Deschutes River, Lower

Saturday, February 4, 5:14 p.m. PST

Current River Levels

For 7-day, 30-day, and one-year graphs, click bold type below.

GAGE LOCATION	DAY/YEAR GRAPHS	CURRENT STAGE/FLOW	WHAT TIME

Deschutes/Madras	7 30 year	3.42 / 5540	4 pm
Deschutes/Moody	7 30 year	3.54 / 7390	4 pm
Shitike Cr/Warm Springs	7 30 year	1.49 / 105	4 pm
Warm Springs/Kahneeta	7 30 year	2.13 / 565	4 pm

Weather

Click bold type for weather from NOAA, Accuweather, or The Weather Channel

CITY

Madras	NOAA	Accuweather	TWC
Maupin	NOAA	Accuweather	TWC
The Dalles	NOAA	Accuweather	TWC
Government Camp	NOAA	Accuweather	TWC

What to Expect in February

What usually happens. Best way to use this section.

Hatches divided by half-month. Super Major Minor Slight None

HATCH	NYMPH/ LARVA	PUPA/ EMERGER	DUN/ ADULT	EGG- LAYER

Blue-winged olive
Saddle-case caddis
Spotted caddis
Green caddis
Golden stonefly
Salmonfly
Little brown stonefly
Midge
Sculpin
Crayfish
Roe

Look for blue-winged olive hatches just past noon, but don't confine your efforts to dry flies. A gold-ribbed Hares Ear or Pheasant Tail (size 18-20) presented near the bottom is a good tactic when there's no hatch. Another good nymph pattern is the Zug Bug. It imitates drifting spotted caddis larvae, which are common in the upper 60 miles of the river.

Watch the rise forms during a hatch of blue-wings. If you only see the dorsal and tailfins, the trout are probably taking emergers below the surface. A good choice is a small Soft Hackle or a Smurf Emerger. The latter is tied on a size 18 hook. Use a rust Antron tail, then twist a strand each of peacock and black KrystalFlash and wrap it for a body. The thorax is dark gray dubbing, and the wing is one turn of quail breast. Fish either fly just below the surface on a dead drift in a back eddy.

Don't ignore spinner falls. They're happening around 2:00 p.m. to 4:00. A Rusty Spinner or Diving Baetis can work well.

On a good day, you can encounter a blizzard hatch of BWOs. This can be hard to deal with because your fly is one speck amid a multitude of naturals. Two ways to deal with this: concentrate your fishing at the beginning and end of the hatch when there aren't as many bugs; use a larger fly, such as a size 16. At this time of year I've been able to get away with a bigger fly during a BWO hatch. It's not only easier for you to spot, but trout are attracted to it too. Sometimes a darker pattern can be more effective, as well.

A size 14 black Elk Hair Caddis or Parachute Black Stone is a good February choice, too. The little brown stoneflies are not a prolific hatch, but the adults are seldom ignored by trout. See Small Brown Stoneflies for details.

Egg Flies are a productive tactic at this time of year. The river has more whitefish than trout, and they are spawning now. Trout will take roe that is drifting near the bottom. Near the mouth, Egg Flies are a good plan because that section of the river has a lot of whitefish and they are still spawning.

You may encounter some caddis around mid-month, as well as a few Skwala stoneflies.

Some steelhead are still available. Most of them have moved into tributaries by now, but a few fish are left in the mainstem. They will be heading onto their spawning redds, so it's best to leave them alone this month.

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