SALMONFLIES AND RAINBOWS

Like many fly anglers here in Central Oregon, we like to grab a raft or drift boat and head to the Deschutes River in June. This year, the cold and blustery weather made for an unpredictable salmonfly hatch. So, we went later than usual and hit some 80 degree weather, lots of bugs, lots of 'looking up' rainbows and very few people. These multi-day floats are a great combination of fly fishing (wade only, there is no fishing from the boat on the lower Deschutes), riverside camping and whitewater. Throw in the usually dry and warm weather in June and you have a very nice and exciting river trip. On this float, there were still some big salmonflies in the tall grass along the banks, but there were more golden stones and a lot of caddis. A golden stone with a dry caddis dropper was a good combo. The BLM camping spots had a couple parties in them, but there was room for everyone. I ran into Catch Magazine contributor Abe Blair at the Buskskin Mary Campground. I also had a nice chat with guide Chris O'Donnell, from Maupin. This year, I only had time for one multi-day float during the salmonfly hatch and it had to be in late June. Turns out, the post hatch period was very good and we had the best weather of the year. All of these photos were taken with the Lumix FZ 100, a sophisticated point and shoot. Brian O'Keefe.