Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing Deschutes River Steelhead Report.....Some photos

I finished with jury duty and escaped after Labor Day for a week of drift boating and fishing. With the steelhead counts on the Columbia dams being almost twice their 10-year average, I had high hopes for the trip. Most of the fish are making it over the Columbia's John Day dam too, so you Idaho folks should have a great season this coming fall.

I put in at a spot called Beavertail and worked my way 32 miles down to the Columbia over the week. Fishing was good for the first 4 and 1/2 days. In the first 30 yards of my initial evening, I was hooked up to 6 different fish, but only landed two of those. It's a spot littered with boulders, and one gets easily wrapped and broken off. Thereafter, fishing slowed, but was consistent enough to keep ones interest up. I pretty much do mornings and evenings when the water is shaded by the surrounding hills.

The final score was 32 hard strikes. I hooked up with 24 of those, and beached 17 fish. Size ranged from about 24 to 29 inches, as I did not manage to land any of the Clearwater fish that stray up the Deschutes.

Since I was alone, I used a lot of time to explore new water rather than race to my known hot spots. Most were non productive, but I did find a couple new runs that hold fish and have them well locked in the memory banks.

Some Sunday rains in the mountains brought glacial silt off of Mt Hood via the White River and colored up the Deschutes. Fish stopped running down flys the last couple of days in the cloudy water, so I spent the time hiking and just savoring the day. I saw several fine bighorn rams, and just missed the culmination of a successful sheep hunt by a minute or two. Even with the slow down at the end, it was a fine trip.

I retire each fly as a fish is beached and will try to take a photo of the mix and post it later this evening. Yes, Macrabbit, there will be an Azetec in the lot. Being alone, and wading deep, I did not keep the camera handy most of the time. Here's about a 27 inch fish though...
1Minute

Man I can't believe no one has commented on this "dream" week!

When I lived in The Dalles I fished the Deschutes (late 60's) and it's as close to heaven as one can get here on earth.

With being alone, how did you manage getting back to your rig?

DownWind: There are several shuttle driving services in Maupin and The Dalles. Make arrangements over the phone, stop, pick up a driver, give them $100, and they will bring the rig down to the river mouth at the designated time and date.

It's worth it as one would put in about 6 hrs of driving time and additional fuel if a buddy brought along a second rig. A down side to the party doing it themselves is that both rigs would be left sitting unattended for 7+ days in a public lot. An extra day of river time is well worth it to me.

Sounds like you had an enjoyable float. Too bad <grin> you were sentenced to this "solitary confinement" on the Deschutes. Do you have any landscape pics to share?

Doug

As promised, here's a shot of the successful flies: Try pressing the "Ctrl" and "+" keys to size them up a bit. Ctrl and - keys will bring things back to normal.

I don't do much of the book stuff anymore. I think there are about 4 published patterns here, and the rest were just fun to tie. Top right = Green Butt Skunk, second row left = Silver Hilton, 2nd row 3rd from right is a bastardized Azetec first shown to me by Macrabbit, 3rd row left is a Skykomish Sunrise. Obviously I tend toward low water patterns with large hooks and small flies. I'm short two flies here, as I dropped one doing a midriver swap and broke another off doing a release.


Here's a shot of my transportation, a 1977 sixteen ft Lavro, and for RedRabbit an image of the country side.

The full lower 90+ miles of river pretty much look like this, and most is public land. About the middle 25 miles can be reached via road. One must bike an old railroad grade or float to reach the rest. River flow averages about 4,500 cfs. One or two 4 rated rapids, several 3's, and tons of 1's and 2's. Great country.
Here's the boat jumping a wave on an earlier trip.

Wow, how did I miss this? great post and a really neat trip.

Good for you! Sounds like a great way to spend a week.

I recognize that "black & gold" bastard you tied some time ago. Glad it nabbed something.
I've got a bunch of knock-off Aztecs for you to try- Purple Peril, Thor, Skykomish Sunrise (you've seen a pic of it), Boss, Silver Hilton, Skunk (with or without the green tag), Sockeye John, Mickey Finn, Silver Comet, and Fall Favorite.
Of course, they don't fit your 'large hook, small fly' preference. I guess I'll just keep them safe at home.
Or maybe I'll trade that home tutoring for a winter coyote romp.

Macrabbit: You have me pretty well supplied with Azetecs, but I would like to see some photos of your hybrids. My imagination is a bit more limited than yours, and I'm interested in how you are merging the patterns with the Azetec tying technique. I can't begin to visualize a Fall Favorite version.

As to my preference for low-water patterns, they really only seem to work with clear water, warm conditions, and aggressive fish. A plus is that with their sparse dressing, a daisy chain of flys does not affect ones casting distance too much. Heavily dressed or hackled flies each trim about 5 yards off of my casting reach, and one can actually hear them cutting the air as they pass overhead. I like to run a train of 3 flies with my spey rods and 2 if using a single handed unit.

For late fall, cold cloudy water, and less responsive fish, the big, in your face, deep diving patterns seem to be a must for steelhead. On the final days of this last trip when the water clouded, I went almost exclusively to black Azetecs and some feathered streamers, but the water was just too milky.

Some friends and I do a Nov-Dec trip on our John Day River where the typical guide suggestion is a 3-inch long, bullet nosed, black bunny leech. Those are a pain to cast, and I'm hoping I can get the same sink rate and visual effects with Azetecs. I think we have an early December trip locked in, and they will get a vigorous test then. Take care, and have a pleasant fall. I had hoped to do more fishing, but with my wife's elk season on now, and mine coming in October, steelheading will have to move to a back burner. 1Minute

Souns like a cool trip!!

I need to come out and fish that river sometime. I do have a 2-day flyfishing trip on the Elk and Sixes booked for the end of Nov. We hope to land a fall run or two.

If I ever do get caught up, I'll be trekking east for summer fishing. Around here, unless you fish the lakes, all that is decent are smallmouths, and I just can't get exicted about bass............

If you need a quicker sink, an Aztec ((review the spelling of the name, please)) can be tied with a bead head or with either lengths or coiled lead under the body. Of course, split shot or a sinking line...

Are you finding that the Aztec casts easily?

The Fall Favorite isn't the most complicated of the Simulators-- silver braided mylar body, neon orange crest and tail, and a red head; no beard.
(Those Simulators I mentioned are not my design. The originator decided how to put them together, probably just for fun.)

Yes! Heavy hackles and hair wings really cut down on distance. I can't think of a more streamline design than a wet Aztec (note spelling).

There is one run I habitually try to fish with a hotspot we call the "Unreachable rock." With conventional gear, double hauling, loops in the hand and mouth, a tail wind, and favorable plate tectonics, one may reach it for an almost sure hit from a fish. I got the Aztec there with ease along with a second low water fly this trip, and that is where it scored the fish.

Nifty!

River looks like it could make for a nice cast and blast venture. Many chukars on the slopes? The fly assortment is quite different from what our AZ stocker trout or Lees Ferry tailwater require.

Doug~RR

RedRabbit: It's great chukar habitat. I heard and saw a lot of birds last trip down. A few mourning doves, but they leave with the first frosts in the fall (usually 1 day before the opener). A few pheasants too, but I would not count on bagging those for dinner one evening. As to the fly assortment.... Hatch matching is not an issue with steelhead. I think it's just a space invasion deal, spirit of the chase, or instinctive rise to a lifting fly that causes them to take.

Nice Fish Porn!

Sooooo very, very cool!

Ahhhh, nice thread and great pics 1Minute, thanks for sharing!