Right now is my favorite time of the year to be on the Deschutes. You probably thought it was getting to be a bit late for Lower Deschutes steelhead didn’t you? Well so did everyone else, which leaves the lower section of river pretty much void of fisherman and still full of fresh steelhead. The best part of all is, this time of the year a lot of the fish are BIG.
Skating Purple Steelhead Muddlers and Orange Shade Chaser is still bringing many fish up to the surface too…. which is always awesome. Other necessary floating line flies to have in the box have been Morejohn’s Steelhead Caddis and Silvey’s Purple Nurple. Idyl’s Last Call is also needed to follow up with those non-committal plucks that are so common in the Deschutes. When the sun comes on the water, it is time to switch to a light sink-tip. My favorite combo out there is 12ft of T-11 which turns over effortlessly with an Airflo Compact Skagit head, this is the easiest to cast and most effective combo I have found. With a sink-tip, the Fish Taco has been the go to fly. Chrome Magnet also has been finding those deep stubborn big boys that don’t want to move for many flies.
These are a few shots from a couple recent trips. There are still a few prime, late season dates open, check them out here.
Winter is almost here, but not quite yet. Get out there while you still can. Hope to see you on the water!
-Jeff Hickman
