portland, OR

[Stimey]

Will be visiting friend in portland dates are flexible and will be planned based on fishing. Want to target trout and will have a car willing to travel a few hours. Probably hire a guide for at least one day. Did some research on detchuts around bend but looks like mostly multi day trips due to remote access. Any suggestions on guides or rivers would be appreciated

 

[ryansheehan]

Salmon fly hatch on the Deschutes is something amazing its like watching trout eat hummingbirds. I took a trip to Portland a few years back, I fished two separate days on the river, on foot. Not really sure what you mean about remote access to the river, I had no issue. I hiked quite a few miles along the bank. You might be talking about the indian reservation on one side where you cannot fish without an Indian guide. FYI you can't fish out of a drift boat, you have to be in the water or on shore. Hope this helps.

 

[Acristickid]

The Deschutes is big water, meaning tough to wade- first step up to your waist second to top of waders. There is seemly unlimited access in the Maupin area. There is a dirt road the parallels the river for miles and miles. Fished near the mouth to Columbia for steel as well. The area around Maupin is strange, mostly rocky hills , little vegetation , hot as double h fish sticks in summer. There is a shop in Maupin.

Fished the McKenzie and Willamette last summer. I fished them both in a few different areas. Ample opportunities in the national forest. Unless in the upper forks of these two rivers, the lower rivers were deep and swift but there are spots to wade.

I found it a great experience.

 

[Stimey]

Thanks for the info. Good to know that access isn't an issue. Realizing it could depend on what section of the river you are on, all the shops and guide websites I looked at made it seem like it was remote and multi day camp trips were the best option. Not going to spend that kind of money on this trip.

 

[CLSports]

You can drive to Mt Hood area and find some small streams to catch cutties.

I fished the Deschutes and McKenzie while there as well and I can just echo what Acristic said. Both beautiful river and completely different from one another. Deshutes is very deep in Maupin area and south. You can fish from the shore easily enough, but it is a big intimidating river if you cannot wade it. There is a campground we found that was very cheap and directly on the river. Nothing more than a site, but they are awesome. Worth the drive out, but not a day trip from Portland for sure.

I love Portland and can't wait to get back there. Very eclectic and diverse town. Lots of good places to eat and drink. Everyone has a rescue dog, drinks coffee and sees themselves as non-conformists. It is like a refuge camp of outcasts from across the county. Everyone is from somewhere else and has a story to tell. I am not saying this in a bad way at all. I found it quite interesting.

 

[lestrout]

Yo Sti - the 'schutes water level is mostly a tail water and you might want to research water levels. When up, it is wild'n wooly, but in summertime, although you can't easily wade across (if at all), there are quite fishable areas, such at Warm Springs. The trouts are native redsides and about the strongest in the Lower 48, even putting Delaware bows and the Rockies to shame.

The Maupin fly show is owned by a guy who was originally from PA.

Although the lower water has a road down the bank, left over from the railroad wars, I wouldn't drive it in a car with normal tires. The sharp volcanic stone, goatheads, are notorious for puncturing tires. The local car repair places do dozens of tire repairs a day.


The trips promoted by the outfitters (and Kaufmann in their heyday) are the multiday floats down the canyon, and those are experiences that should be on everyone's bucket list.

 

[RLeep2]

Given that the Upper Deschutes, say from the outflow of Wickiup Reservoir down to the backwaters of Lake Billy Chinook (Bend is about in the center of this section..) has been going through quite a few flow vs. irrigation issues lately, I'm not sure how it has been fishing. But I do know that fall out your car access to a lot of this stretch of the river is available and even common. Multi-day trips and remote access points aren't really an issue on this part of the Deschutes.

If it were me and I was going back out there (which we may in September..) I'd spend my time on the Metolius, especially the upper dozen or so miles of the river. Lots of fish and you are at far lower risk of brain broil than you would be fishing the big Deschutes in the high desert from Mecca Flats (Pelton Dam) downstream. The Metolius at Camp Sherman on the upper river is about a half hour farther from Portland than what it would take to drive from Portland to Maupin.

 

[iPhish]

Headed to Bend on Sunday. I love that town. Going to show my lady around as we are deciding where to move in the summer. It's between Bend and Charleston. There is so much great water near Bend. I don't think I'm going to get to fish this trip tho.

 

[Chaz]

I spent a month in Portland about 20 years ago and fished the Maupin area a couple of times. It will get cold in the evening be prepared for that, it's desert. But the Deschutes has lots of rainbows in that area. It also has Steelhead and they appeared to be in the river when I was there, but I didn't catch any.
Sandy R. is closer to Portland, between Mt. Hood and Portland, it has Cutthroats, Rainbows and Steelhead, I don't know much about the salmon in Sandy but they are there. There are other streams near Portland too, all are much closer to Portland than Bend.
A trip to Mt. St. Helens is fun too.

 

[riz]

I fished the Maupin area too. Had a very nice day, catching about a dozen red bands. also fished a coastal river, caught a few cuts. However, you must try the sturgeon fishing in the Columbia. I know it's not flyfishing but you will never feel another fish as powerful as a sturgeon. I caught 5, 1 day with a 71/2 and 8 footer, about 350lbs. just amazingly strong fish. If you want a great guide, look up Cory at Deschutes river anglers

 

[Stimey]

Thanks all for the advice. Booked my trip May 12- 17th. Will be meeting up with Buddy in Portland and heading over to Deschutes. Spoke to a few shops and we will be getting a guide for 1 day and then exploring on our own the remainder of the days. Depending on weather we are probably going to camp one or two nights. Looking forward to it, hoping we hit the salmon fly hatch.

 

[Stimey]

just got back from fishing the Deschutes in Maupin Oregon. Had a great 2 days on the river. We had great action on salmon flies and golden stones. Really cool to see the fish smash these big bugs. As you can't fish from the boat we used it to get from wading spot to spot (had a guide from Deschutes Angler and he was great). River is a bear to wade. Big rocks, deep fast water make it hard to get more than a few feet off the bank. The bank was brush covered and loaded with poison ivy. Compared to most east coast rivers there are some serious rapids. Overall very impressed with the river system. The rainbows aren't real big (biggest landed was about 16 inches which the guide referred to as a "really good fish for the river") but they fight hard for their size. Was kinda of funny that trout fishing doesn't seem that popular out there. It is all about the steelhead and salmon. If anyone is considering fishing that area I would suggest you call Deschutes Angler and book Harley as a guide.