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.

Shop Trout Flies

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.

Shop Stillwater Flies

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.  

Shop Steelhead Flies

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.
Shop Carp Flies

Shop Bass Flies

 

-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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Klickitat River Mid Season with John Garrett

Update: August 2020

The Klickitat River in the mid summer months (August and Sept) can be as challenging a river to fish as any. With the heat of the summer and warm evenings, the river can often be "off color or blown out". The trick is knowing when and what is fish-able when it comes to fishing off colored water. 

Fish see better than we give them credit for. If I look down at the river to visually judge the clarity it is often skewed because I am looking down and the water with a riverbed background where as the fish are looking up with the sun as a background and flies silhouette nicely giving the fish I would guess about twice the visibility as we think they have. In other words if I look down and see a foot and a half of visibility, then I am convinced that the fish can see at least 3 feet.

The reason I can confidently say this is because of the numbers of fish that I have caught over the years in water as low as, what I estimate being a foot of viability.

Ever wonder how you can nymph fish in off colored water and still catch trout, fish are very aware of their surroundings.

September is also the time we start seeing fall Chinook in the river and fishing for Chinook is way better in off colored water than is clear water...

KLICKITAT RIVER - Chapter Two

MID SEASON – EARLY FALL STEELHEAD/SALMON ON THE KLICKITAT RIVER:
In my last blog article (John Garrett's Guide to Early Season Steelheading on the Klickitat), I mainly focused on swinging flies for Steelhead on the Klickitat River and approaching it from a Steelheads point of view. I touched on the clarity issues the Klickitat River can often have and I gave some insight to selecting the right fly profile and color. I wanted to follow that article up with a Mid-Season, early Fall article and focus on swinging flies for Chinook on the Klickitat. Bear in mind that steelhead will still be in the system but because of the numbers of Chinook they will become harder to catch.

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report - November 19th, 2019

Trout: 

Deschutes Trout: 

Fishing has been great and crowds are low. The Deschutes has some great late fall and winter fly fishing. One great thing is there is no need to get up early, the best fishing is between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm. From here on out the crowds will be low, leaving lots of great water for the rest of us.

From now on you will see more small mayflies, especially on the cloudy cool days. So stock up on Blue Winged Olive nymphs, dries and emergers. My favorite flies are...
Dries: Sparkle Flag BWO #18-20, Extended Body BWO #20, Parachute Extended Body BWO #20, Parachute Adams #18-20
Emergers: Sprout BWO #18-20, Challenged PT #18
Nymphs: Bead Head Flashback PT #18-20, Pheasant Tail #18-20, Flashback Pheasant Tail #18-20, WD40 #18-20

You will also see very productive fishing with a variety of midge patterns. I prefer Zebra Midges Black, Brown, Tan #20

When nymphing I prefer drop all of my smaller flies below a bigger heavier nymph. Here are my favorite larger nymphs: TJ Hooker #8-10, Jigged PT #14-16, Jigger PT Purple #16, Bead Head PT #12-16. Many others work, but those are my favorites.

Fall is also a great time to break out the Trout Spey and swing some streamers, wet flies or soft hackles. Trout tend to be very active to a swung fly this time of year. Streamer takes a VIOLENT! Here are my favorite streamers: RIO Precious Metal, Kiwi Muddler, Sculpzila #8 (White, Olive/White, Natural) and Beaded Wooly Buggers #8 variety of colors.

Lakes:  

You can still get to virtually all of our mountain lakes. Keep in mind Laurence Lake is now closed.

The best thing about fishing lakes this time of year is that the best fishing is mid day. No need to get up early.

Best results have been fishing an intermediate or slow sinking line with a variety of #8-10 leach patters in Black or Brown. Suspending a Balance Leach under an indicator with a floating line has been lethal to. Dry fly fishing has been good in the mid-morning through the afternoon, but will slow as water temps drop. Favorite dries are Parachute Adams #14-16, Tilt Wing Callibaetis #14-16, Griffiths Gnat #18.
Stillwater Trout Selection

Steelhead:  

Deschutes:

There are still good numbers of fish in the lower river. There are fish throughout the system now, but the lower 20 miles of the river is still the most productive. Remember many of those upper Columbia Steelhead like Clearwater fish will park in the lower river until as late as Christmas. You can still fish dry lines, but it is definitely slower now. I would recommend go right to a sink tip, you will see better results.

