Tag Archives: Deschutes River

More Bamboo on the Deschutes River

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Mary Ann and I got out again two days ago on the Deschutes River to see how the Salmon Flies were doing.  I chose my 7′  6″  5 wt Freestone Series bamboo rod for the day.  While there were lots of Salmon Flies and Golden Stoneflies on the bushes, and a few flying around, the fish seemed pretty disinterested in them during the sunny afternoon.  Instead, I again caught several nice rainbows on a #18 Tan Lafontaine Caddis drifted towards the bottom.  I may have been the only angler on the river during the day who was not throwing big ugly bugs.  But, once the sun went down, the fish turned on to a #8 Clarks Stonefly on the surface.  This pattern has proved to be the most effective adult stonefly for me lately.  Even when the giant Salmon Flies are out, the trout have always seemed to prefer the smaller Golden Stonefly imitation.  Here are a few photos of our day.

Golden Stonefly

Giant Salmonfly

#16 Tan Lafontaine Caddis

Clarks Stonefly

A nice rainbow putting a big bend in my 5 wt bamboo.

One that came to the net.

Drifting the Deschutes River

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Mary Ann and I braved the high water on the Deschutes River yesterday and drifted the Warm Springs to Trout Creek stretch of the river.  Yep, the water was fast and high (6500 cfs), but the color was decent and we found a few spots where we could get out and drift our nymphs.  It’s still too early for the legendary salmon fly hatch on the Deschutes but we found some willing rainbows interested in a tan LaFontaine Caddis drifted near the bottom with a Czech Nymphing style.  We didn’t get any huge fish, but it was still fun to get out and tempt the smaller ones.  Here are a couple photos of our day.

Mary Ann on the sticks!

A small immature stonefly that crawled up on our boat.

The hot fly of the day….a #16 tan LaFontaine Caddis.

A nice rainbow for the day.

 

Yesterday on the Middle Deschutes River

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Mary Ann and I made it out to the Middle Deschutes River yesterday for a couple of hours to try our luck.  The water levels have been quite high but they are starting to drop…yesterday was high, but fishable.  Water clarity was good, but boy, the water temperature was very cold.  We both tried EuroNymphing techniques to tempt the fish.  Not much was hatching but we managed to pick up a few smaller browns on nymphs.

The two anglers!

A feisty brown that I picked up drifting a nymph.

A beautifully colored brown that Mary Ann got on a #16 red snowcone.

Christmas Ideas for Anglers from RiverKeeper Flies

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My good friend, John Kreft, has a wonderful WEB page and blog dedicated to fly tying.  He’s an awesome fly tier and has some great information, both historical and for tying, about flies and fly fishing.  He recently posted a great blog entry about fly fishing items for the upcoming Christmas holidays.  So, check out his latest post, as well as all the good content at:

http://www.johnkreft.com/2016-christmas-list-for-fly-fishers-and-fly-tyers/

John Kreft and RiverKeeper Flies

John Kreft and RiverKeeper Flies

 

The Deschutes River

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Mary Ann and I got out on the Deschutes River this week searching for trout and steelhead.  I targeted trout with small #18 nymphs and was very successful, with several nice 15″ to 18″ fish to the net.  Mary Ann took out my 10′  6″  5 wt Micro Spey in search of steelhead, and although she didn’t find any, she still hooked a few nice rainbows and whitefish.  A very nice day on the river.

A nice rainbow that took a #18 Pheasant Tail nymph.

A nice rainbow that took a #18 Pheasant Tail nymph.

This guy was happy to take a #18 tan caddis pupa fished on the bottom.

This guy was happy to take a #18 tan caddis pupa fished on the bottom.

A monster +20" whitefish putting a big bend in Mary Ann's 10' 6" bamboo Micro Spey.

A monster +20″ whitefish putting a big bend in Mary Ann’s 10′ 6″ bamboo Micro Spey.