Deschutes: Slump Buster

I haven't been catching much lately.  Not counting the smaller trout, I've been getting skunked day after day. When this happens, there is only one cure.  Head to the Deschutes.  Once again, the river delivered.

Parked my car at the fish hatchery well before sunrise.  After suiting up, I walked down river to a spot that I caught a 12 or so pound wild fish last year.  The water looked equally inviting this time.  I walked my way out sporting my brand new 420 grain Rage line and a floating poly leader.  The fly was a generic size 4 summer fly.

Since this was my experience with the Rage, it took me a cast or two to get dialed in.  I wasn't blown away by it.  I think I could deliver the Compact Scandi further and cleaner.  I stuck with it, trying to see if it would simply be a matter of figuring out any subtle stroke changes I needed to make.

Access	Deschutes
Air Temp	Low 33, High 80
Water Temp/Visibility	?F / 15 feet
Weather	Sunny
River Stage	~? feet
Time in/out	4am / 9pm
Leaders/Lines	Rage and Int. Skagit
	Poly leaders and T-8	All day
	8lb Maxima
Flies	Summer flies morning/evening, Winter mid day.	-
Notes	Water was good flow and temp. Great clarity with light fishing pressure. Two decent sized wild fish.

After about 1/2 hour, I decided to move downstream.  I walked a good mile, stopping anywhere that looked decent.  Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot of good looking spots.  Argh.  I finally convinced myself to abandon hope and go back upstream.  The walk was a long and lonely one on the railroad tracks.  Stopped by that same run again with nothing to show for it.

I was ready to head to the car, but decided to stop at a decent looking spot.  It wasn't an ideal place, but there were a few lines worth fishing.  This time, I had a 7.0 ips sinking poly leader and a heavier fly with dumb bell eyes.  It was around noon.  Much warmer out and fishing deep seemed like my best option with full sun on the water.

The cast was only 20 or so feet from the rod tip, but that was all it took when my fly took a sudden turn downstream.  Fish on!  A few minutes later, I had a nice, albeit not very big, steelhead in my hand.  She was probably only 7 or 8 pounds, but put up a decent fight.

A trip back to the car to take off layers from the morning.  After all, I arrived to 35 degree temps that morning, but now it was well into the low 80s.  I also took this time to put on a Intermediate sinking Compact Skagit.  I've been ready to try a sinking line out for a while.  I finally bit the bullet and bought one from Airflo.

Boy oh boy.  Do I love this line.  I had a short 8 foot piece of T-8 on the end, but the thing was sinking like a  rock.  Love it!  I could get down really quick.  And since the fly line is sinking, it wasn't getting all belllied in the currents.  Mending was minimal to get a good swing.  I cannot wait until winter to put on a heavier piece of T material and sink a fly down to the depths.  I'm excited!

After I put on that Intermediate Skagit, I got in the car, drove through Maupin and started hitting water from Maupin up above Sherar falls.  Lots of good looking spots.  As the day wore on, I took off the T-8 and put on an intermediate poly leader.  Guess what?  That skagit line tossed it out there smoothly.  Nice.  Did I say I love this line?

It was getting late, I found a run to fish for the remainder of light.  I was having so much fun that I continued fishing a deep hole as there was barely any light to see.  As I was about to call it quits, I hooked up with another fish.  Once I got her close, I couldn't see in the water.  I needed to be able to step down from my grassy casting platform to get the hook out.  I took a chance and stepped in the water.  Lucky for me, it wasn't deep right there, I could of easily gone swimming.  The fish ended up being about the same size as the one I caught earlier.

Thanks Deshutes for the busting that skunk.

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.

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.

Deschutes: Heritage Landing

Last week was my first trip to the Deschutes after the move. The drive time is a comfortable hour and a half. Not bad for such a great steelhead river. I can handle that. Nothing compared to what I've been used to.

Before sunrise, I was already geared up and walking down the trail. By the time I got to where I wanted to step in, there was enough light to do so. A gear fisherman was already in my spot. So, I asked if he was staying still or stepping down. After confirming he was to stay put, I asked if he minded if I went below him. No problem.

