Montana Fish Report

Reports of good dry fly action in the evenings lately on the lower Deschutes between Maupin and Warm Springs. Nymphing has been consistent as well throughout the lower river. Reports of good trout fishing between Pine Tree and Macks Canyon over the weekend

The Deschutes River from lower end of Moody Rapids downstream to the I-84 west bound bridge is closed to all angling starting July 15 – September 15. This closure is a part of the Deschutes River thermal sanctuary that extends out into the Columbia River.

The Deschutes Steelhead Framework establishes metrics use to manage the summer steelhead fishery on the lower Deschutes River based on run strength and conservation needs. As of July 1, fishery managers are monitoring returns of wild summer steelhead over Bonneville Dam. Per the framework, 9,900 wild steelhead need to be counted at Bonneville dam between July 1 – July 31 for the lower Deschutes fishery to remain open. Dam counts can be found here. The first threshold (9,900 wild steelhead over Bonneville) has almost been met as of 7/16.