Klickitat:

The Klickitat has been in great shape with few people on it. Those who know the river well are doing great right now. Water temps have cooled so dry line fishing is going to be very limited to none. Go deep with a sink tip for best results on a swing. Fishing a fly under and indicator from a boat is also very effective.
Klickitat Super Slammer Kit

John Day River has also fished well this fall. Fish showed up early this year with the early rains. So there are now fish through out the system. Remember the John Day is a slow moving river so make sure you bring some lighter or short tips. I prefer a RIO iMow7.5’Float/2.5’T8 or T11.

Smallmouth:  

Water temps are cooling now so Smallmouth fishing starts to slow down now. The Columbia will still be good for another few weeks and would be your best choice.

"The Gorge"

Gorge Fly Shop Team - 541.386.6977

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Report - November, 11, 2019

Trout: 

Deschutes Trout: 

The Deschutes has some great late fall and winter fly fishing. One great thing is there is no need to get up early, the best fishing is between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm. From here on out the crowds will be low, leaving lots of great water for the rest of us.

From now on you will see more small mayflies, especially on the cloudy cool days. So stock up on Blue Winged Olive nymphs, dries and emergers. My favorite flies are Dries: Sparkle Flag BWO #18-20, Extended Body BWO #20, Parachute Extended Body BWO #20, Parachute Adams #18-20 Emergers: Sprout BWO #18-20, Challenged PT #18 Nymphs: Bead Head Flashback PT #18-20, Pheasant Tail #18-20, Flashback Pheasant Tail #18-20, WD40 #18-20

You will also see very productive fishing with a variety of midge patterns. I prefer Zebra Midges Black, Brown, Tan #20

When nymphing I prefer drop all of my smaller flies below a bigger heavier nymph. Here are my favorite larger nymphs: TJ Hooker #8-10, Jigged PT #14-16, Jigger PT Purple #16, Bead Head PT #12-16. Many others work, but those are my favorites.

Fall is also a great time to break out the Trout Spey and swing some streamers, wet flies or soft hackles. Trout tend to be very active to a swung fly this time of year. Streamer takes a VIOLENT! Here are my favorite streamers: RIO Precious Metal, Kiwi Muddler, Sculpzila #8 (White, Olive/White, Natural) and Beaded Wooly Buggers #8 variety of colors.

Lakes:  

You can still get to virtually all of our mountain lakes. Best fishing will be mid day. Keep in mind Laurence Lake is now closed.

Best results have been fishing an intermediate or slow sinking line with a variety of #8-10 leach patters in Black or Brown. Suspending a Balance Leach under an indicator with a floating line has been lethal to. Dry fly fishing has been good in the mid-morning through the afternoon, but will slow as water temps drop. Favorite dries are Parachute Adams #14-16, Tilt Wing Callibaetis #14-16, Griffiths Gnat #18. Stillwater Trout Selection

Steelhead:  

Fishing on the lower Deschutes continues to stay really consistent. There are fish throughout the system now, but the lower 20 miles of the river is still the most productive. Remember many of those upper Columbia Steelhead like Clearwater fish will park in the lower river until as late as Christmas. There is still some dry line fishing to be had, but it will slow as the water temps drop. Put on the sink tip and go deep once the sun hits the water.

The Klickitat has been in great shape with few people on it. Those who know the river well are doing great right now. Water temps have cooled so dry line fishing is going to be very limited to none. Go deep with a sink tip for best results on a swing. Fishing a fly under and indicator from a boat is also very effective.
Klickitat Super Slammer Kit

John Day River has also fished well this fall. Fish showed up early this year with the early rains. So there are now fish through out the system. Remember the John Day is a slow moving river so make sure you bring some lighter or short tips. I prefer a RIO iMow7.5’Float/2.5’T8 or T11.

