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Stellar reports
the past two weeks despite high water. Fish are rolling throughout
the river and this is a good time of year to get out.
The walk and wade angler might get less accessible water frontage
due to the high water levels, but anglers using floating devices
will see plenty of good fishable holding water for summer Steelhead.
There should be a fair amount of elbow room to swing black leeches
on spey Rods since "the other" anglers equipped
with bobber and egg sticks have been less active due to a poor
Spring Chinook run.
The snowpack is higher than normal, expect heavy flows to continue.
Anglers are reminded to use caution if on foot, as many of your
formerly passable runs can't be crossed at this point.
Summers are reported to have been caught throughout the system,
but not in huge numbers. The run is expected to be as good as
usual. If you do encounter an early summer, chances are this
blue-back-chrome-bellied Steelhead will be a 3 salter'....
ergo BIG!!
Only about 20 summers have been trapped at the hatchery as of
this morning June 9th. The hatchery is not running juveniles
at the moment, making the creek too low for the summers to want
to move up in the creek (and get recycled). Summer Steelhead
are in the river in good numbers. All summer Steelhead will
have the right maxillary clipped as well as the adipose fin.
Ok... We will revisit this high water discussion again.
Throughout the last few months we have been telling you this:
<<< Be careful when checking the Estacada gauge! There's
a large difference between in CFS flows between 12.5 feet (great!)
and 14.5 feet (go home!) We like the gauge between 11.5 ~ 12.8.
At 12.5 feet the CFS is usually around 2700 CFS!
At 14.5 feet the CFS is usually around 6800 CFS! >>>
I'll refrain to this.... Typically high (14.5) water
also equates into murky water! (See winter and early spring!)
But with steady flows, water has been green to dark green as
of the last week. Its fishable folks! With that said, the water
will probably cloud up as soon as we hit temps in the upper
80's again. Until then, you should be fine!
Trout fishing is now open on the Upper Clackamas. The Oak Grove
Fork of the Clackamas provides excellent small stream trout
fishing this time of year. Upper reaches may be hard to access
at this point and solid reports are unclear from ODFW.
Guide Info: Jad Donaldson. Call us at 503-639-6400 to book your
trip. |
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The river ran
low and clear Thursday June 5th, but the river rose Friday and
then blew out over the weekend. With that said, the river is
down to 4.3 ft again and the water is clearing.
A fair amount of chromers have been captured in the past month,
but fishing slowed the last week. With a fresh bash of agua
over the weekend and a descending river, fishing should pick
up.
The run usually peaks around June 15th ~ July 1st but with colder
water temps, expect the peak of the run around the 1st week
of July. Still, it's obviously not too early to head out
with your summer stick. The water is good with a reading of
51 degrees. Lower 50's are perfect temps for Steelhead.
It's finally time to slowly...slowly.... back
away from your Mega Winter Leeches and put your T-14 down, and
welcome your floating line and summer flies with open arms.
Traditional Steelhead flies such as Skunks, Purpil Perils and
Joel La Follette's Summer Run will be a joy to cast and
fish after a long winter using large tips and large flies. Although
when we said slowly, we meant it. Small low profile leeches
in black and purple will still do great on a type 3, especially
until the water heats up just a tad. |
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Water temperatures are 51
degrees as of this morning and flows are good, with similar
conditions as the Wilson report above, expect fishing to pick
up. The river is open upstream of Blaine again.
Same techniques as mentioned in the Wilson report. |
The river blew
out this past weekend, but should be back in shape come late
in the week. Reports have been fair at best, but with a fresh
rain flushing the system, expect new fish to enter the system
throughout the week.
Summer Steelhead are in the trap (River mile 64). In other words,
fish are spread throughout the system in fair numbers.
All hatchery summer fish will have an adipose fin clipped only.
About 15-20% of the run is native fish. They must be released
without harm.
Same techniques as mentioned in the Wilson report. |
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The water has plummeted to
summer levels... finally! Conditions are as good as they have
been for the past month. The water today is 4510 CFS on the
Madras gauge. Visibility is about 4.5 feet. With the water being
so unstable throughout spring, we urge you to call in sick and
head on out while the big bugs are still around. Weather conditions
for the next 7 days are also looking great with 75~80 degrees
and sunny.
Should (when) the water come back up, here's the rundown:
High and off-colored water? Here's how it works
folks... take a seat! (Pelton Dam to White River)
With record snow packs below 4000 FT, snowmelt will continue
to fill the reservoirs throughout summer and into fall. Lake
Simtustus (the reservoir above Pelton Dam) must remain at a
certain controlled level. Any access of water is released into
the regulation dam and then released into the Deschutes River.
The Deschutes has been running higher than normal for this time
of year, as a result of continual water releases from Pelton.
