White Horse Rapids

RIDE THE WHITE HORSE
J. Morgan Jones

Some parts of the Deschutes River are easy to float, other sections take more experienced rowing skills. For instance you can fish the Warm Springs to Trout Creek with comparative ease. Here the river is a tail-water, much like a giant spring creek with prolific hatches of insects, (the Salmonfly is the best known), blanket caddis, PMDs, Green Drakes and Crane flies to name a few. The early season brings the really big fish out, and there are a lot of them. Of course this also brings out a lot of other anglers.

It is a place known by trout fishers through out the world. The Salmonfly hatch is, I would venture to say, one of the best known hatches on a trout river anywhere in the country. Lots of boats on the river this time of year. The drift itself? Warm Springs to trout Creek is low gradient, wide with lots of slow edge water. It's easy to float with lots of fish, lots of hatches and good fishing water everywhere. The biggest danger on this entire drift might possibly be hooking yourself with your own fly. 

Put in at the Warm Springs boat ramp, fish all day, pull out at Trout Creek. This nine mile stretch provides a full day of usually good fishing. 

What’s below Trout Creek? Two to five days days of good fishing, great water, good camp spots and The infamous White Horse Rapids. While I do not know the exact number of boaters that neogotiate White Horse every season, I would guess that it is in the thousands. If you are an real experienced white water boater, it’s really not a BIG deal to navigate White Horse, but for a good many of us, the trip can be a bit unnerving. 

There are many who say, " it is not really a difficult white water section, I never bother to scout, just bail off in there (head towards the left, and, shoot, you’ll be just fine! )". However, I think that just about everything that I have ever read about this 1/2 mile stretch of the river mentions that you need to pull of the water and SCOUT THE RAPIDS. Wonder why that is? Perhaps it’s because that many boats are lost here every season. Perhaps because  lives are lost here each season as well. Even experienced  fishing guide have lost boats here. Even river guides that have been through this stretch of water many, many times can at times have difficulty. So, my advice to you is buy a river map so you can keep track of where you are on the river and when you get to pull over spot just above White Horse, tie up your boat and hike yourself down to the rapids and spend some time plotting your course. I have met a few folks who have lost a boat and $5000 to $10,000 worth of fishing gear when the boat turned over. And I have spoken with a few people who were there when some one else was lost to the rapids. To myself, I liken it to driving in bumper to bumper rush hour freeway traffic at 60 to 70 miles per hour. It really isn’t a big deal at all. Until you, or perhaps some one else, makes a small mistake, and you either get a real quick momentary rush (and a thankful sigh of relief), or things get out of hand really quick and you are smack in the middle of something that you would rather not have to deal with at all. 

You are going to get a bit anxious when scouting White Horse. I got REAL anxious scouting the rapids and hearing different stories from my buddies. Even thought about changing my mind for a bit. If you have done what you should have been doing prior to “rowing the horse”, you are going to feel this way yourself, but then, once you “drop in” to the entrance, you are too busy to be nervous and you get totally focused on finding your route and keeping to it. I was glad I had a plan, was able to follow it, and I made no mistakes...... this time. I anticipate there will be no problems the next time either, as long as my plan includes respecting the river, realizing what it is capable of and scouting the best route for that time of year.

I have been through White Horse one time rowing my own boat. It was in my new Outcast Trout Hunter 18' pontoon boat. It was an easy trip...not real a big deal...well, sort of...don't kid yourself...there were a few butterflies. I am not a white water guy, by any stretch of the imagination, but have rowed boats a lot in easier water. I don't think that I am ready to row a drift boat through White Horse, but with the big cat-boat, it wasn't too bad.

 I also plan on remembering that I am really just there for a fishing trip. I am not looking to impress anyone with my white water skills or my limited ability to row a boat through white water. I don’t want to throw away my nice rods, and I have no need of mourning the loss of someone I was responsible for because I thought I could be a bit casual going through the White Horse rapids. I will be wearing my life jacket, and if you are in my boat, you will be wearing yours. 

I “rowed (or rode) the horse” an survived.... but it was planned that way.