No idea how this popped up in the brain. Must be end of season guide mush brain syndrome and too many days on the river out of town and away from technology where your mind CAN wander. Which isn’t that one of the biggest perks of fishing? The disconnect and being present chasing fish and absorbing all the amazing moments of the places trout and steelhead inhabit. Anyways, as I was trying to come up with a quick report the old game show “100,000 Pyramid” came to mind. Short clues to describe something to guess a phrase, racing the clock to climb the pyramid. Well, if “November Deschutes Fishing” or “What is
Great” is the category the clues would be “No crowds”, “Overlooked trout”, “Good blue wing olive hatches”, “Potential bonus steelhead”, “Steelhead not bad”, “River to yourself”, “Hungry fall trout gobbling” … You get the idea, and if you guessed right, you are a winner.
Celebrity: “ Great BWO Hatches”, “ November Fishing on the Deschutes”, “ Bonus Steelhead”, “ No Crowds”, “ Good Fall Trout Fishing”…
Contestant: Oh, Oh……Things That are Great!!!!!!
Fishing this time of year can be good and has been. Yes, it can be chillier. Dress warm and bring the right clothes and mind set. Enjoy the brisk fall and being away from a desk. Embrace it and that is why you have the river to yourself. Once you do, you will find out it is not as cold as you think. You can have an awesome trip you’ll wonder why others aren’t here. It’s like a little secret.
The pace is great too. There is not a huge rush, there isn’t any competition. Enjoy that cup of coffee in camp at a gentlemanly pace. Fishing is good enough that if you need a break to warm up, take it and just check out the canyon. Might even see some bighorn sheep running around doing their rut antics. After a great day on the water with friends, a beverage of choice and campfire is about as good as it gets.
Trout fishing has been a mix of traditional nymph rigs- bread and butter. But think bonus steelhead and rig with that in mind with one “rubber-leggy-ish” steelhead nymph in the mix and step up the tippet size. Also dry and drop rigs as well. There are some good BWO hatches and when they pop the dry fly can be really good. The trout haven’t been messed with in a while and seem to have “dumbed down” from super sophisticated dog days of summer PhD trout. Good trout fishing, steelhead bonus and no crowds= good times.
Steelhead, considering it was closed last year, is not that bad. Classic steelhead, if you like to swing- go for it and keep knocking on doors and hope the steelhead gods shine on you. The just “Go Fishing” aka trout fish and nymph really good trout and steelhead riffles and see what happens works well to. It is like pulling the handle on a slot machine and seeing what comes up.
Thanks for sharing the river with us this year. If we can help in the future do not hesitate to reach out. We start on the Owyhee March and April, so if cabin fever starts to hit, we have a spring fix for you and the new Bed and Breakfast accommodations have been really nice.
For fishing reports and updates check the website, follow on Instagram or the old fashion way with a phone call or email.
Tight Lines,
Cory Godell