Deschutes River Fall vs. Spring

We feel pretty lucky to have this spectacular river in our backyard.  The Deschutes River is beautiful all year round.  Check out this view, top picture Fall 23'

Bottom Picture Spring 24'

If the Deschutes is on your bucket list, visit our website for a list of the guides we recommend. Our Guide List - Click Here

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports - 10.13.2023

Deschutes Trout

Cooler fall water temps are always welcome to Deschutes trout. River conditions have been a bit variable in the last couple weeks, but there have been some great cloudy and rainy days. This type of weather typically spurs good mayfly activity, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Nymph fishing remains strong, and the streamer bite will continue to pick up as the water cools. The relatively unstable weather as of late has made for some tricky fishing on certain days. If you find yourself striking out, start playing the fly changing game....especially if you're nymphing. The Deschutes is notorious for having one particular pattern on a specific day that is working exponentially better than others. Keep mixing up your flies until something good happens.

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Mount Hood Lakes

There is a little time left to enjoy the stillwater fishing of 2023. Check the regulations as many of the mountain lakes close at the end of the month. The snow level on Mount Hood got pretty low the last couple days. Cold evenings will slow down the insect activity, particularly at higher elevations. Look for the bulk of hatches to be in the afternoon. Chironomids will likely be the main bug of interest, but there may also be some sporadic mayfly activity. Beyond the bugs, slow-stripping a leech pattern will be very effective.

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Deschutes Steelhead

We still have a lot of good steelhead fishing yet to come. The great thing about the middle of October and beyond is that a lot of the traffic starts to disappear. When the conditions line up, the late season can be pretty spectacular! The White River has been an issue the last couple weeks with a few blowout days below the confluence. This should be less of a factor now that the mountain is starting to freeze up with more regularity. Water temperatures have been great topping out most days in the mid-to-upper fifties. We are still in prime time for dry line fishing. The real exciting news from the Deschutes has been the size of fish being caught. The next few weeks are a perfect time to bump into a two salt Deschutes fish or a Clearwater stray. The long and short is go if you can!

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Deschutes River Boater's Guide

We got em!

Planning on floating the Deschutes?  Don’t leave home without the Deschutes River Boater’s guide.  Access, camps, whitewater and facilities are all in there.  Plus a bunch of other neat history about the river.

Buy them here...

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports 9-19-2023

Deschutes Trout

Steelhead get most of the attention on the Deschutes in September, but the trout fishing should not be overlooked! More favorable water temps have made for some excellent fishing. Caddis are still the main bugs and the trout are paying attention to them daily. Skating a light-colored Elk Hair in the morning and evening has been very productive. Look for most of the action to come on larva and pupa during the day. If you're fishing a pair of nymphs, make sure one of the two is a caddis. October Caddis will also be getting more active in the next couple weeks. Don't be afraid to fish a big October Caddis pupa any time now.

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Mount Hood Lakes

There's still a handful of weeks to fish the Stillwater's on the mountain. All the cool evenings have made for some snappy trout. The dry fly fishing on calm evenings has been spectacular. Reports of lakes practically boiling with rising fish have been filtering into the shop. With more cool weather in the forecast, you can expect the Mount Hood lakes to fish well until the end of the season.

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Deschutes Steelhead

Not surprisingly, as soon as colder water started being released from the dam in mid-August, the steelhead fishing got really good. It's remained strong ever since. The great news has been the abundance of regular old 3-5 pound A Run fish. These are the fish that made the Deschutes famous! The water temps have been great for dry line fishing. Wet flies just below the surface and skaters have both been effective. Fish are now spread throughout the system, so don't be afraid to fish higher up on the river. One thing to watch for is the presence of Fall Chinook. The salmon will be becoming more of a factor in the coming weeks. These big and aggressive fish have a tendency to push steelhead out of their preferred holding lies. The moral of that story is be sure to finish all your swings. You'll often get grabbed way on the inside in shallow water when the salmon are thick. Don't give up on your cast until you've swung to the hang down and let the fly marinate for a few seconds.

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports - 9/29/2022

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.

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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.

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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/

Smallmouth Bass / Carp:

Carp fishing is about done for the year. If we get any last warm sunny days, it'll be good if you can find and see them.

