Deschutes River question

Does any one have info on the section of the Deschutes between the Lower Bridge and the Crooked River Ranch area?

Accessibility ?

Quality of fishing ? I’ve heard it raved about but I have also read that the fish tend to be small a far between???

I have fished the Crooked River Ranch area. It was difficult going, down to the river, we crawled through a tunnel of bushes, and the hike out was challenging. I was there during the Salmon Fly hatch. We only caught a few trout. No fly rods, only spinning rods. We plucked the Salmon Flies off the leaves and attached them to a bare hook. The bushes lining the stream, were a problem for casting. This trip was 10 years ago and I have since heard the fishing has got worse.
Doug

you would be better off going down to trout creek when the trout season opens. i had a great time last year on the opening weekend. we floated trout creek down to harpin on a three day trip. we caught lots of nice redsides and trout and whitefish and suckers. i havent heard alot about that area that your talking about.

I have fished down in the Steelhead falls area. Fairly steep hike out. When the water is high, it gets up in the brush, limiting the fishable spots. But fishing was pretty good. It’s a nice hike and not at all crowded. When your down in the canyon you wouldn’t know Crooked River Ranch was just over the rim.

I am not sure that I know exactly what are you are talking about, but I have camped on Crooked River Property north of and downstream of the falls and fished the Big D. It has been a few years, so I don’t know if it is still publicly accessible. I cannot locate my Oregon Gazeteer, for which I searched before responding.

Where we were, the road is on the R if on 97 south toward Redmond, and if you stay on it, you go across the river. Instead of going to the river, we turned off that road to the right and went into the camping area. It is car camping and free, and has a good view of the Three Sisters. It was not always well respected by the campers.

There is a little hike down to the river, but it was not bad on at least one trail. I recall we had to double back to hit the trail to come out the way we went in.

The river is small in that stretch, and one can cast all the way across it without much trouble. I fished it specifically during the salmonfly crawling out season ; I believe that it was in mid May. The wind is less problematic there than say, Maupin, Mecca Flats, or The Junction and obviously the river is a lot easier to wade. In that stretch, it is similar in size to the Crooked. The fish are not huge, but it is not filled with dinks like the Crooked is, either. There was an appreciable number of salmonflies, but it was not just crazy, and although fish were taking their nymphs, they were not keyed just to them. It could have been different the week before or the week after, who knows. As you undoubtedly already know, most nymphs in the stonefly family will work pretty well on the D.

I would not mind going back there sometime, I had fun due to the company with me, but I would not pass up a trip to the Rogue, upper reaches of the Willamette, McKenzie, Williamson, Donner & Blitzen, or Wallowa to go there.

you must not fish the Crooked very often…

the best way to find out about any river is to do a little exploration…

Yawn.

I don’t need a lecture from you, butt out.

generic…that was all too predictable…

at any rate, to ducksterman: can’t speak for the middle Deschutes (perhaps the “expert” from Atlanta here can)…I do know that the middle D holds some decent Browns but the low river flows dues to farming needs don’t really allow the population to get too high…but, I would suggest checking out the Lower D down near Maupin…lots of great water.

If you’re thinking Crooked, several years ago, the high water wiped out a significant portion of habitat but it (the fish) has since rebounded quite nicely. The best thing you can do is get out and explore…you never know, you just might find that honey hole that you don’t want anyone else to know about…

I have fished the Deschutes from Wickiup Res., to Sunriver. I wasn’t able to launch my boat below Wickiup, but if someone used a Pontoon, Kayak or Canoe, it would be possible. I have experience fishing near the Sunriver Airport. There is some good habitat for Brown Trout in the Sunriver area. I rarely saw another flyfisher. There are extensive bike paths that you can bike or walk, along the river: http://www.outdoortherapy.org/images/CentralOregonMapLarge.jpg (Click on Map to Enlarge)
Here is an Image that shows the Deschutes River, in Sunriver: http://sunriver-vacation-home.com/1-bk-sunriver-cruising.jpg
Here is a Wickiup Reservoir Brown Trout (25 lbs), caught by Oscar Hoffman of Madras Oregon, May 19, 07: http://mainefishingtoday.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/giantbrown.jpg (Image)
Doug