Deschutes Fishing Reports:
Deschutes River – Fishing on the Deschutes is fair to good right now. August in many ways equals the dead days of summer on the river. Caddis activity is lessening, the heat tends to burn out the bugs a bit, but the water temps are still really good, and we have been seeing some really nice fish caught of late! Deep water nymphing, Euro nymphing, and streamer fishing are all good techniques to catch fish right now! Look for the dry fly fishing to improve late in the season again for caddis. For now though best to go deep. 

Deschutes Steelhead Forecast: There have been some good reports from the mouth already and the numbers over the dams so far are really encouraging. A lil early to get too excited but things are off to a good start for Steelhead this season! There are certain escapement quotas and a minimum return for wild fish that need to be met for the season to remain open, we needed 18,700 wild steelhead over Bonneville Dam by 7/31, the total count was 24k so we exceeded that by a bit, again good news!

The best place to catch a steelhead on the Deschutes depends on the time. From now thru August the lower, lower river below Macks Canyon will be the place to be. In September the fish will start to really work up river, by the end of the month they will be through out the system. 

 Late September and October are best. By late October and November the steelhead really start to stack up in the upper river near Warm Springs. Fishing can be really good then but weather can start to be a factor… though not for those die hards that are out there until the close of the season in December!

In you would like more info on our fall trout and steelhead guide trips or have any other questions. Feel free to give a ring to the fly shop  541-553-2589 or email us.

Crooked River – The Crooked is still fishing really good. Hatches of PMD’s and caddis can make for some great dry fly fishing out on the Crooked in the summer. Also this time of year you can fish Hopper patterns too, which make for great point flies or indicators for Hopper/dropper fishing. A great technique that can keep the algae off the lines more than if you are trying to use a typical nymph setup.  The usual small midge and mayfly patterns are working still as well.