Northwest Fishing Magazine September 2025 Volume 5 Issue 1 - Flipbook - Page 9
Look at the options
available. A purpose-built
spinner for the Deschutes
should sink fast (faster
than a Blue Fox) and start
spinning the instant it hits
the water. I would opt for
a short heavy body and
a No. 3 or No. 4 blade.
Body colors? For summer
steelhead, top colors are
blue, green, purple, and
black. Best blade colors?
They are all good: copper,
silver, black, nickel, brass.
Silver tends to move fish
further but throws more
flash and can spook fish in
low, clear water. Black and
tarnished brass are good
bets. I like to add blood red
tape on the inside of the
blade. And I like blood red
hooks too. And the hooks
should be sharp, sharp, sharp.
SPINNER TECHNIQUE
Cast, and let the spinner
sink, especially in the
channeled lava runs like
are found in the lower
Deschutes. The turn of the
blade should thump in
the rod tip. Don't just cast
and reel. Let the spinner
tumble and flash through
the boulder fields. The
closer the spinner is to the
bottom, the better. And if
you are snagging spinners,
congratulations! You're
fishing right.
Make sure the drag is loose
enough to allow the fish to
pull out line fast.
It's going to happen. A
steelhead is going to stop
that spinner. Or crush it.
And streak upstream or
down.
Let the fish run, then try
to gain as much line as
possible when it stops.
Even if it means chasing it
downriver. When the fish
jumps, and it can jump up
to a dozen times, let some
tension off. When it comes
time to slip a net under it,
try to get the fish's head up.
It's a rush.
It can happen a dozen
times in a day. Or it can take
a dozen trips to hook the
first one. But when there
are steelhead in the river
in a good year, the odds go
up. If this is your first year
for steelhead, or the first
season in a long time, give
spinners a try.
GARY LEWIS BIO
Gary Lewis is an award-winning author, TV host, speaker and photographer. Recent books
include Fishing Central Oregon, 6th Edition, Fishing Mount Hood Country and Bob Nosler Born
Ballistic. Gary has hunted and fished in eight countries on three continents and in the islands
of the South Pacific. Born and raised in the Northwest, he has been walking forest trails and
running rivers for as long as he can remember. Lewis is twice past president of the Northwest
Outdoor Writers Association and a recipient of NOWA’s Enos Bradner Award.
FOR A SIGNED COPY OF FISHING
MOUNT HOOD COUNTRY, SEND
$29.99, INCLUDES SHIPPING TO:
Gary Lewis Outdoors
PO Box 1364, Bend, OR 97709
Contact Gary Lewis at
garylewisoutdoors.com
SEPTEMBER 2025 | 9
