Bonneville Dam

I was hoping to go fishing today, but there is too much work to do. So, I opted to wait it out. The heat is on again here and next week is supposed to cool down a little. Probably better to wait anyway.

Last weekend, myself and the family went to Hood River to pick some apples.  On the way, we stopped at the Bonneville Dam to check out the fish through the viewing windows.  As I talked with the fish counter, we saw hordes of both steelhead and salmon come through.  Some were very big.  It made me want to fish real bad.  But, being with the family, it just wasn't going to happen.

The sign on the wall said that we are above the 10-year count for most species of fish.  Including steelhead.  Considering we still have a few months to go this year, that is a good sign.

Deschutes: Off The Schnide

Met up with my friend Ted for two days of fishing on the Deschutes.  He came up from California and was nice enough to invite me along.  Thanks Ted!  I had an awesome time.

Ted brought his Watermaster Kodiak, and he rowed me around the river above Mack's Canyon while we stayed at one of the campgrounds.  I'm sure the raft was a little sluggish with me sitting on the back, but he did an awesome job of keeping us out of trouble and getting us to some good fishing spots.

On Day 1, we didn't see that many other boaters or fisherman for that matter.  Pretty surprising since we are entering prime time on the D.  We both started with floating lines and switched over to sink tips in the afternoon.  I put on my skagit line and went as big as 11ft of T10.  I think I caught a couple of small trout.  But no steelhead for either of us.  I don't recall seeing anyone else pulling fish out of the water.  However, I can't remember for sure.

I tried all kinds of flies, muted colors, bright, small, big, nothing seemed to be working.  Argh.  Whatever was up with the fish or whatever was up with us, I still had a great time.

Access	Above Macks Canyon / boat
Air Temp	Low 60, High 90s
Water Temp/Visibility	~60 F / 4 feet
Weather	Sunny
Flow	~? cfs
Time in/out	6am, 8:30pm
Leaders/Lines	Compact Scandi and Skagit
	Floaters	Morning
	Sink tip (T8 and T14)	Afternoon
	Floaters	Evening
	8lb Maxima
Flies	Size 4 lightly dressed hair wing	landed 2

On day two, we floated downstream from where we were at on the first.  The water was fishier in both of our opinions.  There were far more fisherman and several guide boats.  We were definitely not alone today.  Unfortunately, the day started out like the first.  No fish other than a few small ones and a pluck here or there.

I was doing some experimenting to take my mind off the fact that I wasn't getting any steelhead.  I decided to do all my floating line work with a skagit line and a 12 foot floating poly leader.  Other than it being a little clunky, it was a pretty good cast.  Even with small flies.  In the afternoon, I switched to 8ft of T14.  No fish from whatever combo of line/fly I put on.  While I got a few tugs on day #1, none on day 2, other than catching a small fish.

As it was getting late in the afternoon, we parked ourselves at a riffly run.  Ted went to the top, and I went to the bottom that was pouring into a pool.  I hooked a fish at what seemed to be about 5 feet of depth along the boulders near the end of the swing.  Because of the sink tip, I first thought I was hung up again (it was happening a lot).  However, my line moved just a little and I realized I had a fish.  Five or so minutes later, I had a nice 23 or so inch fish in my hand.  Yea!  Finally.  My first legit (albeit not all that big) Deshutes steelhead that I actually brought to my hand.

We got in Ted's boat and went downstream trying to find a run to spend the last of the daylight in.  We were not the only ones with the same game plan, as empty runs were hard to come by.  Eventually, we found one and I immediately caught a bright chrome ... 5 inch fish!   Ted had at least a tug or pull below me as he was skated a fly through the riffles.

It was getting late and I had worked my size 4 wet fly (on a dry line) through the riffle and was now working on the inside soft seam as the run was coming to an end.  I was basically high sticking this very small section that I thought fish may be holding in before heading through the riffles above.

On one of the swings, I saw a flash and my fly immediately went down along with my rod bending over.  While she didn't peel a ton of line off, this hatchery fish made up for it with several runs as I tried to get her to my hand.  She didn't give up easily.  The fight lasted a while and I finally brought her in.  She was about 24 or 25 inches long.  Not all that long, but she was solid with pretty good girth.  Ted thought she might be 6 lbs or so.  Which would put her as an average D steelhead.

What started off as a slow couple of days, the last two hours produced two fish.  Finally got a steelhead to hand up here.  And two of them at that.  Don't know when the next trip will be.  Hopefully this week.

Deschutes: Windy day @ Heritage Landing

Another day on the Deschutes last week. Like last time, arrived around 5:30 and on the river just as there was enough light to see. The place was surprisingly empty. I'm guessing because the weather called for some super strong winds. The forecasters were correct. Gusts ended up hitting 40+ mph during the day. Making casting extremely difficult. However, in the morning it wasn't too bad.

Again, I was starting at Heritage landing. First thing after getting to the water, I ran into an older gentlemen with a flyrod. He had just hooked a fish and was super excited. A bit later he hooked another fish. How do I know? Because every time it happened, he blew a whistle as loud as he could. I guess he wanted the whole river to know what happened. Seemed kind of weird and funny at the same time.

Anywhoo, I was in the water with a size 4 purple wet and an intermediate poly. Kept my casts rather short, maxing out around maybe 50-60 feet. On the seam between softer water and the main current, I felt one of the most subtle of takes I've ever felt. It was so light, yet at the same time, I knew it was a fish.

Access	Heritage Landing
Air Temp	Low 50, High 75
Water Temp/Visibility	~60+ F / 5 feet
Weather	WINDY
Flow	~? cfs
Time in/out	5:30am, 8:30pm
Leaders/Lines	Compact Scandi
	Intermediate Poly	Morning
	Floating	Afternoon
	Floating Poly	Evening
	8lb Maxima
Flies	Size 4 Purple wet	1 hookup

I raised my rod to set the hook as soon as I felt some weight. Then he took off. He didn't peel that much line off, but he didn't make it easy either. I knew it was a decent sized fish. The fight didn't last all that long. However, I was excited. This was my first Deschutes steelhead of significant size. In fact, it was my first Oregon steelhead of size since moving up here.

A few minutes had gone by and I got the fish up to me. I couldn't tell whether it was a hatchery or wild. Pulled him in closer and was starting to reach down in the water to grab his tail. Then, my brain stopped working and I released pressure on the line!!! The fish casually came unbuttoned. OH MAN! I was inches away from tailing that first official Deschutes steelhead. I finally had one within reach and I had a brain malfunction!!

On the bright side, I've had a lot of bumps and tugs, and a few hookups. So, my presentation seems to be working. Just need to keep at it. The rest of the day felt like I was sitting in the middle of a tornado. It was so windy, that I had trouble standing up at times. I almost was pushed into the water on more than one occasion.

Despite the awful wind and the fact that I couldn't cast very far with the swirling winds, I stuck in there all day. Sadly, no more action. Not even a bump. I did get a chance to explore the other side of the river. So, it wasn't a complete waste. However, I'm going to avoid the D in the future when the forecast is calling for such high winds.