My phone rang shortly after lunch Tuesday. It was the call I had been waiting all day for. "Hey Scott, it's Doug. Can you leave early?" There's a silly question.

We picked up Dave just after 2, and after a couples of hours behind the wheel rolled into Maupin heading south up the river canyon. The river had dropped quite a bit from when I had been out with Bill a few weeks earlier, and was looking good. We fished for a few hours before setting up camp, then headed into town to hit the 'Bow and wait for Paul.


The good Doctor Pants with a nice redside

Wednesday was great - on the water around 9:30, with a slight cloud cover and nip in the air. We didn't see another boat the entire day, and had a great time seeing what the winter's high water had done to our favorite stops.


View from the peanut gallery


A wonderful Deschutes rainbow


Nothing will put a smile on your face like tussling with a Big D redside

Paul had to roll out Wednesday night, so Doug, Dave and I hunkered down for another tough night at the 'Bow and were eager to explore above Maupin on Thursday.

Thursday arrived with a heavy cloud cover and slight drizzle; we were excited in the hopes of a March Brown or BWO hatch, but it wasn't too be. While we did see a few sporadic caddis and smaller BWO's, the hatch never materialized and it was a nymphing game.


Waiting for the hatch

We packed up late afternoon and headed north, eager to meet again for our trip in May to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday and explore some new water in Central Oregon.


Clouds rolling on the Big D

scott