When does the salmonfly hatch on the Deschutes River?

The salmonfly hatch on the Deschutes typically runs from the last week of April through the first week of June, working its way upstream from the mouth at Heritage Landing toward Warm Springs. In an average water year, you can expect adults at Maupin between May 10 and May 25. The hatch can be displaced by a week in either direction depending on water temperature - a cool April delays it, a warm late spring pulls it forward.

What is the best dry fly for the Deschutes in summer?

From late June through mid-September, a tan or olive Spotted Sedge caddis pattern in size 14 or 16 is the most consistent dry fly on the Lower Deschutes. Fish it dead-drift in the seam near the bank in the morning and across-and-down on the swing at last light. A small Pale Morning Dun comparadun in size 16 is the second choice during morning emergence in June and early July.

When does the steelhead run start on the Deschutes?

Summer steelhead begin pushing into the Lower Deschutes in late July, with fish reaching the canyon stretch above Sherars Falls by mid-August. The peak swung-fly window is typically September 1 through October 31, when water temperatures drop into the 50s and fish are aggressive. Fishing tapers in late November as fish push higher into tributaries and the air gets cold.

Are blue wing olives reliable on the Deschutes?

Yes - the Baetis tricaudatus blue wing olive has two reliable peaks on the Lower Deschutes: a spring window in mid-March through April, and a fall window in October that overlaps with the October Caddis. The fall BWO is often the better of the two, with cooler water, less recreational pressure, and more concentrated emergences during overcast afternoons.

Does the Deschutes get a green drake hatch?

The Deschutes has a real but minor green drake (Drunella grandis) emergence in early to mid-June, generally above Warm Springs. It is not a primary hatch on the Lower Deschutes the way it is on the Henry's Fork or the McKenzie, but if you are fishing the Middle Deschutes or the upper canyon in the right week, a size 10 or 12 green drake parachute will catch fish.

What size should my midge patterns be on the Deschutes?

Sizes 20 through 26. The midge fishing on the Deschutes - particularly in winter and on cold spring mornings - rewards small patterns. A size 22 zebra midge in black or red, a size 24 Griffith's gnat for clusters, and a size 20 chironomid emerger cover most situations. Use 6X tippet at minimum; 7X is not unreasonable when fish are gulping clusters in slack water.

When is the trico hatch on the Deschutes?

Tricos (Tricorythodes spp.) emerge daily on the Lower Deschutes from late July through mid-October, with peak fall consistency in August and September. The hatch happens at dawn - typically between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. - and falls as a spinner blanket on flat water by mid-morning. A size 22 trico spinner with a clear or rust-colored body is the standard fly.

Is there a march brown hatch on the Deschutes?

There is a small but reliable march brown (Rhithrogena morrisoni) emergence in late March and the first half of April, primarily on the Lower Deschutes in the Maupin to South Junction reach. It is not a heavy hatch, but in the right hour - typically 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on overcast days - fish will key on the dun for a window of 30 to 60 minutes.

What is October Caddis and when does it emerge?

October Caddis (Dicosmoecus gilvipes) is a large, orange-bodied caddis that emerges from mid-September through October on the Lower Deschutes. The adults are conspicuous in the evening, fluttering along the bank and crashing into the water. The pupal stage is more important to fish than the adult - a size 8 orange soft hackle swung in the bottom third of a run is more productive than dries during the daytime emergence.

When does the golden stonefly hatch happen?

Golden stones (Hesperoperla pacifica) follow the salmonfly by a week to ten days, peaking on the Lower Deschutes from late May through the third week of June. The hatch overlaps the tail end of the salmonfly and runs longer. Fish often prefer the smaller golden adult once they have grown wary of the larger salmonfly imitations - a size 8 or 10 yellow stimulator picks up fish that have refused a size 4 salmonfly dry.

What hatches happen in the winter on the Deschutes?

Winter fishing on the Deschutes - December through February - is primarily a midge and small Baetis game. Hatches are sparse and weather-dependent, with the best windows on bright, calm afternoons. Streamer fishing for the resident redbands and the late steelhead also produces, particularly in tailouts and along undercut banks.

Why do hatch windows shift on the Deschutes from year to year?

The Lower Deschutes is a tailwater below Pelton Dam. That stabilizes flow but does not eliminate seasonal water-temperature variation. A cooler spring delays salmonfly and PMD emergence; a warm fall extends the BWO window into early November. Air temperature, snowpack contribution to tributaries, and ambient water clarity all factor. A useful rule of thumb is that hatches in the canyon below Maupin run one to two weeks behind the same hatch above Warm Springs.

Is the Pale Morning Dun the same as the PMD?

Yes. PMD is the angler shorthand for Pale Morning Dun (Ephemerella excrucians, sometimes still referenced under its older name Ephemerella inermis). The size 16 to 18 yellow-bodied mayfly that emerges between 8:00 a.m. and noon from May through July on the Deschutes is the same insect anglers fish on the Yellowstone, Henry's Fork, and Bighorn.