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports - 9/13/2022

Trout - Deschutes River:

Lower Deschutes River 

Fishing on the Deschutes from Warm Springs down to Maupin is getting better and better as we move into the middle of September. With overnight and daytime temps beginning to significantly cool off, the river and trout alike are responding well with more active feeding fish throughout the entire day, giving anglers more time to have productive fishing. 

Caddis are still happening and people are having success fishing dead imitations in the mornings and adult patterns in the evenings. A size 18 cdc x-caddis is a great pattern for the evening bite. Nymph fishing continues to produce the most action with frenchies, soft hackle pheasant tails, psycho princes and pat’s rubber legs all being good patterns. The streamer game has been picking up as well as we move into fall and get some cooler water temps. Swinging sculpzillas or the RIO meat sweats on a 3-4 weight trout spey is a good bet right now.

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 is currently closed due to the Cedar Creek Fire which is burning near the town of Oakridge. Cascade Lakes Highway, Crane Prairie Campgrounds and Wikiup Reservoir campgrounds are all closed indefinitely until the fire becomes more contained.

Metolius River 

The Met is phenomenal right now on all fronts. Prolific hatches, an abundance of bull trout, and great nymph fishing in the mornings are all happening right now on my favorite river in the world. Let’s start with the hatches. The fall green drakes began hatching over the last week and will continue to consistently hatch between 2-5pm most days for the next month I’d say. These large mayflies hatch here in a #10. Have both cripple and dun patterns during this hatch, these Metolius trout absolutely go crazy for these bugs. Additionally, flavs (#12-14 mayfly), a smattering of caddis and pale morning duns are all going off too. Because many of these bugs are all hatching at the same time, try using a double dry rig. Same setup as a double nymph rig, just with two dries. I like using a large green drake pattern with a smaller pmd or caddis pattern 18 inches off the big dry. Fishing is good folks. 

Nymphing in the mornings before the hatches get going is picking up fish as well. Lots of bull trout in the river and they are quite aggressive to streamers. Bring your 8 or 9 weight for these fish. They are big and pull hard in the fast current.

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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.

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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. The smoke in Central Oregon is providing good cover to the sun allowing you to fish floating lines all day. Water temps are great with the Moody gauge reading 60 degrees today. Brisk fall mornings are here, get out there and get after it!

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/

Smallmouth Bass / Carp:

Carp fishing has been killer during this heat wave! Look for carp cruising the shallow flats and back sloughs off the main Columbia River and be prepared to put an accurate cast right in their face to get an eat. It’s a super addicting way to fish and we have all the good carp bugs at the shop.

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports - 8/26/2022

Nice Brookie that ate a small sculpin near some log structure. 

Lower Deschutes River

The lower is still a good central Oregon fishing option. Again, with temps throughout Oregon still quite hot, it's important to focus your efforts from dawn until about 1pm for your most productive fishing window. Afternoons when it's hottest out, can be more challenging, and also not an ideal thing from an ethical standard as water temps are getting upwards toward 70 on hot days in the lower sections of the river, which can be lethal to trout and steelhead alike.

Mornings are productive fishing caddis dries in the back eddies and off grassy banks. Nymphing is still your best bet. Focus on faster riffles where it is most oxygenated. Some good bugs to run this time of year are jimmy legs, euro style frenchies, copper johns, red lightning bugs, various caddis pupa patterns and psycho princes. Dropper flies should be in the #16-18 range for best success.

Middle Deschutes River

Middle Deschutes has been productive in the mornings. This is great dry dropper water, so using a golden stone or small chubby dropped down to a euro style frenchie is a fun way to target the rainbows and browns that live here.

Upper Deschutes

The upper Deschutes has been fishing strong. The upper upper in between Little Lava and Crane Prairie is running cold and clean this time of year. This is a very fun stretch of water if you are the type of angler who likes to put some miles on their boots and fish in a beautiful high alpine setting. The brook trout are moving in from the lakes in prep to spawn next month and have been fired up and eating small streamers and buggers around log jams and in the deeper pools and seams. Small chubby's with a beadhead nymph dropper is a great tactic to to target some nice fish as well.

Nicely colored up brown that ate the #18 split case pmd. 

