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| Another beautiful sunset on the Lower Deschutes; August 29, 2016 |
It feels like fall out there and we couldn't be happier! Fall is our favorite time of year to fish. Fall Chinook are pouring into the rivers and catching has been good. Summer Steelhead numbers are still down, but anglers are still catching them on the Deschutes and the Klickitat. The fishing on the Klickitat has actually been pretty good this summer and continues to give up fish to dedicated anglers.
The Cowlitz has had a good summer as well. One of our regulars went 4/4 there one day last week having never set foot near the river before that day.
Yes, the Deschutes has been slower than in recent years, but anglers are catching fish. Another local went 1/3 in two hours on Friday evening. He was fishing a dry line just up from the mouth and hooked three fish in less than three hours.
Bass fishing is steady on the Columbia and good on the John Day. Poppers on the C. early and late in the day and dragging a crayfish pattern near the bottom during mid-day has been the program. Poppers all day on the JD.
Trout fishing on the Deschcutes has been absolutely fantastic. The cooler, cloudy weather produced some nice Mahogany mayfly hatches, while the evening caddis hatches have been nothing short of epic. I was stripping a bugger on the lower river and caught a couple of nice trout last week with little effort. The fish were fat, happy and scrappy despite 70+ degree water temps for much of the summer.
Goose Lake was recently planted with trout and fishing couldn't be better. Lost and Laraunce Lakes have also been very good recently. On good days, anglers should be able to fish a small dry fly all day. If the fishing is "tough" anglers should use an intermediate line and retrieve a small, weighted olive woolly bugger with a small hares ear (or similar) trailer. This technique is still very productive, but trout don't always eat dry flies all day every day as some anglers like to believe.
Poor steelhead returns this year have definitely spurred a few anglers into dusting off their unused trout gear for the first time in a long while. While steelheading on the Deschutes has been slower than usual, trout fishing has been very good. Whether you try to catch an elusive steelhead or hit up a trout stream, we hope you find yourself a nice piece of water this week to call your own for a few hours.
Flows: The USGS sites give us real-time flows, while the NOAA site shows us predictions based on weather patterns. Both are invaluable tools. You can also check water temps here too...
Deschutes near Madras :
As always, we are happy to talk fishing any time. Give us a call if you have any specific questions on local rivers, gear, and tactics, or if you just want some encouragement to get out of the office. 541.386.6977
Andrew Perrault
Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977
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