WARM SPRINGS – In some parts of the Northwest, getting the rights to fish a high-quality stretch of private river fir a day would cost a small fortune.

But for anglers interested in the six miles of the Deschutes between Dry Creek and Trout Creek on land belonging to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the price is $8 per day. That’s $1.33 per mile.

”It’s got some of the best fishing in the world,” said Merril Hummer, owner of Numb-Butt Fly Company in Madras. ”It doesn’t happen every day, but it has its magic times where it’s as good as anything in the world.”

On Saturday, Hummer said, he hooked 19 trout and landed 12, the largest of which was 17 inches. Elk hair caddis in the morning and evening are one of the best bets, he added.

Hummer released all of the fish.

The section of the Deschutes from Warm Springs to Trout Creek on the mostly BLM-owned east side is extremely popular. One way to perhaps find a little more space is to try the west side – the tribal side.

”Fishing pressure is moderate,” said Mike Gauvin, fisheries harvest manager for the tribes. ”I wouldn’t say it’s heavy like it is on the other side.”

The six-mile section of river on the tribal side (”river left,” as the west side of the river is called by boaters heading downstream) is open until Oct. 31. That means that besides trout anglers, steelhead fishermen get about six weeks of fishing as well when those ocean-going fish return in the fall. As an alternative to day permits, a season permit can be purchased for $28, and it is also good for other fishing areas owned by the tribe.

But the Deschutes is the big draw.

”It’s a fairly exclusive piece of riverfront,” said Gauvin. ”All the rest (of the river on the reservation side) is closed.”

The remaining portion of the reservation that borders the river, about 26 miles, is off limits to non-tribal members year-round unless accompanied by a guide who is a tribal member.

The six miles below dry creek is paralleled by a road. Anglers can walk or bike on this road, but it is closed to motor vehicles. When steelhead are in this part of the river in good numbers in the fall, some anglers like to bike downstream in the morning to get to steelhead runs before any drift boats in the long line entering at Warm Springs make it that far.

”I know a lot of people who take a mountain bike, and that’s a great way to cover a lot of water,” said Hummer.

The permit allows purchasers to use the road to access the river. But straying off the road into side canyons on the reservation would be considered trespassing, Gauvin noted.

Quite a flap developed last year when some anglers’ gear was confiscated after they landed their boat at an island and started fishing. It turned out they were fishing in a non-tribal area and their gear was returned.

Because of that encounter, the tribes and BLM took a close look at the 11 islands between Warm Springs and Trout Creek and determined that three of them are on the reservation side of the river.

These three islands, which have since been marked with signs, are off limits to non-tribal members. If caught on one, an angler is likely to get his or her gear confiscated and face a fine. The reason behind the closing of islands is to protect spawning fish, Gauvin said.

”There is a lot of ecological damage going on,” said Gauvin. ”Grasses being damaged, and there is a lot of spawning that occurs around those islands. So we try to keep people away so that they aren’t trampling through redds.”

Soon, Gauvin noted, fall chinook will be in the river building their spawning beds (called redds) around many of those islands.

”I don’t fish anywhere close to (the islands),” said Hummer. ”The way I’ve interpreted what they’ve said is they don’t want you on or around them (the islands). I don’t fish on the perimeter of the islands, either.”

Although any easily accessible part of the Deschutes open to the public is going to draw crowds, the tribal side often offers a little more room to roam.

”You can kind of get away from the larger crowds and get a nice piece of solitude,” said Gauvin.

Keith Ridler can be contacted at 383-0393 or kridler@bendbulletin.com.