When we finally reached the fishing water, Dick allowed as the first run looked more like steelhead water. I went through it first with a salmonfly nymph and got blanked. He followed with a steelhead fly on the downstream swing and hooked two, landed one. That set everyone to fishing steelhead flies for awhile, without any more action.
We started picking up trout about 1:00 PM when a hatch of Baetis started coming off. Dave and Dick found a thick pod of trout sucking off the surface in a tailout and landed about 10-15 between them in a quick 30 minutes. They ran out of trout as the hatch tailed off, but from then on all the riffles we tried gave action, more to weighted Hare's Ear nymphs than to little dry flies, but you could pick the poison of your choice. Again, fished all day and DID NOT SEE ANOTHER FISHERMAN. Bright sunshine, 50 degrees, water temp 42.
Going back downriver through winter swollen Gordon Ridge, Colorado, and Rattlesnake rapids was frankly terrifying, but otherwise uneventful. However much one might argue that sleds should be banned from the Deschutes in the summer months, it makes no sense whatsoever to ban them in the isolated stretches during the winter. They are the only practical method of accessing that water in the winter when the weather is too iffy and threatening to commit to a multi-day float trip, or a long hike in .
Well, having fished more in January and February than I normally do in July, I'm outtahere for bonefish!
Trump Doyle
McKenzie Flyfishers
February, 1991