Fish Master: Greg Williams
Contact: gregoryw@comcast.net, 541.729.1122
The club outing to the Deschutes River is scheduled for Thursday, May 29-Sunday, June 1, at Mecca Flat Campground. The weekend after Memorial Day has several advantages for us: We need some space between this outing and the Crooked River outing, we need to skip the Mother's Day weekend, and it will be best for us to avoid the the salmonfly circus, which is usually in mid-May. It's fun to fish the hatch, but if you go on a weekend you'll find almost as many fishermen as salmonflys. Mecca Flat does not take reservations, so strategic selection of campsites will be important for our large group. A few us will go a day early. If we secure three specific sites, we will have almost half the area of the campground for our group.
A float from Warm Springs to Trout Creek in a pontoon boat, drift boast or raft makes for a delightful day of fishing. We can arrange shuttles for those who would like to do the easy seven-mile float.
There is a surprising amount of good wading water around Warm Springs, including day-permit access to the Reservation side of the river, starting at Dry Creek, about a mile down-river from Mecca. This area can be reached either by float or by a short hike. And if that's not enough water for you, a good trail for hiking or biking runs all the way from Mecca Flat to Trout Creek. There are plenty of great rainbows, but the Warm Springs area is fished hard, so bring your A-game and your confidence patterns. Don’t forget those Percolaters, TJ Hookers and and Disco Walts!
Mecca Flat is a sparse campground. There is another option for camping, if you prefer something more developed. The fly shop at Warm Springs has a camping area that accommodates both tents and RVs, with full hookups. It's also more expensive than Mecca Flat, and it's not on the river.
Mecca Flat is green and beautiful in mid-May. The desert air smells of sage and spring. The shrubbery is full of birds, and sometimes at night we hear coyotes yipping in the canyon. An evening campfire is still allowed at Mecca Flat in May. Please join us. For more information contact Greg Williams.