The dog days of summer are in full swing on the Lower Deschutes, and the hot days have brought some good fishing with them on the upper stretches of the lower river. Our guides have been having good days on the day stretch, with good opportunity to fish Caddis dries through much of the day. There have been a variety of PMDs and smaller mayflies around as well and good numbers of nice fish are looking up consistently. Nymphing has also been producing good numbers of fish any time of day, small Mayfly and Stonefly patterns have been working well and I always like to have a Caddis Pupa on the end of my rig this time of year down there.
While the hot days have brought great fishing to the upper stretches of the Lower D, water temperatures increase significantly downstream. In the Maupin area fishing has been great in the mornings, but water temps become too warm to responsibly fish after midday. Below Maupin, the canyon has been hit hard by a couple of big fires in the past week. As of now the Long Hollow Fire, which caused evacuations from Sherars to Macks late last week, has been partially contained and access is open along the BLM access road to Macks. We’ve been getting reports of Steelhead being caught at the mouth, and the fish are certainly working their way up at a steady pace.
Suggested Dries: X Caddis #16-18, Tan or Olive Cutters Caddis #16-18, CDC Caddis #16-18, A/C Caddis #16-18, Henry’s Fork Caddis #16-18, Parachute PMD #16-18, Tilt Wing PMD #16-18, Butthead Sparkle Dun #14-16, Purple Haze #16-18, Parachute Adams #16-18
Suggested Nymphs: Tung Jigged Hare’s Ear #14-16, CDC Jigged PT #14-16, Red Two Bit Hooker #16-18, Pheasant Tail #14-18, Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear #14-18, Olive or Tan Sparkle Pupa #16-18, CDC Caddis #16-18, Nitro Caddis Pupa #16-18, Black or Purple Juju Baetis #18-20