Deschutes River Fishing - October 2014

It's been a super busy season for Water Time Outfitters on Central Oregon's Deschutes River this fall.  Each day our guides our working the best water to help our clients find the treasured steelhead.  Our strategy is to swing flies with spey rods for the ultimate steelhead fishing experience.  The fall season is a favorite and many of our guest are repeat customers that have been living the steelhead dream with us for over 15-20 years.  Camps are comfortable and warm with the necessary amenities to make camping riverside the best possible experience.  Meals are hearty and served hot in our canvas dining tent.  The overall river experience in this 32 mile stretch of wild canyon is an amazing opportunity not to be missed.  Each day we see wildlife such as:  otter, mink, Golden Eagle, deer, ducks, osprey and big horn sheep. 

Recent conditions: the water has been in good shape but bumped up the night before last (Oct 29th) to 4410 cfs near Madras.  The water temperatures have been around 50 degrees.  The last few days the night time temperatures have been in the 20-30's and the warm part of the day has been 50-60 degrees.  Most of October it has been much warmer and pleasant with most days reaching around 70 degrees or more.  For trout anglers the season on the upper section closes Oct 31.  Below that consider blue winged olives mid-day. 

The swung fly technique is one of the most addicting ways to catch as Steelhead.  A tight line is held against the current as the fly swings across. Cast, swing, step is the montra as we work through the run looking for the aggressive take of the steelie.  "The Tug is the Drug" is our favorite saying.  (See WTO's "Tug is the Drug" Teeshirts on our website: Click Here

                            Water Time Outfitter guide Gil Muhleman and "Victor Two Casts"

Spey rods are the "weapon of choice" for fly fishers on the Deschutes River.  Covering water is the name of the game for the swung fly technique. If you haven't tried a spey rod, they are essentially 2 handed rods that are commonly 12'6" - 13'6" and really make casting easy.

Client Matt S. holds a dandy steelhead he caught using a Vision- Cult 13'3" #7 Spey rod. 

 

For more information on fly fishing the Deschutes River near Maupin, Oregon; visit our website at:

www.watertimeoutfitters.com

Portland Area Spey Casting Classes

Water Time Outfitters teams up with Royal Treatment Fly shop offering spey casting classes on the Clackamas River not far from Portland, Oregon.  Classes are 3 hours teaching the science and art of delivering the fly with the spey rod.  Joel La Follette of Royal Treatment Fly shop offers a sound history of spey casting to get the class started as students prime for the class with a historical perspective rounded out with coffee and donuts.  Rob Crandall of Water Time Outfitters offers a guides perspective on spey casting and efficiently delivering the fly for more productivity on the water. 

Joel La Follette discusses fly lines

Spey casting on the Clackamas River

Join us monthly on the Clackamas River to learn or advance your spey casting skills and proficiency.  See more details at: www.watertimeoutfitters.com or call for the next available class 503-850-4397.

Winter Steelhead Fly Fishing Workshops 2014

Want to learn how to catch winter steelhead on Oregon Rivers?  Water Time Outfitters offers a special workshop just for you!  These workshops are designed to get walk in fly anglers comfortable with a variety of spots and techniques that will put them into fish on the Oregon's best rivers.

Here is how it works. We start at the crack of 9:00 am at a designated location near the water with coffee and donuts. We’ll review maps that will give you at least a dozen productive steelhead runs that you can drive and walk to often these are spots we personally fish. With coffee in hand we’ll discuss the maps in detail.

Then when we’ve reached proper caffeine level we’ll grab a bunch of gear and head out to the water.   We will tour the river from the bank bound angler point of view showing you the sweet spots with public access.  On the water we will cover: fishing techniques, fishing strategy, fly selection and more. This is also time to talk about lines, rods and rigging. We’ll have plenty of spey rods and nearly 20 fly lines for you to try out and get a feel for different systems. We will have plenty of spey rods and switch rods for you to try out and different lines to try on your own rod. If you need some basic spey casting lessons there is usually a little time for that as well.  

If we actually catch a fish it will be by accident. The purpose of this workshop is to give you the tools you need to find, read, and properly fish good steelhead water the actual fishing will be secondary.

Around 1pm we’ll break for a hungry man’s lunch and then head on to some more spots with steelhead water you’ll want to drool on!

Steelhead Workshop Classes offered in 2014:

January 18th  -Clackamas & Eagle Creek meets at Royal Treatment Fly shop -instructor Rob   Crandall 

January 18th - North Coast Class- Trask, Wilson, Kilches meets in Tillamook, OR - instructor Gil Muhleman

February 22nd - Clackamas & Eagle Creek meets at Royal Treatment Fly shop- instructor Rob Crandall

March 22 - Clackamas & Eagle Creek meets at Royal Treatment Fly shop - instructor Rob Crandall

Workshop cost is $100 including meals and is limited to 8 anglers. Spots fill fast.
Call 503-704-6449 to reserve your spot.

Good News for Oregon Salmon

Record Runs of Fall salmon surge up the Columbia River.  Nearly 1,000,000 fish in the run!

Check out the related story at:  http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2013/09/fall_chinook_salmon_run_on_col.html

Fall Steelhead on the Deschutes River

October on the Deschutes is the fall steelhead fisherman's favorite.  Amazing canyon views meet the eye and the excitement of whitewater gets your attention but the line ripping thrill of hooking steelhead is really what gets the anglers heart pounding!  Water Time Outfitters offers guided multi-day fly fishing trips for steelhead on the Deschutes River's most remote waters.  Here we see deer, mink, otter, geese, ducks, and bighorn sheep.  This wild section of canyon is very different from the busier waters of the lower Deschutes.  Here big rapids like the three mile long Whitehorse Rapid limit the amount of boaters in this 32 mile segment.  Excellent steelhead runs stretch out before you with columnar basalt cliffs high above.  See more about this trip at:  www.watertimeoutfitters.com

Recent Photos from October: