 |
| Large redside that hammered a sculpin on the swing. |
Trout - Deschutes River:
Lower Deschutes River
The Lower has been fishing strong the past week with good reports coming from the day stretch, as well as downstream around Maupin and Mack’s Canyon. I fished last Sunday around Warm Springs and found great success fishing subsurface on nymphs and streamers. Fish were eating small jig style frenchies really good, as well as a big #6 black rubber legs. I fished these as a tandem rig and would say it was about 50/50 on which fly they ate throughout the day. Did not see any adult salmonflies or golden stones but I have heard reports of them starting to hatch north of Maupin. It will only be a matter of about a week or two before the hatch is on. Just need some consistent warmer weather.
The trout spey fishing was highly productive as well. I used a little 4 weight trout spey and a small mini articulated sculpin pattern that I tie that was crushing big fish. What a blast that is. I seriously recommend getting into two handed fishing for trout for anyone who is interested in upping their trout fishing game. It’s a fun challenge to figure out and is highly effective on our homewaters of the Deschutes, as well as rivers like the McKenzie, Yakima and Metolius. You won’t catch as many as you would nymphing but I’ll take quality over quantity any day.
Middle Deschutes River
Got a good report from a buddy who fished the canyon section around Steelhead Falls recently and he reported good action subsurface on stonefly nymphs. Fish were in pocket water as well as more traditional pools and riffles. The stonefly hatch should be getting going on the Middle here in about a week or two same time frame as the Lower typically.
Metolius River
Met continues to be a great Central Oregon fishing option. This is the time of year when things really start happening on the Met. The cold of winter has passed. The streamside vegetation is starting to spring back to life. The insect hatches are becoming more and more prolific which makes the native rainbows and bull trout happy. Pale morning duns are the main mayfly hatch happening right now. My favorite PMD flies to use would be film critics, hackle stackers and sparkle duns. They typically hatch in a size #16-18. May also brings the first hatches of Green Drakes for the year. They really get going consistently in June, but mid to late May can bring early emergences of these large mayflies. This is an exciting time to be on the banks of the Met. These trout love eating this bug and do so with reckless abandon!
Bull trout fishing has been fair the past week. Big black streamers are gaining the attention of bulls in the early morning. Mid day I would switch gears and tie on a large black stonefly nymph and try and sight nymph to fish. Hiking the banks and trying to spot holding bull trout and then sneaking up on them with a single stone nymph is an effective strategy.
Mount Hood Lakes:
Lawrence Lake Update.
Lawrence Lake opened on Friday April 22. The current situation is with snow and road culvert repair needed the access is gated at the Middle Fork settling pond. This is about 2.5 miles before Lawrence lake. The spring stocking of Lawrence has been postponed until access allows.
Steelhead -
For the latest on fishing regulations in your angling zone visit https://myodfw.com/recreation-report/fishing-report/
Smallmouth Bass / Carp:
Smally fishing has been pretty solid recently! Good catches have been reported slow stripping streamers. The RIO meat sweats is a great pattern that can imitate a lot of different things. Olive and tan are my favorite colors for smallies. I use an intermediate sinking line with a weighted bug and slow strip and twitch my fly in. This is a super fun fishery right in our backyards. Smallmouth put up a heck of a fight and are another great fish to challenge yourself to learn.
Won’t be too long before we’ll be stalking the flats of the Columbia looking for 20lb goldfish cruising the shallow flats. Carp fishing will humble you up really quick. Great practice if you have a saltwater trip coming up. These fish require accuracy and stealth to have success.
"The Gorge"
Gorge Fly Shop Team - 541.386.6977
.jpg)
No comments :
Post a Comment