Winter Steelhead
It feels like we've been waiting for winter to materialize for a few months now, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Water levels have been up and down, but mostly down! We've got a little rain in the forecast, which will be great. We're already getting into winter steelhead crunch time. Call it approximately six good weeks to go. The abbreviated timeline certainly helps the angler to some degree. Many of the fish that haven't ran upriver yet will do so in the next few weeks. Water temps will likely be good and just getting better. Warmer water in the back half of the month definitely equates to snappier fish on the swing. It's easy to fish really hard during the first half of the winter and burn out, but a lot of the best fishing happens in the fourth quarter. Get out there and give it a try in the beautiful weather!
Deschutes Trout
Trout reports off the Deschutes have been quite good lately. It's been incredibly mild, and the water temperature is much more favorable than it could be in early March. The river is in great shape and things are happening! Kind of a little bit of everything in the bug department. B.W.O.'s and midges will remain strong contenders for a while, but there's some other activity, too. These warm days have spurred some early caddis. There's not a billion skwalas in the Deschutes, but there are definitely enough to carry some just in case. If nothing else, their nymphs will be getting active. Indicator fishing with a medium-sized stonefly and a smaller dropper (olive, midge caddis larva, etc) will work well. Keep the bigger stonefly going and change your dropper until you find the bug du jour. Stop and watch not and again in the afternoon. Sometimes the surface activity can be easy to miss if you're not actively looking for it.
"The Gorge"
Gorge Fly Shop Team - 541.386.6977
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