I know this is way early but I am going to be fishing the Deschutes river next year in the Sept., Oct. time frame. Can anyone give me an idea of the flies I will need, wgt. flyrod and leader lengths and tippets. This will give me plenty of time to tie flies etc. I’m not really sure if I will fish primarily for trout or steelhead . Any recommendations as to guides would also be appreciated:lol:
Hi. Try here and read a bunch>> www.westfly.com
I expect you will recv some reponses here as well.
What part of the Deschutes?
Where will you be staying?
http://www.deschutesangler.com/Fly+Fishing
Maybe this will help.
http://www.flyfishingdeschutes.com
http://www.deschutesoutfitters.com
Good luck.
Gary
Ducksterman, I have no real idea of where I am going to stay or fish. It really is up in the air, I have one day to fish and my wife promised me that I could have one day all to myself.
jk…here’s another link…they are in Bend and Warm Springs…
This is not too early to start! I tried to fish the Deschutes in June, and guides were impossible to get. Book your guides early. The area around Maupin is very difficult to wade, and regulations prevent fishing from a boat during certain seasons. Down near Bend it may be easier, but patterns for local steelhead flies would be indispensible. Get the Oregon fishing regs, as they are complicated.
The steelhead are starting now so early Sept will have steelie fishing in the lower river sections progressing up to the dam as time goes on. Salmon preceed them by a bit so be prepared for anything. General colors on the Deschutes that are steelie favorites are purple & gold and also bright greens. Green sparkling nymph patterns are favorites and traditional steelie patterns in purple/with gold are effective. Don’t forget the Skunk variations. Bring them in weighted, sparse, and full tied varieties. As for rods, you will see many 10 footers as the river is of good size and often swift and they make mending easier. Love those roll casts. Mostly 8 weights unless you stick to trout. With the warmer weather you might have better luck with steelies than trout. Don’t worry about overly long leaders, and tippets are for sissies. I use straight 8 pound Maxima Chameleon leader and never over 7’. Water can be very shallow or very deep. Slow or swift. The water is not crystal clear like most Central Oregon streams and don’t wade where you cannot see the bottom. Do not fish out of a boat. You can anchor and wade in the middle of the river, conditions allowing. Floating requires a permit. Fishing on the West side (reservation) allowed in SOME areas with an Indian license. Regulations vary with the section of the river you are fishing. Some areas cannot be floated (not illegal, you simply die). Read regulations very carefully as the river is broken up into 4 basic parts with some sub-parts (upper, middle, lower, Indian, Maupin). There are many huge rainbows with low crawdad imitations being most effective.
Sept/Oct is a good time for Steelhead on the lower river (think purple). Pete pretty well covered it. Trout fishing is also good. There is good bank access both upstream and downstream from Maupin. IMHO http://www.deschutesangler.com/Fly+Fishing has the best and most current fishing reports for a flyshop website. The Oregon forum on Westfly has frequent reports for the Deschutes. Check out those places as the time for your trip approaches. Good luck.
Pete,
(not illegal, you simply die) I am afraid this is true, especially this summer.
In my opinion, the Deschutes is the finest trout river in OR.
My first trip to learn how to flyfish for steelhead was with guide Bob Toman on the lower river.
This trip turned out to be the worst fishing trip of my life. The only thing that went right was that I didn’t get bit by a rattler.
One thing for sure is that I sure LEARNED to fish for steelhead but it was at least 100 degrees and the fish had lock jaw.
Another guide trip with my son was from Warm Springs to Trout Creek. Those redsides were in NO mood for a little kid to catch them and Joe lost every fish he hooked.
I did catch a 6 lb sucker, which at first I was hoping was a steelhead.
I’ve been from the beginning to the end of the Deschutes and it is very diverse.
Doug
Diverse it certainly is!
It starts as snow melt on the Eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains. It connects numerous small high lakes and reservoirs which have 10+ pound rainbows, large Brookies, and Browns to 34 pounds along with Rocky Mountain Whitefish and bass in one lake.
It turns North and slowly meanders through forest and idealic pastures until it reaches the Bend area. Here it gains speed and cuts through the high desert with high canyons until it hits Lake (reservoir) Billy Chinook which is also fed by the Metolius and Crooked Rivers.
