June - the greatest month for dries!

Greetings from sleepy little Maupin, where the crowds of May have faded into the sunset and the river is, once again, fairly quiet. The bug activity is strong now. We are seeing the last of the golden stones flying around in the area around Maupin. They are laying their eggs by landing on the water and, for most, that is the last flight they will ever take. The lifecycle is now complete. The eggs will fall to the bottom of the river and the nymphs will begin their 3-year growth journey until the day, in May of 2026, when they will crawl out of the river and onto the bank to become adult stoneflies. 

The river is littered with the dead bodies of thousands of stoneflies, many of which will get sucked under by turbulent whirlpool currents. Once the large adult stones are underwater, they are fair game for some of the largest trout in the Deschutes. The larger the trout the more wary they are. Many of our 16" and larger trout will stay submerged at this time of year and will happily eat their fill of drowned stones. Should your dry fly get sucked under by the currents - and, yes, you should be fishing that wild, heavy, edge of whitewater stuff that has big upwellings and swirly water - let that dry fly sink and tumble in the mid water column. A Norm Woods Special or a Clark's Stone are two of the best drowned patterns. 

The last of the stoneflies, the little yellow sally, will take center stage for a couple of weeks, possibly into July. This stonefly is size 14 or 16 and looks just like its larger cousins with a bright yellow body. The eggs that the sally lays are red, so all the females will have a splotch of red on their back end when the egg laying begins. 

Mayflies have been coming on strong during the last few days of cloud cover. PEDs, PMDs, and a few Green Drakes have been seen on the river - the hatches are inconsistent on sunny days but pretty decent on cloudy days.

Caddis are insane right now. You best be wearing a buff or a scarf over your mouth while walking the banks in the evenings, otherwise you will have a mouthful of caddis. 

There are a ton of great opportunities out here to hook trout on dries over the next few weeks - the fishing opportunities are boundless. The crowds are pretty much gone now - thanks to graduations, weddings, and the Rose Festival - people are pretty busy right now and not crowding the rivers. 

Well, I was out on the river yesterday teaching a Spey casting class, but I didn't take any photos. I noticed all the bugs and have this report for you....

Have a great weekend!