Steelhead Closure

Hi everyone, I know it’s been a bit since my last fishing report and there is lots to talk about. First order of business to address is that our Deschutes steelhead season is closed due to poor returns. We needed 9,900 wild fish over Bonneville Dam from July 1 through July 31 in order to stay open through the month of August and we did not hit that benchmark. In order to reopen the fishery we need a new total of 23,100 wild fish over Bonneville between July 1 and August 31. Return numbers each day are falling short of what we need to hit that goal and the 31st coming far too soon.

Our spring trout season had its ups and downs and was much different than previous years. We had record low snowpack last winter leading to lower and warmer water temps this spring. With these lower flows our stonefly hatch came off in the last weeks of April and was short lived. After the hatch we had a few weeks of challenging fishing, but we persevered and were able to keep finding fish by changing tactics and flies regularly. I am happy to report that even though we are in the dog days of summer we have had really consistently productive trout fishing lately.

Let’s talk about steelhead management and complaints with ODFW. I have a few thoughts!

My first complaint is that the ODFW office states that any steelhead that come over Bonneville in June are NOT our fish, which is incorrect. Though a decent percentage of those fish will make their way into the Klickitat, there is always a percentage of those fish coming to the Deschutes. Historically the run here began to enter the river in June and increased to a fishable level in July. I myself caught my very first Deschutes summer steelhead on July 14 and just last year I had my first summer steelhead to hand on July 6. One of my long time mentors has a running record of finding a steelhead on a floating line with one of his clients in the last week of June. This means that there is a percentage of fish being overlooked that should be accounted for in our overall numbers.

My second complaint is that they closed our fishery down for salmon and steelhead from the first trestle below Sherar’s Falls to the mouth and from Sherar’s Falls upstream to the dam. This means the only area you can legally fish for salmon is the bait-allowed segment of this river. This same area happens to be in a pinch point that forces fish to stack up below the falls. When I asked the fishery biologist why this segment is staying open, he said it was because there was an extremely low bycatch of steelhead in this area frequented by salmon anglers. This is wildly inaccurate as I have personally witnessed hundreds of steelhead caught below the falls while I fished there as a kid. They state that creel surveys show low bycatch rates of steelhead in that area, but the fact is that most of the people fishing below Sherar’s are not forced to stop at the creel survey checkpoint.

Even if anglers fish below the checkpoint and stop to report their catches, the creel surveys are a skewed data point. Any angler has the ability to lie about catch rates and the ODFW employee would be none the wiser. The other problem with creel surveys is that you may have one angler who is incredibly efficient and has a banner morning while another angler that is newer to the sport may have fished for multiple days before finding a fish. Relying on the information given by anglers about what they did or did not catch is just not clean data and should not be used when creating management plans.

If we are not allowed to swing a single barbless hook due to the potential mortality rate then why are bait anglers allowed to fish the highest density pinch point on the river. I have nothing against bait anglers as I started my fishing career as a conventional gear angler standing on the banks below the falls, but it has proven time and time again that bait that has a higher mortality rate.

My last quarrel is with the Sherar’s Falls fish trap. This trap is unmanned for a large percentage of the time. When this trap is not being operated the gates open and any fish that pass through will not be counted. In addition to this the falls has a large number of fish that refuse to use the ladder and follow the highest density flow over the falls to make their way upstream. Not only are we failing to get an accurate reading of how many fish pass through, but ODFW has also decided that one of their metrics on whether we reopen in the fall or start the next season open is dependent on the number of fish coming through the trap. In addition to this the ODFW office has decided the number of fish coming through the trap will dictate the regulations for next season. We all know that the fish coming through the trap this year have nothing to do with the number of fish in the ocean that are going to return next summer.