However, if the water levels remain steady, the high water does
not affect fishing a great deal!
Thundershowers and heavy rainfall over a short amount of time
is the main reason for off colored water. Tributaries of the
Deschutes River (Shitike Creek, Trout Creek, and Warm Springs
River) usually blow with heavy rains, and contribute to murky
water and slow fishing! These tributaries usually clear within
24-48 hours, although Trout Creek can take longer.
What does all this mean?
Thundershowers and heavy rainfall, bad!
High but steady water, Ok!
Salmonflies and Goldens are out from below Maupin to Warm Springs
with the peak around Trout Creek. With that said, there are
"pockets" of bugs between South Junction and Maupin
with surprisingly large numbers of bugs out still. Lot's
of female Salmonflies and Goldens finally took of flight Sunday
and dropped eggs as the weather finally reached 78 degrees and
sunny.
Lots and lots of caddis are out as well. With so many species
of caddis on the Deschutes, carry a large selection of Elk Hair
Caddis and X-caddis ranging from size 14 ~ 18 and colors such
as peacock, black, tan and brown. We also saw PED, PMD and Green
Drakes roaming on top.
Be ready for the Green Drakes. When GD's are hatching,
trout will ignore the Stoneflies. Berrett's Emerging Green
Drake is an excellent pattern for this event.
For nymphing we favor 3X leaders with a Black Stone fly nymph
and a dropper (or two if you dare!) about 18 inches below the
Stone. The latest and greatest tool however is a Carnazzo Drowned
Stone Nymph. Come check it out, it's wicked! The tippet
used for your dropper however should be limp enough to let your
dropper "swim freely", 4-5x tippets depending on
hook size. With Flows descending and clearing up, scale down
the size of your dropper nymphs. BH Bubble Back PMD and BWO
are scoring big this spring and summer. Other strong possibilities
the next few weeks will be; Size 14-16 BH Sparkle Pupa's
in Tan, Olive, and Bright Green.
Here's a NEW list of can't miss
Deschutes Spring Flies:
Tool Nymphs (Stones): GB RL Kaufmann Stone
# 6-10, Morrish's W.M.D Dark Stone or Golden # 6-8, Foxy
Brown BH Stone, Fat Bastard BH Stone # 4-6, Cone Stone # 6-8,
JB Wired Stone.
Dropper Nymphs (size 14-18): BH Lightning Bug,
BH Bubble Back, BH CDC Prince, BH GR Hares Ear, BH CDC PT, Black
Biotic Nymph, Kaufmann's BH Rhyacophila, Green Jelly Cord
Caddis, Kaufmann's Mirage Copper, BH Soft Hackle Orange
or Yellow, Bead Head WD-40.
Dry Flies: size 14-16 Pale Evening Dun's,
size 14-18 PMD's, size 14-20 Midges, size 14-18 Tan, brown
& Peacock Elk Hair Caddis, size 14 yellow Crane Flies, Size
10-14 Green Drake's.
Dry Stones: 6-10 RL Norm Woods, size 4-8 Rogue
Foam (both Golden and Salmonfly), Size 6-8 Mo Joe Stones,
There is plenty of access for the walk and wade angler. Access
points on the East bank (BLM) are Warm Springs, Mecca Flats,
Trout Creek and South Junction. The only access point on the
West bank is Dry Creek. This is a great stretch of water to
fish as most anglers on foot seem to favor Mecca Flats and South
Junction. Also beware of private property at South Junction.
Bear in mind that there's a large spawning area in front
of Dry Creek. Please don't wade on this large redd. You
can also use your mountain bike (with a good suspension) to
explore more water. Again, we remind you, you must have a Tribal
Permit in this stretch.
The Warm Springs Tribe also reminds anglers not to step foot
on, or fish any island west of the main channel. Law enforcement
from the tribe is expected to be patrolling the entire reservation
in pickup trucks and boats alike. We remind you that there's
no access on the reservation side of the river of any kind from
Pelton Dam to Dry Creek. Same goes for the stretch between Trout
Creek to the Northern Boundary of the Reservation. (Approx river
mile 69/Dixon)
You can only fish and step foot on the reservation between Dry
Creek (94.5 mile marker) and Trout Creek (88.4 mile marker)
with a Tribal Permit. You must provide your state fishing license,
Tribal permit and picture identification when fishing this section.
In order to obtain this permit, visit www.tribalpermit.com. |
The 7 day forecast
is calling for high 60 to 70's with plenty of sunshine.
Taking chances with unstable water conditions on many neighboring
rivers, the Metolius makes for a sure bet this week. Evenings
and morning will be chilly, so remember to bring a fleece coat.
The Green Drakes are hatching in good numbers, although the
hatch is spread out. Some area's on the river seem to
hold less drakes, so takes notice and move on until you find
them. The hatch is a later afternoon gig between the hours of
3:00 ~ 5:00. We have a great new emerger pattern that we have
done well on the Deschutes, no reason it shouldn't be
killer here. PMD's are also late to arrive and will overlap
the Green Drake hatch and last into early evening if conditions
are right. Try fishing spinners at dusk.
With late hatches of Mayflies, mornings and early afternoons
should be spend nymphing for trout with small size 18 BH WD40's
in olive or black, tan sparkle pupa's and BH Bubble Backs.
Larger golden stone nymphs are a great pattern in mid June.
The adult stones do not start arriving until July. The other
early a.m. option is to seek Bull Trout with big bunny leeches
on sink tips. Bull trout are more active in the mornings and
late evenings. |
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The water is
high and off color, but the water is dropping and could be fishable
by late week. Call Jad at the shop for updates. The water is
still a little cold at only 50 degrees, but it has bumped up
since last Thursday. This could help fish get more active.
Only less than a handful of fish has been trapped at Cedar,
but the creek is running too cold for the fish to enter. You'll
find plenty of fish and anglers alike near the hatchery.
On fishable days, anglers are catching plenty of fish. Summer
fish have been caught since April. Catches will increase throughout
May and peak in June and July. With that said, summers will
continue to trickle into the Sandy as late as September.
All Sandy River Hatchery fish will have their adipose fin clipped
(only).
With Spring Chinook in the system, many gear anglers will start
leaving the Steelhead rod at home, thus giving the fly angler
more room to swing.
The removal of Marmot Dam has changed some of your favorite
runs throughout the river. We recommend hiring a guide for the
day to get familiar with the new "surroundings".
Guide Info: Jad Donaldson. Call us at 503-639-6400 to book your
trip. |
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The average flow for the
Mac' in summer and fall is usually under 3000 CFS. Over
the past month however, flows has increased and currently running
at 7240 CFS. With that said the fishing has been better than
expected from all the reports we have gathered.
Softhackles in green, orange or yellow (what's new), McKenzie
Green Caddis, PMD's and a few Green Drakes should be in
your June box. With the higher colder water, expect the large
Green Caddis to last into late June.
With 100,000 hatchery trout being released throughout summer,
having your annual company "Golf Tourney" switched
to a guided MacKenzie River fishing float trip now makes a lot
of sense!
These hatchery fish are planted just for a supplement to anglers.
Matter of fact the stocking of these trout is one of the largest
projects in the nation. You are encouraged to retain the hatchery
fish (all wild fish must be released). Please study your 2008
fishing before going. Best fishing for hatchery fish is from
below Forest Glen Boast Ramp down to Hayden Bridge near Springfield.
There's 16 boat ramps in this section. Access when floating
is plentiful.
Note: Steelhead fishing has been slow. |
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Open:
Chickahominy Reservoir - pretty decent reports on leeches and
ice cream cones!
Davis - open with limited access, both bass and trout are active.
Crane Prairie - target the shallows for best fishing now.
Billy Chinook - recent changes in the regs here. Kokanee are
included in the total of 5 trout allowed.
Timothy - now accessible, no news so far.
Harriet - now accessible, great smaller lake.
Laurance - ice-free and ready to go.
Rock Creek - a happening place to be.
Pine Hollow - a good place to pull out the poppers.
Gorge Lakes - ditto
Inaccessible (as far as I know):
Clear - Hosmer - Lost - Lava - Trillium
- Frog |
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| The Yakima River is in nice
shape right now and the PMD's and Caddis are the thing in the
Lower Canyon. This could change with a streak normal warm summer
days. Good hatches of PMD's and PED Mayflies are coming off
from 1:30 to 3:00 . Good old Lt. Cahill's both standard
and parachute in 14's and 16's imitate the PMD well. The Quigley
Cripple in size 14 or a CDC Cripple also work well. The Caddis
are there all day but really don't enter the picture until the
late afternoon or early evening. When you're fishing dry
Caddis don't forget to tie an X Caddis about 18" behind
your caddis adult pattern. Look for pods of feeding fish but
if they aren't up stick with nymphs. Fished about 3' to 4' under
an indicator a CDC Flashback Pheasant Tail size 14, Lightning
Bugs size 14, Copper John 14"s or 16, the Iron Sally will
work. Try fishing a two fly rig, running a larger stone pattern
on top with the smaller mayfly nymph only 12" to 14"
below. It will increase your success rate. The fish will run
from the little guys (8" to 12") to the big grins
(17" to 20"). The Lower Canyon is a little colored
because of Wilson Creek but the Upper and Middle rivers are
running quite clear at this time and the nymphing is good. Soon
they will be releasing water from the three damns and the river
will rise significantly. Watch the river levels or give us a
call. |
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