Trout fishing continues to improve on the Lower Deschutes and our guides have been reporting pretty consistent action on most days. We are seeing the most success with the standard nymph set up, a big Stonefly or October Caddis followed by a small Mayfly or Caddis emerger has been a good go to. A large portion of the fish have been coming on small flies, so don’t hesitate to venture into the size 18-22 range if the bigger bugs aren’t finding good numbers of fish. In addition to the improving consistency of trout fishing, we’ve seen a couple of rainbows that are pretty massive by Lower Deschutes standards. The big fish are absolutely becoming more active with the change of seasons, with a few cloudy days in the forecast we could see some great PMD hatches in the near future.
The Steelhead report is more of the same for now. Fish are spread well throughout most of the system, and while it is still a little early to be seeing them consistently in the day stretch we’ve been getting more reports of fish on the upper stretches of the Lower river.
Suggested Dries: X Caddis #16-20, A/C Caddis #16-18, Cutters Caddis #16-18, Henry’s Fork Caddis #16-20, Sparkle Dun PMD #16-18, Tilt Wing PMD #16-18, Parachute Adams #16-20, Orange Stimulator #10-12, Clarks Stone #10-12
Suggested Nymphs: Brown or Black Jimmy Legs #8-12, Jigged Tungsten Hare’s Ear #14-16, Jigged CDC PT #14-16, Nebury’s Purdee John Brown PMD #16-18, Flashback PT #14-18, Two Bit Hooker #16-20, Black Depth Charge #16-18, Black or Red Copper John #16-20