The section below Wikiup down to Sunriver, is fishing really good as well. Lots of active fish eating nymphs hard in the seams behind log jams. Predominant hatches up there include pmds, various caddis and bwo's. Dry dropper during the hatch windows is a great tactic. Last Sunday I ran a #10 chubby with two flies beneath, a #16 euro frenchie and a #18 split case pmd nymph.

Metolius River

The Met continues to be a great option with it's consistent 46 degree water where the trout thrive. Caddis, pmds and various golden stones are the main bugs hatching the Met right now. Rusty spinner's at dusk is picking up some good fish and caddis are happening in the afternoons and into the evenings. Nymphing with rubber leg stoneflies, peridigons, rainbow warriors, frenchies and zebra midges are all great patterns.

Lots of lake run bull trout are in the Metolius getting ready to spawn in the tribs. Streamer action is strong both dead drifted and stripped when targeting these fish. These lake run fish will hang around after spawning all fall and into the winter so the time is now to string up the 8 and 9 weights with your favorite articulated streamer pattern.

Mt Hood Lakes

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.

Columbia River Carp

Carp fishing has been killer during this heat wave! Look for carp cruising the shallow flats and back sloughs off the main Columbia River and be prepared to put an accurate cast right in their face to get an eat. It's a super addicting way to fish and we have all the good carp bugs at the shop.

Steelhead

The lower Deschutes has been open now since August 15th and there have been mixed reports, even given the strong numbers of fish around. Fish are definitely being caught but you have to work for them and cover water to find them. Early mornings right at dawn until about 11am is your best shot at hooking a summer fish so get to your spot early.

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports - 8/2/2022

Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports - August 2nd 2022 for Hood River and surrounding waters.

[Found Here]

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Lower Deschutes River Will Open for Steelhead Angling

Deschutes opens for steelhead on August 15th, 2022

As of Sunday July 24, over 9,900 unclipped steelhead had been counted at Bonneville Dam. This means the lower Deschutes will reopen on August 15 and be open until at least September 15.

Another 12,122 need to cross before August 31 for the river to be open until May 31. 

Runs so far this year have been strong. We're hopeful it will surpass the numbers to remain open. 

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports - 6/6/2022

Trout - Deschutes River:

Lower Deschutes River 

The salmonflies and golden stones are still going strong. The number of bugs in the grass is starting to die down, but the fish are still keyed on top. At this stage of the hatch using a smaller Clark’s Stone or Orange Stimulator pattern will get more eats than a big chubby. Fish have seen plenty of those by now. 

There has been a lot of recent rain, clouds and thunderstorms throughout Central Oregon. This means…Green Drakes!! I have been hearing reports of electric green drake hatches where they begin popping like crazy out of nowhere. If I was hitting the Lower right now I’d definitely have some of these in my dry fly box. Caddis and pale morning duns are the other two bugs to have on your radar going forward. Look to fish these small flies in back eddies where trout will line up right off the shoreline. Some good pmd patterns include: film critics, parachute pmds, hackle stackers and comparaduns in size #16-18. 

Nymphing is getting it done in the mornings as well before the hatches get going. Euro and traditional indicator rigs with two flies, a stonefly and a small caddis or mayfly imitation, is the ticket.

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 

The big bugs are few and far between now on the middle but fish are still occasionally eating them on top. Pale morning duns, caddis, and yellow sallies are all important on this section in between Bend and Lake Billy Chinook. Attractor dries like renegades, parachute adams, stimulators and yellow humpies are all good searching patterns too.  

Upper Deschutes

The upper Deschutes has been pretty good the past few days. There have been consistent pale morning dun hatches happening between 12-3pm most every day the past few weeks. Fish are keyed in and looking up for sure. They have been hatching in a #16 and hackle stackers, comparaduns and film critics have all been productive patterns. Lots of good brown and rainbows to be had in this section above Benham falls. In between Crane Prairie and Little Lava Lake has been really hit or miss since the opener. I don't think there are a ton of fish in there right now as the water level seems a little low. Fishing closer to Lava and Crane will likely have more fish. Little streamers around the cut banks are super productive when there are fish present. Dry dropper fishing in the pools will get it done as well.

