Gorge Fly Shop Blog: Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports

Trout

Deschutes River:

The Deschutes still remains a bit on the high side but the clarity is okay. Since the Deschutes is a tailwater, the flows usually remain pretty consistent throughout the year, so I generally don’t check flows prior to my trips out east. More importantly I’m checking the water temps when targeting steelhead in the summer months. But this time of year is when it is a good idea to check flows at both madras and moody down by the mouth to gain a sense of how fishable it will be. http://levels.wkcc.org/?P=Oregon.html this website also shows water temps and is updated hourly and is my go to river flows in Oregon resource.

Trout fishing is fair out there. I would be nymphing most of the day with a whacky worm or stonefly nymph, and a bead head mayfly nymph as my dropper. A euro jig style pheasant tail nymph always produces well, as do red psycho princes or red copper johns as droppers. Blue wing olives, the predominant winter mayfly on the Deschutes, will hatch generally during the warmest part of the day, late afternoon and is generally a short window. Look for rising fish during this hatch in back eddies and softer runs and seams.

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Lake Fishing:

Pretty snowy and cold up at the lakes. Until the spring...

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Summer Steelhead

Deschutes River:

Deschutes steelhead will be going into spawning mode here pretty soon. You should not be targeting them now even though it is not technically illegal to. Leave them alone now so they can spawn and make future generations of steelhead. Besides, chrome winter fish are swimming to their home tribs on the coast and valley area as I write this report.

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Winter Steelhead

North Oregon Coast + Portland Metro area

This year has had a slow start for the most part. The oceans have been really rough with some king tides occurring in the second half of January. Steelhead generally don’t like swimming into their home river when the oceans are rough. The ocean is flattening out and another rain event predicted this weekend should really get it going. Low water conditions on most coastal and valley systems right now but weekend rains should get the flows up and fish moving. Look for good fishing on the drop mid next week. There are definitely fish around though so don’t be discouraged and not go. Can’t get em sitting on the couch.

For swinging, I usually run a floating skagit head with 10 feet of either t-11 or t-14. In heavier and deeper runs, I will switch to a sinking skagit head to get me down quicker and run the same t-11 tip mostly. Black and blue is my favorite winter steelhead fly color combo, but have done well on bright orange and reds as well. For nymphing, I usually run a single 12 mm orange or pink mottled bead under a large thingamabobber. I like using the thingamabobbers over the airlocks for steelhead nymphing because they make a larger size than the biggest air locks. I also use two bobber stops to sandwich my thingamabobber and slide the leader line through the hole, instead of looping it as you are supposed to do. I have lost some big fish with the loop method because it kinks and weakens your leader and when a big fish takes off on a hard run, it can snap pretty easily.

Hood River:

Slow start, but I have heard of a handful of winter fish caught. The Hood River generally see’s the bulk of its winter steelhead arriving a bit later than other rivers with the peak arriving in late Feb through the whole month of March and into April.

Smallmouth Bass/Carp:

Smallmouth fishing has remained pretty tough recently. Fish are still fairly spread out making them tough to find. Sinking lines with streamers and crayfish patterns are getting it done down there. People gear fishing have a better advantage of getting their presentation down in their face quicker.

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-Zach Parker