I’m catching up on emails after my latest fishing trip and read the August 24 drought report from the Oregon Water Resources Department. Central Oregon is now in “extreme drought”. This should not surprise anyone, but it’s now official. See the statewide details here. Central Oregon Irrigation District recently announced even further cuts to water deliveries, now down to 60% of their water rights due to low flows in the Deschutes River. All we can do is hope that the super El Nino we are entering does not make things even worse. Unfortunately, the current NOAA weather forecasts for the Pacific Northwest for the fall and winter are for higher than normal temperatures which, if true, will likely impact snowpack. Only time will tell. I can say that the drought is having a real impact on my fishing in Central and Southern Oregon.