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Opening weekend on The Lower Deschutes with Matt Paluch at Deschutes River Camp PDF Print E-mail
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News - Outreach
Written by Gabe Parr   
Monday, April 25 2011 17:36
Sunset at Deschutes River CampWhat's the best part of living, working, and fishing in Central Oregon?  That golden hour just before sunset the night before the opening of the Lower Deschutes and the evening breeze coming off the river just a short walk away. The evening light is casting its reddish hues across the canyon walls showcasing the strata, and I have just finished getting my rig ready for the morning session.  Getting the fresh seine netting report from Matt Paluch tells me that the nymph rig I have set up is probably going to the trick, golden stone with a hare's ear, and an indicator so I can adjust my depth.  My stomach is churning and I remember feeling like I did so long ago when I was waiting for Christmas morning.  Why?  The forecast is for mid to low 70 degree air temps with barely any wind, the flows have been steady for a while, and the story is the fish are going to be holding close to the bank.

That evening was a typical cold evening in the canyon area at the Deschutes River Camp, low 30's overnight with some frost in the morning.  I wasn't scared of the cold, I have braved worse for fishing - but luckily I brought a friend with me and he brought his restored 1957 camper that was just big enough for the two of us and my trusty sidekick Danny the border collie.  We had a few guys that came down from Washington for the opener in camp with us, who were up and out of their tent before dawn to check the river and were out on the water by 7am.  We decided it was probably better to get up now and get down to the river before the potential craziness of the river commenced with rafts, drift boats and other fisher people coming out for the opener.  After a quick cup of coffee, and packing up some snacks, it was off to the river.  We decided to drive down to Mecca and try working the banks up from the campground since there seemed to be enough people filling up spots at the Mecca campsite, meaning more than a fair share of the water below was probably already getting hammered.
Sunrise in the Canyon at Deschutes River CampSmash cut to my first fish of the season....  Like I said, it was a chilly morning, but this hasn't been an average "Spring" here in the Basin.  Geared up and dog in tow, I headed up river scoping out all the spots I have been through this stretch with friends always getting in and out of the boat.  This was a bit different and eventually I found a nice little spot between a couple trees with a nice bank a bit of a slow back eddy and I was off to the races.  I am sure this has happened to just about everybody who has ever dropped a fly in the water: last part of the drift is coming through and you look away to prep for your next upstream delivery, when WHAM!!! FISH ON!!! The kid in me was screaming and jumping up and down, making a total mess and just about falling into the current and getting swept down stream.  Luckily, I had the composure externally to make sure I had a good hook set, and started to guide my first fish of the season out from under the tree while I worked my way down to it.  Gently guiding the native brute into my net, I gently guided it under and patted myself on the back for having my first fish on opening weekend be a be a native in all its glory.First Native Redside of the Season

After a quick photo or two in the water, it was back into the river for this fish.  The rest of the day was beautiful.  The sun shining, the snow capped mountains in the distance, no wind to speak of, and plenty of like minded individuals spread out all over the river willing to take a minute to share a story or two of the morning catch report reinforced the feeling of brotherhood that comes with being a fisherman.  No matter where you go in life, when you find someone else with the passion for the sport, whether chucking gear, trolling the depths, or casting a fly - we all share the same smile, the same sparkle in our eye when we start talking about being out here on the rivers and lakes in Central Oregon.  We are truly blessed to live in this wonderland of the outdoors experience, and thank our lucky stars that we can share this experience with the youth of our communities and each other.

Perfect Summer Day on the Lower Deschutes RiverOf course there are times when we as users of the resource and lovers of the outdoors don't necessarily see eye to eye on politics, religion, etc. - but this is the first day of the season and any notion or thoughts about those things has lost all meaning when you are standing on the river on a day like today.  These are the days we all dream about through the cold of winter here in the High Desert.  Cloudless days, light breezes, the sounds of the river, chirping birds working the water for bugs, more birds actively fishing the banks, mink swimming across the river,  and moments of shear awe at the beauty of our home waters.  Since most of us aren't lucky enough to work outdoors to make a living, and like me are stuck behind a keyboard more hours than I care to admit, days like this are a treasure and get locked up in our subconscious for years to come as reminders of what is good and pure in the world - Nature.  Or maybe its just earth day that has me reflecting and waxing poetic here.

