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Fishing Restrictions Lifted on Lower Deschutes

BEND, OR -- Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife has lifted fishing restrictions on the Lower Deschutes River. Rod French, with the ODFW, tells KBND conditions have eased and water temperatures are no longer stressing trout, salmon and steelhead, despite recent reports of die-offs. "The fish that died in the Deschutes were not from the Deschutes. We had some sockeye salmon that swam from the Columbia up into the Deschutes and that was the largest die-off. But, these fish became sick or diseased in the Columbia and sought the Lower Deschutes for some refuge and, essentially, a place to die."

 

French says water conditions typically become less stressful for native fish this time of year. "Temperatures have moderated considerably from when we enacted the regulations. River temperatures are considerably cooler now, day length is shorter and the amount of warming is considerably less." Restrictions on afternoon fishing were put in place about three weeks ago. 
 
However, improvements have not been felt statewide. "Rivers are at very low conditions and we’ve experienced very warm conditions throughout the summer and continue to experience them; hence, we only lifted the afternoon stream fishing regulation on the Deschutes and a couple of other rivers in very NE Oregon that are in very high elevation and stay relatively cool," French says.
 
ODFW will continue to monitor conditions on the Lower Deschutes, and could announce subsequent closures if necessary.

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