Smallmouth:  

Water temps are cooling now so Smallmouth fishing starts to slow down now. The Columbia will still be good for another few weeks and would be your best choice.

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Klickitat Fishing Report 6/11/2019: Guide Edition

 Summer is just around the corner and although it is a little early for most of the Steelhead fisherman to be looking to the Gorge for their fix, the Klickitat has been off to a surprisingly strong start.

 The flows have dropped recently do to the cooler temps that we have seen. With the warming trend that is coming that could change this up a little bit but I don't think it will be to drastic.

 All tactics have been productive, we have seen fish move to both the dry fly and sunk fly under a moderate tip.

 There are not a huge number of fish in the system yet but these early fish tend to be very aggressive and the lower fishing pressure can make for some good days of fishing.

Travis Wallace
Western Waters Guide Service

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report (8/13/2017)

The heat wave has finally broken in the Gorge!

Pretty decent view

Cooler weather has settled in this weekend, with a bit of rain in the western Gorge, and undoubtedly the humans and fish are enjoying the respite.

For those of you who don't know, I am leaving the Gorge Fly Shop as a full time employee to pursue a teaching career.  I will still be a part of the team and hope to continue to contribute to the blog.  Thank you all for reading my work and for being our customers! 

The summer steelhead run, as predicted, is pretty dismal so far (see graphs below), and the fishing has been reflective of that.  Sam of Steelhead Outfitters has gotten his clients on some fish on Deschutes, but otherwise it has been slow.  There have been a few reports of fish caught on the Klick, and I had a chrome donkey absolutely whoop me in 3 seconds flat, but the fishing has not been easy.  There have been more large 3 salt fish caught this year though.  We are all hoping that the run will be late, as the spring chinook run was this year.  One thing I can say, is that the pressure has been lower than normal, and with the Columbia closed the fish are getting harassed a bit less.  There are certainly worse ways to spend your day than swinging flies in a beautiful piece of water, even without a grab.  Hopefully this cooldown will ease the stress on the fish and we will see better returns and fishing.

  

Lucky for us, there are a ton of other fishing opportunities in the Gorge!

Lake fishing for trout has remained excellent, particularly in the higher elevation lakes. Sinking lines are the name of the game, and sometimes you can't have one that sinks too fast.  My dad and I did well fishing leeches in the deepest part of the lake on type 5 and type 7 lines.  I have also continued to catch nice fish on damsel and dragonfly nymphs fished on intermediate lines and even a few on damsel adults.

Damselfly nymph muncher!

Trout fishing on the Deschutes has been pretty good as well, especially in the evenings and mornings.  The caddis hatches are pretty epic this time of year, and the trout gorge themselves in larvae/pupae during the day and eat the adults in the evening/night.  A dead caddis pattern can also be deadly early in the morning.

High mountain streams have also been a great way to escape the heat.  Wet wading with a 2wt and some dry flies is pure joy.  The fish might not be huge, but they are willing and happy to eat most any attractor dry fly.

Beauty of a high mountain cutt!

Gabe and I had a killer topwater evening!

Smallmouth fishing on the Columbia is in full summer mode.  I have had a few stellar days fishing shad/smolt patterns deep and big topwaters fast and furious in the mornings and evenings.  I recommend a fast sinking line, like the SA Sonar Titan, as it makes repetitive casting much easier and gets down to the fish quick.  I also love the Wavelength Titan for my topwater flies.

Flows:  The USGS sites give us real-time flows, while the NOAA site shows us predictions based on weather patterns.  Both are invaluable tools.

Hood River:

USGS

NOAA

Klickitat
USGS
NOAA

Clackamas:

USGS

NOAA

Deschutes near Madras:

USGS

Deschutes at the mouth:

USGS

NOAA

Columbia River

Bonneville Dam Water Temps
Columbia @ Hood River (The mouth of the Hood backs up at 75 feet)

As always, we are happy to talk fishing anytime.  Give us a call if you have any specific questions on local rivers, gear, and tactics, or if you just want some encouragement to get out of the office.  541.386.6977

*Add us on Instagram for more fishy content! @gorgeflyshop

Ryan Van Duzor
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977


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"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report (7/9/2017)

Summer is in full swing in the Gorge!

