Deschutes River Report

After weeks of nearly jumping out of my skin in anticipation my brother and I could set off on a dream trip on the Deschutes. We met up with our guide in Madras and made the short drive to the put-in at Warm Springs. My original plan was to hit the stonefly hatch and avoid the crowd that seems to hatch at the same time. We were fortunate to have an accommodating guide in Nate from Deschutes River Outfitters, who scheduled us for Friday through Sunday, ahead of the holiday weekend floaters.

I half expected a mob at Warm Springs, given the long weekend, but was pleasantly surprised. A few guides were setting out, but few, if any, weekend warriors. It was sunny skies and warm enough that the bugs were out by 8 AM.

After a 10 minute drift we got to our first stop, where I caught my first fish on a chubby golden stone dry fly. This single pattern was the go-to fly, producing consistent strikes over the whole trip. As we made our way north we ran into hatches of small caddis (American grannom) and I started using an X-caddis dropper, although the preference was clearly the stone.

Nate, our guide, was a master of putting us on productive water, and although the first day’s float was more than 18 miles it never seemed as though we were rushing or spending long stretches in the boat. Although I’ve done this float several times before I’d never done it with a guide. This was truly glamping, in that we were pampered at every camp and meal stop.

You know you’re on the Deschutes when a 14 inch fish seems like a dink. These guys were big, healthy and wild redside rainbows. Most of the one’s I landed were 16 inch and up. It took a bit to recalibrate my water-reading radar, but once that happened the holding spots were easier to gauge.

I was fishing one perfect little pool just after lunch on Saturday and landed the fattest 18 incher I’d ever seen. It was hooked inside its mouth and had wrapped itself with the dropper. I decided to cut the line to make unhooking easier and managed to set it free without damage. Unbeknownst to me at the time I dropped my rod. I started to mentally beat myself up and add up the cost of replacement when I saw a rafter (in a bikini) just downstream reach into the water at the end of the riffle and pull up my rod. At that point I couldn’t imagine it ever getting any much better than that: Catch and release a great fish, lose my rig but then have it given back by a nearly naked young woman. I probably burned all my good karma right then.

I can’t say enough about the Deschutes. The scenery is a bit like the Yakima River canyon, but on a much grander scale. The first section, from Warm Springs to Trout Creek, is an easy day’s float of about 10 river miles. Trout Creek marks the beginning of the wild section with no public access for more than 35 miles. This, plus a few class 4 rapids, tends to limit the angling pressure and keep the fishery so healthy. Ospreys, red winged blackbirds, and wild horses are common sights.

Lots of healthy fish, drop-dead scenery, solitude, lots of healthy fish, pristine wilderness and lots of healthy fish. Nate and Matt from Deschutes River Outfitters were great. They are nice people with extensive knowledge and the patience and desire to share their passion for fly fishing. They really made this trip was one for the books.