 Green Butt Skunk |
 Freight Train |
"You should have been here yesterday, it was hot." This is a phrase you will hear a lot when fishing Pacific steelhead on the lower Deschutes River, Oregon and you had best believe it. Depending on the run of the pods of steelhead turning out of the Columbia River, into the Deschutes some days you may find a window of steelhead hookups that will yield 2 - 4 - 6 - 12 or more fish a day ~ for the morning or evening bites, and then there are other days that the hookup rate is ZERO for the entire day. Traditionally the highest steelhead counts coming over The Dalles Dam occur around the second and third week of September. You can have a great day of fishing either at the mouth of the river, by jetboat boat runs up the river, floating the river or by hiking/ mtn.biking the eastside trail, it is worth the time to pay your dues, and land a Deschutes steelhead, if you have the time, or you can get a guide to help you figure it out, many guide rates are $150-$200 per person per day's ride. Many guides are fully booked by March 1st.
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( Class IV ) |
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Without a doubt the best steelhead fishing on the entire Deschutes River System is the lower 15 miles, with the best stretch being the lower 10 miles, accessible by foot or boat only. Here you have the highest concentration of Deschutes River steelies, and strays (including the B-run*) that belong to other river systems but are holding for a cool break in the lower river. This entire stretch of the river can be easily accessed by using the old railroad grade that runs along the east bank of the river. There is no motorized vehicles allowed on this railroad grade, but foot travel and bicycles are allowed. Many people use mountain bikes to race to their favorite fishing slot. Beware of rattlesnakes on the trails, and check yourself for ticks after walking the trails.
Be sure to check the current Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations
before fishing in Oregon, but in general the regulations for fishing the
Deschutes are:
1) No fishing with bait, or soft (rubber like) lures
2) No fishing from a boat or any other floating device unless your
feet are planted on the bottom of the river. Float tube fishing is permitted,
with your feet on the bottom of the river and float tuber must also have
a boat permit to enter the river.
3) No removal of adipose finned (wild) steelhead from the water (wild
steelhead must be released unharmed) ~ Treble hook fishers please cut your
line to free wild steelhead, if hooked with more than one hook.
4) Motorized boat schedules are publicized, the sequence is 10 days
on, 4 days off.
The lower Deschutes River is currently fishing steelhead (1 and 2 salt fish)** perhaps the best in 30 years. Most of the Deschute's hatchery stock steelies are in the 24 to 28 inch range, the 2 salt strays are running up to 35" are here. Like any river, it is best if you know the river slots (des chutes) of this river to find fish, otherwise you can spend days fishing with poor results.
 Ron holding a 17 lb in his right hand and a bigger brother 23 lb in his left. Fish of this size are not uncommon in the Fall. |
 Curt WON!!! against this fall chinook. This 35 pounds of fight and chase lasted 3/4 hour . |
The Deschutes has a slick basalt rock bottom, with this year's current flow running 4700 to 5000 cfs (500 to 1000 cfs lower than most years). At these lower flows, the Deschutes is more wader friendly than in years past. You would be wise to wear studded wading boots, and have a wading staff available, when you step into the Deschutes. Needed studded wading boots and a staff? Blue Mountain Anglers has that!
This is Pacific steelhead fishing...not insect sipping trout. Fly sizes should be 3/0 to 8, wet or dry depending on the time of day, dry flies will work well in low light conditions, get ready for an attack on your life! The rule of thumb for selecting your steelhead flies are dark flies / gold finish flies in low light conditions ~ overcast days; and bright flies / silver finish during mid day ~ bright sunny days. Greenbutt Skunk, Freight Train, Spawning Purple, Purple Peril are currently some of the best flies for catching Deschutes steelies. Technique used is the steelhead wet fly swing; best rod size is 8 weight, 9' to 10' and you should be able to double haul cast to get the most effective river coverage. The Deschutes is also a great spey rod user friendly river.
If you would like the most up-to-date fishing report coming off the Deschutes contact Blue Mountain Angles, as we currently have Blue Mountain Anglers fishing the lower Deschutes 6 to 7 days a week now. Another barometer for tracking the run of steelhead in the Deschutes is to go to The Dalles Dam adult fish passage count (USACE) and watch the run over that dam, and then give the fish between 1 and 2 days to get to the Deschutes River. Recent fishing reports from the lower Deschutes has nearly everyone hooking a steelhead, and many people creeling their daily limit ~ 2 fin clipped steelhead per day (see ODFW fishing regulations for details).
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 Department or Fish & Wildlife |
*B-run steelhead are all steelhead going over Bonneville Dam after August
27, and are traditionally a much larger fish, many in the 18 to 22 pound
class.
**Pacific Steelhead...one salt steelhead usually run 6 to 8 pounds of piss
and vinegar.
**Pacific Steelhead...two salt fish are 8 to 12 pounds average.