Summer in the Gorge

The beautiful summer weather we all wish for is finally here!

There are a lot of excellent fishing opportunities happening right now:

Trout fishing in high elevation lakes is excellent right now and a great way to escape the heat and crowds.  The fish are eating just about everything.  Come on in and get well stocked on buggers/leaches, Callibaetis nymphs/dries, damselfly and dragonfly nymphs and adults as well as some juicy ant patterns.  All have been successful as of late.  Lost lake is a great place to take the family or if you do not have a watercraft, as they rent boats up there. Otherwise get your float tubes out and escape on lakes on both sides of the Gorge.  If you need some help getting into stillwater fishing be sure to check out my Stillwater Gear Roundup and Lake Line Shootout.

Though there haven't been a lot of folks trout fishing on the Deschutes, those that have gone are catching fish early and late in the day on caddis dries and yellow sallies.  The caddis hatches on the Deschutes can be tremendous, and the action can be excellent.  It's a great place to wet wade in the heat of the summer too!

4th of July crush fest with my brother in law!

Bass fishing on the Columbia has been steady.  The river has been dropped and the fish are starting to settle into their summer patterns.  The spawn is over from what I have seen.  The big females are very hard to find right now in their post spawn funk, but the next couple weeks should get them feeding up.  Fishing big shad/smolt streamers on the banks and outside of weed beds has been effective.  We have also had some hit and miss popper action, but if you are there on the right day it can be epic.

Summer steelhead fishing is still pretty quiet, but should be just around the bend.  Both the Deschutes and the Klickitat usually start fishing well towards the middle/end of July and through the rest of the summer.  The counts are improving, but still well under the 10 year average.  Water temps are already hitting 70 degrees in the Deschutes river in the afternoon, so we are asking that folks curtail their afternoon sessions as the already stressed out fish don't need to battle in hot water.

Though the counts are past their peak, there are still a bunch of American Shad coming up river.  I finally got my first on a fly rod, and it pulled like a baby tarpon!  Find a lane they are migrating in, load up a fast sinking line with a small brightly colored fly and swing it deep and you should catch some!

Major fun on a 6 wt!

Flows:  The USGS sites give us real-time flows, while the NOAA site shows us predictions based on weather patterns.  Both are invaluable tools.

Hood River:

USGS

NOAA

Klickitat
USGS
NOAA

Clackamas:

USGS

NOAA

Deschutes near Madras:

USGS

Deschutes at the mouth:

USGS

NOAA

Columbia River

Bonneville Dam Water Temps
Columbia @ Hood River (The mouth of the Hood backs up at 75 feet)

As always, we are happy to talk fishing anytime.  Give us a call if you have any specific questions on local rivers, gear, and tactics, or if you just want some encouragement to get out of the office.  541.386.6977

*Add us on Instagram for more fishy content! @gorgeflyshop

Ryan Van Duzor
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977


Read More from the "Bearded Pescador"

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report (6/25/2017)

It's hotter than a well digger's armpit out there!

But there are fish biting all over the Gorge!

Exploring the Gorge never gets old

Trout fishing on the Deschutes has been pretty good and stable.  I have heard of some folks doing really well on yellow sallies and caddis.  Nymphing caddis larvae/pupae or a pheasant tail/hare's ear/prince nymph has been good as usual.  I would also be well stocked with PMD and PED adults/parachutes as that hatch should still be going strong.

Trout fishing on the local lakes has been stellar!  I have some seen some real beauties coming out of Lost and Laurance lake.  Lost lake resort rents boats as well, so if you don't have a watercraft and want to escape the heat, head on up and enjoy the view!  Lakes throughout the Cascades are fishing very well, but make sure you brings some DEET as the biting insects have been bad this year.  Ants, Callibaetis, damsels, dragonflies and buggers are the names of the game!  Check out my Stillwater Gear Roundup for details on getting dialed in!

