Reds, golds and oranges reflected on the water in a dazzling display of color as my fly landed softly on the river's surface.
Birds chirped and sailed through the bright autumn sky as the Upper Deschutes flowed through the lava rock and bright foliage.
Fall is a perfect time to wet a line in Central Oregon.
Sure, many local water bodies closed to fishing Oct. 31. But opportunities to hook trout still abound in area streams.
The Upper Deschutes just upstream of Bend is a good place to start.
I made the short drive to Dillon Falls last month on a crisp day when the bright sunshine brought out the best of the fall scenery along the river.
And not a soul was in sight, except for an occasional hiker or mountain biker along the river trail.
While many anglers are currently focused on hooking an elusive steelhead in the Lower Deschutes, the fishing for trout remains good on the Upper Deschutes and elsewhere in Central Oregon.
"This time of year you have multiple opportunities," says Dave Kalinowksi, a manager and guide for Fly & Field Outfitters in Bend. "The cool-down has sparked some good hatches of blue wing olive."
The Upper Deschutes between Bend and Benham Falls, a stretch that is open year-round, holds many large brown trout, according to Kalinowski. He recommends using streamers, which imitate bait fish, or using wet flies such as pheasant tails, hare's ears and Prince nymphs. The blue wing olive, Kalinowski notes, is the one bug hatch that remains consistent from the fall through the winter.
The trail along the river affords access to scores of small fishing holes.
"You can walk the trail and find water to fish, and you may just run into a nice brown trout," Kalinowski says. "And it's never too crowded."
The stretch of the Deschutes River upstream of Benham Falls to Wickiup Reservoir closed on Oct. 31.
The Fall River near Sunriver is another great option for fly anglers during the fall. Bob Gaviglio, owner of the Sunriver Fly Shop, sometimes even considers the fishing on the Fall River during the autumn better than during the summer.
"Fall River and fall go together," Gaviglio says. "That's probably why they named it that. It's a great fall fishery. For whatever reason, the fish are just more active (during the fall)."
Gaviglio says fish in the Fall River continue to key on dry flies even during the cooler days of fall. A popular pattern is a blue wing olive in size No. 18.
But the rainbow trout in the Fall River can respond to a wide variety of dry flies, especially when those flies sit in the surface film. Gaviglio recommends not using "floatant" (a substance that makes the flies float) on dry flies so they sit down in the surface more.
"One of the things about the Fall River is, a lot of the fish like things that are just in the film," he says.
Gaviglio also suggests using egg patterns, pheasant tails or streamers below the water surface.
"For fall fishermen, they're going to have to put streamers in the fly box and add that to their repertoire, and they're not that hard to fish," he says. "Size 6 to 10 for Fall River streamers."
Other Central Oregon rivers that offer ample angling opportunity during the fall include the Metolius River and the Crooked River.
