3/27/2026 – After an extended hiatus due to a trip to Christmas Island (!), I am back and have plenty of intel to write a fishing report on!
First point of order: do we have Skwalas in Central Oregon? The answer: kind of. Skwalas are most commonly sighted on the Middle Deschutes between Redmond and Lake Billy Chinook, with some sporadic populations south of town.
I have heard a few reports of “salmonflies” around Steelhead Falls, meaning people are almost certainly seeing Skwalas. All that being said, I would not expect to head down there with a #12 Fool’s Gold and catch a bunch of fish on the surface. Skwala nymphs and smaller (black or brown) stonefly nymphs will do quite well this time of year as the nymph form of any bug is always an easier meal than it’s adult counterpart. Adult stoneflies are especially difficult for a fish to eat on the surface due to their unpredictable nature and “drunnk” style of flight.
I have seen a bunch of nice browns being caught on larger articulated streamers. The “Daddy’s Money” in black or white has been a personal favorite of mine this time of year.
For nymphs: eggs, PMD patterns, any size or color of stonefly, leeches, drab caddis patterns, and baetis should all be good options.
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3/3/2026 – Not too much to report since my last. People are occasionally catching fish on Chubbies (winter stones?). Even as large as size #6!
As previously stated, the rainbows have started to spawn so egg patterns will do well. I wouldn’t be too worried about wading into redds as the areas around town are not especially “spawny”.
I would like to encourage everyone to give the streamer game a chance! One fish on a streamer feels like five on a nymph (and this is coming from a nymphing-fiend, so you know it must be true).
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2/13/2026 – Similar to the Crooked, I have also heard reports of Winter Stones popping off periodically on the Middle D–especially south of town. While the dry-dropper action has been less successful than the Crooked, fishing a #14 black stonefly nymph below a bigger black or brown stonefly nymph has been working really well.
As always this time of year, eggs will be effective as the rainbows begin to spawn and will continue to do so until sometime in April.
Other flies to try: San Juan Worms (red or purple), the France Fly (#14-16), Hot Bead Ray Charles (#18), Jigged Hare’s Ear (preferably with a hot spot), and anything small and olive with a tungsten bead.
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1/30/2026 – The Middle Deschutes is having a really good winter season. The flows are fairly stable at the current moment in time, and the fish have been pretty darn active–especially the big browns. I would highly suggest setting aside a few hours and dedicating them to just stripping streamers. While it’s unlikely you’ll catch a bunch, if you do catch one it’ll probably be a pretty big fish! A light sinking line is ideal, though it can be done on a floating line with heavier flies.
Other than that, I would say stick to your confidence flies. If your confidence flies don’t include a stonefly, however, you should add that to your box. It is less about matching the hatch this time of year as it is finding the feeding fish. Cover water in order to find the more aggressive fish and try not to get stuck in one place.
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1/15/2026 – The Middle Deschutes is running low and clear right now. The fish are moving to deeper water for more cover and aren’t going to be in the riffles as much. Looks for pockets behind boulders, seams along riffles, and the tailout of pools to find fish.
I recently went out in town and had equal success on a Pat’s Rubber Legs and an orange size #16 egg pattern. The streamer fishing is continuing to produce fish, though never in good numbers.
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1/1/2026 – The ever-changing flows of the Middle Deschutes between Benham Falls and Tumalo State Park have sporadically created ideal fishing conditions for anglers hoping to strip streamers for sizable brown trout. I have seen a very good number of fish pulled out of the river in the past week on articulated-streamer patterns.
Nymphing dirty, dirty flies (eggs, worms, mops, etc…) will certainly help a willing angler get into some fish. We just restocked eggs here in the shop, so feel free to pop by and grab some before your next outing!
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12/18/25 – The fishing before this storm that is currently wreaking havoc on Central Oregon’s infrastructure was very solid, though I expect it to be pretty bad until the latter-half of the weekend when the weather calms down a bit. As we move into the portion of the year where such storms are rather commonplace, it is always worth a shot to hit the river on either end of the storm. As the atmospheric pressure swings one way or the other, it can drastically increase the bitey-ness of the fish.
Flies like the Daddy’s Money, Eric’s Jealousy, the S4 Sculpin, the Sculpzilla, and the various Sex Dungeon-patterns should do the trick. In terms of nymphing, I would always have a stonefly on and rotate between various confidence nymphs below that. For me, perdigons, Frenchies, Newbury’s Alt Rocker, and different types of hare’s ear flies. If you’re fishing after or during a storm, a Squirmy Wormy in purple, red, or tan will beat up on those Middle D trout.
