Our guides have been smacking the fish on the Lower River on all the good summer time hatches we’d expect to see this time of year.
PMD’s, Pale Evening Duns, Caddis, Hot Garcia (purple) and Purple Haze.
Caddis Pupa’s have been incredible for us, along with PT’s, Copper John, Batman, 3 Dollar Dip, Frenchies and Micro Mayfly (Brown).
Some incredible redsides this season!
Some straggler stoneflies still out, and the next few warm evenings should bring some good feeding at dusk on big bugs in the WS to TC area. It’s about done though for the big salmonflies, but the goldenstones are going to last just a little longer this week.
PMD’s, PED’s and Caddis are going to be the high rollers for the next couple of months and we love that summer time fishing these hatches bring.
All of our guides (Steve, Troy, Ben, Mary Ann, Travis and Adam) have told me they are smacking them on Euro Jigs and Caddis Pupa.
The weather over the Memorial Day weekend was pretty good, especially Sunday and Monday it warmed and made for happy stoneflies.
I expect to see both Salmonflies and Golden Stones for at least a week based on the numbers still flying around and in the bushes.
On Saturday Ben whacked them on caddis and small mayfly nymphs throughout the day. Since it was cold and windy the big bugs weren’t flying much but the trout wanted to eat that’s for sure.
This week is supposed to get cooler on Wednesday and Thursday, so hard to say how the dry fly fishing will compare, but I’m confident the fishing will stay hot.
Salmonflies and Goldenstones are in peak activity and should be great to good for at least another 10-12 days.
There are some Yellow Sally’s mixed in with the big bugs too, and one thing we’ve found is the fish that have seen a lot of big flies float over their head often will come up confidently and sip the Sally right off the top!
PMD, PED, Caddis are all important now too. And never forget the Purple Haze on the Lower D!
Salmonflies are working their way up the river and are hatching strong in the Maupin area. We are seeing a few bugs in the Warm Springs to Trout Creek drift where we do our day trips but very few so far. It’ll be mid next week probably before they are really up in that stretch.
Our guides continue to work the nymphs, including Pat’s Rubber Legs and Cheeseburgers. Our guide Adam Ross has been rocking it with Black Zebra Midges and Frenchie’s.
It’s been a bit cold and windy most of the week, so we didn’t see much in the way of any hatch. This time of year we ought to run into the last of the March Browns, the first PMD’s, some BWO’s and an array of caddis hatches. It just didn’t happen where we were, but maybe next week’s warmer weather will spur all of that to happen and go epic.
Our guides have been having excellent fishing in the Warm Springs to Trout Creek section. No hatch to speak of, and nothing on the surface but great nymphing on Stonefly Nymphs and Lightning Bugs.
We’ve also been doing great on light colored Euro Jigs, Sparkle Pupas, Halls CDC Hares Ear, Flashback PT, Worms and Sparkle Prince’s.
I’d guess the Salmonfly hatch will be in full swing by next weekend in the Maupin area and by Mother’s Day in the Trout Creek area. Cool weather coming over the weekend and warmer again in the forecast for next week.
With the Warm Springs to Trout Creek section opening up for us on Sunday 4/22 we are very excited to get back on the river and catch some redsides!
Should see March Browns right off the bat, and some caddis. Based on openers in the past we are pretty sure it’ll be mostly a nymphing game with Stonefly Nymphs, Hares Ears (a good MB nymph), PT’s, Rubber Legged Prince, Sparkle Pupa, Lighting Bug (the hottest early season producer for us last season) and 2 Bit Hookers.
Using your trout spey with a skagit and a sink tip can be really fun both nymphing and swinging sculpins.
I was lucky enough to get on the river WS to TC over the weekend and again tuesday and while I didn’t personally get any steelhead, my wife did and some friends did as well.
Remember the west side of the main channel is now closed including the reservation and some of the islands so be aware of where you can and can’t stop to fish and respect the WS Reservation closures.
The Oregon reg’s this season state Trout Fishing remains OPEN until Dec 31. This is a change as it used to be only Steelhead after Oct 31.
We’ve been doing well on Cheeseburgers, Stone Nymphs, Girdle Bugs, 3 Dollar Dips, Caddis Pupa, Oct Caddis, PT’s and Frenchie’s.
Very little if any dry fly action for a while. Seems like warm days in January and February down in Maupin will get some fish looking up, but until then it is going to be a nymphing game.
We are swinging small purple or black patterns, mostly on sink tips. Leech type patterns have accounted for many of our steelhead this season, but really the majority of the steelhead we are catching are coming on trout nymphs.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words… A couple of months ago we weren’t sure how Steelhead season 2017 was going to go. Early in the year we were not very optimistic based on news of a low return. But, what we are finding in 2017 so far has been way more positive with our guides finding more and more steelhead by the week.
I’d say 2017 has given up as many steelhead for us in the last 3 or 4 weeks as it has in the same 3 or 4 week period the last several seasons. We are into the fish.
We’ve been catching fish on traditional swung flies and with nymphs. As we get colder weather now, I expect the Skagit/Sink Tip combo with bigger intruders and leeches will become very good too.
For the next 4, 6, maybe even 8 weeks is going to be great. It is time to book a Steelhead Guided Trip with Troy, Steve, Ben, Mary Ann or Adam. These guides love the Steeley grab as much as anybody and can share with you so many tricks and tips to make you a better angler. From upping your spey game, to putting you on great water a good guide is always worth the investment.
Book by calling (541)549-3474 or fill out our contact form.
Single Day and Multi-Day floats are available. See our Deschutes trip options for more info.
Trout Fishing is also good on the Warm Springs to Trout Creek section. We are finding a lot of nice redsides on Girdle Bugs, Oct Caddis Pupa, Fox’s Pupa, Soft Hackle PT, Wired Stone, 3 Dollar Dip and even on the dry to BWO’s and X caddis.
The real fall weather we got last week got the fish moving and we have had good days down on the lower D.
We are getting fish on Stonefly Nymphs, Worms, Small Mayfly Nymphs, Caddis Pupa, October Caddis and Copper Johns.
A few fish have been caught on X Caddis, BWO’s, stragglerPMD’s and Purple Haze.
Trout are also being caught on the swing using Sculpins and Wooly Buggers on sink tips. Get your Micro Spey or 3, 4 or 5 weight Switch Rods out and tune up your Spey game.
Steelhead fishing is fair. A few fish are being caught down from Maupin to the Mouth swinging. There are some fish all the way to WS, but so far numbers are low.
We expect October to improve but keep in mind the 2017 run is going to be a bit low off the historical average.
We have some great opportunities for guide trips with dates open in October. Give us a call and get a trip booked before the season gets cold and you sucked in to the holidays.