Columbia Gorge Fishing Report (December 21st)

Se·ren·i·ty (səˈrenədē/) noun - the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled... while fishing.

Fishing Report 


Who wants a Christmas Steelhead?  I know I do.  Just about every river in the region is on the drop following an onslaught of rain and snow.  The Hood River and Sandy River are both fishable as of today and both have fresh winter steelhead in them.  The Clackamas may fish up high in the next few days but its still got too much water in it.  The best opportunity for steelhead will be the North Coast (because they have more fish) and the short term forecast looks.  Swinging flies for winter steelhead is all about seven weight spey rods and skagit lines but I like light sink tips like T8/11 and unweighted flies like Hobo Speys or maribou tubes during these higher flows.  Keep in mind when fishing a swollen run on a swollen river that the fish are not in the middle of the river and we want our flies to swing to the inside without getting hung up.  If you are looking to get your nymph on, and you know where they live, now is a good time - again think the edges and corners, there is no pocket water yet.

Gorge Fly Shop - Circa, some time ago...

2016 is going to bring some new opportunities for trout fishing on the Deschutes.  Starting January 1st the Deschutes will be open for trout fishing from Pelton down to the mouth.  This is a big change and should afford some great winter trout fishing from Warm Springs to Trout Creek.  I, for one, will be partaking when the west side rivers swell too large and I still need to get my fix.  Winter conditions in Central Oregon can change quickly; you’ll want to be flexible in what you’re doing and typically you’re gonna wanna fish when the air temps are equal to or greater than the water temps.  A good nymph setup when nothing’s happening on the surface is a posse bugger with a hairs ear or pheasant tail dropper.  Swinging sculpin patterns can be productive as well, plus it’s fun.  Anglers who don’t have micro speys or trout spey should check out the new single-hand skagit lines because when there are no bugs out these trout can get pretty grabby, think sculpzilla.


Tight lines.
Sam Sickles
Steelhead Outfitters

"Fly Fish the World with Us"