Road trip this week takes us south to Maupin and the Lower Deschutes River. The summer drought caused Oregon Fisheries people to cancel steelhead fishing. This means there are fewer people on the river, with plenty of fish to be caught, and a beautiful canyon to enjoy.
Fall weather has muted any remaining green and added yellow and orange hues to the hillsides.
The river level is down, but at this point the Deschutes is still a big river. Our strategy is to drive, park, and fish. However, the first order of business is to find a starting point downstream.
We break open the lunch, brew fresh coffee, and enjoy the rush of river. A month ago this spot would have been baking in summer sun, today we are dressed in flannel and clouds flash intermittent bursts of sunlight.
We rig fly rods to the car rack and start the journey back upriver, stopping at select spots. The October caddis fly hatch offers dry fly fishing and nice big Redband rainbows.
As we are breaking down rods, a bank of rain clouds crests the canyon. We wind our way out of Maupin and the Deschutes River canyon as the rains hit.