Deschutes Trout

The trout fishing continues to be strong on the Deschutes.  There are a lot of positives going out there in the trout world right now.  One of them is unseasonably warm water temps.  The weather is on a slight cooling trend, but overall, it's been warm and beautiful.  We simply have not seen the big fall drop in temp, and the water has been in the getting well into the fifties on most days.  The trout have not evacuated a lot of the water they've been holding in for months.  There's been no need to drop into softer water at this point, and there's plenty of food around to keep them in some of the faster spots. 

One very glaring effect, particularly below Sherar's Falls, has been the presence of spawning Chinook.  There are tons of them in various stages of the end of their life cycles.  This effects the trout in a few different ways.  The biggest factor being how the salmon move the trout around.  If you're scratching your head wondering why some of your most productive runs are producing next to nothing, it's very likely that there are some salmon holding in the prime water.  They are very territorial and apt to chase trout away.  This is also a part of why back eddies along the bank continue to hold happily feeding trout.  The salmon aren't in there!  At this point, most of the Chinook are either on gravel or doing everything they can to get to it before the window closes.

The other major impact of the Chinook is the huge influx of their eggs.  Like all trout, the fish in the Deschutes absolutely love salmon eggs.  They're programmed to from a young age to eat as many eggs as they can....any time they can!  And it makes perfect sense from an evolutionary stand point.  They get a lot more caloric bang for the buck from eggs than they do from smaller insects.  Due to the egg situation, trout will often stack up downstream from spawning salmon and feed heavily while they can.  That doesn't mean that every single trout in the river is gorging on eggs, but it's important to note that a lot of them are.  

Fishing around the salmon can be extremely productive, but if you end up in that situation, it's critical to be sensitive to the spawning fish.  The Chinook are one of the most important parts of the ecosystem and crucial to the overall health of the river.  If you see spawning redds, make sure you avoid wading anywhere near them.  If you see salmon in skinny water, the best move is to observe them from afar.  Watching spawning salmon is one of those great Northwestern experiences and it can easily be done from a distance with limited impact to the fish.
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Stillwater season is coming to a close on many local lakes at the end of the month.  It's been another good one!  Reports from the dedicated lake anglers as of late have been quite good.  The unseasonably warm weather has kept the water temps a bit above where they could be at this time of year.  Especially at elevation.  Insect activity has been sporadic, but the bite has been good.  Leeches under indicators or on sinking lines have been consistently productive.  If you're uncertain of the regulations, be sure to check before you head out.  Many of the lakes close the last day of the month, but not all of them. 

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Beyond the notable closures of the Deschutes and John Day, there are still some opportunities for late summer fish.  Whether it's the Klickitat, Portland area rivers, or destinations further east, there are quite a few places to try for a steelhead if you need to scratch the itch.  One part of the equation that remains to be seen is rain.  Rivers all over the Northwest are about as low as they get for this time of year.  For Lower Columbia tribs, that means there are quite a few steelhead holding out in the big river waiting for rain before making their move. It's been so dry for so long, any bump in flow will drive in some fish.  That doesn't mean that there are no fish entering the Columbia tribs right now, but there will certainly be a lot more on the move as soon as it rains.....whenever that may be!         
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