Deschutes River (Oregon) - Fishing

Fishing

The river is world renowned for its fly fishing. It is home to a unique wild and native strain of Rainbow trout known locally as "redsides" or redband trout. The redsides grow larger than most and also have a distinct darker red stripe than most wild rainbow trout. They are abundant in this stretch of the river, which has counts of 1,700 fish of 7 inches in size per mile (1,100 fish of 18 centimeters in size per kilometer) above Sherars Falls, and they are noticeably stronger than trout who do not have to cope with life in such a big, powerful river. The average catch for these fish is 8 inches (20 cm) to 15 inches (38 cm), and some are much larger. These redside or redband trout are found throughout the river. Fishing for them is most popular from Warm Springs down to Macks Canyon. (Warm Springs Reservation owns the entire Deschutes West Bank from 16 miles (26 km) south of Maupin to Lake Billy Chinook and on up to Jefferson Creek on the Metolius River arm) below Pelton Dam. Fishing from Tribal lands requires special permits. From Pelton Dam to the mouth the Deschutes is one of America's most productive trout waters and a top producer of summer steelhead, managed primarily for wild trout. This 100-mile (160 km) stretch of river drops 1,233 feet (376 m), carving a volcanic rock canyon 700 feet (213 m) to 2,200 feet (671 m) deep.

Fly fishermen come from around the world in the last two weeks in May through the first two weeks in June to take advantage of the Stoneflies (both salmonflies and golden stones) hatch. These bugs are in the river year-round; however their large adults are a major food source for the fish. Weighted stonefly nymph patterns are a staple for Deschutes anglers and produce year round.

Sport fishing for Steelhead occurs in the river from the mouth to Round Butte Dam. Sport fishing for spring and fall chinook salmon occurs from the mouth to Sherars Falls. Tribal fishing for chinook and steelhead occurs at Sherars Falls.

In Lake Billy Chinook (reservoir), there are fisheries for kokanee, bull trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, and several warm water species such as large mouth bass and a very large population of small mouth bass. There are also periodic commercial fisheries for crayfish. The bull trout that are caught in this reservoir are some of the largest bull trout caught on the west coast. The numbers are scarce because the bull's are endangered; however, numbers have risen every year since they became protected. The lake allows an individual to keep a bull trout that measures more than 24 inches (61 cm). (This is included for a daily bag limit.)