Summer Steelhead Update

As the summer transitions into fall I catch myself reflecting back over the bulk of the summer steelhead season, and looking forward to what the winter might bring. But, before that I enjoy what I think is one of the coolest times of the year to be out and about in Oregon. The leaves turning from green to all different shades of yellow, orange, and red and the heat of long summer days giving way to the crisp foggy mornings of fall. In the Deschutes canyon the days get colder and shorter, the october caddis come out in clouds, and the Big Horn Sheep start making their presence more and more known. It is not uncommon to see rams squaring off with one another and smashing heads for the right to mate. No matter how many times I see this, it never fails to amaze me.

This season so far has been a bit of a roller coaster ride as far as fishing success goes. We’ve had some excellent fishing as well as some real tough fishing, but overall the size of the fish has been awesome. I’ve seen a couple of monsters hooked this season, and even had a couple real good ones get landed. Though I think there are more productive times of the year to fish for summer steelhead, the fall is my favorite. Not just because of the beautiful scenery. The fall tends to bring out some of the biggest summer steelhead of the year, also there tends to be more wild fish around. With this seasons fish size seeming to be a bit bigger, I can’t help but wait to see what the fall will bring us. You may have to search a little longer and harder to find the fish, but it can be well worth it!

Here’s a couple of random photos I thought were cool from the summer steelhead season so far…. Enjoy!