Steelhead fishing has been quiet.  I have heard of a few fish being hooked on the Klickitat, but it has otherwise been very slow.  There are a few more fish between Bonneville and The Dalles, so hopefully we will see some fish getting happy!  The bulk of the summer steelhead should be showing up in the next couple months so book a trip with Sam at Steelhead Outfitters for a Deschutes jetboat trip or Travis at Western Waters for a float down the Klick before it's too late!

Another solid brick bronzeback

Bass fishing in Columbia has been very good.  I have found fish in both pre and post spawn depending on the part of the river I was on and the water temps.  I have had a couple killer evenings catching nice fish shallow on poppers.  Often the bite will come after the initial cast.  Just leave the popper sit for up to 30 seconds, if you can handle it...

Bass fishing on the John Day should be excellent.  We have had a lot of customers headed out that way, but no reports back yet.  I have to imagine the fish are hungry and plentiful! Bring a selection of small poppers, hoppers, and wiggle minnows and a light rod and have a blast on bronzebacks!

Flows:  The USGS sites give us real-time flows, while the NOAA site shows us predictions based on weather patterns.  Both are invaluable tools.

Hood River:

USGS

NOAA

Klickitat

USGS

NOAA

Clackamas:

USGS

NOAA

Deschutes near Madras:

USGS

Deschutes at the mouth:

USGS

NOAA

Columbia River

Bonneville Dam Water Temps

Columbia @ Hood River (The mouth of the Hood backs up at 75 feet)

As always, we are happy to talk fishing anytime.  Give us a call if you have any specific questions on local rivers, gear, and tactics, or if you just want some encouragement to get out of the office.  541.386.6977

*Add us on Instagram for more fishy content! @gorgeflyshop

Ryan Van Duzor

Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist

541.386.6977

Read More from the "Bearded Pescador"

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report (6/11/2017)

Long days and mostly decent weather have made for some good fishing in the Gorge.

Classic Gorge Weather: Sunny with Pouring Rain

Deschutes trout fishing has been good/excellent and fairly steady.  There are an assortment of insects around and the fish have been happy to indulge in whatever is hatching.  They are still coming up to golden stone imitations and purple chubbies and I have heard of at least a couple anglers hitting the green drake hatch.  There should be some yellow sallies and pale evening duns showing themselves too.  As always, the standard nymphs (hare's ear, pheasant tail, possie bugger, copper John) are producing.

Local Legend Jim Greenleaf with a Deschutes Redside!

Stillwater trout fishing has also been very good locally.  The damsels and dragonflies have started hatching, especially on warm days, and the fish are eating the nymphs worked slowly around and over weed beds.  Chironomids, Callibaetis and buggers are also still in play.  As things warm up, look for the flying ants to start hatching around the higher elevation lakes as well.

Gabe found some hungry backwater smalljaws!

Bass fishing has been about the same as the last few weeks.  Fish are being caught, both in the Columbia and the John Day.  Many fish are thinking about spawning and are in shallow water.  I would suggest crawling a big bugger/leach or fishing a Clouser minnow quickly in the shallows.  There are should be a popper bite going in the next month as fish enter post spawn feeding.

A beauty of a mountain tiger musky!

We got out to one of the western WA reservoirs for some tiger musky fishing.  We saw a ton of fish and had most of them follow.  We had 5 good eats and landed one beauty.  5-10 inch flies on 10wts is the name of the game.  I really like the SA Sonar Titan WF10 full intermediate for 90% of the musky fishing.  You will want some type of wire bite tippet or leader, as these fish have serious chompers!  If you are looking for a new challenge on the fly, and have a boat or at least a buddy who does, you owe it to yourself to give it a try at least once.  There is a ton of info on the WDFW website.

Cody's Steelhead Report:

Enthralled by emerald green waters, and happy to be skating dries again.