When is the best month to fly fish the Deschutes River?

If asked to pick one calendar month, September is the most consistently productive on the Lower Deschutes: trico spinner falls at dawn, summer steelhead in the swung-fly window, October Caddis pupae beginning to emerge in the bottom third of the column, and air temperatures that make the canyon comfortable. May runs a close second on the strength of the salmonfly and golden stonefly hatches.

Do I need a Steelhead Card to fish the Deschutes?

Yes - if you are targeting or might catch steelhead, Oregon requires a Combined Angling Tag (steelhead/salmon) in addition to a standard fishing license. You must record harvested fish on the tag. Regulations also change seasonally on the Deschutes, including catch-and-release-only sections in certain reaches; check the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations before each trip.

What fly should I use during a hatch I cannot identify?

If you are seeing rises but cannot identify the insect, default to a size 16 olive parachute Adams. If the fish refuse it, drop one size and switch to a comparadun or emerger profile in either olive or tan. If the rises are slow and sipping, the fish are almost certainly on emergers or spent spinners just under the surface - fish a low-profile pattern in the film, not a high-floating dry.

Deschutes River Hatch Charts - Monthly Fly Selection Guide

Most published hatch charts for the Deschutes River read like a printed table at the back of a shop catalog: a list of insect names, a horizontal bar across some months, and almost no operational detail. This one is different. It is built from 21 consecutive seasons of personal field notes on the stretch from Pelton Regulating Dam down to Heritage Landing, and it tells you not only when a bug emerges but what hour to expect it, what size to tie on, how long the window typically stays open, and what the fish do during it.

The Lower Deschutes is a tailwater. Pelton Dam stabilizes flow and dampens the most dramatic seasonal swings, but it does not eliminate them. Water temperature still rises and falls with the season; the canyon below Maupin warms faster than the reach above Warm Springs; and the same hatch can run two weeks apart on different sections of river in the same year. The chart below shows the broad envelope. The notes that follow explain how to narrow it.

Figure 1. Deschutes River hatch calendar showing approximate emergence windows on the Lower Deschutes. Hatches in the canyon below Maupin often run one to two weeks behind the same hatch above Warm Springs due to flow regime and water temperature.

How to read this chart

The horizontal axis is the calendar year. Each row is a single hatch or insect family. The bar shading indicates intensity: trace (occasional, opportunistic), light (predictable on the right day, not heavy), or peak (the kind of emergence you can plan a trip around). A peak bar that spans two months indicates a hatch with a long, broad window; a single peak month indicates a tight, intense window where timing matters more than fly selection.

The last row is not an insect - it is the summer steelhead run window. Steelhead fishing on the Deschutes is its own discipline (a fly fished on the swing rather than matched to a hatch), but the run timing is the single most important calendar item for many anglers, so it lives on the same chart.

Hatches by season

Winter (December - February)

The river is at its quietest. Midges in size 22 to 26 carry the dry fly fishing on the warmest afternoons, fished to specific sipping fish in tailouts and back eddies. Below the surface, a single egg-pattern dropper under a small stonefly nymph picks up resident redbands holding deep along the inside of the bank. Late winter brings the first scattered Baetis on overcast days at the end of February - small, dark olive duns in size 20 that fall on slick water for an hour around 2:00 p.m.

Spring (March - May)

Spring on the Deschutes is staircase-shaped. March brings reliable Baetis and the first true dry fly fishing of the year - a size 18 olive sparkle dun in the slow seams near the bank pulls fish that have not eaten a surface bug since October. By mid-April the march browns add a second window in early afternoon. The defining event of late spring is the salmonfly hatch, which historically peaks on the Lower Deschutes between May 10 and May 25 and turns large trout cooperative for ten days. Golden stones overlap and extend the dry fly window into June.

Summer (June - August)

By mid-June the salmonflies are done and the river settles into its long summer routine: Pale Morning Duns emerging between 8:00 a.m. and noon, Spotted Sedge caddis from mid-afternoon through dark, and the first tricos toward the end of July. This is the season for technical dry fly fishing with size 16 and 18 imitations and 5X tippet. Recreational pressure - boats, rafters, swimmers - peaks in July and August. The angler willing to fish at first light, hike to less-pressured water, or wade-fish in the evening shadow lines has an outsized advantage.

Fall (September - November)

Fall is when the Deschutes becomes itself again. The crowds thin after Labor Day. The summer steelhead run reaches the canyon. October Caddis - bright orange, the size of a thumbnail - emerge in the late afternoon. The fall Baetis arrives in October and runs into early November, providing the year's last consistent dry fly fishing. By Thanksgiving the river is quiet, the streamers come back out, and the resident trout settle into winter holds.

