Fishing The Lower Deschutes

Fishing the lower Deschutes
The canyon green with sage
And mock orange
The river, glassy and dark
At the fly shop in Maupin
They don’t like the color
Of the water this week, and it’s true
We don’t catch fish
I try three or four flies
Stoneflies, and a few Dave tells me to use
But I can’t name
I’m learning how to cast
Happy to get the fly on the water
Instead of in the trees
Once, just shaking out my line
The fly dropped near the bank
And I got my only good strike of the day
But I was so unprepared
He was off the hook before I caught my breath
We missed the salmonfly hatch by about a week
And the May flies were just coming on
I should have been nymphing
But dry flies float and I watch them on the current
And the fish strike where you can see them
The river is glassy and dark
Like I said
Who knows what goes on down there?
When we’re done for the day
We fix steak and baked beans
After dinner, Dave has a rye on ice
I can smell the whiskey across the fire
Amber, in the glass
Dark, like the river


by Frank Vehafric