The Lower Deschutes has been an absolute blast. It’s hard to choose the right pattern because there are so many options. Our guides have started to see a couple salmon flies show up, we expect those to start coming out in droves in the next week or two. Smaller golden stones have also been seen out there. Now is an excellent time for a dry dropper rig with a big chubby. Action will likely primarily be on the subsurface patterns but having both on the same rig is the best of both worlds. Pale morning duns and caddis are the main dry fly hatches. Fishing with dead drifted or swung caddis pupa is an excellent tactic. Swinging soft hackles is also a great thing to try out, it’s nice to have a break from staring at an indicator sometimes. Stonefly and salmonfly nymphs are a really great choice. Fish will gorge themselves on the salmonfly nymphs right before the hatch. General mayfly nymphs or PMD style nymphs have huge potential as well. This spring has been epic. Get down there and your reel should be singing in no time.
Recommended Dries: Chubby Norm #8-10, Chubby Golden #8-10, True Stone #10, Clarks Stonefly #8-10, Gunnison Green Drake #12, Carlsons Olive haze #10, Parachute Green Drake #10, Hackle Stacker PMD #14-18, Parachute PMD #14-18, Hackle Stacker Baetis #16-20, Parachute Baetis #16-20.
Recommended Nymphs: Jimmy Legs #8 Black or Brown, Jigged Hares Ear #14-16, Jigged Pheasant Tail #14-16, SR Bullet Quill #14 -16, Psycho Prince #14-16, Duracell Jig #14-18, Copper John #14-18, Olive or Tan Sparkle Pupa #16-18, Nitro Caddis Pupa #16-18