The Mighty "D".

The Deschutes is a fickle little trout mistress.

Trout fishing here, in my opinion, is a LOT harder to do, than other rivers in the west.
Especially in the winter.
Even more so, because I am not a “regular” of the river.

But there is something that draws me there in December…
Is it the lack of crowds?
Is it the chance that you might “nymph up” a Steelhead?
Is it because those scary ass rattlers are not chasing me around, trying to eat my face?

I think it is a combination of all 3. Which is why I love fishing it in the winter.

When I go to a trout stream… I look at “fishy” places… in big riffles, behind boulders, broken water…. You know… all the places that you think trout “should be”.

But the Deschutes aint no “stream”. It is a big, big river. And it is intimidating.

From what I have heard, the Deschutes rule is…”back eddies and foam lines”.
Also, nymph, nymph, nymph. Bobbers and stoneflies, with little red worms.

But as a trout guy… You give me the opportunity to fish a dry, I will take advantage.

Enter my buddy Randall…. In my opinion, he knows this river. And he loves to fish a dry with old school fiberglass rods, and Pfleugers.


We just recently spend a beautiful cold sunny day over there, with no one on the river, clear water, and very little wind. And dry flies. All day.

Watching Randy fish this river, made me completely change the way I think about the Deschutes.

He is a stalker. He looks for fish first. And if you look hard enough, they are there.
He fishes eddies INSIDE of eddies, 3” from bank.




If he sees a foam line, he fishes it. As long as it’s extremely close to the bank.
It is a challenge to cast, to stalk, and to get a good drift. I love it.

And he is good at it.



And it completely changed the way I fish that river.

But I aint touching Fiberglass. I am an Echo guy. An extremely attractive Echo guy.
Just ask me.