Spring in the Canyon
It’s really acting like spring in Maupin these days. The week started out in the high 70s with sunshine and caddis hatches. By the end of the week it was cool 60 degrees with cloud cover and mayfly hatches. Water levels are still a bit higher than the summer, but that’s not stopping the fish from feeding. This week has been filled with lots of great fish taken on a myriad of presentations.
River Conditions -
The gauge at the mouth read at 6,900 cfs today, and the gauge near the dam read at 5,600 cfs. In addition to the larger volume coming out of the dam right now, the Warm Springs River is pumping out 700 cfs and the White River is pumping out 1,000 cfs. These tributaries will likely drop as low lying foothills shed the last of their snow with some warmer weather. Temps on the river right now are ranging between 48 and 50 degrees near the dam. Near the mouth there are already water temperatures as high as 55 degrees.
What’s Happening -
A classic smorgasbord of mayflies and caddis are coming out each day, with more mayflies on overcast rainy days and more caddis on hot sunny days. Early season caddis are huge right now, and I have seen some great fish taken on size 12 and 14 elk hair caddis and size 14 and 16 brown Chubby Chernobyls.
The mayfly hatches you can expect to see right now are Blue Wing Olives in size 16 and 18, Pale Morning Duns in size 16, Lesser March Browns in size 16, and Western March Browns in size 12 and 14. We have two types of March Browns here on the Deschutes. The one I refer to as the lesser March Brown has a dun colored wing that is not mottled, a light tan body, and two tails. The one I refer to as the Western March Brown, traditionally known as March Brown with a mottled wing, darker olive brown body, and two tails. The Western will be much larger in appearance than the Lesser.
Higher flows during the spring can make wading some of your favorite spots a bit more difficult, but those flows also push a lot of fish closer to the banks. These conditions provide more opportunities to target fish that are usually out of reach. Over the last couple weeks, fish have been more willing to move through the column to eat dry dropper setups, especially mid-day. My approach to guiding and fishing for myself has been to target the deeper grass banks with a dry fly and a 2 ft dropper below. I have been changing up which dry I use to support my dropper depending on what has been hatching most that day. Most of the time a 2 ft dropper will do, but don’t be afraid to go a bit longer, especially early in the morning when the fish are less willing to move to your flies.
Classic riffles are holding healthy numbers of fish too. Early in the morning you will find them sitting at the back end of riffle in slightly slower water. As temps rise and bugs start emerging those fish usually move farther up into the riffle to feed on emergers and dries.
Nymphing remains productive as always. If you aren’t finding the action you are hoping for on dry dropper, nymphing can be a great way to keep the excitement going throughout the day.
Trout spey has been really good on the overcast days. Brian Silvey and I did some R&D this week and found a bunch of willing contenders while swinging sculpin patterns. In slower water we stripped the fly to speed it up and in the faster water we animated the fly by bouncing our rod tip up and down a few feet while the fly swung. Olive Sculpin pattern was the key, but don’t be afraid to experiment with your fly choice and style of swing or retrieve. Every day is different when it comes to streamer fishing the Lower Deschutes, and you have to figure out what mood the trout are in. That day they were in a mood to eat something big and chase it down. Our favorite mood!
Flies That Are Working -
CDC Comparadun March Brown Size 12,14,16
Hi Vis Parachute Light Cahill Size 14 &16
CDC Comparadun PMD Size 16
Hi Vis Parachute PMD Size 16
Galloup’s Tilt Wing PMD Size 16
CDC Blue Wing Olive Cripple Size 16 & 18
Hi Vis Parachute BWO size 16 & 18
CDC Comparadun BWO Size 16 & 18
Purple Haze Parachute Size 14, 16 & 18
Pink Bead Tasmanian Devil Size 16 & 18
Pink Bead Hares Ear Size 16
Pink Bead Pheasant Tail Size 16
Roza’s Red Tag Jig Size 16
Roza’s Pink Tag Jig Size 16
Silver Bead Pheasant Tail with Hot Orange Collar Size 18 & 20
Silver Bead Blue Glo Brite Perdigon with Hot Orange Collar Size 16
Eggstasy Egg in Orange and Peach Size 16
San Juan Worm in Fluoro Orange and Fluoro Red Size 14
Jigged Kreelex Minnow in Gold and Silver Size 8
Jigged Mayers Mini Leech in Olive Size 8
Jigged Hot Bead Mayers Mini Leech in Black Size 8
Kelly Galloup’s Mini Dungeon In Olive
Meat Whistle In Olive (Smaller Sizes)
Sculpzilla in Olive and Black (Smaller Sizes)
Thanks for checking out this month’s fishing report! As always if you have any questions about fishing the Deschutes, or find yourself reading this later in the month and want an updated report, feel free to give me a call or shoot me a message. I still have a few days left in April to book for those of you who got fired up reading about all these bugs that are hatching. Have a great spring and I’ll see you all on the water!
