I picked Doug up Wednesday morning at the airport. It was very reminiscent of our trip last September, right down to the blue dry bags packed with gear. He threw them in the back of the pickup, jumped in and we headed out to meet the guys at the Welches Fly Shop.
We met Paul, Kevin and Dave in front of the shop, and we were all excited to spend five days kicking around Central Oregon, with no real plan other than chasing trout.
We rolled into the Warm Springs boat launch late morning Wednesday, dropped the boats and hit the river. The D was running around 4100 cubic feet per second - perfect, although a bit off color. We took our time on the short float to Mecca Flats, enjoying the unseasonably high temps and company.
After a great evening at Kevin's place, barbequing and enjoying the setting sun behind the Three Sisters, we hit the Lower D again. Unfortunately, the river had clearly risen overnight, and we later learned it jumped from less than 4100 to over 4800 in 12 hours. With the above average snow pack this winter, and the recent temps pushing 100 degrees, the powers that be were moving water out of the reservoirs in anticipation of a sudden snow melt. The sudden change would no doubt impact the fishing, and while we had a great time floating, the fishing just never really turned on.
Friday we opted to head south through Bend and check out the Fall River. None of us had fished the Fall before (if I had, it had been almost 20 years), and I was looking forward to the challenge of throwing flies in a crystal clear spring creek. Unfortunately, I didn't even see a fish, but the scenery itself was spectacular and worth the drive.
We had heard that the Crooked was still holding steady at 400 cubic feet per second, and while this was higher than we preferred it to be, we made the drive Saturday south of Prineville and up the breathtaking river canyon. Again, the river had spiked overnight, moving from 400 to almost 650 cubic feet per second, however the trout were still taking caddis patterns off the surface and several guys were able to bring a rainbow to hand. We packed it in around 2:30, and hit the Lower Bridge section of the Middle Deschutes on the way back to Kevin's place. The water was again high, overflowing the banks and flooding the flat, but there was a prolific mayfly hatch, many caddis, and even an occasional salmonfly buzzing about.
Sunday was the day we prolonged the inevitable - before heading home, we hit the Foley Waters section of the Middle Deschutes late morning, and spent a few hours swinging emergers and throwing dries. The high water had moved the trout out of the pocket water and made wading treacherous, but the river canyon through that section is one of my favorites and well worth the hike in.
While the fishing was slow, the trip was a blast and a great way to kick off the summer trout season.
scott
We met Paul, Kevin and Dave in front of the shop, and we were all excited to spend five days kicking around Central Oregon, with no real plan other than chasing trout.
We rolled into the Warm Springs boat launch late morning Wednesday, dropped the boats and hit the river. The D was running around 4100 cubic feet per second - perfect, although a bit off color. We took our time on the short float to Mecca Flats, enjoying the unseasonably high temps and company.
After a great evening at Kevin's place, barbequing and enjoying the setting sun behind the Three Sisters, we hit the Lower D again. Unfortunately, the river had clearly risen overnight, and we later learned it jumped from less than 4100 to over 4800 in 12 hours. With the above average snow pack this winter, and the recent temps pushing 100 degrees, the powers that be were moving water out of the reservoirs in anticipation of a sudden snow melt. The sudden change would no doubt impact the fishing, and while we had a great time floating, the fishing just never really turned on.
Friday we opted to head south through Bend and check out the Fall River. None of us had fished the Fall before (if I had, it had been almost 20 years), and I was looking forward to the challenge of throwing flies in a crystal clear spring creek. Unfortunately, I didn't even see a fish, but the scenery itself was spectacular and worth the drive.
We had heard that the Crooked was still holding steady at 400 cubic feet per second, and while this was higher than we preferred it to be, we made the drive Saturday south of Prineville and up the breathtaking river canyon. Again, the river had spiked overnight, moving from 400 to almost 650 cubic feet per second, however the trout were still taking caddis patterns off the surface and several guys were able to bring a rainbow to hand. We packed it in around 2:30, and hit the Lower Bridge section of the Middle Deschutes on the way back to Kevin's place. The water was again high, overflowing the banks and flooding the flat, but there was a prolific mayfly hatch, many caddis, and even an occasional salmonfly buzzing about.
Sunday was the day we prolonged the inevitable - before heading home, we hit the Foley Waters section of the Middle Deschutes late morning, and spent a few hours swinging emergers and throwing dries. The high water had moved the trout out of the pocket water and made wading treacherous, but the river canyon through that section is one of my favorites and well worth the hike in.
While the fishing was slow, the trip was a blast and a great way to kick off the summer trout season.
scott