Deschutes River

What should I tie on?

Tell us what you're seeing and get a rig for right now, with the reasons behind it.

Month
Time of day
Where you're fishing
What do you see?
Fishing for
Tie on

Two-nymph rig

Point fly (heavier) · Nymph
Pat's Rubber Legs
#6–10
Imitates trout food · About the redband rainbow trout
Dropper · Nymph
Juju Baetis
#18–20
Imitates a blue-winged olive · About the blue-winged olive
How to fish it

Get the flies down near the bottom and dead-drift them through the run. Set the indicator about 1.5× the water depth, or tight-line it.

Why this rig
  • Blue-Winged Olive (BWO) are at their peak on the Deschutes in November.
  • With nothing showing on top, trout are feeding below the surface, where they eat most of the time.
  • A stonefly nymph is in the river all year, so it's a reliable anchor fly that also gets the rig down.
Fall option (Chinook spawn): Egg pattern (peach/orange) #12–14

A starting point based on typical hatch timing. If fish ignore it, change one thing at a time: size first, then stage.