Wild Water Week

The month of April is living up to its reputation for being the most unpredictable month on the Deschutes in terms of water flow. We started the week with a dropping river - hoping that the trend would continue through the week. Tuesday night brought an unpleasant surprise when the water flows coming out of the dam complex jumped from 5840 CFS to 7030 CFS overnight. That was a significant jump of nearly 1200 CFS. Lots of phone calls came in asking why this big jump happened, but I don't have the answer to that question. What I do know, is that the water that enters the reservoirs that make up the dam complex near Madras must be released from the dam in equal measure to the volume coming into the reservoirs. Thus, when we have a lot of snow pack (we do) and warming temperatures in the drainage (which is very large), we are bound to have high water in the lower Deschutes River. 

The photo above shows the water color and the water level in relation to the boxcar rapid and the rocks that are in the middle of the river below boxcar. There is a tinge of color, the water is high, but this river is certainly fishable. 

The good news is that the water clarity is decent, and that anglers who stick with it (despite higher water) have been successfully catching trout on a variety of methods. Nymph fishing is probably the top choice for many anglers, and those who are using nymphs are finding those trout holding tight to the banks in shallow water. Those who are using streamers are having success with both sculpin patterns and crayfish patterns. Dry fly anglers are finding a few hatches that bring trout to the surface, the large March Brown mayfly is on the water in the mid day and again in the evenings, the caddis are also hatching in the evening, and Blue Winged Olives are here and there but very tiny and easy to overlook. 

If you see swallows flying and swooping over the water, even high in the air, this is your signal that a mayfly hatch is happening. The swallows don't waste their time and energy swooping for nothing - though you might not see the bugs easily, know that they are there when the swallows are doing their thing. 

The Deschutes River is currently open in the Maupin area and down to the confluence with the Columbia River. If the river has a border with the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, the river is closed on both east and west banks until opening day - April 22. If you access the river on the roads that run north and south out of Maupin, you are in the zone that is open year-round. Places that are still closed are: Warm Springs, Mecca Flats, Trout Creek, South Junction, and all the way down to Two Springs ranch where the Indian Reservation border ends. 

The river is flowing out of the Madras dam at 6500 this morning, so it is still a robust flow which will demand careful wading and wise choosing of fishing spots. One thing I love about fly fishing rivers is how they offer a different canvas on each visit. The spots that produce the best fishing will constantly change with the water levels, the changing bug hatches, and the variable weather.  Cloudy days are rare on the Deschutes, but are some of my very favorite days to fish. Without the bright sun beating down, the fish are bolder, they are on the lookout for their favorite bugs (mayflies) and they don't feel the need to seek shelter under the overhanging trees. 

As we lead up to the biggest hatch of the year, the salmonfly hatch, now is the time to get cracking on filling your fly box with the best bugs for the hatch. We are well-stocked on the big dry flies, as usual, but we are here to help you get the materials you need to tie your own flies. White calf tails were difficult to come by - we have been trying to get a stash of them for months, and we were finally successful in doing so. Now, we are working on the perfect dye recipe to get our customers the famous Norm Woods Special calf tail - the wing color makes all the difference on this pattern. When we have them in, we will get them up on the web and will announce their availability on social media. 

In checking around the web to make sure that our prices on flies are fair and, in most cases, less expensive than the prices of our competitors, I saw some shocking examples of stonefly patterns. Deschutes trout are not stupid, and with the pressure that they see during the big hatch, the angler has to have a good presentation in addition to the best patterns. There are websites out there that offer some really really cheap flies - less than a dollar in a few places - but buyer beware when it comes to taking short cuts on your ammo! The reason that the flies can be so cheap is that they are tied on super cheap hooks - likely untempered or poorly tempered Chinese hooks which are prone to breaking or straightening out when you are connected to a fish. Another short cut to a cheap fly is that they cut corners on materials, and steps in tying such as putting head cement on the finished pattern to give it longevity. Thus, you may experience the unraveling of your fly as you cast it through the air. With the money that you spend to get to the waters that you fish, you deserve to have flies that will hold up through several landed fish and hooks that won't snap in two when you have that trout of a lifetime on the end of your line.

Here is an example of a well-tied stonefly on a good hook. Notice the hook size, the knotted rubber legs, the dark krystal flash off the back, the folded back foam, and the three attachment points where the foam is secured to the hook.  

Right now, the stonefly nymphs are getting very active, some are drift migrating down river - allowing themselves to tumble freely over the stones in an effort to get to an area of the river where they will meet a mate. If they stay in the zone where they were born and raised, they might end up mating with a close relative. By drift migrating, genetic diversity is maintained at some level. 

With all those big black stoneflies tumbling everywhere, the trout become quite keyed into anything large and black or brown bouncing along the rocks. They will also be keyed into the March Brown emergers - which are best represented by soft hackles (we have great ones with tungsten beads to hep get them down). 

We are here to help you when you need advice on flies or fishing strategies on the Deschutes. Don't let the salmonfly hatch slip past without getting a few flies wet in the river. If you don't like crowds, try fishing areas that are less pressured - like down on the lower access road that leads down to Mack's Canyon. If you are looking for a guided trip during the salmonfly hatch, you are probably too late to get a good guide, but you may be able to get one if they have a cancellation. If you can't get a guide, you can get free guidance from us - no secret spots, but we will key you in on what water types to seek out and what flies to fish.