Metolius River 

The Met green drake hatch has yet to really take off. There have been some sporadic hatches on cloudy humid days the past few weeks but the consistent hatches everyday is still to come. This weekend with the wet and warm weather it could really start to happen. 

I’d definitely bring the nymph and streamer sticks. Nymphing will be your most productive method, particularly euro nymphing as it gets down in front of the fish in such an effective way that indicator rigs can’t replicate. Lots of caddis and pale morning dun activity too so have a good arsenal of dries as these hatches can start to happen at any time. 

Bull trout reports are good. Streamers in the mornings and nymphing in the afternoons. The biggest thing I’ve learned over my years of fishing the Met for bulls is to use flies that are unique with a lot of movement that those bulls have likely never seen. We are well past the days where you can show up to the Met and expect to catch a pile of bulls by tying on a simple dolly llama. Think outside the box with streamer selection. All black, and white & olive are some of my favorite color combos.

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Mount Hood Lakes:

Lake Update.

The lakes up around the mountain are in full swing! Fishing intermediate lines with small balanced leeches and wooly buggers never fails. In certain parts of certain lakes you can get away with a floating stripping these same flies but generally you’ll want a slow sinking line to help get down. Still water indicator fishing with chironomids, pheasant tail nymphs, dark assassins and balanced leeches is another method that can be really fun. Seeing a bobber drain never gets old!

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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.

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports - 4.2.2022

Trout - Deschutes River:

Lower Deschutes River 

The Lower Deschutes around the Maupin area has been fishing pretty good as of late. The Deschutes is currently still closed up at Warm Springs, Mecca Flats and Trout Creek for another few weeks. The 2022 opener is right around the corner and should be fantastic fishing as those fish haven’t seen any artificial flies in months. There are some decent blue wing olive hatches going on right now around the Maupin area, and the March Brown mayflies should be making an appearance throughout the rest of this month, particularly on cloudier days. Standard euro nymph and traditional indicator rigs are getting it done. Deschutes redsides will start to really key in on salmon and golden stonefly nymphs right now leading up to the big hatch next month. Don’t be afraid to run big flies, #4 and #6 rubber legs in black and brown will be a great fly choice for the next month. 

Middle Deschutes River 

The middle D is fishing okay right now. Water temps are still fairly cold up there but the fish are there and will eat a well presented nymph or streamer. There are plenty of good access points to fish this section of the river around Redmond and even lower as it heads towards Lake Billy Chinook. Standard double nymph rigs are working as well as swinging or stripping small sculpin streamers. The fishing should really start to pick up as we get closer to May. 

Metolius River 

The mighty Met has been producing good results recently for me. And by good results, I mean a few good fish a day. This is one of the most challenging rivers to fish anywhere, the water is crystal clear and fish are smart and won’t be fooled easily. Euro nymphing or indicator nymphing are going to be your most productive methods right now. I like running a larger golden stonefly nymph or mega prince nymph, followed by a small mayfly or caddis imitation. 2 bit hookers, skinny nelsons, ju ju baetis, or zebra midges all make for good droppers. The famous green drake hatch is around the corner and is an excellent time to fish the Metolius as it’s nearly the only time all year where the trout get a little stupid. Some of the biggest rainbows are caught during this hatch. 

The bull trout fishing has been solid. Stripping large black, olive, or white streamers around log jams and undercut banks will yield the best results. Nymphing is also productive for bulls. I use a large size #4 rubber legs when I nymph for them but they’ll eat just about any nymph you would use for rainbow fishing. 7 and 8 weight rods with heavy tippet are necessary as your chance of hooking a 15 lb fish are pretty good if you know where to find them.

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Mount Hood Lakes:

Going to be awhile before we see any mountain lake action. Stay tuned...

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Steelhead - 

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

Smallmouth Bass / Carp:

Pre spawn fishing is beginning to happen right now in the Columbia River Gorge. Water is still a little cold, so focus on slowing your presentation down to allow them to eat it. Slow stripping streamers, baitfish, and crayfish patterns is producing the best results. Look for back eddies and side sloughs as well as certain shallow flats on the main river. Plenty of access all up and down the Gorge off of I-84.

