Deschutes River fly fishing bums

Congratulations: Tyler Bohnet of Tualatin, OR who won the Winston LTX Fly Rod
at the Winston Days Drawing at The Fly Fishing Shop, July 21.

Patty Barnes with a Deschutes River steelhead.

Deschutes River fly fishing bums....
The common theory is that steelhead do very little feeding after they have returned to fresh water. Most popular steelhead flies are attractor patterns or flies that mimic organisms that live in salt water. However, there is little doubt that some steelhead do not loose their need to feed when they return to their home river. On a recent float down the Deschutes River, my partner Patty Barnes
landed a fat hatchery steelhead that we killed for the

barbeque. When ever I butcher a fish I always open the stomach to see if it has been feeding, and what it has been feeding on. When the stomach of this fish was opened, I was amazed to find that it contained an abundance of juvenile green caddis, both larva and pupa. Unfortunately as I slit the stomach a wave washed some of the contents away so I wasn't able to get an exact count, but there were over a dozen insects involved. This fish was actively

Sometimes Redsides will eat steelhead flies.

feeding like a trout. Sometimes steelhead act like trout and sometimes trout act like steelhead. We fished Wooly Buggers on sinking tip lines during the day. And although our target was steelhead, we caught dozens of trout. Who knows why a Deschutes Redside will take a Purple Wooly Bugger, but on some days they will. We had high wind in the evenings, but decided to trout fish one evening

anyway. The caddis and Water Moth hatches at dark created some outstanding rises. We did this with traditional 5-weight rods. Deschutes Redsides pull hard on this size tackle. We are very lucky to have this fishery so close to home.

On this trip Patty and I took the opportunity to field test a couple of new spey rods. ("I Know, its dirty, dangerous work. But, someone has to do it"). We tested Sage's new Graphite IV/IIIe, 7136-4 and 7141-4. The 7136-4 (13' 6" - #7) has a traditional "spey" action and is no doubt the premier floating line rod for Deschutes size summer steelhead. We teamed it up with a Ross Canyon #5 reel and a RIO Windcutter 6/7/8 line. We found that the new version of this rod, unlike the older version, can handled strong wind easily. It is easy to load and has a forgiving nature.
The 7147-4 (14' 1" - #7) is what Sage calls their fast European action, which is stiffened in the butt. Last February I got a call

Mark Bachmann testing the latest spey rod.

from George Cook our Sage Rep. He said, "You gotta' try this rod cause it bombs!" Patty and I ordered two of them that same day for testing. The next week we floated the Sandy with Aaron Alexander. The river was high and so was the wind. The new rod was radically different from what I had been using and the conditions were tough. I struggled and cussed. To make things worse Aaron borrowed the rod and immediately threw a couple of bullets to 90'. It was humiliating to the point that I had to hook the only two fish of the trip. Course he Bogarted that spot for the rest of the season. I put the rod away for months. I could see that it would take would take more attention than I had time to give it. The next time I even picked it up was on a trip with Aaron and Mike Senatra a week ago on the McKenzie. The river is a manageable size and the weather conditions were mellow. I teamed the 7141-4 up with a RIO Windcutter 7/8/9 w/tips. The type 6 sinking tip was attached and a short leader and weighted Wooly Bugger were added. The rod fished smooth and powerful. It proved to be the perfect equipment for the task at hand. However no steelhead were encountered. This last week during howling up-stream gale, as only the Deschutes can deliver, I was able to shoot bullets across and down stream with the Windcutter line and clear intermediate tip. A very fat thirty incher was hooked and lost at a range unattainable with any other rod I own. Once again the 7141-4 was the best rod for the task. I am still learning about the capabilities of this model. One thing I know, when you are in good form, this thing will chuck some fly line! It also casts close fairly comfortably. At normal fishing distances it can become a surgical instrument. I believe in the short period that I have used it, it has enabled me to be a more effective angler. This goes beyond just building more line speed. Because of its unforgiving nature it has forced me to be a more precise caster. Continuing success as a fly fisher, is a matter of focus and attention to detail, the execution of which starts with a perfect cast. The best rod for the job is one heck of an edge. The 7141-4 may go down as one of the "Classic Designs" if there are enough talented angler to cast it.

Sage offers 11 models of two hand fly rods. You can buy everyone on-line from us. The hot new rod for summer fishing is the 7141-4. It is a 14' 1" rod that balances well with a Windcutter 7/8/9 fly line. It fishes floating and sinking tip lines equally well and may be the new standard for the Deschutes.

* Sandy River Fishery Information Bank Daily Fishing Report Watershed Over-view Sandy River Book Biology Etc. Watershed Council Web Site
Want to escape the "trout madness" crowds in Central Oregon? Try the "COOL" side of the mountain.

The days are warm and sunny. The evenings are soft and cool. Streams in the upper basin are low summer low flows. The trout are growing fat on an endless procession of hatches. They are wary though and will make you earn them. Fish small dry flies, drag free.