I encourage anyone reading this report to spread the word that we need big changes in our management plan. The more we come together as an angling community to push back on these poor management plans, the better the chances are that we can make a change and continue to do what we love to do here on the Lower Deschutes. I am hoping to meet with outfitters this fall to talk about what we can do to implement better management of our steelhead season. I personally would like to see a number of things happen in the future such as single barbless hooks required for all anadromous angling in the Deschutes, “Keep Them Wet” laws requiring any wild fish be kept in the water before releasing, and a reworking of the Deschutes River framework based on more reliable data.

I am all for doing what we can to protect steelhead, but when we take away the ability to fish for them then we take away the thing that drives conservation efforts. Recreational angling is what keeps conservation alive. It keeps reminding people of why they love these fish and why they should do what they can to protect them. If I thought that my impact as a guide would be the reason for the downfall of steelhead then I would quit in an instant. We need to destigmatize the recreational angling on the Deschutes within the eyes of ODFW.

Now on to trout and what’s happening with our beloved Redbands -

This trout season has been an interesting one to say the least. We had our stonefly emergence happen quite early compared to past seasons. After the big bugs were gone we had a few pretty tough weeks of trout fishing in the Maupin area. I’m pleased to report that it seems those challenging days of trout fishing have passed. Right now we have a decent number of caddis and aquatic moths hatching in the Maupin area and dry fly fishing in the early mornings has been quite productive. A tan or olive Elk Hair Caddis with a light colored wing has been my go to for dry fly fishing. This fly stays afloat better in some of the faster riffles and pocket water our trout have been living in. In addition to those hatches we have had some Blue Wing Olive and Midge hatches. Though the fish do not seem to be keyed into these on the surface, a small size 20 Pheasant Tail or Midge pupa has been my go to dropper when I see the BWO spinners and Midges buzzing around in the morning. Fishing these droppers on a slightly longer dropper of Fluorocarbon will help the flies get down. When fishing the smaller droppers it’s important to target some of the softer water just inside current seams. Don’t hesitate to set the hook on even the subtlest of takes.

Trout spey fishing has been good in the mornings when the water temps are ideal with small 1 inch olive Sculpins and Leeches being my go to patterns. Once the sun is on the water a flashy Kreelex Minnow can help keep the action alive. Small size 18 olive soft hackles have also been producing plenty of fish in the last two hours of the day when trout key into our Caddis emergence. When fishing any of these patterns a faster swing is your friend. I like to fish Sculpin and Leeches on a sink tip positioning my cast straight out placing a slack mend to drop the fly and tip, then as it comes tight I’ll drive my rod into the bank with a heavy lead while pulsing the fly with a jig of the rod tip or a strip and drop of 6 to 8 inches on the running line. This animation of the fly will imitate a injured baitfish or leech attempting to flee the area and can produce some violent takes. When fishing a soft hackle I always fish it on a Scandi with a floating leader throwing my cast straight out down-mending to increase the speed of the swing, I do not typically animate the soft hackles as I want to be tight to the fly and keep the fly moving at a faster tempo. You can’t fish a soft hackle on too fast of a swing when the trout are keyed into emergers. A good sign of fish keying into emergers is when you see slashy takes from trout in the film causing aggressive splashes in the faster riffles.

Keep in mind that Oregon State Police is patrolling heavily due to the closure and will be ticketing anyone they think is trying to skirt the rules by fishing obvious steelhead flies in classic long steelhead runs. Keep to the trout flies and if you hook a steelhead it’s best to take the ethical approach and break them off. Fighting a steelhead on a trout spey can take too long causing unneccesary stress on the fish which leads to higher mortality rates. Even though I may not approve of the closure I love steelhead and would hate to see one hurt.

Thanks for tuning in and I appreciate your patience if you have been waiting for a report. It can be tough to find the time to write one when I’m in the thick of my season. As always if you are looking at my fishing reports and hoping for a more recent update feel free to shoot me an email or give me a call. I hope everyone has a chance to get out fishing and finds plenty of willing contenders on “The Fly Is Right”! Tight lines and happy fishing to all. I’ll see you on the river!