What to expect when steelhead fishing the Deschutes: What are your chances of hooking a steelhead? On a typical day on the Deschutes, if one swings a fly through productive steelhead water for five or six hours in the morning and for two more hours in the evening that angler is likely to encounter one or two steelhead. “Encounter” is defined as a steelhead moving to your fly. Sometimes a steelhead grabs the fly hard and runs with it, sometimes they softly come up to the fly and pull on it gently, other times they just pluck it, or bump it, often you will only see a swirl in the water when a steelhead has either missed or rejected your fly at the last moment….there are many things that can happen when a steelhead sees a fly. You must be ready for any scenario and be calm and collected enough to react (or not react) to each encounter. It is possible to have a dozen encounters in one day, but it is also not uncommon to go a day or two without a single encounter. This is why steelhead are considered by some to be the most challenging fresh water fish in the world to hook on a fly. If you are still interested, read on for a description of one of our guided steelhead trips.
A typical guided trip on the Deschutes:
Our steelhead guide trips are typically full day float trips on stretches of the river ranging from five to fifteen miles per day. If you book multiple days, you will likely float a different section of river each day, returning each evening to Maupin for food and lodging. We have forty miles of available water to float, so we have latitude to change our floats around as the fishing conditions change. Our guides will always do everything in their power to maximize your opportunities to hook steelhead.
Unlike a multi-day float trip, where you are headed from point A to point B, we might fish point B the first day and A the next - moving from spot to spot to find the pods of steelhead.
It is wise to have a good selection of steelhead patterns with you on the river. You will not lose steelhead flies at the rate that you might lose trout flies, but it is important to have the option of changing fly size, fly color and fly style throughout the day as water conditions, light conditions, and water types dictate.
The schedule:
We depart from the river approximately one hour before the sun rises. If you are meeting your guide in front of your hotel, please be waiting in the parking area dressed in your waders ready to fish. You should leave your fly rods in their cases, those will be rigged up on the river at the first stop. Be sure that you have your Oregon angling license on your person as well as a change of clothes. Food and beverages are provided for the day’s outing.
Covering a large amount of productive steelhead water in good light conditions is key to steelhead angling success. The window of opportunity is best when the light is low. This means that early morning and evening light (on sunny days) are the best times to be swinging your fly through the runs. Your guide will have you fish anywhere from three to eight runs before lunch. At the noon hour, when the sun is shining brightly on the water, we will break for a nice deli-style lunch and take a rest in lounge chairs on the bank.
After lunch you have several options available to you. You can rest in the shade for a few hours until the light is off of the water, you can grab your trout rod and go trout fishing for a few hours, or you can switch to a sink tip line and fish for steelhead in the bright sun until the light fades and you are back to fishing with a floating line. During the lunch hour, your guide is likely to take a few hours rest. Please understand that your guide often works seven days a week for weeks on end and a brief nap after lunch is an important component of his/her overall rest. Many of our clients enjoy a brief nap in the shade after lunch, no need to tire oneself out before the prime evening fishing session.
You can expect to fish right up to dusk and pull the boat off with just a few minutes of daylight left. That's what we call a dawn to dusk trip!
Packing List
Spey Rods
High Quality Spey Reels
Spey Lines
Leaders and Tippets
Waders and Boots
Underlayering
Wading Jacket
Wading Belt
Wading Staff
Change of Clothes Waterproof Bag
What to expect when steelhead fishing the Deschutes: What are your chances of hooking a steelhead? On a typical day on the Deschutes, if one swings a fly through productive steelhead water for five or six hours in the morning and for two more hours in the evening that angler is likely to encounter one or two steelhead. “Encounter” is defined as a steelhead moving to your fly. Sometimes a steelhead grabs the fly hard and runs with it, sometimes they softly come up to the fly and pull on it gently, other times they just pluck it, or bump it, often you will only see a swirl in the water when a steelhead has either missed or rejected your fly at the last moment….there are many things that can happen when a steelhead sees a fly. You must be ready for any scenario and be calm and collected enough to react (or not react) to each encounter. It is possible to have a dozen encounters in one day, but it is also not uncommon to go a day or two without a single encounter. This is why steelhead are considered by some to be the most challenging fresh water fish in the world to hook on a fly. If you are still interested, read on for a description of one of our guided steelhead trips. 
