Flylines

The anticipation of steelhead season is not like waiting for another hatch or another form of trout fishing. It has a fever all its own. For dedicated steelheaders, it is the crown jewel of the entire fishing season.

I've been thinking about it for months. I bought some new gear this season and fixed some of the of old stuff. I tied flies and built leaders. With each bit of work my anticipation has been building. Now, at last, the hour is here.

In the beginning, fishing is spotty. People always catch a few fish at the mouth of the Deschutes in early July. But it's usually not very consistent until early August. Then the fish counts begin to show that the run has arrived in earnest.

Throughout August, the fish move up river slowly. They begin to pass the fish trap at Sherar's Falls in good numbers toward the end of the month. Early trips through that lower section always produce more fish as we move down. By mid-August fish are distributed more evenly.

Steelhead do not arrive in the upper sections of the river, above Sherar's, in any significant numbers until after the first of September. Despite these facts, rumors abound. Almost every large trout hooked in the Warm Springs to Trout Creek section will be labeled a steelhead. I find it curious how few of those "early steelhead" are actually landed.

Still the fish stories can't be discounted entirely - there are some indications of small independent runs of fish that spawn in tributary side streams which may squirt upriver early, well ahead of the main run. However, these fish, if they exist at all, do not comprise a large run. They really only whet the appetite for what is to follow.

Fishermen in the Warm Springs area must wait through September as the fish continue to travel slowly up river. Steelhead do not become widely distributed throughout the entire river - from the mouth to the dam - until the first of October.

This season, the run is pretty much on schedule. A good burst of fish came into the river right around the first of August. All of the lower river from Beavertail and Mack's Canyon down to the mouth is fishing well, even though fish counts are down somewhat.

We can expect better conditions in the next few weeks. Counts over Bonneville Dam in early August are above last season and higher than the 10-year average. However, most of these fish appear to be trapped for the moment in the Bonneville pool by warm temperatures in the Columbia. Fish counts over the next dam up, the Dalles Dam, are not nearly so good. They show numbers well below the 10-year average.

It appears as though a good run is on its way and has simply been stalled momentarily by warmer weather. We should expect a large burst of fish to move up out of the Bonneville pool over the Dalles Dam and into the Deschutes with the first bit of cooling weather. The stage is set for excellent steelhead season continuing well into the fall.