"Nearly" Winter Steelhead on the Lower Deschutes

Last trip of the year, just one day before the Lower Deschutes closed for the season, and it was a beautiful day running from Warm Springs to Trout Creek.  My clients, Mike and his brother-in-law Kevin, excelled under my instruction both at single-handed steelheading techniques and Spey casting techniques. 

A complete novice, Kevin really put together his tension casting throughout the day and hooked a nice Redside Rainbow Trout at one of our last stops.  He was very pleased, so say the least.  Mike, having fished with me this summer on the Crooked River, hit the water running and hooked a 12+ pound steelhead before lunch.  After a long fight featuring 100+ yards of backing being stripped from his reel, the egg pattern that hooked the fish came unpinned and we were left with only memories of the spectacular aerobatics of the Deschutes River Steelhead. 

All-in-all, a great day.  Temperatures never got over freezing, but we were prepared well.  The roads coming out of Trout Creek were slick, to say the least, after a couple inches of snow fell the night before.  The new snow dusted the landscape and made the scenic run from Warm Springs to Trout Creek even more beautiful.