Deschutes River

June 12, 2022June 12, 2022

Just Another Day

Our day trips typically evolve out of a very loose agenda. Generally, there is a destination in mind and a best route plotted. Into a cooler go bits of lunch, snacks, and beverages, between blocks of cooler ice. Camera gear and field guides get loaded into the back, fishing gear on top, and of course, there are extra coats and socks.

This week we headed down to Maupin, only to discover there were more people on the river than usual.

Undaunted, we scouted out a spot away from the crowds, set up the camp chairs, donned broad-brimmed hats, and took in the view.

I think the saying is, “you can never step into the same river twice,” which is the reason we spend time on them. In the high desert, these ribbons of water offer unique views of flora and fauna.

It is a landscape that changes dramatically with the seasons.

This time of year the Lower Deschutes Canyon wears lush spring green. Migratory birds forage and feed along the riparian, at least for a few more weeks. There is also a good spot to wet a line.

It’s really a matter of flexibility on these excursions. Expectations aren’t lowered, we just keep moving until a proper location is discovered.

There are so many good places to wind up around here, that regardless of where the camp chair is finally set, we’ll enjoy the day.

May 8, 2022May 14, 2022

Spring Showers

This week we managed to find a sunny day in the midst of spring rains. The weather hasn’t offered much of a chance for outdoor activities. However, we managed to find a few getaways this week … one being the Lower Deschutes River.

The Deschutes River is long, so long it gets broken up into upper, middle and lower sections when people refer to it. We spend a lot of time on the Upper Deschutes in the summer. This is more of a creek than river in the sections we fish.

From Pelton Dam, on the Deschutes end of Lake Billy Chinook, to the Columbia River is the Lower Deschutes. Since moving to Oregon in the late eighties, we’ve spent time on the stretch of the Lower Deschutes, downstream of Maupin. During the spring, the stoneflies begin to hatch, offering meals to winter-hungry fish.

Lush grasses and wildflowers begin to dot the landscape

The Deschutes never disappoints. The temperatures were in the high seventies, the wind was light and the water crystal clear. It was a perfect day for some excellent fishing.

All too soon, the rain returned along with some wind gusts, but we were grateful to manage a great day out on the river.

November 7, 2021November 7, 2021

In The Clouds

We spotted several Blue Heron roosting in trees along the river’s edge

The main difference between weather on the Cascade’s west versus the east slope is how long it lingers. In Central Oregon a rain storm comes in and moves on in a day. The great part is you get to experience weather in a variety of stages and it seems like a sunny day is always on the way. This week we drove through clouds.

The Lower Deschutes, around Maupin, is a regular destination in the fall. There are far fewer people, the river level drops to ‘wadeable,’ and summer heat has passed.

The road ahead winds its way down through a dense cloud bank

The latter part of the week looked like a storm front coming along with wind gusts and increased rain. So we spent a bit more time on the road and headed for Maupin. On the edge of the Deschutes River canyon we drove into the clouds … literally.

The fog bank hung onto the canyon’s edge, so we slipped below the clouds and pulled up to a favorite spot on the river.

Lunch, fresh coffee and on the river. The fishing was very slow but Tip and I had fun scrambling along the bank. JQ was much more productive with the long lens on her camera snapping pix of some of the locals.

We spent an afternoon on the river without encountering a single fisherman or rafter, unusual, but made for a great day. We expect the rainy days to increase in late fall and take advantage of the drier ones. Bend / La Pine get an average of 11 inches of precipitation compared to Portland’s 44 inches, so we still get mostly desert-like weather.

October 17, 2021October 16, 2021

Deschutes River Trip

Road trip this week takes us south to Maupin and the Lower Deschutes River. The summer drought caused Oregon Fisheries people to cancel steelhead fishing. This means there are fewer people on the river, with plenty of fish to be caught, and a beautiful canyon to enjoy.

Fall weather has muted any remaining green and added yellow and orange hues to the hillsides.

The river level is down, but at this point the Deschutes is still a big river. Our strategy is to drive, park, and fish. However, the first order of business is to find a starting point downstream.

We break open the lunch, brew fresh coffee, and enjoy the rush of river. A month ago this spot would have been baking in summer sun, today we are dressed in flannel and clouds flash intermittent bursts of sunlight.

We rig fly rods to the car rack and start the journey back upriver, stopping at select spots. The October caddis fly hatch offers dry fly fishing and nice big Redband rainbows.

Confluence of White River and the Deschutes

As we are breaking down rods, a bank of rain clouds crests the canyon. We wind our way out of Maupin and the Deschutes River canyon as the rains hit.

May 23, 2021May 21, 2021

A Fishing Story

Casting a dry fly near Trout Creek Campground

The Deschutes River collects runoff from the cascade range and carries it through high desert plains, irrigated farm lands, and basalt canyons. Fifty miles from its mouth at the Columbia River, the city of Maupin sits on its bank. Just downriver from there are numerous BLM campsites that offer a fisher wade access, though it is prime driftboat water. Since moving to Central Oregon we spend less time fishing this section of the river, or more to the point, we’re more selective in the times we go there.

In the spring we make a trip to catch the Stonefly hatch. This aquatic insect spends most of it’s life as a nymph burrowed in the river rock, but as water temperatures warm these exceptionally large bugs (three inches) start moving. They are headed toward the river’s edge and masses of the nymphs tumble along the streams bottom.

At this stage weighted stonefly imitations are very effective at attracting large rainbow trout.

It’s the transformation of nymph to insect that also changes the fishing from a wet fly swing to dry fly presentations. The stonefly crawls out of the water and up a stalk of grass and shucks the exoskeleton. It will go through a dozen or more of these ‘instars’ but it’s the last metamorphosis, on dry land, that produces a double winged insect with a distinctive orange body.

The stonefly lives only a couple of days and in that short period it mates, flies over the river, and deposits eggs back into the river. It is at this point where the cycle is reset and fish gorge themselves on spent stoneflies.

A dry fly presentation rarely misses and often nets big fish.

The presence of stoneflies in a river is usually an indicator of good water quality.

The stonefly hatch lasts just weeks but makes for memorable days on the river. While there are always a lot of anglers along the Deschutes, especially now, we’ve found that Trout Creek and South Junction are excellent places to gain access to the stream.

We’re a few miles upstream from Maupin, river levels are lower and wading is easier. By next week the hatch will have slowed or stopped and we’ll be looking for some other bug to imitate as we mark calendars for next year’s outing.