Welp, it’s June and if you’re like me summer-run steel have been on your mind since… well, maybe they’re always on your mind! This could be attributed to a variety of reasons- A change of pace from tough winter fishing and rainy days, the finesse and presentation of scandi-style casting, fish willing to rise to the surface, t-shirts and sunnies, long days, etc. Though I’m sure once Thanksgiving hits I’ll be back on a winter-run mindset for thick bodied chrome and sea-lice covered fins. Ha! It really never really ever seem to end...

June 1st was the opener for the Klickitat River and it’s a quite a different start than last year. Numbers over Bonneville have been pretty slim so far, along with high and colored water to round it out as well. I’ve driven up the Klick a few times in the last two weeks to check on it, only to find flows ranging from 4100 cfs to its current level of 2700 cfs (for reference, average mean flow at this time of year is 2080 cfs.) What this means is that most of your favorite runs to swing flies are gonna be challenging to wade, and the few fish that are in the river won’t be too far out. If you do make it out and water clarity is decent, I’d focus on swinging shorter bits of line all the way into the bank. Wading staffs and boot studs will also ease getting into your favorite runs. As for predictions, it’s tough to say since we’ve got a fair amount of snow up high still and haven’t seen many super warm days yet.

Indeed predictions for this season’s Columbia run look to be on par with last year’s (unfortunately) and with some increased restrictions on seasons, this year will make it tougher for anglers. It’s important to remain mindful with our pressure on the fish we love with our handling and ethics. Monitor the water temps, revive and release fish quickly, keep them wet, etc. Opportunities are out there though with the Sandy and Clackamas still producing some good hatchery summer fish. However, I did get out and camp along a gem of a river in central Oregon for a couple nights. A few fish were seen as we chugged foamy dries, skated muddlers, and swung wets with floating lines but no fish to hand. Unfortunately, rains came a little earlier than expected. Transforming the river’s notoriously difficult wading in the already high water, to well, even more of a challenge. As is tradition, I filled my waders up once trying to get into a greasy tailout. It wasn’t the first time, and certainly won’t be the last...

 

High water but high hopes. Chelsey swings through the bucket.

Flows:  The USGS sites give us real-time flows, while the NOAA site shows us predictions based on weather patterns.  Both are invaluable tools.

Hood River:

USGS

NOAA

Klickitat
USGS
NOAA

Clackamas:

USGS

NOAA

Deschutes near Madras:

USGS

Deschutes at the mouth:

USGS

NOAA

Columbia River

Bonneville Dam Water Temps
Columbia @ Hood River (The mouth of the Hood backs up at 75 feet)

As always, we are happy to talk fishing anytime.  Give us a call if you have any specific questions on local rivers, gear, and tactics, or if you just want some encouragement to get out of the office.  541.386.6977

*Add us on Instagram for more fishy content! @gorgeflyshop

Ryan Van Duzor
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977


Read More from the "Bearded Pescador"

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Columbia Gorge Fishing Report (11/06/2016)

Summer steelhead fishing has been steady throughout the area.  The Deschutes River gave up some fish last week for many of our local anglers.  Sink tips and bigger flies were producing better than the dry lines, but we did see a fish or two come up to eat small stuff on Scandi lines. Nobody is on the river, which is really nice.  We never saw those big 10+ fish days that the Deschutes is famous for, but hooking a fish makes it a good day of steelheading to me.

Deschutes Steel on the new G. Loomis Asquith!

The Klickitat River is in fine shape this weekend.  The last couple of weeks of the season can be hit or miss, but get it in while you can.  It closes Nov 30.  There are fish in the river.

No winter steelhead on the Hood River yet.

Trout fishing is closed at Laurance Lake, as well as most of the small streams in the area.  Lost Lake is still open and the fishing is phenomenal.  The fish are in shallow and chasing things.  You can strip big buggers really fast and the action is nonstop.

This little trout ate a small mayfly nymph on the Deschutes

Trout fishing on the Deschutes has been all over the place.  Ryan and I floated up high two weeks ago and it was really tough.  Others reported fishing to be great this last week.  Fish were eating really small stuff when we were out: BWOs, midges...  They should be mostly on caddis, but for whatever reason they weren't into them when we were there.

