Hard to believe it is the end of February already. Especially since it has been 70 degrees out and I’m thinking more about dry flies and solid hatches on the local winter time close to home side project fisheries. That’s right seventy degrees in February. I know winter will rear its head again before “real” spring shows up, but I’ll take a little mid winter heat wave. With all that said, spring and the start of the season is not far off. It’s time to start talking about what is ahead for 2022.
We are less two weeks away from the start of our Owyhee River season. This Eastern Oregon trophy brown trout fishery is the perfect warm up after a long winter. Prolific hatches from blue wing olives, midges and the main draw, the larger skwalas. These flightless stoneflies crawl out and scurry on the water and stream bank vegetation, and big browns slurp em down. Chasing big browns in skinny water chowing down well placed dry flies is a treat. The Owyhee is known for it rugged canyon landscape and plenty of fish that pull the tape between 16-20”+. Dates are incredibly limited and book well in advance. Better to act now if you want to experience this brown trout playground. If we are booked for spring, we might have some open dates in August.
We wrap up on the Owyhee and head back to our main attraction the old Deschutes. May is Salmon flies and Stones. June through the rest of the summer is a mix of PMD’s and caddis. Then we’ll see what happens for steelhead this year. The fall trout is super fun and can be fantastic. So however the steelhead shakes out, the fall is a great time to be here. Salmon fly dates are all but gone. If you are interested in these memory filled multi day camping river trips fill fast. It is truly just a great experience and the canyon is spectactular,
We will take a break and jump to the John Day for some small-mouth fishing. Fun for all abilities and ages. We run these trips Mid-June to Mid-July, depending on snowpack and river levels. A great mix up to the Deschutes and fantastic introduction to fly fishing.
We bounce back and forth from the Deschutes to a late summer- early fall Owyhee season. If you missed the Owyhee in the spring we have some slots later in the season. That is what is in store for us. We hope you can join us and share these amazing places. We have a lot of options and happy to help pick which time and experience that is exactly what you and your group are looking for. We’ll be posting fishing reports here and Instagram to update you on the action. Don't hesitate to contact us, we are always happy to talk fishing. Hope to see you soon.
Tight lines,
Cory Godell
Deschutes River Anglers
corygodell@gmail.com@deschutes_river_anglers
541-771-2288