High Overcast - Rain Coming.

The full moon was beautiful this past week - but it is waning now and the fishing will only get better as that full moon shrinks down.

The weather for the weekend looks warmish and rainy on Sunday - which is, of course, Superbowl Sunday. Since the Seahawks are at the big dance this year, I figure that the river will be empty on the big game day….but this is a good opportunity for those of you who could care less about football to have the river to yourself. 

I skipped the fishing report last week because it is pretty much the same report week in and week out with Blue Wing Olive mayflies starring in the mid-day show, tiny midges make an appearance usually every day but are a challenge to imitate give their itty bitty size. The trout are holding in softer runs and backeddies, though there may be the odd trout still holding strong in the broken water. Any fish out in the rapids or broken water during the winter months is likely to be in the big rocky choppy water where they can actually use a large rock to create a pillow on which a trout can surf. Remember, the colder wither months require a careful use of your energy if you are a trout, so they will always be found in the waters that they can “rest” in as long as they can see and grab food off of the conveyor belt called a foam line. 

The river is in fantastic shape right now - the water is super clear and blue and it is at an average to slightly below average flow for this time of year. 

Photo taken at boxcar rapid shows the clarity of the water. 

The snowpack looks pretty thin this year on Mt. Hood and also in Bend. How will that impact the Deschutes for the upcoming season? This is a question that I have been asked again and again - people are worried about what this drought will do to the rivers they love. I can speak for the Deschutes - the impact will be minimal. The Deschutes is a very odd river because of the nature of the geology of Central Oregon. Basalt makes up nearly all of the rock out here in the desert, cool columnar basalt formations are found everywhere on the Deschutes. Also everywhere on the Deschutes, thousands of springs and underground lava tubes that carry cold clean water into this aquifer.

Look on the hillsides as you float the river or explore the river by road - you will see lots of springs (look for small stands of trees, bushes, or even a bit of green grass on the brown grassy slopes). Do you know why Maupin was established at this spot on the river? Our town exists because of a 1 million gallon per day cold water spring that gushes out of the ground. Maupin collects this water for our drinking water, and the rest shoots out of the hillside just upstream of the bridge about 200 yards or so. Smaller springs similar to this one are found all along the Deschutes - which is the reason that the Deschutes River is an oddball river in terms of flow. This is one of the unique rivers in the world with a flow that fluctuates VERY little throughout the calendar year. We have very few floods or high water events, and we rarely have low water. 

Just look at the river and ask yourself, how is the Deschutes different from other rivers that I fish? For one, most rivers have evidence of high water events in the spring. Gravel bars along the river’s edge - the normal corridors for anglers walking up or down a riverbank - they simply do not exist on the Deschutes River. We do not have what so many rivers in the West have: Spring runoff or other high water events in April and May.

A closeup of the water below boxcar rapid - no flood plains here. 

Don’t get me wrong, the Deschutes has periods of higher than normal water and we have had floods in the past, but the Deschutes stays in good fishing shape for most of the winter and spring. The great thing about this, and the fact that the Deschutes (down in the Maupin area) is open all year long for anglers, is that there is rarely a day when you cannot head to the river to hook a trout. 

I mentioned in a few of my recent posts on the web that this is the time of year for spawning. Please be aware that you can do serious damage to our future generations of wild steelhead and wild trout if you are walking around on the fine gravel and tromping on the freshly laid eggs. Be a responsible sporting angler and refrain from targeting spawning beds. If you are out on the river and you see other anglers targeting vulnerable fish on redds, please don’t be afraid to say something. You might get a big “F YOU” from the anglers who care nothing about the health of the river and care only about ripping trout or spawning steelhead off the gravel - walk away from those guys. Don’t give up fighting for the river, because a lot of the folks that you come across don’t realize that targeting trout or steelhead on spawning redds is wrong (and fish harrassment is illegal in the case of Federally protected native steelhead).  You might get a “Thank You” instead. 

In most years the spawning wild steelhead have tributaries that they can access for spawning and these small tributaries are protected because it is illegal to fish them. Unfortunately, the small streams are not flowing this year due to lack of snow pack. Steelhead will adjust and will begin spawning in the mainstem of the Deschutes. The gravel areas just need to be left alone. 

Last weekend, John and I were out with friends adventuring on the river and we ran into a couple of long-time angling buddies up by the locked gate. They were out working on product development for Echo rods - the company which Tim Rajeff (in the bright green jacket) founded and built into a northwest powerhouse. Tim is a great guy and super fun to hang with and even more fun to fish with. 

Tim Rajeff, John Hazel, and Lupine on the road at the locked gate.

Temps are going to continue to be mild - even into the 50s today and tomorrow. We do not see sun this weekend, as we did last weekend, but the cloud cover is what the BWOs love, as do the fish. Cloud cover gives trout confidence and seems to get them to more actively grab flies. Have fun out there!