Bass fishing has been on the slower side of good, but they are still around in the Columbia if that's your thing.

The Gorge Fly Shop Team
541.386.6977
info@gorgeflyshop.com
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"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports (10/21/2016)

A rainbow just before the storm on Laurance Lake on Tuesday (10/18/2016)

Important Note: the Columbia River is now closed to all salmon and steelhead fishing due to lower than expected returns.  Read about the closure and sign up for the Columbia Basin Bulletin, it's very informative.

The weather is starting to settle down, and the rivers are hovering around fishable.  Summer Steelhead fishing is about a month from over in the Gorge.  The Klickitat and the Hood are both brown as of Friday, but surprisingly there was 18"-24" of decent visibility on the Klickitat on Thursday.  Sometimes the color can be deceiving.  We could easily see our boots at knee deep despite what appeared to be terrible visibility... and fishing was decent.  Conditions worsened as rains Thursday night added more color to the river.  We should see improvement in the rivers throughout the week although unsettled weather patterns could put a hamper on that with one good shot of rain.

Fall colors distract Sam Sickles on the Klickitat

The Deschutes has been a little colorful, but it's the water level that is the issue for many anglers.  It is much higher than normal due to increased flows from Pelton Dam, along with the tributaries being high.  It's not unfishable by any means, but its higher than many anglers are familiar with this time of year.  This isn't terribly bad, it really just pushes the fish closer to shore and makes the wading a little more hairy than it normally is.  Steelheading on the Deschutes was far from stellar this year, but it has been consistent in that fishing is just as good (or bad) now as it was a month ago.  Lots of open water and very little pressure, and yes, there are steelhead in the river.

Conditions are not ideal anywhere, but there are plenty of options in the area right now, so get out there while you can.  There isn't much time left for quality summer steelheading in our area.

Brown water w/ 2' of vis on the Klick

Fishing on Laurance Lake was good this week, despite the wind and rain... I wouldn't hesitate to get in one last trip to the lake (it closes Oct. 31).  I had one really big rainbow chasing an olive bugger around for a few minutes.  He grabbed it several times and was even on for a second and still wanted to eat it again.  All very visual as the lake was very clear and the fish were very colorful.  It was like watching golden submarines coming out of the depth.  I think we would have done very well if we hadn't been blown off the lake by heavy winds and sideways rain an hour after arriving.

Many of our small streams and lakes will close on Halloween, so get in your trout fishing while you can, and be sure to check the regulations before venturing into a new area in the next few weeks.  This is an excellent time of year to explore lakes and streams because fishing is great and there are very few people out.

Rainbow Trout fishing on the Deschutes has been superb as of late.  There are Mahogany mayflies, Caddis galore and Blue Wing Olives on cold, dreary days.  Fish are also very actively chasing streamers and are being aggressive in general.  I'd stick to the upper part of the river above the White, but White should start to clean up as our weather improves, but nights are colder on the glacier, which will open up some options for anglers.

Customer photo of the week:  Rob caught this beauty of a fish on the last day of a six day float in BC.  Just wanted to share an actual fish picture... blurry and soaking wet or not, its a  good pic, a great fish and it looked like a fun trip.  Thanks for sharing!

Flows:  The USGS sites give us real-time flows, while the NOAA site shows us predictions based on weather patterns.  Both are invaluable tools.  You can also check water temps there too...

Hood River:

USGS

NOAA

Klickitat
USGS
NOAA

Deschutes near Madras:

USGS

Deschutes at the mouth:

USGS

NOAA

Columbia River

Bonneville Dam Water Temps
Columbia @ Hood River (The mouth of the Hood backs up at 75 feet)

As always, we are happy to talk fishing any time.  Give us a call if you have any specific questions on local rivers, gear, and tactics, or if you just want some encouragement to get out of the office.  541.386.6977

Andrew Perrault
Columbia Gorge Fishing Reports
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"