Fly Fishing Insider Newsletter featuring Deschutes River

Fires on The Deschutes
Fire Report 07/28/02:
The lower access road has been re-opened.
As many of you may know, a fire started 07/26/02 across the road from White River on the lower Deschutes and for a period of time the road down stream from Maupin to Mack's Canyon was closed. The lighting caused fire grew to 24,000 acres, but has been contained. If you need to know more, contact BLM in Maupin: 541-395-2778. They are open 8am to 6pm.

Be sure to check our our ALL NEW Fishing Reports Section !!!

Tim Hambly with a very bright summer steelhead.

Steelhead Fly Fishing:
WHY STEELHEAD EAT FLIES (Come-Back Flies)
When fly fishing for summer steelhead on inland rivers such as the Deschutes, Klickatat, John Day, Imnaha or Clearwater, the most popular approach is with the floating line and a cast that brings the fly across the current under tension. Usually the fly is fished sunk, but only slightly. When everything works right the
fly rides inches inches below the surface and the fish rises from the bottom of the river and intercepts it. The steelhead takes the fly and turns back toward the bottom and hooks itself.

The angler lands the fish and feels smart and is proud of the accomplishment.

Some steelhead are more aggressive than others. A percentage of steelhead will
rise to the fly, but will not take solidly. They will nip, pluck or pull on the fly in such a
manner that they do not get stuck. Others will refuse the fly all together and turn away
leaving a disturbance on the surface of the water. This is called a boil. A few fish
will come back repeatedly, each time refusing to take the fly solidly.
These fish are called players.

Some of these players will not take no matter what you do. But most will eventually take the fly if you are patient and do not loose your cool.

Here are some tactics that have hooked and landed many of these exciting and difficult fish.

Always keep and eye on where your fly is. There are days when steelhead don't make very much disturbance when they approach your fly. If you don't see them, you may not cast to them a second time. If a steelhead boils or plucks your fly, recast the exact same amount of line with the same fly and repeat the presentation that rose the fish. If the fish doesn't take on this second cast, wade at least ten full steps upstream and fish down to the fish again one step at a time. This will usually pump the fish up enough to take on the second pass.

If the second pass doesn't result in a solid hook-up. Changing the fly is the next best option. There are many choices that have worked, but the most consistent approach is to go smaller and darker. Some steelhead have only enough aggression to attack very small somber flies. For this reason I always carry two dull colored patterns that have bailed me out in difficult water conditions and often succeed with difficult fish. They are my favorite "come-back" flies. These two flies are the Doc Spratley and my Prism. These are dressed sparse on size #6 hooks. No flashabou or other flashy material is added except for a fine rib and tag. They are part of the "must have" Deschutes fly set. The largest steelhead I ever hooked on the Deschutes River came to a #6 light wire Prism on an August trip with Murlin Gregg in '79. "God, it was hot; blistering bake-oven hot...clear, low, warm water, dog day of mid-August. No fish came to the fly for 9 hours of wadin' & slingin'. My hard as a rock, bar room brawlin' buddy Murlin finally caved in from the heat; stretched out on a soft sloping patch of short grass river bank and pulled his cowboy hat over his eyes,... and left me with the hard work of castin' and wadin' in the worst patch of fast flowing riffle. In it were scattered pockets of white water between big angular boulders. Working slowly down stream, it became apparent the the spaces between the boulders were pockets of water much calmer than they first appeared to be. Then I came to an area where a perfect pocket of slick water formed in a triangle of very large submerged boulders.
I knew there would be a biter there before my fly entered this steely condo at the perfect speed and angle. The pocket turned bright silver on the take.

"Must Have" Deschutes Steelhead Fly Set
Everyone who fishes the Deschutes River has their favorite fly patterns. There are many patterns which will catch fish and there are many patterns that have landed a lot of fish. The six patterns listed here are in our opinion, the current top producers.
The set contains (3) of each pattern in the best size for a total of (18) flies.

Item	Description	Price
DESTFLST	Must Have Deschutes Steelhead Fly Set	$34.95

It was authoritative and very, very HARD. The fish looked unbelievably large as it left the pocket at high speed and bolted into the near-by rapid, ripping 50 yards of backing from the reel with a shriek. The sound of my Hardy reel brought Murlin out from under the coy boy hat and onto his feet. Down the river I went with the fish in tow. Soon I was wading in waist deep white water and had to scramble to shore through a mine-field of very large cobble. Murlin ran a hundred yards down the beach while followed the fish while wading in knee deep water. We both caught up with the fish when it simply stopped in a slick mid way down through the rapid. Suddenly I found myself only 30 feet from the fish as it holed up in ten foot deep water only 20 feet from the bank. My next move was down stream at a 45 degree angle so I would have maximum leverage. I lifted the 8 weight rod to the near breaking strength of the 10 pound Maxima leader. At first I thought that the fish had wrapped my line around some underwater obstruction. Slowly the steady pull moved the giant fish inch by inch for ten feet toward me. Then with several oscillations of its tail, the fish went back to its deep water lair. I moved the fish several times this way in the next forty minutes. Finally, I "over-did" the pressure and the fine wire hook and the flesh parted. The fish went free, escaping the indignity of being filmed. It lives on, only in the memory of the two men who were witness to the event.
On another day in October of approximately the same time period, Rod Robinson showed me how to catch steelhead with a Doc Spratley by pumping it through the riffles. But, that's another story. That day was magic.
Thanks for the show Rod, wherever you are.

Thomas & Thomas Spey Rods

Two hot new models at The Fly Fishing Shop
Our good friend, Simon Gawsworth from Rio Line Products is one of the most respected two-hand fly rod casters in the USA. He uses Thomas & Thomas Rods for his demonstrations and casting classes. With their elegant cosmetics and fast powerful actions, it's no wonder that Thomas and Thomas Rods have created their own fan club. These rods are designed to help you facilitate all of the new circle and snake roll casts as well as more traditional spey and over-head casts. Here are the two most popular models for both summer and winter steelhead fishing:
Model DH1307-3 is designed to cast best with WindCutter 6/7/8, MidSpey 6/7 or XLT 6/7.
Model DH1409-3 is designed to cast best with WindCutter 8/9/10, MidSpey 8/9 or XLT 8/9.

Thomas & Thomas Rods
Model	Length	Line	Sections	Price	To Top
DH1307-3	13'	7	3	$720
DH1409-3	14'	9	3	$740

Fishing Vests, Fly Fishing Vests
Now you can afford to own several fishing vests.
This vest is such high quality, no one will ever know
you only paid $17.95.

The 39.95 Fishing Vest
ON SALE for $17.95
$39.95 is what our competition sells this vest for when they put them on sale. You will be astounded at the quality of materials, craftsmanship and features in this vest. Some vests with the same features sell for over $100.
The design of this vest makes it handy for
fly fishing, spin fishing, photography etc. It is so affordable that you can have several and organize each for a different task. Now you can afford to have separate vests for steelhead, bass and trout. That is organization for a dedicated angler who is on the go. Imagine the time you will save not having to swap fly boxes, leaders and tippet every time you want to sample a different fishery.

Vest Features:
Pockets - (14) front, (3) back, (10) inside. (3) D-rings. (1) Fly Drier Patch. (6) Loops. Medium weight fabric. Tan color. You can't buy anything close for the money.
Limited to stock on hand! When they are gone you will be sorry!

Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
V3995-M	The 3995 Fishing Vest	Medium	$17.95
V3995-L	The 3995 Fishing Vest	Large	$17.95