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports - 4.28.2021

Trout - Deschutes River:

The lower D is a good option right now pre salmon fly hatch. The nymphs are getting active as we are only about a week or two out from the hatch to start down low around the confluence with the Columbia. Hot weather is generally what triggers these bugs to crawl out onto the banks of the Deschutes and take flight, so keep an eye on the weather reports in the coming weeks. The hatch will start down low and slowly progress its way upriver towards Warm Springs as water and air temps increase. 

The streamer bite was getting it done for me this past weekend, as were the standard nymphs that I always talk about. I was running a two stonefly nymph setup with a large size 4-6 rubber legs as top fly and dropped down to a little jig style stonefly nymph in a #10.

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Lake Fishing:

Coming soon...

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Winter Steelhead - 

Winter steelhead fishing is pretty much done. Soon, July and chrome summer steelhead is right around the corner. That’s what I love about Oregon, when one season winds down, another one is not far off. 

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Smallmouth Bass / Carp:

Talked to a buddy who made his first trip of the year out on the Big C where it was a quality over quantity game. He brought to hand 3 very large pre spawn female smallies fishing small baitfish patterns on a sinking line. This fishing should only pick up as water temperatures increase and the bass get ready to spawn in May/June.

While Greg is always probing with float and fly for big smallmouths he has been pushing his flies a little deeper and found some toothy critters to take interest. 

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-Zach Parker

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Report - 10/30/2020

BIG Hatch Sale

Trout

Deschutes River:

Fall is definitely in full force out on the lower Deschutes. Lots of very cool mornings, but there are certainly still some sunny and warm days to be had out there. Looks like it’s going to be a nice weekend in terms of weather, and the fish of course! 

The White River is still off and on causing clarity issues down below the confluence of the Deschutes. With more consistent colder weather on the forecast, it should finally steady out the White and improve water on the Deschutes. Down below the White all the way to the Columbia can be hit or miss with clarity. When the clarity is good, it is somewhere around 18-24 inches of visibility. Bad days, just a few inches. 

If you can find clean water above the White, the trout fishing remains strong throughout the fall. The trout are moving into their winter feeding lanes of slower pools and big back eddies where they do not have to exert as much energy. 

Look for blue winged olives to be the primary food source for these trout heading into the winter months. These small mayflies generally hatch on the Deschutes in a size 16 on the large side, to a 20 on the smaller size. Deschutes trout can be found slurping these bugs in the winter months in the back eddies, so that is a good place to focus on. 

Deep nymph rigs still produce consistent fish as well with either an October caddis pupa or rubber legs stone as your lead fly, and a smaller caddis pupa, zebra midge, or soft hackle pheasant tail as your dropper.

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Lake Fishing:

Lakes are good and will continue to be good for another month or two. Fish will be feeding pretty heavily trying to fatten up before winter. 

Fishing a full sink line with brown, black, olive or purple wooly buggers and crystal buggers are great options. 

Fishing indicators with balanced leeches, chironomids, scuds or pheasant tail nymphs is another productive method to try if stripping flies isn’t producing. Giving your indicator some twitches and movements every now and then will help trigger bites if it’s super calm out. 

Crowds from the summer have thinned out some and will continue to go forward into fall. The lakes can be a great option to escape for a few hours and have some productive fishing opportunities.

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Summer Steelhead

Deschutes River:

Steelhead fishing has been fair to good for the folks fishing it consistently and keeping their fly swinging in the zone the most throughout the day. Sink tip season for sure now. 8-12 feet of t-11 is a good tip to have on the lower. Sometimes T-8 or T-14 for certain types of water, but T-11 is a good starting point sink tip. 

Large black and blue intruders, orange and black intruders, bright marabou tube flies, black egg sucking leeches, and more sparse hobo spey type flies all get it done. Be prepared to work for it though. No fish are coming easy down there this time of year.

Hood River: 

There are probably quite a few old springers in the lower few miles but not super high on people’s list to be targeting at this time as they have been in the river for quite some time now. 

There are definitely summer steelhead spread throughout much of the Hood which can still be caught on the swing and nymphing. Recent rains can get the fish freshened up and more willing to bite. 

If you’re swinging, using an egg sucking black leech is a tough fly to beat. Other good patterns are dark colored intruders or hobo spey type flies.

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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. 

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Stay safe out there and best of luck! 

