I fish on the Deschutes with some really fishy guys, and about every other trip they'll pull in a steelhead while nymphing for trout. It was my turn on Saturday - beautiful day, sunny and warm, just the kind of day you want to spend in the canyon. Third cast in the first spot I stopped, and steelhead on.
It was a smolt. I managed to net upwards of a dozen smolts over the course of the day, what looked like both salmon and steelhead juveniles. I quickly moved on to faster, ledgy and pocket water to avoid them, and put some nice redsides and a beast of a whitefish in the net while reducing smoltiness. But it's that time of year, and they are everywhere.
While we're on the topic of legless creatures, the snakes were out and about. On the other end of the leg spectrum, so were the ticks. So, beware if those aren't your favorite things.
It was a smolt. I managed to net upwards of a dozen smolts over the course of the day, what looked like both salmon and steelhead juveniles. I quickly moved on to faster, ledgy and pocket water to avoid them, and put some nice redsides and a beast of a whitefish in the net while reducing smoltiness. But it's that time of year, and they are everywhere.
While we're on the topic of legless creatures, the snakes were out and about. On the other end of the leg spectrum, so were the ticks. So, beware if those aren't your favorite things.