The Upper Deschutes is open for the season and fishing well! A variety of tactics have been producing fish that haven’t seen flies for several months now, and the upper provides a great opportunity to add variety to the waters we’ve been fishing in recent weeks. With plenty of access from Little Lava Lake all the way down to town there is lots of room to explore new areas and find the rainbows, browns, and brookies that call the Upper Deschutes home. Nymphing is always a safe option on the Upper Deschutes, and nymphing a two fly rig will generally get the job done. In the smaller water towards Little Lava there is little need for much weight, but make sure to utilize splitshot to get flies down to the fish in the deeper pools and slots that become more common as the river descends. Dry flies have also been producing fish. There have been some sporadic mayfly hatches and ants and beetles are all over the banks. General attractor patterns and terrestrials have been working well. Throwing streamers is also a good option in the larger sections of water, use a lightly colored fly on bright days and a darker fly on cloudy days.
Suggested Nymphs: Black or Red Two Bit Hooker #16-20, Hare’s Ear #16-18, Pheasant Tail #16-18, Micro Mayfly #16-20, Copper Microstone #16-18, Mighty May #16-18, Black or Copper Copper John #16-18, Black or Brown Jimmy Legs #10-12
Suggested Dries: Parachute Adams #14-18, Purple Haze #14-18, Adams Trude #14-18, Purple Comparadun #16-18