-Zach  

"The Gorge"

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Report 10-9-2020

Trout

Deschutes River:

Warm Springs to Maupin has been fishing strong recently! The trout are happy and feeding pretty aggressively mainly on nymphs throughout the day. 

Look to fish october caddis pupa, rubber legs stoneflies, soft hackle pheasant tail nymphs, two bit hookers, red copper johns, red lightnings bugs, and rainbow warriors as productive nymph patterns. 

There are still some decent small caddis hatches as well as some larger October caddis that have been getting active down on the lower river. 

Trout spey fishing is good too. I threw my 4 weight trout spey around last time I was out and hooked quite a few good solid trout on the swing. I was fishing my favorite pattern that I tie called “the dirt”. It’s a small olive and red sculpin pattern that really is a hot ticket on the Deschutes. I’ve done well with sculpzilla and little olive and black wooly bugger type flies as well fishing with trout spey gear. I have been running a 10 foot section of t-8 sink tip connected to a 300 grain skagit scout head on my 4 weight with some OPST mono running line. 

Fall and winter are my favorite times to fish trout spey on the Deschutes as the fish really start keying in on larger meals when the hatches begin to die down.

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Lake Fishing:

Lakes are good and will continue to be good for another month or two. Fish will be feeding pretty heavily trying to fatten up before winter. 

Fishing a full sink line with brown, black, olive pr purple wooly buggers or crystal buggers are great options. 

Fishing indicators with balanced leeches, chironomids, scuds or pheasant tail nymphs is another productive method to try if stripping flies isn’t producing. Giving your indicator some twitches and movements every now and then will help trigger bites if it’s super calm out. 

Crowds from the summer have thinned out some and will continue to going forward into fall. The lakes can be a great option to escape for a few hours and have some productive fishing opportunities.

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Summer Steelhead

Deschutes River:

Steelhead fishing has been fair to good for most anglers out on the Deschutes recently. Fish are spread throughout the entire lower river and will continue to look for swung flies all the way through the end of November. 

I usually fish more sink tips this time a year on the Deschutes, but guys still get them on floating setups with small classic steelhead flies like the green butt skunk or the no name variant. 

The white river has improved slightly since the last report but it is still not great clarity, but it is fishable below the confluence of the white, whereas a week ago it wasn’t. 

This time a year we see more larger steelhead in the Deschutes. Lots of two and three salt fish. This year in general I feel like there were more two salt fish than the little 24 inch one salt fish. Not complaining about that at all. 

The season will go until the end of November, and after that, the steelhead begin going into spawning mode and will spawn in January and February before making the journey back out to the ocean.

Hood River: 

There are probably quite a few old springers in the lower few miles but not super high on people’s list to be targeting at this time as they have been in the river for quite some time now. 

There are definitely summer steelhead spread throughout much of the Hood which can still be caught on the swing and nymphing. 

Recent rains can get the fish freshened up and more willing to bite. If you’re swinging, using an egg sucking black leech is a tough fly to beat. Other good patterns are dark colored intruders or hobo spey type flies.  

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Smallmouth Bass/Carp 

Smallmouth fishing most years is fantastic in the fall months. The leaves start changing colors and the bite is on. However, recently it has been a little tough out there. The water is very warm and low on the Columbia. 

The shad are mostly gone which have caused the bass to scatter and been tough to find. Focus on fishing 10-20 feet of water and use small to medium streamer and baitfish patterns. 

The topwater bite is pretty off at the moment. The key is to continue moving to find the fish, and once you find them stay on em.
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-Zach  

Customer Contribution

Hals from Louisiana sent in this shot of a chunky 19" largemouth caught on his new Sage X Rod and Sage Spectrum LT fly reel. Mr. Bucketmouth was released to fight another day. Great job Hals!

"The Gorge"

Gorge Fly Shop Team - 541.386.6977

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Columbia Gorge Fishing reports 10-2-2021

Trout

Deschutes River:

Happy Fall everyone! 

The Lower Deschutes River has been productive for trout fisherman the last few weeks. I was out fishing in Mack’s canyon last weekend and trout fished in the middle of the day. 

Lots of fish taken nymphing under an indicator. Trout were eating both big stonefly nymphs as well as small caddis pupa droppers and soft hackle pheasant tail nymphs trailed behind the stone. 

