Check out the first article:

http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120412/NEWS0107/204120365/1017/SPORTS&nav_category=SPORTS

“DESCHUTES RIVER (Mouth to the Pelton Regulating Dam): April is a great time to fish the Lower Deschutes River. Rising trout, spring chinook and wildflowers can all be found along the Deschutes Canyon during April. Trout anglers should try fishing from late morning to mid-afternoon because bugs and fish will be the most active during that time of the day. Fishing nymphs will be productive while watching for mid-day hatches to occur.”

Check out the second article:

http://billingsgazette.com/lifestyles/recreation/oregon-spring-chinook-salmon-run-looks-promising/article_abe54f4a-71a1-51f5-95c1-15e36096d31f.html

“This year’s run of spring chinook salmon on the Lower Deschutes River in Oregon could be one of the most substantial of the last 30 years.

Biologists are predicting that some 14,500 hatchery spring chinook will return to the Warm Springs River or the Round Butte Fish Hatchery. That is more than enough to open a spring season for hatchery (adipose fin-clipped) chinook on the Lower Deschutes from Sherars Falls downstream to the mouth of the river.

According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the season will run from April 15 to July 31. And judging from the projected size of the run, the fishing should be outstanding.

The predicted run of hatchery spring chinook would be one of the largest returns since the hatchery program began on the Deschutes in the mid-1970s and more than double last spring’s return, said Rod French, a fish biologist for the ODFW in The Dalles.

“We have fairly good confidence that it should come in close to that (14,500),” French said. “Even if it’s only half that, it would still be a very good run. It should be one of the better years we’ve seen in recent history.”

Spring chinook salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean must make their way east over Bonneville and The Dalles dams on the Columbia River before turning south into the Deschutes.

Biologists are also predicting a robust run of 314,000 spring chinook (hatchery and wild) on the Columbia.

“Any time it’s over 200,000, it’s a good run,” French said.

The biologist said a number of factors make for healthy runs of salmon, including favorable ocean conditions and successful juvenile fish passage in the main-stem Columbia.

“We’ve had some very wet springs in recent years, which have made for excellent downstream passage,” French said.

He added that the last “big” return years for spring chinook on the Deschutes were from 2000 to 2003.

“But even in those years, we weren’t approaching numbers close to this size,” French said. “It should be excellent fishing.”

The Deschutes is closed to spring chinook salmon fishing by permanent rule, but in most years the ODFW opens the season by temporary rule if the predicted run is large enough. The last year the agency did not open a spring chinook season on the Deschutes was 2009.

The catch limit for spring chinook this year is two adult adipose fin-clipped salmon per day, and five adipose fin-clipped jack salmon per day. All non-adipose fin-clipped (wild) chinook must be released unharmed.

Sherars Falls remains one of the best places in the state – and one of the most crowded – to catch a spring chinook salmon from the bank.

“It has some of the highest catch rates in the state,” French said of Sherars Falls.

The biologist noted that salmon anglers should pay attention to the upstream passage of chinook on the Columbia on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District website (www.nwp.usace.army.mil). He said it takes at least a couple weeks from when the chinook pass over The Dalles Dam to when they arrive at Sherars Falls.

“Generally, it’s around the first or second week of May when fishing gets red hot,” French said.

Anglers use a variety of baits to land spring chinook, including worms, shrimp, eggs, tuna balls, and pieces of herring or sardine.

“It all seems to work,” French said.

Sherars Falls is a popular place to fish because the salmon congregate there in large numbers before navigating the falls, French explained.

Deschutes spring chinook range in size from 7 to 12 pounds, relatively small for salmon. But they are known as some of the best-tasting fish.

“People often say the Deschutes (chinook) are some of the better table fare,” French said. “Spring chinook in general are some of the finest-tasting salmon to eat. They’re in prime shape. They still have lots and lots of fat.”

With the help of two city employees, their lift truck and Glenn, a friend from town, we raised the sign into its place and made the connection in less than a couple hours.   Its small towns like Maupin that make us realize what a gem we have being located so far from the big city.

Our heating and cooling system has been completely replaced with the most up-to-date, energy-efficient, and streamline product on the market. Our friends at Damar Heating and Cooling completed the project over the last few months.

Each unit has its own thermostat and remote, and can be adjusted to the guest’s personal preference. We have one unit in each room and two units in our two bedroom family suites. The Deschutes Motel was one of the first in Wasco County to go ductless, and we anticipate energy rebates to offset the costs of such improvements.

Visit Damar at: http://damarheating.com/

Before the remodel:

After:

We’ve received our new shipment of Serta Queen beds. We are adding them to our queen rooms before those rooms open back up to the public and we’ve been replacing the Family Suites queen beds one at a time.Our remodel is moving along. We are on schedule and should have our Queen suites open by late February. We have replaced the counters with granite, the flooring with commercial carpet and SnapStone porcelain tile, the beds with Serta Comfort mattresses, and switched to 32″ Flat Screen TVs. We’ve also added new curtains, table and chairs, new GE microwave and minifridge, and a new coffee maker to each room. We’ve also purchased lovely blue quilts for each room and think our design theme will be a treat to our longtime guests as well as our new-comers.

More photos to follow at the reopening of the Queen Suites.

Don’t forget, you can follow us on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Deschutes-Motel/151616934881379

Some might say that a sign tells a story and a picture is worth a thousand words. Our signage has been telling the Deschutes Motel story for over 40 years. In its prime, the Deschutes Motel was owned and operated by the Woodside Family, a very well known and loved bunch of folks, that gave the motel its history and legacy in this small community. 

When my husband or I meet new people in town, they typically ask about the Woodside’s or they share their knowledge or experience with the family that built rooms on the top of the hill, with the best canyon view in town.  

Today, we met with a sign company that wanted to work with our new business to bring a new look to our location. When we bought this business, we fully intended on staying with the “look” of the old signage and we enjoyed the retro-feeling. As a part of marketing a new business and showing others that you’re serious about improvements, you must carry the same committment to the outside of the buildings.  In the spring, when the snow subsides and the weather warms up, we will be painting the exterior of the building with Eggnog yellow. And now, coming in January, we will replace our old sign with new, upon approval from the city.

We are elated to see these changes, and feel confident that slowly but surely, hopefully by the Stonefly hatch, we will have remodeled rooms to share with the public.  Stay tuned…

As Dave and I learn the motel business, we hope you’ll bear with our mistakes and help us make necessary corrections. Our goal is to provide our new hometown community with a product we’re proud to show off.

After sending our very first customer, a cattle rancher who was looking for a room with TV and a shower, to exactly what she asked for, we have a growing sense of pride. I intend to share about our remodeling adventure in the next 6 months, and hope to see y’all at our Grand Reopening “Open House” when the time comes.

Thanks for all the support and well wishes from friends, family, and our new community.

Dawna North