Quote:
Originally Posted by Cliff
Hey guys,
Im thinking about hitting the deschutes sometime this week. I was wondering if anyone was interested in meeting up and maybe showing me the ropes, or if anyone wanted to give me a few hints or pointers in the right directions of where to fish?
I dont know much about the deschutes at all, and wont have much of a chance to fish again for a while. (Im heading off to the east coast for grad school in a week) So just wanted to make the best of one of my last fishing trips for a while.
Ive seen alot about this "locked gate" could someone tell me where exactly this is please? or how to get there?
PM are welcome, and any help is appreciated.
Thanks!!
Cliff
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Locked Gate is a few miles south of Maupin on the East side of the river. The road follows the river and is easy to find if you pay attention. It is paved for a bit and then turns to gravel at some point. Then it is a gravel road that is only safe for a car or truck with very strong tires. The clearance is not a issue, it is the sharp rocks. I have made it in small cars before but have seen many flat tires. If you have a small car and try just go very very very slow. At locked gate you can no longer drive the road but it does keep going. As far as I know you can hike up river as far as you want just remember that at the end of the day you will need to hike back down to your car and it is always WAY longer on the way back. The road from Maupin all the way to locked gate and even further is all good water. Any spot that looks fishy to you pull over and take a stab at it.
North of Maupin on the east side is miles of road access. The road follows for a good amount of river and it is the same thing, paved for a bit and then gravel. The gravel is not as bad as the section to locked gate but it still should be approached with caution. If you care about your car and stay on only the paved section there is still a lot of water to be fished.
You have two options for fishing this weekend that I think would be playing it safe. #1 is nymphing with Stone fly nymphs and small bead head nymphs. The stone flies are large and come in Black, Brown, Yellow and well, just about every combination you can think of. They are basically the same shape so it does not really matter what color you use. Most people run a 2 nymph set up with a strike indicator. Tie on your two fly choices with the larger one on first followed by a smaller nymph about 18-20 inch behind it. Depending on the water you will need a small split shot about 12 inches up from the first fly. If the water is deep then go with the shot, if it is only 2 feet or so then you will be fine with out it. Rig this up and just drift it through some good water and you will catch fish.
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I have found lately that fish are in a little faster water that is not very deep. This is good nymphing water. Look for water with a little riffle on the surface and some structure in the form of rocks. If you find this water you will see many seams in the current and all you need to do is drift your nymphs along the bottom and it will be fish on. Be carful however, if the water is shallow and the rocks are all very small on the bottom you might be on a spawning bed and it is time to move on. Look for water that is over rocks of all sizes and shape. Some small and many large ones. This should not be spawning areas so any fish in that location is a good target.
As for the salmon flies just dead drift them close to the bank almost anywhere water is deeper then a couple feet and it should be game on. I am not very experienced in the salmon fly hatch but that should do the trick. I think it also helps if the day is warm for that action.
Others will tell you about BWO, Caddis or other possible surface flies that might work but I have found this time of year to not even think about anything but nymphing stone flies and big large salmon flies.
Good luck.
Deschutes?
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