Water clarity was good when I was there but recently the white river has blown out again making the river below the white all the way to the Columbia, unfishable. The White can be very unpredictable this time of year with random hot weather which can melt the glaciers on Mt. Hood causing it to blow, or just getting big rainstorms that blow it out. Hard to say when it will clear but fishing below the confluence of the White will be challenging with heavily off colored water. This will congregate more anglers above the White River up all the way to Mecca Flats so be prepared to be fishing around more folks than normal if you get out there this weekend. 

There is some dry fly opportunity still around with small caddis fishing in the back eddies. More and more October caddis are around too so using an October caddis pupa on a nymphing rig can be a good bet. 

European style nymphing is also highly productive with jig style euro nymphs. As we move further into the fall and the weather gets cooler and cooler, the trout will begin to move to their winter holding water. Slower and deeper pools.
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Lake Fishing:

Lakes are good and will continue to be good for another month or two. Fish will be feeding pretty heavily trying to fatten up before winter. Fishing a full sink line with brown, black, olive or purple wooly buggers or crystal buggers are great options. 

Fishing indicators with balanced leeches, chironomids, scuds or pheasant tail nymphs is another productive method to try if stripping flies isn’t producing. Giving your indicator some twitches and movements every now and then will help trigger bites if it’s super calm out. 

Crowds from the summer have thinned out some and will continue to going forward into fall. The lakes can be a great option to escape for a few hours and have some productive fishing opportunities.
Shop Stillwater Flies

Summer Steelhead

Deschutes River:

Steelhead are spread throughout the entire Lower Deschutes now. From the first hundred yards of river, all the way up to Mecca Flats. 

With the White River being completely blown at the moment, focusing your efforts above that confluence will be your best shot at getting into one this weekend. 

Mix bag of hatchery fish and wild fish out there right now, but both are taking swung flies if the conditions allow. Still an opportunity to be using scandi’s and small flies, but as we move further into October and it gets significantly cooler out, fishing sink tips and big flies will be the norm. 

Nymphing in the afternoons for steelhead is another method to try this time of year. I like using a big egg sucking stonefly nymph and some sort of egg pattern as a dropper. This method will also hook trout too to make things interesting. When doing this I’d run either a 7-8 weight single hand fly rod with a basic weight forward floating line like a rio grand to help with mending and roll casting. Use a big indicator and some split shot to get your rig down off the bottom. 

There are also quite a few Chinook being caught down in the lower 10 miles of the river which are hooked quite regularly when swinging for steelhead. 

Hood River: 

There are probably quite a few old springers in the lower few miles but not super high on people’s list to be targeting at this time as they have been in the river for quite some time now. 

There are definitely summer steelhead spread throughout much of the Hood which can still be caught on the swing and nymphing. Recent rains can get the fish freshened up and more willing to bite. 

If you’re swinging, using an egg sucking black leech is a tough fly to beat. Other good patterns are dark colored intruders or hobo spey type flies. 

Shop Steelhead Flies

Smallmouth Bass/Carp 

Carp fishing is pretty much over for the year. Until next year! We want to thank the brave firefighters and first responders again for all their valiant efforts during these crazy wildfires. Thankful for the rains that have helped suppress these fires and hopefully we won’t have anymore this year. 
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Smallmouth fishing remains good if you know where to fish. Having a boat helps tremendously to move around and find fish. They sit in different water depths usually in 10-25 feet of water around steep drop offs, and places with submerged rocks and other types of structure. 

We like fishing full sinking lines and big streamers or crayfish patterns. Balanced leeches and wooly buggers work well too fished on the strip. Any place where there is a steep rocky bank that goes into the water, is a good place to start. Once you find them, you generally will find a bunch and can be a ton of fun. 

Some of the biggest smallies around are found on the main Columbia. Fishing the countless side sloughs along I-84 are all good bets for smallmouth and other warm water species as well. Fishing under an indicator with leeches can be super productive for smallies too.  

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Stay safe out there everyone and be sure to get in touch with us at the shop if you have any questions on anything fishing! 

-Zach  

"The Gorge"

Gorge Fly Shop Team - 541.386.6977

GorgeFlyShop.com  |  Join our Team |  Contact Us

"Fly Fish the World with Us"