On this day, gear fisherman outnumbered fly fisherman by at least 2 to 1. And probably 3 to 1. I have no problem with them. Although, I wish they would step downstream. Most of them seem to sit in one spot for hours on end. I know that we are fishing different techniques, but it does rub me the wrong way. I guess I have to learn to deal with it. Although, when you see one guy in the same spot for 5 hours, it can be frustrating.

The river is super wide, however, I was casting only 30 or so feet out into the main riffle on this first run. Moving down a couple of feet after each cast. I saw this nice calm spot that looked fishy. It was only 10 feet from shore and about 20 feet down from me. I worked it over pretty well with a muted low water fly. After each swing, I let it sit. As I was pulling in for another cast, there was a humongous boil under the fly as I felt a jerk at the same instant. I don't know if he just had a hold of the tail, but the fly popped right out. He was sitting in about 14 inches of water. I spent about 20 minutes changing flies and stepping back through that same spot. Nothing ever happened again. Too bad. He made quite the commotion and was probably decently sized.

Access	Heritage Landing
Air Temp	Low 75, High 100
Water Temp/Visibility	~? F / 6 feet
Weather	Sunny
Flow	~? cfs
Time in/out	5:30am, 8:30pm
Leaders/Lines	Compact Scandi
	Intermediate Poly	Morning
	7ips Poly	Afternoon
	Intermediate Poly	Evening
	8lb Maxima
Flies	Various Low Water flies	3

I spent another couple of hours going through that run and another above. I witnessed a gear fisherman hook into a big fish. I didn't stick around to see him land it. Whatever the size of the fish, it bent his rod over pretty good. It may of been a salmon. The thing was locked to the bottom of the river and wasn't running at all. (I saw another gear guy land a steelhead as long as my leg later in the day!)

I walked upstream pretty far. Further than I had gone last time. It was probably about two miles. Some really great spots in that section. No action. Came back to stand on a basalt ledge in the middle of the river and spied a few really large steelhead lurking below. The wind was whipping at this point with gusts to 20+ mph. It was hard to get my fly in the sweet spot. I did put on that heavy squidro fly and it sunk right in there. But the fish ignored it.

Went back to the car to load up on food and water and change a shirt which was drenched with sweat. Did I mention it was hot? Had to be pushing 100 degrees. After a rest, I was back to the water. By this time, practically everyone had left. I had the river to myself. I wandered back upstream and got in the water in a place that looked like it might have fish. No bumps or tugs.

Witnessed a fly guy on the opposite shore land a big fish. A few minutes later, I was casting near a submerged boulder when about a foot and half of my loop was pulled through my fingers. I set the hook and... Nothing! He wasn't there. Again, I spent a long time swapping flies and stepping through several times to try and get him again. This fish did have the audacity to show his face to me! And he was H.U.G.E. I had a few choice words for him and then moved on. At least I was getting tugs and boils today. Just couldn't land anything over 18 inches.

Outside of the heat, it was a great day. Looking forward to another shot!

Moved In

It has been about a week and a half since we moved in. I'd like to say the transition was flawless, but it was anything but. First, all of our belongings didn't fit on the 26 foot truck we rented. About 3/4 the way through, the guys loading told us it wouldn't happen. Crap.

I drove the truck out of California, through Oregon and into Washington. After doing the unload, the plan was to fly back to California, clean up the house and bring the remaining items up here. However, because we had way too much stuff left, I figured I'd install a trailer hitch on my SUV and tow a uhaul trailer with me.

More bad luck. Turns out the underside of my vehicle is rusted from all the driving in the snow. The hitch is supposed to secure onto a section that had a rusted bolt. The trailer idea wasn't going to work. Instead, I had to rent a 10ft Uhaul truck and tow my SUV on a trailer. After stuffing the truck and my car, I still had to leave some stuff behind. Crazy what you can accumulate after living in the same place for a while. My wife and I vowed to lighten up our belongings. That week was pure nuts.

We still aren't completely unpacked. Our bedroom is still in shambles. The three car garage is stuffed with boxes and you can barely move through it. Sad sad sad.

Anyhow, I'm taking a break on Wednesday to go fishing. It will either be the Deschuttes or the Clackamas. The D has been slow from all accounts I've been hearing. But it may be picking up. I've driven up the Clackamas, but have yet to fish it. It will be a last minute decision. Whatever the case, I'll have a report later this week.

