End of a great season!
It’s been a little while since I posted a fishing report and I apologize for the long wait for those of you who look to my report for info on the Lower Deschutes. This fall was a great season with lots of wonderful mornings coaching anglers through steelhead runs and trout riffles. I was fortunate enough to spend a couple weeks guiding camp trips on the Grande Ronde chasing large rainbows and Steelhead. In addition to that I had a great season fishing skaters, hairwings, and muddlers on the John Day for the month of November. Now the season has drawn to a close for me and I’ll be resting up tying flies waiting with bated breathe for the start of the 2026 season! Dates are booking up fast already for next season so be sure to reach out to me if you want to secure your spot.
River Conditions -
The Deschutes is currently flowing at 4100 cfs out of the dam and 4350 cfs at the mouth after picking up the tributaries along the way. Current water temps are higher than usual for this time of year due to a mild and warm fall. Temps out of the dam are currently 51 degrees and temps at the mouth are ranging between 46 and 50 degrees. The range of these temps will depend on the day and how much the ambient air temperature brings down the temperature of the river as it flows through the canyon. These flows and temps are of course subject to change more frequently as we progress into winter but they make for incredible fishing conditions right now.
What’s Happening With Trout -
Trout fishing has been really good over the last couple months. As of lately we have had some really productive Blue Wing Olive hatches. These hatches have been bringing fish to the surface in riffles and areas downstream of riffles that congregate the dries after they have hatched. This hatch has been happening mid day as it typically does so be sure to bring a dry fly rod or have some dries and finer tippet to switch to in the event you find yourself in a hatch zone.
As always nymphing will be your most productive method of fishing this time of year in between hatches and anything slightly resembling a trout, whitefish, or salmon egg will get eaten with reckless abandon. Fish this time of year will be finding places to take refuge from the heavier currents while still providing them with ample food drifting into their zones. Be sure to target the slower back ends of riffles as well as pools that slow to more of a walking pace. In addition to those areas you’ll find fish living in softer pockets within the fast current zones. As your working your way from one slower pool to another don’t hesitate to throw a few cast into the soft edges or soft mid river pockets in the midst of rapids as these can still produce. To quote an earlier post, find the slow within the fast and it will still produce in the winter!
Streamer fishing can be quite good this time of year but this will be on a day-by-day basis. One day when water temps are slightly higher you may find fish willing to move to eat a streamer but this can all change with a slight shift to lower water temps. Olive is still my stand by color for streamers on the Deschutes but if that doesn’t work my typical switch up is to go to an all flash fly like the jigged kreelex minnow. Flashy for bright days, olive for dark days if the rule I tend to live by when streamer fishing. Jigging streamers on a Euro rod can help improve your chances of finding fish on streamers during days when the trout are less willing to move.
What’s Happening With Steelhead -
Flows and water temps on the Deschutes have been a dream come true for steelhead anglers still looking to swing a dry line with a smaller traditional fly. In between my camp trips on the John Day I was lucky enough to find a couple days to get out and fish and found a beautiful hen on my scandi line with a floating leader. Water temps have not changed dramatically since then and I have reports from friends on the river that they are still finding fish on floating lines just last week.
This of course does not mean this is the only way to find fish right now. Plenty of fish can be found on sink tips and if you plan to spend multiple days camping and fishing in Maupin I would recommend bringing both setups. If you find yourself without a tug after a couple days of dry line swinging then it could help to swing a light tip and unweighted or lightly weighted intruder. Any changes in flows or water temps will tend to make fish less willing to move so it helps to monitor water conditions and adjust accordingly. The flows and temps can be found on the USGS website under Deschutes River Flow Moody and Deschutes River Flow Madras.
Remember how important the next generation of Steelhead is and be sure to use proper fish handling practices when handling wild Steelhead and keep them wet with their head submerged.
Flies That Are Working -
CDC Comparadun BWO Size 16 and 18
Hi Vis Parachute BWO Size 16 and 18
Silver Bead Green Glo Brite Perdigon in Size 16 and 18
Silver Bead Blue Glo Brite Perdigon in Size 16 and 18
Silver Bead Roza’s Green Tag Jig Size 16
Pink Bead Tasmanian Devil Size 16
Pink Bead Hares Ear Size 16 and 18
Copper Bead Quilldigon Size 16
Egan’s Frenchie Size 18, and 20
Devin’s Egg Taco Size 14 and 16
Tungsten San Juan Worm size 14
Tungsten Zebra Midge in Black and Red Size 18 and 20
Sculpzilla in Natural and Olive Size 4 and 6
Olive Bugger Size 10
Mayers Mini Leech in Black and Olive Size 12
Hoh-Bo Spey in all colors
Stu’s Mini Intruders in all colors
Traditional Steelhead flies in Size 4, 6 and 8
Steelhead Muddlers in size 4 and 6
Well that’s all for this fishing report, I hope you guys all had a great thanksgiving and a fall filled with plenty of tight lines and screaming reels. The weather is still great out here and I hope everyone gets a bit more time to enjoy the river before the real winter weather sets in. As always I’ll be fishing my heart out for the winter so if you ever need a more up to date report on what’s happening feel free to reach out to me via text or email and I’m happy to share what I’m seeing!
