Gorge Fly Shop Blog: Columbia River Gorge Fishing Report (8/15/18)

Chelsey with a D-Loop on the Deschutes, searching for desert steel.

Steelhead: We're slowly starting to get into my favorite time of the year! Counts over the lower dams have slowed down recently, and my thoughts are because of the warmer water in the Columbia. Though fish are migrating pass the numerous dams and many are cooling off in the colder tributaries along their way home. Water still remains fairly warm in the Deschutes and I still don't recommend fishing late if the water temps are near the upper 60's / lower 70's.

Still slightly frustrating over there on the Klickitat River as it seems to be just one of those summers where clarity might not come into shape consistently until September. When that happens I guarantee I'll be over there skating some October Caddis patterns in every open tailout I can find! That river gets a great hatch of those bugs, and by that time many of the fall chinook tend to push out the steelhead and you'll find steel in shallower water and in the riffles more.

Trout: Lake fishing has been pretty decent lately. I recently spent a night up at one of the lakes near Mt. Hood and found a few fish around. The highlight might have been seeing an Osprey diving in and taking out a nice sized trout, then a Bald Eagle swooping in and steeling away the fish from the Osprey mid-flight! Nature, eh? There were a few Hex flies come evening, but honestly it was very minimal. Leach patterns and sinking lines were doing the best and a few Callibaetis Cripplers finished the job.

Trout up in the creeks have been happy lately, though the flows are getting pretty skinny in areas. Chesley recently went back to a favorite spot of hers with the 2wt and a few dries. A couple nice fish were around in the small water, however she noticed some unfortunate trash left behind by other outdoor enthusiasts. In fact, I also found a bunch myself when I was up at the lake. I wish people wouldn't go escape to the woods for R&R and just leave their trash behind. I don't know a single person who's thrilled to pick up some strangers dirty diaper from a fire ring... But, I digress.

If fishing the Deschutes for trout I would certainly bring some size 18 Caddis flies. I've seen a good hatch of caddis this entire season over there, and while some are around size 16's more often they are smaller and the trout seem to respond better to the smaller caddis flies. Otherwise, I would bring some nymphs out and fish the oxygen-rich water down deeper.

Warmwater: The Columbia has been pretty low lately so if you're out searching for carp you might find those flats a little easier. If they're tailing and feeding it will be much easier to have them cooperate than if they're just sunbathing. Smallmouth on the Columbia have still been loving those larger poppers and baitfish patterns. However, over on the John Day its flows are just a trickle at the moment, so many of the smallmouths have found new water to hang in. If going to the JD, I would concentrate on some moving pieces of water or the deeper holes.

Jacob and the boys have been getting into 'em all summer on the Columbia!

As always, we are happy to talk fishing anytime. 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.