The Lower Deschutes opener from Warm Springs to Trout Creek is on Wednesday, and is what a lot of us are most excited about! I anticipate some decent hatches, including March Browns, PMD’s and Caddis. As is often the case on the Lower D, the nymph game will be the strong play.
With Salmonfly #4-8 and Golden Stone #6-10 hatches just a couple of weeks away (+/-) the nymphs of both are so important. I’d run a big stonefly nymph and a caddis pupa or soft hackle PT dropper as my first choice to get set up in the parking lot before pushing off.
Have you seen the new fly boxes that you can pre-tie your nymph dropper rigs, or dry-dropper rigs and save time on the water with several already ready to go? They are quite a time saver and a nice way to approach a river like the D where a lot of nymph changes occur in a day of fishing.
Add Caddis Pupa (tan #14-16, olive #16, gray #18), perdigons (brown, olive and purple #12-18), Soft Hackle PT #12-16, Slum Lord Black #10-12, Frenchie #10-18 would be my plan for the opening week.