The hatches that actually matter

Salmonfly (Pteronarcys californica)

The salmonfly is the famous hatch on the Deschutes for a reason: the adult insect is the size of a small lizard, the fish gorge on it for two weeks each year, and a well-tied dry can bring a twenty-inch redband to the surface in the middle of the day. The catch is that the hatch is shorter and more locally specific than its reputation suggests. By the time it is "happening" at Maupin, it is finished at Heritage Landing and not yet started at Warm Springs. Move with the bugs.

Useful patterns: a size 4 or 6 Chubby Chernobyl with an orange body, a size 6 Norm Wood Special for refusals, and a size 6 black rubber-leg stonefly nymph for the week before the adults appear. Fish the dry tight to the bank in fast water and on the seam in slower water; a sloppy plop is fine - salmonflies are clumsy fliers and the fish are conditioned to surface disturbances during the hatch.

Pale Morning Dun (Ephemerella excrucians)

The PMD is the most reliable dry-fly mayfly on the Deschutes through late spring and early summer. It emerges on a stable schedule - typically 8:00 a.m. to noon - and the fish key on both the dun and the trailing emerger. The standard rig is a size 16 PMD comparadun on point with a size 18 PMD emerger 16 inches below it on 5X fluorocarbon. Switch to a sparkle dun if the comparadun is refused; if both fail, you are fishing a hatch that is winding down and the fish have moved to spinners.

Spotted Sedge / Hydropsyche caddis

Caddis fishing on the Deschutes is a multi-month proposition. The standard hydropsyche caddis - tan or olive body, brown wing, size 14 to 16 - emerges from late spring through the end of summer and is the workhorse evening dry fly for most of the season. The most productive technique is not a dead-drifted dry but the down-and-across swing of an Elk Hair Caddis or a soft hackle in the last twenty minutes of daylight. The fish hit on the swing and the hookup rate is high.

October Caddis (Dicosmoecus gilvipes)

The Deschutes October Caddis is the single most under-fished hatch on the river. The adult is conspicuous and people see it; the pupa, which is what the fish are actually eating during the day, is mostly ignored. A weighted orange soft hackle in size 8, fished on the swing through the bottom third of a run during midday, will outproduce any dry fly in October. Save the dries for the last 30 minutes of light.

Tricos (Tricorythodes)

Trico fishing on the Deschutes is a dawn proposition. Be on the water at first light. The duns hatch between 7:00 and 8:30 a.m. depending on water temperature, and the spinner fall follows by mid-morning. Look for slick water in the inside of bends and back eddies, where the spinners collect. The fish will sip them with their dorsals out of the water and they are easily put down by a botched cast. Use 6X, a size 22 or 24 trico spinner, and accept that you will get four good chances per pod before the fish stop showing.

Baetis / Blue Wing Olive

The fall BWO window in October is one of the most reliably overlooked opportunities on the Deschutes. Cool water, overcast afternoons, and slick seams below riffles produce consistent rises on size 18 to 20 BWOs. Fish the emerger in the film more often than the adult dun; a size 20 RS2 or a foam-post Klinkhammer in olive does the job. Tippet matters - 6X minimum, 7X if the fish are refusing.

What is not on this chart

Several insects are intentionally omitted. The hex hatch is essentially absent from the Lower Deschutes. The yellow sally is on the chart but only as a "light" hatch - it is a genuine but minor event and rarely the fly that decides whether you catch fish on a given day. Damselflies are abundant in the still water of the Middle Deschutes around Lake Billy Chinook but not on the Lower Deschutes in numbers worth a separate row. The same goes for terrestrials: ants and grasshoppers will pick up summer fish in the canyon and we fish them, but the catch is opportunistic rather than hatch-driven.

Regulatory and conservation notes

All steelhead fishing on the Deschutes requires a Combined Angling Tag in addition to a standard Oregon angling license. Specific sections of the river are restricted to artificial flies and lures with single barbless hooks. A portion of the river runs through the Warm Springs Reservation and requires a tribal angling permit in addition to the state license. We are not your local regulations source - the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is - but the rules change yearly and matter, so check before each trip.

The Deschutes redband trout is a genetically distinct strain of rainbow that has been in the river since long before any of us. Handle them with wet hands, keep them in the water when possible, and skip the "hero shot" if the fish has been out of the water more than a few seconds. The same goes for steelhead: if you intend to release a steelhead, do not hold it out of the water for a photograph.

How we update this chart

This page is reviewed twice a year: once in March, before the spring hatches begin, and once in September, before the fall steelhead and BWO window. We adjust the chart based on the previous season's field notes and add or remove entries as warranted. The last update is noted at the top of the page. We do not change the chart in real time based on a single season's anomaly - the goal is a reliable baseline, not a daily report.

For current week-by-week conditions, see the Deschutes River fly fishing reports page. For the specific flies that we tie and fish on this water, the fly profiles archive expands as the year goes on.

Deschutes River Hatch Charts