Knuckles Busted on the Deschutes

I've actually been to the Deschutes three times since my last post. I got a case of the lazies and didn't feel like posting anything at the time.  

First things first, let's go over the last trip a couple of weeks ago.  (I can't even remember what I did the time before that, so we'll have to forget about it.  Woops.)  I decided to head down and fish around Maupin, down to Sherar falls. This part of the river is so much prettier than the mouth. Not to mention it is less crowded and fewer gear fisherman. Sorry gear guys, most of you are really nice, but you sit too long at one spot and it drives me insane.

If I remember correctly, I started upriver from Maupin and just drove around looking for a spot. There were a few good ones, but in general, I didn't find many longer runs where I could step and swing. The river seems to be deeper and more narrow here. I'm sure I missed some good stuff, I just didn't find too many of them.

I spent probably 5 hours driving and fishing anything that looked decent. Eventually I went below towards Sherar, away from Maupin. Much better choices here. Found some super sweet runs to swing. Unfortunately, the fish completely ignored me except for a trout or two. In the evening, I scooted down river of Sherar. This is where a friend and I floated several weeks back. This time, I was stuck to the road side in my car. Found some cool spots. One of which looked really great, but the wind was so strong it was making life difficult. I could barely stand at times. Nasty!

Fast forward to last week. This time I decided to park at the fish hatchery above the White River. Walked up and down the railroad tracks. Found some great water. I was fishing all sorts of flies. Big, little, low water ties, and bulky flies. I got a small trout or two. But it was tough going. Near the end of the day, I managed to catch a 22" trout in the soft shoulder of a really heavy rapid that took up the whole width of the river. She put up a decent fight and made the day worth it.

After that, I went back to a run that I fished in the morning. From the railroad tracks far above, I mentally marked the deep slots in the river I wanted to swing. It looked super fishy from above. And from earlier in the morning, I know it felt fishy while in the water.

It was getting late and hard to see. I was ready to call it a day- satisfied that I caught a decent sized trout. I hucked out one last cast. I was literally casting as far as I could to hit the slot about 120 feet down and across the river (handled with a long cack handed cast and the feeding of line). The cast started across the river, and I let the fly sink at the end of my floating line. Feeding some line in to give it a bit more depth and distance.

Thump! I felt something. Oh boy. It's a fish. But how big is it? Splash! A steelhead took two quick leaps, cart wheeling across the surface more than 120 feet away. Oh boy. I started reeling in cautiously, cause there was slack in the line and I didn't want to lose it.

I reeled in quite a bit of line. The fish was now much closer. Probably 70 feet away. Must not be a big fish, cause there wasn't much fight. Then, all of a sudden the fish started running. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzing my reel was going nuts. It happened so fast, I didn't get my hand out of the way and the reel handle busted my knuckles. The pain was intense, but I couldn't help but laugh. That doesn't happen often enough!! It was exciting.

My reel continued to scream as the fish pulled my running line out, then 30-50 feet of backing. Uh ohh! Am I going to be able to stop this fish? There was a sizable class III rapid below and if the fish got there, I would certainly lose it.

I palmed the reel and slowed the fish down, then started cranking. The fish was putting a massive bend in my rod. Sweet! I have a real steelhead on! This is awesome. Only a problem starting becoming apparent. This fish was hot and I'm standing in some reasonably fast water. I need to get closer to the bank.

Easier said than done. it was now pretty dark out. I couldn't see the river bottom. The fish was pulling hard enough to cause me to be off balance. This wasn't good. Lucky for me, I had my headlamp with me. Unlucky for me, it was in my pants pocket, inside my waders. What a stupid place for it! I tightened the reel drag, held the fish with one hand and started digging in my waders for the lamp with the other. I must of looked like a real idiot if anyone was watching. Somehow, I managed to get the lamp out, turn it on and put it on my head. All with one hand while my body was being pulled by both the current and the fish.

By this time, the fish was moving into softer water on its own. Doing a few jumps along the way. My rod was still bouncing all over from the head shakes. This was an honest to goodness fish. I reeled it in and when the fish was within 10 feet, I saw it rolling around. OMG, this fish is big. I started to get really excited. Don't screw this up! I've gotten stupid in the past and have lost fish when they are in close. Can't let it happen this time.

I was now near the bank and the fish was getting tired. I grabbed the leader with one hand and pulled her in and held her tail. I put her on her side and clearly saw she was a beautiful wild fish with just a bit of color. I laid my rod down next to her to get a mark that I could measure later on. It went past my rod's first thread wrap. That means she was over 32" long. She was healthy and thick. A very nice fish.

I took the size 6 fly out and held her for about 5 minutes. Concern was growing as she was showing no signs of trying to leave. I was on my knees in about 2 feet of water, just holding her waiting for her to get some strength. I was officially worried. I mean, this fish was nice enough to eat my fly, so I want her to be okay and go make wild fish babies.

Then out of no where, she bolted away with a surge.

That was an exciting moment. Just thinking that I lucked out on my very last cast of the night. Somethings are just meant to happen.