Water flow: Madras: 3960 CFS Moody: 4430
Visibility: 50 inches
Water temperature at mid-day: 59 Degrees F
Water condition: Clear
Best time of day to fish: Trout Fishing all day, with the morning and evening best
Best stretch: Trout Creek to Maupin for Trout. Pine Tree to the Mouth for steelhead
Best access point:
Fly fishing hatches in order of importance:
Caddis are still around, though the dry fly action has been slower than usual. Some fish seemed more interested a well placed size 18 or 20 purple haze. Focus on the back eddys this time of the year. Mayflies: PMD's, PED's. The cloudy days have been great fishing with the may dries. Midges: the early morning nymphing with a midge pupa has been awesome.
"Must-have" fly fishing patterns in descending order of importance:
| Fly Name: | Fly Color: | Fly Size(s): |
|---|---|---|
| Prince Nymph | 12-20 | |
| Copper John Nymph | 12-18 | |
| Adams | grey | 14, 16, 18 |
| Cdc Elk Caddis Dun | 6 | |
| Flashback Bh American Pt | Pheasant Tail | 14 - 20 |
| Copper John Nymph | Copper | 14-18 |
| Purple Haze Parachute | Purple | 12-18 |
| Sparkle Pupa | ||
| Zebra Midge | 18-20 |
| Orvis-Endorsed guides nearby: |
|---|
| Cascade Guides & Outfitters |
| Deep Canyon Outfitters |
Fish species: Steelhead, Trout
Fishing season: Year Round (Prime: May 1 - October 31)
Nearest airport: Roberts Field Airport (RDM), Redmond, Oregon
Recommended fly fishing leader: 9 Foot Leader
Recommended fly fishing tippet: 4X Tippet Pound Test
Best fly fishing rod: 9' 5 Weight Fly Rod
Best floating fly line: Trout WF
Best sinking fly line: Class V Sink Tip
Real-time water flow data from USGS:
Healthy populations of rainbow trout and growing returns of steelhead inhabit the Lower Deschutes River. This spectacular river rambles through an immense canyon, dropping sharply in spots creating exciting whitewater opportunities. Besides great fishing, the Deschutes is home for wildlife, including Bald eagles, Osprey, Blue Heron, Big Horn sheep, Mule deer, playful Otters and of course strong rainbow trout ... 
Trout Fishing: The dry fly fishing with your favorite caddis or may fly will be O.K. for the next few weeks. Mayflies will be very active during cloudy days. Be sure use a 9 foot 4 or 5x (maybe even 6x) leader to help fool the hungry trout. . Dropping a caddis emerger or pheasant tail will yield a fish extra fish. This technique works best in the open riffles and back eddies. If they are not interested in the caddis, small BWO, Trico, and PMD patterns have been working great. Early mornings, use a small, Elk Hair Caddis with the hackles trimmed. This will help imitated a spent caddis. Nymphing with a pheasant tail as the lead and a caddis pupa as the dropper is our favorite nymphing set up. Midge pupas, small mayfly nymphs, and other attractor nymphs work well too. Small nymphs are working best. Nymphing this past trip produced most of the trout. Steelhead: fish between Pine Tree and the Mouth. This is a great time of the year to bring a steelhead to the surface! Try "chuggin'" your foamy skaters. We just returned from a day trip where we hooked 2 landed one above Beavertail. Temperatures are back to normal in the lower river... high 60's. The cool weather this week, and even a few rain showers will certainly help the steelheading. There are tons of steelhead between the dams waiting for a reason to move... the cold weather this week could be the reason.
The cool, fall like weather will help bring the mayflies back. It will also help cool the water and likely bring a push of steelhead in from the Colombia. It's not too early to start thinking about steelhead! The numbers in Colombia are outrageous! There are 55,000+ in the Dalles pool. Let's hope the cool weather will bring a slug of fish into the system.
