FISHING REPORTS
STEELHEAD | TROUT | SMALLMOUTH BASS
Our goal here is to give you active, current, and honest on the water video fishing reports. You will see live what is happening. There won’t be any archives or two year old reports here, just live action!
DESCHUTES RIVER | August 10th, 2024
DESCHUTES STEELHEAD REPORT & FORCAST
Summer Steelhead - Dry Lines & Wet Flies!
It seems like everyone I talk to thinks we are crushing steelhead on the Deschutes. They feel like we are having an epic return…we aren’t, not even close.
Here’s the deal, fish passage over Bonneville is great for the forecast, ie; what we can expect. Temper that with most fish are going someplace not called the Deschutes River. The “D” is a “stray fishery” – the majority of the fish we fish for are bound for someplace other than the Deschutes.
The strays find flow or cold water and turn up the Deschutes to chill out. Many years, stray fish hang out in the Deschutes for weeks and even months. When the water cools down in the fall that’s the biological signal to get going to the Salmon, Clearwater, Grand Ronde. Some years despite good returns up the Columbia, fish don’t turn right and we have shitty fishing…
The current state of the Deschutes is that there are some steelhead around, they seem like, out of basin, big bad hard charging fish. There aren’t very many and if it isn’t too busy we can find one or maybe two in a day. If it’s busy it’s pretty tough.
The good news is there’s a thermal block below The Dalles dam preventing fish passage. The main push of “A-run” steelhead are still down stream of the Deschutes. There’s still time for those fish to move into the Deschutes and provide us with some excitement but, they could also blow right over the John Day dam.
Water temps have been pretty warm thanks to the operators and owners of the Round Butte/Pelton Complex (that would be PGE and their partners in crime, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs). The Deschutes has been over 70 degrees in the evenings which is too hot. This is the main detriment to fish dipping into the Deschutes. What used to be a thermal refuge is no longer that.
The fishing report 23 days in is: we’ve hooked or caught fish most days. Many fish have been unlandable, supercharged with the warm water temps. A couple days we didn’t get ‘em when we should have – the cloudy rainy days. It didn’t make sense and still doesn’t. Last year we had hundreds of one-salt steelhead in the Deschutes and fishing was really good. This year despite the dam counts at Bonniville, fishing is tougher and most fish are 7-12 pounds.
So, pray for colder water on the Deschutes, hope the Dalles Pool is low and the Deschutes flows like a river into the Columbia, this will draw in fish. Come with realistic expectations. Despite an improvement in returns over Bonneville we are not having a good run just a little better than bad.
Steelhead Outfitters
The beautiful steelhead that we’ve managed to land, have been absolute dandies, strong, robust, and nearly unlandable, like this specimen landed by Christie Pondell.
Below are a few photos from the past 23 days! Picture yourself in one or more shots. Give me a call to book your adventure.
DESCHUTES RIVER | June 13th, 2024
QUALITY TROUT
Caddis, Sallies & Various Attractor Patterns!
Still some quality fish around for the catching. Dry fly fishing is pretty good in the right spots on the right days. Pro Tip, fish like the shade. There’s not much shade on the lower 24 miles of the river but if you can find it, go early enough, and or stay late enough they will eat. caddis, sallies, and various attractor patterns. Hopper Dropper fishing has been tough. Full on nymphing is the most productive move during the day fishing in the heavy seams. Water temps are reaching 68 degrees some days, this will dictate where they must be to get enough oxygen.
Steelhead numbers over Bonneville Dam are beating the ten year average. We are fishing regardless but we are watching this closely.
Sam Sickles
Steelhead Outiftters
Still some really nice quality trout being caught! Not as crazy as it was but still plenty of action to satisfy your itch.