Deschutes River CampBack at Deschutes River Camp, Matt was busy with the days chores and getting ready to get out of there to spend some time with family for the Easter Holiday.  For those of you who don't know much about the spot, it is up stream of the Warm Springs Boat Launch.  Matt has put in a lot of work here on the camp and has even set up an area to teach fly casting instruction up above the camp sites for those trying to get some pointers.  Matt is also an integral part of the Bend Casting Club, a new father, and is quickly making friends with his neighbors at the Warm Springs Reservation.  Rates for his camp sites vary for each of the types which include tent sites, camper sites (with water and power hook ups!!!), to full blown cabin rentals.  You can get prices by clicking this link to go to his site.  While the shop is still being filled in and constantly getting things moved around and more and more product showing up daily, you will find him there every day sitting behind his fly tying desk whipping up some signature flies from the patterns he gets by walking down and getting samples of on a regular basis.

Osprey Nest across from Deschutes River CampAfter an evening of a local woman and her kids bringing their limping vehicle into the campsite and leaving it there in our care until help could come out the next day, a quick down and dirty meal of hot dogs, doritos, and a couple beers, it was time to get a couple more flies tied and bed up for the next days event.  After hearing stories of the Osprey nest across the river with newborns in it from the native woman, her observations of them feeding regularly on the river fish - and Matt giving us an insight into some of the local trails close to the camp across the highway, we were up and at em again early for another days fishing.  The forecast for today was pretty much right on target.  Clouds moving in the previous evening with some scattered showers, overcast and partly cloudy with some sprinkles here and there with light winds.  For most of us who have been working dry flies throughout the Basin this means one thing - watch for the birds and get your BWO's out cause it's gonna be popping off hatches throughout the day so be ready to change up on a moments notice.

Don and Danny on the riverWhile it didn't quite work out that way, the birds were definitely working the water for those bugs throughout the day - however the fish weren't rising and we stayed with our nymph rigs through our day on the water.  For those of you who have had the opportunity to fish with me and my dog, you know he's a fly casting fanatic.  He pretty much goes nutsoid over the action of someone casting and just sits right behind you snapping his maw, whining and barking at it as it passes too and fro.  He's a good dog, a bit strange, and doesn't jump in the water to chase it down - he's just a weirdo, just ask my buddy Don who was bearing the brunt of his abuse for the past couple days.  This is some pretty good water, and I can't wait for the Salmon Fly Hatch to come back down here to try out this stretch.  It doesn't seem like much at first, but when you factor in that most people just put in at Warm Springs and everything below - this area might just be a good spot to get into some fish that don't get hammered as hard year in year out.

OK, OK, I know you have all been wondering when I might throw in some information on the overall condition of these areas from a conservation aspect since I am a board member of TU here in the Deschutes.  Or maybe not, maybe you are just enjoying a story about my experience on the river opening weekend.  Either way, there are certain things I think should be mentioned about this stretch. With the highway so close to the river, there was bound to be some trash - seems unavoidable some times and we all see this no matter how remote the area is we fish.  This span from the Deschutes River Camp down to the boat launch at Warm Springs has some real need to be maintained and cleaned up.  There is some work being done here with some large woody debris placements that is definitely helping the habitat, but the bottles, cans, broken glass and trash needs to be picked up.  I will be making a pitch to our board members in the coming weeks to get us organized and down there to protect this area of the Deschutes in the coming months and hopefully we can make it into a fun weekend of folks getting together for a couple hours to do some work and then spend the rest of the weekend hanging out with Matt and his family at the camp.

All in all, it was a great way to spend the opener.  Things can only get better this year with more control of the water coming out at regular intervals and steadier temps from the hard working folks at the Pelton/Lake Billy Chinook facilities with Portland General Electric working with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.  Saturday was a 3 fish day, and Sunday was a 4 fish day - missed a few, but the saying "It's fishing, not catching" is always the best way to deal with the frustration that can come with the misses.  I can't wait to get back down there for the Salmon Fly Hatch and will be spending a couple days in the Middle Deschutes stalking the browns and redbands throughout that region while watching the signs of the big bugs that come out earlier up river and work their way down to this location.  I also have a trip with Central Oregon Project Healing Waters coming up May 11 that will be testing my skills with helping the vets while trying to get a little fishing in on a private lake called Lake in the Dunes so look for some reports from me in the coming weeks and months on as regular a basis as I can manage while still working my 9-5.

Thanks again to Don for driving and putting me up in his camper, Matt for the hospitality at the Deschutes River Camp, and to all the people in my life who have encouraged me to pursue the outdoors as a way to stay in touch with what it means to feel human - my family.
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Last Updated on Monday, April 25 2011 21:01
 

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