It seems as if some of the warmest days of the year are behind us, and the cool weather has been a welcome break for fish and anglers alike on the Lower Deschutes. The trout fishing has been decent, and improved some as temperatures have dropped. Nymphing has been consistent with small Stonefly, Mayfly, and Caddis Patterns, and there has been increasing opportunity to fish dries. A mix of small PMDs and Caddis are around on most afternoons, and fish are looking towards the surface. When the fish key in on the PMD emergers they can be tough to fool, but a delicate presentation with a light dry dropper to keep an emerger pattern in the surface film should find some fish.
The solid push of Steelhead we saw early in the season seems to be pretty spread throughout the river, and poor numbers in the Colombia since mean the Steelhead fishing has been fairly slow. We are getting the best reports from the camp stretch as the fish work their way up the system. The cooler weather looks to be bringing another push of fish through soon, which will hopefully bring more fish into the lower river. As far as flies go, pick a pattern that can be fished with confidence. We fish mostly traditional patterns and hair wing style flies, as well as skaters in low light hours of the day.
Suggested Dries: Parachute PMD #14-18, Tilt Wing PMD #14-18, Sparkle Dun PMD #14-18, Purple Haze #14-20, Parachute Adams #14-20, Henry’s Fork Caddis #16-18, X Caddis #16-18, Cutters Caddis #16-18, Tan Elk Hair Caddis #16-18
Suggested Nymphs: Jigged Hare’s Ear #14-16, Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear #14-16, Bird’s Nest Depth Charge #14-16, Jigged CDC Pheasant Tail #14-16, Anato-May #14-20, Copper Microstone #14-18, Juju Baetis #18-22, Tan Sparkle Pupa #16-18, Nitro Caddis Pupa #16-18, Black Two Bit Hooker #18-20, Jimmy Legs #8-12, Poxyback Golden Stone #8-12