Deshutes River Salmon

[barnettm]

I was by the Deshutes River mouth the other day and rode my mountain bike 3 miles up the river (on the established trail) and saw very few people fishing. I was surprised, because if I compare John Day dam counts to The Dalles dam counts, I get a delta of 70,000 fish. The Deshutes is the only significant river between these two dams and therefore must have a heck of a salmon run. So I was surprised to see very few people fishing the lower stretch, and very few posts on this site. Do the fish just zoom through this area or is access a problem or ????? Any comments appreciated.

Thanks.

[boo]

barnettm
While there is a modest chinook run in the Deschutes, it's well known for its late summer/fall steelhead fishery, which is worthy of its reputation. I'm suprised you thought the river seemed uncrowded, as most consider it to be hammered on the stretch you're referring to. Or maybe you're thinking of coastal rivers with the elbow to elbow fishermen. Won't find it here as its primarily flyfishing, and bait is not allowed. Flyfishers will need about 30 yards of room below them for their swing and tend to spread out along the river...still, though, I've never heard of it referred to as having light pressure.
tight lines

[lost_sailor]

The D-E-S-C-H-U-T-E-S is closed to salmon fishing, with occasional exceptions.

When you do the numbers, don't forget that a lot of fish die before getting over the next dam. Survival of the fittest and all.