Owyhee River, Oregon 2023 Season Report

Our friend Corey Godell sent us this season report from the Owyhee River in Eastern Oregon.

Owyhee season is in the books and there is a reason we take a break from the Deschutes to hit prime times on the "O" is Eastern Oregon. What a cool canyon tailwater fishery. The Deschutes is super fun and holds a special place in our heart, and those "Redside" are an incredible wild native trout, but chasing some browns is fun too. Variety is the spice of life. The Owyhee had some variety up its sleeves this year for sure.

Over all a great season. Classic hoppers on the banks in tight little willow shady nooks and crannies produced gator browns whuffing down dries.That is why we go! Mixed in with some nice Pale Morning Dun hatches and dropping down in fly size and a more delicate presentation. For a "stable" tailwater fishery we had to deal with some rain storms and off-color issues to keep us on our toes. It simmered down fast and it was back to business. Staying in the riverside Bed and Breakfast is a treat, and the luxury of being right on the river in a real bed feels almost like cheating. We’ll take it.

Besides the canyon lands beauty of sunrises and sunsets and wildlife, the variety of fishing styles we get to use is a blast. We even mix in some streamers, which is really fun to watch aggressive predatory trout behavior. There is something about big browns that is really awesome. Maybe it is the novelty since most of our time is spent in the land of the Rainbows. That extra big snout poking up eating dries is great. Talk about photographic fish, they are gorgeous and each a little unique. We hope you come share it with us someday. We are in Eastern Oregon in the spring for skawala and end of summer/early fall for more dry action.

Now that the Owyhee is over, it is back to the Deschutes and our attention will turn not only to trout, but steelhead. Numbers look promising and early reports are trending in a good direction. We can’t wait. Steelhead are one of our favorite fish to target and we have spent decades honing our craft and learning the best lies. Fall on the Deschutes is a great time of year, and fun multi-day camping adventure