Caddis and Fast Water
It’s that time again, and I’m here to bring news of caddis and summer trout water. Even with the cooler weather, our trout are settling in to their summer homes of fast riffle breaks and pocket water. The last of the large stoneflies have tapered off and the Yellow Sallys are quickly following suit. Now we find ourselves in the thick of summer caddis season.
River Conditions-
The flows of the river are quickly dropping down to the levels we saw mid-summer last year. Flows out of the dam are currently at 3,700 cfs and flows down at the mouth of the river are at 4,400 cfs, which means that the tributaries have dropped drastically and are now at stable low summer flows. Water temps out of the dam have been ranging between 55 and 57 degrees and water temps down at the mouth of the river have been ranging between 59 and 66 degrees. I have been taking temps while guiding below Sherars Falls this week, and between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. the temps top out at 63 degrees. This means the river is gaining around 3 degrees as it travels the remaining 28 miles to the mouth. If you like to bike in or hike in from Heritage Landing be sure to watch water temps. If temperatures are close to 66 degrees it’s best to fight and release fish quickly to ensure their safety.
What’s Happening-
It was a tough stonefly hatch with high flows and muddy water, but we came out with a strong finish and had some great dry fly days in the end. Anglers who put in the time on the water covering all the typical stonefly spots found success even in to the second week of June in the Maupin area. The larger Golden Stones and Salmonflies have come and gone and the Yellow Sallies are quickly waning as well. This means it’s time to turn our focus to the next bug on the menu, caddis! I personally think that caddis don’t get the appreciation they deserve on the Deschutes. The caddis fishing action can easily be as hot as the stonefly hatch if you’re in the right place with the right flies. In addition to the multitude of caddis species that are hatching right now, there are still some Pale Morning Duns and Pale Evening Duns hatching on some of cloudy, cooler days. Dry dropper fishing is at an all time high with fish aggressively eating both the dry and dropper in fast shallow water with lots of structure. I have been consistently finding fish eating Tan and Olive size 14 chubbies with a pink bead dropper in all of the fast riffles and boulder strewn pocket water. If you are getting frustrated by watching picky caddis-eating fish, then just tie on the dry dropper, head to the fast water and hold on to your britches. Even though the larger stones are gone fish in the fast water have less time to evaluate flies as they drift, and this can result in more opportunistic takes on larger dries even when those flies aren’t necessarily prevalent.
Caddis Hatch Theory-
It’s summer and caddis are the main fare for trout from here until we see the big transition in the fall back to mayflies and salmon egg-infatuated trout. Caddis are definitely a bit more spastic when it comes to their flight patterns and general hatched activity. This makes them a readily available food as they knock each other into the water along grass lines and trees.
We see the biggest emergence of our summer caddis on the Deschutes in the afternoon. During the emergence fish will begin to feed on pupa as they migrate to the surface. Caddis pupa migrate incredibly quickly, so swinging a small olive, tan, or peacock colored soft hackle at a high speed through fast riffles can produce some violent reel screaming takes that are sure to get your blood pumping. If you are swinging soft hackles, I recommend casting straight out and allowing your line to belly while leading the already fast swing of the line with your rod tip moving into the bank you are standing on. If it seems too fast it’s probably going to get eaten.
If you see fish feeding in the foam lines along grass and tree-lined banks it may behoove you to tie on an emerger or dry and fish it in the film. Remember that foam is home regardless of whether you are fishing dries or emergers. Foam traps bugs and trout like easy prey and the sense of protection a small foam line gives them as they rise to eat.
If you are watching fish rise and they are gently breaking the surface with their nose without leaving a bubble on the surface then you are most likely witnessing them feeding on emergers. If they are eating a bit more aggressively and making more of a disturbance on the surface they are probably eating adults that have already hatched. During the initial hatch of caddis it can be deadly to fish a lightly weighted caddis pupa underneath a caddis dry. This presents two life stages of the same bug and for the larger fish that is hesitant to eat on top the pupa will usually do the trick.
Fish a dead caddis pattern in the late morning as the older bugs begin to die off. When you fish a dead caddis, targeting the same water will work fine, but the flies you fish will need some minor changes. I like to fish a parachute style caddis since these sit lower in the film and look like a dead adult. You can also achieve the same thing by trimming the hackle off the belly of your classic elk hair caddis. Another great option is to fish a small no hackle CDC Caddis. Although this style of fly requires a bit more maintenance to keep dry, it is deadly.
Flies that are working-
Henry’s Fork Foam Stone Size 10, 14, and 16
Hi Vis Micro Chubby in assorted colors Size 12, 14 and 16
Demoes Mill Creek Golden Size 8 and 10
Chubby Chernobyl in assorted colors Size 8, 10, and 12
CDC Bullet Head Caddis in Olive or Brown, Size 16 and 18
Finfetcher Caddis in Olive or Tan, Size 16 and 18
Elk Hair Caddis in Olive, Tan, or Brown Size 16 and 18
Galloup’s Tilt Wing PMD in Size 14, 16, and 18
CDC Comparadun PED in Size 12 and 14
Silver Bead Green Glo Brite Perdigon in Size 16 and 18
Silver Bead Blue Glo Brite Perdigon in Size 16 and 18
Silver Bead Roza’s Green Tag Jig Size 16
Pink Bead Tasmanian Devil Size 16
Pink Bead Pheasant Tail Size 16 and 18
Pink Bead Hares Ear Size 16 and 18
Copper Bead Olive Hares Ear Size 16 and 18
Copper Bead Quilldigon Size 16
Egan’s Frenchie Size 16 and 18
Olive and Partridge Soft Hackle Size 14 and 16
Peacock and Partridge Soft Hackle Size 14 and 16
Tan and Partridge Soft Hackle Size 14 and 16
The big bugs may be gone now, but the trout are still here and hungry as ever. Don’t hesitate to get out and enjoy everything summer on the Lower Deschutes has to offer. Some of the best summer evenings and early summer mornings have been spent fishing caddis. There are few things as great as watching the nose of a large Redside come up and gently grab a size 16 dry from the surface with a delicate motion followed by the chaos of a reel screaming run after the hook is set.
Tight lines and happy fishing to all. I’ll see you on the river!
