Gorge Fly Shop Blog: Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports

John Garrett and son Kohl getting into some Steelhead

Trout - Deschutes River:

Lower Deschutes River

The lower has been good decent for trout and steelhead lately. The heavily fish sectioned from warm springs to trout creek and around Maupin is a little tougher as those fish have been getting artificial flies thrown at them all season now. You have to start thinking outside of the box during this time of year. Fall is a great time to be in the lower Deschutes canyon. October caddis will start to become more prevalent, blue wing olives and midges start to become important, and spawning salmon make fishing eggs really effective as well. Trout spey with crayfish and sculpin patterns is picking up some good fish this time of year as well so don't forget the two handers. Get out there and get after some fish!

Don't forget to purchase a boaters pass if you are floating any part of the Lower Deschutes. They can be purchased at recreation.gov and are required to have when floating.

Middle Deschutes River

No recent report from the middle Deschutes but I would imagine it is good with the cooler weather and water temps we are starting to experience as we roll into mid September.

Upper Deschutes

The upper Deschutes from little lava down to Crane Prairie Reservoir is still inaccessible due to the Cedar Creek Fire. The area below Wikiup dam down towards Sunriver is open and accessible and the fishing is okay in there right now. This time of year, the streamer fishing is usually can be pretty good so keep that in mind if heading to this section. Pmd's are still happening here on certain days and the fish have been keying in on the nymphs in the mornings.

Metolius River

The Met is one of the best options in Central Oregon right now. There are still strong hatches of flavs, drakes and pmds in the afternoons most every day. The drakes will hang around for another week or two, so be sure and get out there to fish this exciting hatch before we have to wait until June for them to return. Nymphing in the mornings before the hatches get started is a good idea, then from around noon until 3 or 4pm you can be fishing all dry.

Bull trout fishing is excellent. Lots of fish hiding out in the log jams getting ready to ambush the kokanee that are starting to arrive. I was out there last weekend and saw a kokanee getting chased around in a log jam by a big bull. Sure enough I tossed my streamer in there and that bull hammered my fly as soon as I twitched it. So fun to see the visual take from these big predatory fish.

S hop Trout Flies

Mount Hood Lakes:

Lake Update

Lake season around Mt. Hood is in full swing. Float tubes are the best tool for the job up there and can be a ton of fun. Slow stripping wooly buggers, damsel nymphs and leeches is a great method. Nymphing with a set of chironomids or a pheasant tail nymph is a good bet too. If fishing this method, giving the indicator a few pops and strips here and there help bring those bugs to life and will trigger more takes.

Shop Stillwater Flies

Steelhead -

Steelhead fishing has been fair to good. You definitely have to be covering water and searching hard, but those who are putting in the time, are finding fish for sure. Dry lines and skaters and/or small wet flies in the mornings and sink tips and intruders when the suns high. It's getting to that time of year though when you can fish dry lines all day as the sun does not get as high in the sky. Get out there and have some fun!

https://www.fpc.org/currentdaily/HistFishTwo_7day-ytd_Adults.htm This is a quick resource to check fish counts over the dams in the Columbia.

For the latest on fishing regulations in your angling zone visit https://myodfw.com/recreation-report/fishing-report/