BTW, it feels great to be here. After more than a year of planning, we are here and living in our new digs. Surrounded by incredible steelhead rivers. Exciting times lie ahead!

Went fishing!!

Can you believe it?! It has been months and months and.. Well, it has been too long. I'm happy to say I got a couple days of fishing in.

I was up in Washington/Oregon looking for a place to live. Now that we sold our place down here in California, we needed somewhere to put our junk. This was not a pleasant process. Let me tell you. Finding a rental was harder than selling our house. What was supposed to be a quick weekend getaway ended up being 12 days of living in hotels and even in the back of my car. Not much fun. Well, except for the fishing.

Somewhere in there, while waiting for our credit check to go through, I decided to head to the Deschutes and give her a try. While it isn't quite prime time for steelhead, I figured a day on the water would be good for me.

The Deschuttes is a couple/few hours from Portland. The drive was nothing compared to what I'm used to around here in California. Sputtering along the Columbia river, Hwy 84 takes you all the way to the Deschuttes Recreation Area. It was an easy drive through some truly beautiful scenery. What starts out as lush green forests, turns to desert conditions by the time you hit the D. Temps on the drive were comfortable 70's and 80's. However, while approaching my destination, the temp started rising well over 90 and close to 100. Quite a change in climates. What was green, was now brown and dry. A different kind of beauty.

I arrived late in the afternoon. After quickly putting on my gear and walking down a trail along the river, I jumped in at the head of a nice run. I wasn't more than a half mile of my car. Feeling a little tired, I didn't want to go very far this late in the day.

The area reminds me of the Yuba, but with more vegetation. The river itself is much wider and a little more impressive than the Yuba. Also missing is the occasional dynamite going off in a nearby quarry. Instead, a train would pass here and there. Blowing horns or clanking of metal wheels were the only noises besides the water and wind. No other fisherman were around. I saw no one. Other than the occasional jet boat going upriver, I had the place to myself. --People on water craft are not allowed to fish in the first two miles from the Columbia up stream.--

Soon after getting in the water, I noticed my foot getting cold. Arghh! I somehow developed a leak in my waders!! How is that even possible? I haven't fished in months. I tried to ignore it, but it was so bad, I had to take off my waders at one point and dump the water out. Thank goodness the air temp was high and the cold water actually felt good.

There were trout jumping around and if I dug out my smaller soft hackles, I probably could of caught some of them. But, I was here for steelhead. Whether they were around or not was the question. I was using a floating line and a 15 foot floating poly leader. My flies were mostly unweighted and I fished just below the surface.

Other than catching a couple of small trout, I didn't get any action on this first day. I know there were steelhead in the water. When entering at one location, a fish gently swam away from underneath where I was about to step. With the high water, the fish seemed to be hugging the banks. This one was pretty big and bright. Never saw him again. But, it did give me motivation to concentrate on my presentations.

The end of the day came quickly. I went back to the car and changed into something dry. Found a place to pullover and just slept in the back of the car. I was so tired that the morning came quickly.

The next day was much like the first. Wet feet and only trout on the end of my line. I did get one good tug. But the fish was off in less than 2 seconds and I never saw it. Felt like a good size one. Ahh well. Maybe next time. Like day one, I saw a few fish from shore. They looked to be in the mid 20's in length. They were positioned perfectly behind some trees that made casting to them difficult. I tried, but couldn't get any interest.

On the second day, I was a little more adventurous. Walking a couple of miles upriver to find more water that looked almost identical to what was near my car. Granted, there were a few more spots of pocket water that surely held some fish. If the river wasn't so high, these probably would have been even more inviting spots to pick from. For the most part, and from this experience, the river seems like one of those-- cast absolutely as far as you can and let it swing. Of course in lower flows, it could be totally different.

The wind really started whipping in the afternoon on day two. This isn't anything unusual from what I've heard. But, it still was difficult to cast into. It literally shifted on every cast and you had to constantly adjust which shoulder you used. Fingers crossed it didn't change just as you were about to launch the fly.

Although I didn't catch anything more than a 15" trout, it was a good time. I got to do some exploring and I know what to expect next time. I can hardly wait to get up there again. One more month and it will be a short drive away.

While in the area, I scouted several rivers. The Hood River, Lewis, Clackamas, Kalama, and the Washougal. More about those in another post.