to watch out for:

Spawning fish, if you're catching dark fish, they are spawners, please move on.

If you're wading, watch out for the redds, they will mostly be located in areas of moderate flow 3-6' deep over gravel & you'll see spots of gravel that look like it's been "cleaned". don't wade there, that's protecting the future of this fishery.

Also, don't fish over the redds, many times, if you pull a fish off their redd, they won't come back.

Looks like a steelhead being courted by some resident Redsides!

flysdown · 05-13-2010, 07:38 AM

I have fished the Deschutes many times and remember seeing huge Chinook jumping through the rapids like torpedos heading upstream near the mouth. I was trout fishing near Warm Springs most of the time then. I was able to wade upstream during the salmon fly hatch and do quite well. I have noticed that the fishing is much tougher in that area in recent years.
I have pretty good luck fishing very close to the back in steep shore drop off areas but it can be a bit of a scramble. And for some reason the rocks are a lot slicker than they used to be, and I am falling in more, or am I just not as stable as I used to be 30 years ago.....hhhhmmm

I love fishing the Deschutes and enjoy the scenery as much as fishing.

I made a fun video that is posted on YouTube Deschutes River SalmonFly Fishing '07

check it out.