May 2009-
To help prepare for our upcoming season "Rainbow Bend" ran our annual "Shakedown Cruise". We put in at 4500cfs and took out three days later at 9100cfs! The river blew out as it rained the entire time. In fact Central Oregon saw record rainfall for the month of June before June 15th!. Following is a shot of Kyle, our bagger, showing off a nice bow on our float. Guides Matt and Cracker joined in on the fun, good food and dry tents!!
June 2009 -
Normally the month of June starts off with a bang as the big bugs (salmonflys) come out. This year, early June brought record rain. Although we saw success a few days, overall the hatch was a bit mixed. The bugs just didn't know what to do as the weather was so unsettled. Lots of rain and really cool nights. Then, finally in the third week of June the weather started to settle and days began to warm.
Here's a shot of a 18.5"bow we put in the net on a June trip. The caddis are out and the top water dries and sub surface nymphing are both outstanding at this time. This will continue as July arrives and well into August.
On to the next fishing spot!!
Our guests avoid some splash as we run "Buckskin Mary" on the Lower Deschutes River.
July, 2009.
Father/ Son Russ and Nick wet wading for trout on a great summer day.
Nick landed the "Big Fish of the Day" and Russ landed the "Smallest Fish" I've ever seen take a fly!!
A nice send off for Nick before he starts his freshman year at Ft. Lewis College.
Good luck Nick!
July 29th, 2009 Report
Trout fishing still going strong on Trips # 1,2 and 3. Early mornings and late evenings are best.
The steelhead are here!! We're gearing up for early August trips from Macks Canyon to the Mouth ( Trip #5 for the best steelhead fishing at this time). Good numbers of our ocean going friends are making the turn up the Deschutes from the Columbia and it looks like another great early Steelhead season.
We have dates available!!
We'll keep you posted when good numbers reach Macks Canyon and we can offer Trip #4 ( early season Steelhead day trip).
Thanks,
Hope to see you soon on the river with bent rod in hand!
Bob
August, 2009
Tim, Marco and Lyman enjoying a day on the Deschutes. Although all three were first timers, we caught some fish and had a blast doing it. Quite a change of scenery from where they work most of the year, in China.
The Trout fishing is still on! The recent hot spell has passed and cooler days are finally here. We threw caddis ( tan #16) for many strikes and hookups on this trip.We did a little nymphing and the fly of the day was a beaded pheasant tail dropper #16. Trout season will continue one more month wrapping up mid-September.
August 26th, 2009 - The steelhead are here! Record numbers are in the first 40 miles of river! Trips #4 and #5 are available for booking now thru Mid -September. From Mid- September thru November Trips #1 and #3 is where we'll find our ocean returning friends.
Lets bend your rod with a famed Deschutes Steelhead today!!
The Deschutes River in our great state of Oregon, once again provides us with an awesome recreational opportunity to share with our friends!
First Rainbow on a fly for Mr. Tim!! 
Another beauty in the net on this June "3 day" trip!
September 16th, 2009 - We're following some outragous numbers of fish as they make their summer return up the Deschutes. From the mouth upstream to Sherars Falls there are still fish to be found. The glacial melt of the White Glacier on Mount Hood is periodically running into the Deschutes and throwing the Deschutes from Maupin downstram off color ( see canyon photo above). Even so, we sure had alot of fun running this section ( trips #4&5) this season and as you can see by the photos above, we also saw lots of fish!.
At this time there are also steelies bending the rods above Sherars Falls all the way to Warm Springs.
We're now focusing our guided trips for the best success in this section of river. Our Three - Five day trips (#3) (Trout Creek to Maupin) are most recomended at this time for steelhead and we're seeing good numbers especially as we work our way downriver towards Maupin. Day trips (#1) Warm Springs to Trout Creek, are seeing mostly trout and an occasional steelhead for the first two weeks of September. The rest of this September and all of October should be some of the best steelheading we've seen for both of these trips in some time. Don't wait. If you're thinking about a trip, this is the year to do it. We're seeing all time fish counts being broken.
October 5th, 2009 -
We're having difficulty finding the time to update the web site as we are deep in steelhead this year! Guests are having the highest fish counts per day I have ever seen on the river. At this time, the entire Lower Deschutes River is saturated with fish. Our Day Trip #1 and Multi Day Trip #3 are both showing awesome results and will throughout the rest of the season. Guiding our guests this Fall has been an ourtright blast. Way too much fun to be had!
Most fish are being caught on the swing using
Rods -7wt 10' or 7wt Spey
Reels - #4 Ross
Line - S/A or Rio with a 15 sink tip ( 3ips )
Leader - 3'-5' 0X
Flies - Black and Black/Blue A-Leeches
Most hookups - Knee to waist deep water, walking pace, end of swing in rocks against shoreline.
Here's a couple of late September/early October photos. The photo below shows two keepers that were caught within 30 seconds of each other. That's right, first cast after landing one, FISH ON!!!
Next is a native ready for release that grabbed mid river on mid swing! Yee ha!!
Let's Go Fishing!!!
October/ November - Wow, what a year! Record numbers of steelhead in the river this year. As of Oct 31st we're done with day trips and we're booked through November with back to back multi day trips. Most clients saw steelhead on their line this Fall with a few folks landing 3-7 fish in a day! Their sure spoiled now!! I had to join in on the fun towards the end of the season. Thanks for your support of Rainbow Bend Flyfishing this season! Linda and I really appreciate your choosing us as your outfitter for your fishing adventure. It was a great year and we'll hopefully see ya fishing the rivers and streams around Central Oregon this winter!
Sincerely,
Bob Alexander
Head Guide - Rainbow Bend Fl;yfishing
Above - Here's Dale DePriest, owner of Mission Creek Lodge in Alaska, with the big fish of the year award for guests on my boat. It was just before dark in Mid November when Dale hooked this beauty on the swing with my 7 weight Spey rod.. We were just across the river from camp on a three day trip when the "Yee-Ha ing" could be heard up and down and across the river. Dale says that along with Tarpon, Deschutes Steelhead are his two favorite fish to catch ( and release!) Way to go Dale!!!
