We are coming closer and closer to the final days of fishing on the Lower Deschutes from Warm Springs down to the Northern Boundary of the Warm Springs Reservation. As of January 1st, this section of the river will be closed for angling, period. This section of the river will be closed until the end of April! If you are eager to fish the Lower Deschutes River, you can still head down to the Maupin area to chase those finned friends of ours. As of the state of the Lower Deschutes currently, the fishing has been decent and definitely worth a trip down to Mecca Flats for the day.
At this point, the steelhead have been in the river for several months and are getting into full spawn mode. There are still a few fish here and there that will take a swung fly. So, if you are wanting to target fish this way, your best bet would be fishing with leeches or egg sucking leeches under a sink tip. If you are headed down to do some trout fishing, this can be very fun as well! It is definitely a nymphing game down there these days. Utilizing at least a double nymph rig, use peacock stoneflies, zebra midges, two bit hookers, and classic flies such as a hares ear or pheasant tail.