The day stretch from Warm Springs to Trout Creek has been good. It has been an unusually warm and dry start to fall this year, with temps still hitting the 80s during the heat of the day. This has kept the caddis active on the Lower river, so keep some small elk hair and x caddis in the box. October caddis and pmds have also been popping off at times, so be ready with these in your box as well. Nymphing and trout spey continue to be highly productive as well.
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 middle is a great option in October. BWO’s and pmds are the main bugs hatching here at the moment and fishing is good. Throwing larger articulated streamers in here is a good bet to try and find a big brown.
Upper Deschutes
The upper Deschutes is now closed until the spring.
Metolius River
Still plenty of good dry fly fishing to be had on the Met. There are still a few Green Drakes and Flavs around the middle to upper river. BWO’s and pmds are also important this time of year so be ready with nymphs, emergers, cripples, duns and spinners to cover the entire life cycle of these insects. Some days they want to eat the dun, other days they want an emerger just under the surface film. Nymphing both euro and traditional is effective. October caddis nymphs and golden stone nymphs are good bets, followed by a two bit hooker or a small frenchie.
The bull trout have finished up their spawn for the most part and will now just hang in the river for the next 3 months or so and gorge on the Kokanee. The kokanee seem to be a little late this year, though there definitely are some around still. Tying flies that imitate dead or dying kokanee and stripping them around log jams or dead drifting them in longer runs is a great way to go. The Met is a beautiful place to spend a fall day, the great fishing is just a bonus.
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.
Steelhead -
Steelhead fishing has been rewarding to those putting in the time and effort. This is a fishery where you can’t expect success if you don’t put in the time. It requires early mornings, long days of searching, switching up your gear and tactics, and a little bit of luck. Both dry lines and small flies, as well as sink tips and intruders are finding fish. These fish are spread out now the entire length of the river from the mouth all the way to Warm Springs.
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.