Below Pelton Dam, the river changes again. Now the flow is fierce and the river of significant size. In one area it blasts through a rock crevice only a few feet wide. Someone may have survived going through here, but no one of whom I am aware.
In this lower section, there are more huge trout with significant runs of salmon and steelhead. Fishing is not allowed from boats here, except for the disabled. I believe permits are required to float the river to keep boats to a reasonable level. As the river has significant physical changes, so does its regulations. Check the regulations carefully. There are lava tubes in the river which suck water and people down so don’t underestimate it. It is a beautiful, productive, but unforgiving river. It has claimed about 4 lives this year. Beware of rattlesnakes, too.
Very nice overview of the Deschutes, Pete… 8)
JK-
Trying to book a trip at this very moment – waiting for the guide to call back for a trip on September 21st.
I don’t know if it is better to go for Steelhead or Trout – seems a little early for Steelhead. Where I live, we basically fish for them the same way but the guides always ask what you want to catch.
I’ll let you know how the trip went.
I was in Bend, OR and returned last night. Lots of guides available but summer is a busy time. I didn’t want to book through a fly shop because they are more expensive so I found a little fly shop that doesn’t offer guide services but had some names that I might call.
Also check the internet, fly shops in Bend, Madras, Sisters, Sun River – all in Oregon.
I’ll get back to you in 3 or 4 weeks.
Sept. 21 is not too early for Deschutes steel. You can fish for both trout and steelhead on the same trip! Steelhead fishing is best early and late in the day. You can spend the in between time trout fishing. Have a great trip.
The steelhead fishing will vary by what part of the river you are fishing…they should be high by then…another thing about steelhead…as Jayatwork said steelheading on the Deschutes slows when the sun is on the water…you gotta go deep then…
Actually IMHO trout fishing varies too…Trout Creek to Maupin[3 day float] is good…true for Warm Springs to Trout Creek[one day] but that can be real crowded though probably not too bad in Sept.
It really does vary by where you are…that’s why I asked…some guides are better for certain parts of the river too…
I just booked a trip with High Desert Drifters out of Bend, Oregon www.deschutesflyfishing.com. Prices is reasonable IMHO – $310 for 1 person for 1 day (370 for 2) --and for another $20 they supply flies, leaders and tippets – which I’ll probably pay due to time constraints in getting there early enough to buy the flies I need.
They seem reasonable – will fish as early and/or as late as I want.
They do reserve the right to put another angler in the boat which is OK with me. The cost would be split between both parties.
I’ll let you know how it goes – I’m looking forward to the trip.
Ducksterman, I am not opposed to steelhead fishing but I am pretty sure that I am more interested in trout. I plan on fishing up near warm Springs.
jk…check with the Riffle Fly Shop I referenced. They are a stone’s throw from the put in at Warm Springs. In fact they have a couple of cabins…recently refinished that are reasonable ,very comfortable and right there…if that fits in to your plans.
One more floater did not respect the Deschutes enough this week. That makes 6 drownings so far this year.
When you go drifting with a pro, you will wonder how it could have happened.
Just returned last week from Central Oregon and fished the Descheutes with High Desert Drifters for a 1 day Steelhead trip. Fishing was good but catching wasn’t. Had several grabs and caught some small trout but no Steelhead – although another fisherman in our group did catch one.
Guides were top notch in my opinion. I had one guide to myself. He was very knowledgable about the fishing and and excellent casting instructor. He brought along a spey rod and taught me how to use it. By the way, alot the single hand casts needed on this river are spey casts.
I fished on a Thursday and the river wasn’t crowded. Probably would be on the weekend.
Tough fishing from the perspective that I started early – on the water just after dawn - and didn’t get off the river until after dark.
You can’t fish out of a boat on the Deschuetes so you wade most of the time with the boat used to move you place to place. River bottom can be slick with lots of rocks so if you go, make sure you have studded boots.
Awesome country and river and will definitely do it again – just a little later in the year. I would also not hesitate to use these guys to guide me again. They also have multiday trips which sound just fantastic.
Good luck.