THE TRANSITION BEGINS

This is always a tough time of year for the avid Deschutes Angler. Are you starting to get hard refusals on the stone? Changed it three times? You're not alone. I want to get them on the big bug as well, but the reality of the 2012 Stonefly hatch is all but gone until next season. So now what? You can still fish the big bugs for another couple of weeks, but keep in mind the variety of other hatches to show them upon refusal. The Maupin area is experiencing this transition right now. The plethora of insects for the selection of any trout rivals the "all you can eat" buffet at Caesar's Palace. Early morning fishing has been "Spent Caddis" and "PMD Spinners" in the major and micro foam lines. Don't wait to see fish feeding to make a presentation. How early? As early as 7am. Once the canyon rim has given up its morning shade, the skies come alive with insects and their eaters. Now you have to move to the micro habitats under the trees and fishing very close to the tall grass banks (not 10 inches from the grass, but 2 inches). Also, when you are fishing small #16-18's you should consider using 6X nylon tippet (not fluorocarbon) and your lightest fly rod. Take into consideration that when you are fishing water with high surface tension, smaller diameter nylon stays on the surface undetected. Have enough flies for this reason. Late mornings will produce the daily PMD hatch where cripples dominate.  Anytime you see mayflies hatching begin with a cripple until you stop seeing adults leaving the surface. Remember that there are a lot more cripples out there than meets the eye. As for fishing wet, most of your favorite Caddis pupa drifted in shallow fast riffles will produce fast strikes. So be ready.

I find that the best rigging for this fast water presentation is with a shallow set indicator. Fish a 71/2' 5X leader and add 2 additional feet of 5X nylon. The benefit is that you set your indicator just above the tippet taper on the leader allowing for only 5X diameter to penetrate the water column. You should roughly have 41/2 feet of 5X below. This gets the flies below the surface faster (smaller diameter offers the least amount of resistance). If split shot is necessary, place it between the pair of pupa so that they reach the bottom together. Focus on short effective drifts and you won't miss many strikes. Of course, evening fishing during Caddis season is where it's at. Head back to the riffles where you were fishing wets earlier in the day and fish the adult dries all over the riffle. When you can't see that little booger any longer, fish it wet on a swing and give a little twitch and hang on. This will imitate egg laying divers that go un-noticed. Enjoy!

Dead Caddis

Edible Emerger

Blooms Caddis