Maupin

April 21, 2024April 20, 2024

Full on Spring

This week was not as full as the last one. We did make it out on a river, but most of the week was focused getting the house clean. The internet is full of before and after images, but not here . . . we just don’t see any reason to take pictures of the mundane.

The days leading into spring, right up to full run off, are great times to be on the rivers. The flows haven’t started to fill stream beds and the warming weather brings more bug activity.

After a winter of dragging wet flies, we are starting to see surface feeding . . . dry fly fishing gets a brief burst.

The mountain snows have already started to fill up rivers, and now we wait for the summer season.

But in the meantime, we had a few great days on the river . . . and the house is clean.

June 4, 2023June 3, 2023

On the River

Though rarely, there ARE times when we don’t want to be on a river.

After the middle of June, the Lower Deschutes Canyon is off our calendar. What we avoid is a summer influx of tourists and high desert heat . . . an aversion acquired while living in Western Montana and constantly cultivated.

River levels have returned to seasonal normal.

A highly anticipated Stonefly hatch usually precedes rafter season in Maupin.

After the runoff has calmed and waters have cleared AND before summer’s heat, we try to get one last day on the Deschutes.

This typically involves multiple trips as it turns out the Lower Deschutes is nice in the spring . . . and the fall as well.

It’s still spring in the canyon. The barrage of summer’s heat hasn’t penetrated this far.

Wild flowers are still blooming, families of waterfowl hang in the reeds and the days are short enough to offer cool mornings.

The Subaru serves as a base of operation but loses its appeal when parked under a summer sun. A couple weeks ago, camp chairs at the road’s edge worked, but this week that approach required we find some afternoon shade.

Adult Golden Stonefly; Salmon Flies are similar, but have a red and brown mottled body color.

Stoneflies rest in foliage during the day, flying over the water in the evening to deposit eggs.

The seaonal Golden Stone and Salmon Fly hatch is dictated by nature and water temperature. The term ‘hatch’, gets used to describe an individual event, but could also mean a series of similar events.

We’ve found it best to start with the latter. With an understanding of aquatic invertebrate life cycles, you can be on the river at the proper time . . . be patient.

Since late winter, we’ve been making the trek to Maupin to check progress on the stonefly’s crawl to river’s edge. A scientific study that has been well documented.

Seemed likely this trip would end the season, so I tied up an old standard, two actually; Box Canyon Stonefly and Langtrey Special. Both caught fish.

We spent the evening under a grove of Oregon Ash at BLM’s Blue Hole Campground.

We finished our picnic, enjoyed a cold drink and listened to the bird song and wind in the branches.

May 21, 2023May 20, 2023

Return to Maupin

Spring shifts to summer quickly in Central Oregon. The days are already getting near eighty . . . not complaining, but rivers will get crowded soon enough.

In the spring the canyon is all shades of green

In a typical year the Deschutes has a salmon fly hatch at the end of spring. This is not a typical year and with the high run-off we’ll not see salmon flies for a few more weeks.

The other infamous Deschutes River event is the ‘rubber hatch’ which fills the river with rafts overloaded with happy boaters. This year it’s looking like that event will overtake the salmon fly hatch, at least downstream from Maupin.

Musical trills of redwinged blackbirds echo through the canyon

This week we made one more trip to Maupin, hoping to enjoy a relatively uncrowded river and a canyon just coming into summer foliage.

The day was sunny and warm, though we didn’t hit any hatch, the fishing was good.

Caught in mid-flight protecting his territory

As is usually the case, wildlife was active along this stretch of water. JQ managed to get some great images of Red-winged blackbird and a Heron who seems like a permanent resident of this stretch of river.

Male Merganser, the perfect shape to hunt fish

We’ll try to fish salmon flies a little further upstream in the next few weeks. In the mean time, we just set up the camp chairs and enjoy a rare quiet day on the Lower Deschutes.

March 26, 2023March 25, 2023

Maupin, Oregon

Spring officially started this week.

While we have no illusions this marks an end to snowfall, it does mean days are getting longer and warmer. When there is one of those warmer days we head to the river. We’ve made several trips to the Lower Deschutes this winter and have gotten more familar with Maupin.

Hwy 197 crosses the Deschutes River in Maupin

It’s a small town precariously occupying a hillside over looking the Deschutes River. It’s really returning to an old haunt and with a bit of exploring we discovered a stretch of river with easy access for all.

Highway 197 (Deschutes Ave.) winds it’s way in and back out of the canyon passing through the center of Maupin.

Where the highway crosses fifth street is the Deschutes Angler. . . . a flyfishing shop.

Among the hundreds of shops in river towns only a handful are must stop locations.

The adage “if they don’t have it you don’t need it” hallmarks these places. Deschutes Angler is on that list.

A fishing shop visit could replenish a tying bench or fishing pack, however mostly it’s a means to acquire current intel on local waters. Not all establishments are equal in these aspects, so when you find a good one it gets marked on the map.

The sun helps cut the chill but hasn’t been around enough to coax spring color back into the canyon walls.

A narrow road follows a section of the Lower Deschutes River

We need wadeable access so take advantage of pullouts along the Deschutes River Access Road.

Fishing alongside traffic comes with some limits. Tip is on constant duty, so if the road offers the shortest route between JQ and Jack he’ll be on it.

Fortunately he is a good listener.

The spot we settled into this winter offers lots of dog friendly access to the river. There’s a wide swath of river silt and grass cut with jagged outcropping of lava rock.

Hunting Red Band Trout on the Deschutes River

The scattering of trees and willow bushes at river’s edge seem bare from the road. Ducking under a branch to gain access to a new pool I notice bud sites and the beginnings of summer foliage.

Won’t be long before the banks are lined with fisherman and the water is full of rafters. By then other waters will become our regular haunt.

February 6, 2022February 6, 2022

Winter Fishing

Winter light plays through the trees and across the Lower Deschutes River

One of the perks to living in Central Oregon is that fishing is always ‘in season’. Anytime the sun shines we can find a stream to fish and that’s just what we did this week.

A part of these expeditions is a fly shop visit. There are purchases made, but more often it’s to ask for a good fly choice. The Deschutes Angler in Maupin is a regular stop. For starters the selection of tying materials dwarfs anything available in the Bend area. In the end, their understanding of Lower Deschutes fishing saves hours of trial and error … mostly error.

Winter fishing starts with a change to the vest fly box. Warm weather was tufts of floaty feathers and fur. As cold days settle in these lures get set aside for spiked, leggy imitations of aquatic invertebrates. We fish mostly weighted hooks and minimal dressings designed to get down in the water column at the active feeding level.

This week we made the drive to Maupin and the Lower Deschutes. We enjoyed a mild sunny day along the river. The canyon was still in winter colors with only a smattering of green along the river’s edge. Fishing this river is always a challenge. Warmed by the afternoon sun, and with no harsh winter wind, standing knee deep and casting a line was enough.