Saturday, August 26, 2006

Oregon fishing update

Willamette Valley/Metro - Metro salmon anglers are anxiously awaiting the arrival of fishable numbers of Chinook to the area. With water temperatures so warm, high numbers of fish must be present before respectable catches are witnessed. With Buoy 10 fishing so slow, anglers will be waiting at least another week before catches improve.

Anglers fishing the mouth of the Cowlitz are still faring well for summer steelhead. Although Chinook catches have gradually improved in deeper water, this fishery is still a few weeks away from peaking.

Gorge steelheaders are finding challenging conditions and numbers passing Bonneville has slightly decreased. Warm water has most fish on the move and seeking cooler tributaries upriver.
Water temperature at Willamette Falls was 71 degrees as of August 18th with salmon and steelhead counts dwindling.

Steelheaders have taken a few fish near McIver Park on the Clackamas River.
There's virtually no angling effort on the Sandy River as it has been non-productive. Cedar Creek remains too low for fish passage to the hatchery.

An estimated 6,500 steelhead have entered the North Santiam River. These fish are concentrated upstream above Stayton, as the lower river has become too warm to hold fish. Summer steelhead and spring Chinook continue to enter the trap on the South Santiam where recycling downstream is ongoing.

Faraday Lake, North Fork Reservoir, Small Fry Lake, Clear Lake, Leaburg Lake, and upper McKenzie River are scheduled to be stocked with trout.

Northwest – The Buoy 10 fishery, one of the regions most predictable, is stumping salmon fishers. Good numbers of Chinook and coho have yet to show and tides are dictating a late afternoon bite. Historically, this week is the peak for this fishery and the bulk of the run is overdue. Spinners are accounting for the majority of catch as large schools of anchovies are making it hard to compete using fresh baits. Size 6 and 7 brass with red spinners are producing consistent results fished anywhere from 18 to 35 feet below the surface.

Even more discouraging is poor ocean catches of Chinook and coho. Calm waters allowed even small recreational boats to fish from Tillamook Head to Long Beach early this week. Fish have been scarce but a 47-pound Chinook was weighed in over the weekend and coho have been running exceptionally large.

Some guides have been taking advantage of decent catch and release sturgeon opportunities in the estuary with the water above the Astoria/Megler Bridge producing the best results using fresh jigged anchovies.

Crabbing has improved in the lower Columbia but limits are still not common. The ocean crabbing closed last week.

Garibaldi crabbers are doing good in Tillamook Bay and tuna anglers were scoring 30 to 50 fish per boat- it's a 50-mile trek to productive tuna fishing however.

Nehalem Bay salmon anglers have yet to witness consistent results but a fair bite was reported at the jaws early in the week. Wheeler trollers will witness fish taken every day although numbers are low. Spinners will become more effective as fall approaches.

The ocean laid down and winds eased Sunday afternoon. On Monday this week, boats took scores of albacore out of Depoe Bay.

Limits of hard Dungeness have been easy to cull from softshells in Yaquina Bay. Mild tides favor this activity in the coming week.

Southwest – Winchester Bay was once again the top port last week for offshore Chinook catches. Over half of the cumulative total for the year has come from this location. Ocean catches have slowed in the past few days, however. A few have been taken in the bay and lower Umpqua. The North Umpqua may be fished only with unweighted flies and steelheading is fair to good. Smallmouth bass fishing is good on the mainstem and South Umpqua.

The troll fishery in the Rogue River estuary has improved. Chinook over 30 pounds are being taken daily along with jacks averaging seven to eight pounds. Early coho have been caught in the bay recently.

Since the ban on wild Chinook retention was lifted August 15th, anglers have been taking springers in the middle stretch. Dam passage has topped 11,000. Summer steelhead counts at Gold Ray Dam approached 5,600 as of August 15th. Steelheading is fair to good on the Grants Pass stretch and very good on the upper Rogue. Section 5 will be planted with trout again this week.

Bottomfishing out of Brookings remains excellent for anglers using sardines or herring rather than lures with baitfish thick offshore. The warmer tuna water has been 60 to 70 miles out. Surfperch fishing has picked up from a slump a week ago.

Eastern - Dam counts at The Dalles and John Day facilities should have Central and Eastern Oregon steelheaders excited. Fish will seek cooler tributaries like the Deschutes where trollers will have the best access to them.

Steelheading in the Grande Ronde is only fair but will improve in September. It's a little better in the Deschutes below Mack's Canyon but the water is still a little high. Fly angling for trout has been good with nymphs.

Trout will be planted in Badger Lake, Fall River, Shevlin Pond and Spring Creek.