2015 Deschutes Summer Steelhead Season Check In

Wow, I just looked at the last post I made in July... forget all about that noise I don't know what I was thinking.

This summer has been one to remember on the Lower Deschutes River. Due to the extreme low snowpack in the Cascades the White River has been imposing its will against the Deschutes, discoloring the lower river and making for some tough hunting. There were a lot of days where the river was colored but with 18 inches or so of visibility we still caught fish. Under those conditions we did best with T-8 sink tips and unweighted flies with a decent sized silhouette. There were a few shutout days but not many. And then there were days when the river cleared up overnight, the crowds had cleared out, and the crazy good fishing I am always hoping for happened. I believe this has been a healthy reality check for everyone. With the dirty water there seems to have been a good escapement of fish into the upper river, as it has been fishing well for us early this year.

Currently the river is in great shape regarding volume, color, and temperature and it's been a floating line show. There are a ton of Chinook in the lower river right now so the steelheading is spotty but they are there. We finished up our most recent trip with what I consider a solid tally of hookups and landed fish.

I have been trying hard to take lots of photos and not just of fish. I compiled a small gallery of images from our 2015 summer steelhead season on the Deschutes, almost entirely camping trips on the lower river and a few on the upper. Each morning on the water I get to watch the sun creep down the canyon walls and back up again each evening, so I included some shots of the dramatic lighting. They do not do the real thing any justice! Click the link at the bottom of this post to check it out.

Thanks for checking in and being patient while we plow through our busiest time of year! We have another few months of steelheading on the Deschutes to look forward to.

Chris