Friday, July 13, 2007

Oregon fishing report

Oregon Fishing Update

Willamette Valley/Metro - Warm water temperatures have most river users swimming instead of fishing. Despite a significant climb in dam counts and favorable tides over the weekend, steelhead anglers did not fare well on the recent tide series. Angling is now closed for adult chinook but anglers are allowed to retain jack salmon.

Effort is low for oversized sturgeon and fresh shad are hard to come by. Floater shad make the best bait this time of year.

Warm weather has pushed the Willamette temperature to 76 degrees at the falls. Chinook and steelhead continue to cross but they aren't biting well in these conditions. Shad fishing is getting spotty with the best catches coming in the evening. Boaters should be cautious at ramps with the river so low.

The color of the Sandy makes it look unfishable as dam work upstream has combined with seasonal glacial runoff to turn the water opaque. Even in these less than ideal conditions, summer steelhead are still being hooked.

Steelheading in the Clackamas has been fair to good and hasn't been too crowded with anglers. A few spring chinook have also been hooked this week.

Persistence is paying off on the North Santiam with steelhead taking bait and striking lures from Fishermen's Bend to Mehama.

Hatchery trout are scheduled to be planted in the Breitenbush River, Carmen Reservoir, Clear Lake, Leaburg Lake, McKenzie River above and below Leaburg Lake, Quartzville Creek, Salmon Creek and the North Santiam River above Detroit.

Northwest – Heavy winds kept most recreational craft in port much of the week. Previous reports indicated fish were well scattered with inconsistent water temperatures on the north coast. One report from just outside of the mouth of the Columbia indicated hatchery coho were present in good numbers but anglers had to weed through several wild coho and undersized chinook to get their limits.

Catch and release sturgeon fishing remains great in the Tongue Point area with anchovies producing the best results. Call ahead to ensure bait orders can be filled as demand has dropped making bait deliveries inconsistent.

Pro guide Brandon Glass (503-260-8285) reports slow walleye fishing in the lower Columbia but hopes for an improvement this week.

The weekend ocean forecast calls for favorable conditions which has more anglers excited about tuna than salmon. Forecasted ocean temperatures look more favorable for tuna fishing. Look for water 61 degrees and warmer for tuna while salmon prefer temperatures in the range of 56 to 59 degrees.

Newport ranks number one for coho landings according to a July 8th ODFW report. More fish-per-trip were landed out of Depoe Bay although fewer boats launched. Offshore tuna fishing held up whenever boaters could safely cross the bar.

North and mid-coast lakes will not be stocked with trout again until September.

Southwest – Wind has kept boats off the ocean for several days on the central and southern Oregon coast. Conditions are forecast to improve for the weekend, but early morning minus tides will complicate bar crossings.

While summer steelheading has yet to show anglers much action, smallmouth bass fishing on the Umpqua is producing plenty of fish per trip. Salmon fishing had been decent until the wind came up late last week.

Pro guide Bill Kremers (541-754-6411) confirms decent fishing for smallies but advises drift boaters that low water requires wading to push and pull in places.

So far, pressure is light on the Rogue River estuary where trollers have been picking up chinook, It's early for this fishery but some boats have landed multiple fish about half of which were hatchery. Unclipped Chinook may be retained starting July 14th. Fishing for half-pounders has been fair but everything else is slow on the Rogue River.

Pro guide Jeff Jackson (541 268 6944) reported in to confirm catches of early fall Chinook mixed with late springers.

Section 5 of the Rogue River is scheduled to be stocked with trout.

Tuna fishing remained rewarding last week with albacore within 30 miles of the port of Brookings. Since then, high winds have hampered effort and pushed the warm water further offshore. Chinook and coho have been 10 to 12 miles out in 350 to 400 feet of water.

Eastern – The lower Deschutes has caddis hatching well in the mornings and evenings, coincidentally, the best times to fish on the scorching east side. With over 90% of the water in the middle Deschutes dedicated to irrigation, fishing in the warm water is not so promising.

Anglers are beginning to consider the Deschutes for steelhead but the Dalles Dam counts dictate how the action will be. Numbers are still a bit low for great action on this premier river. Last year, it began fishing best the latter half of August but passage at Bonneville is improving significantly.

The cool, spring-fed water of the Fall River is fishing quite well for brown trout, even on the hottest days.

Pro guide Rick Arnold (541-480-1570) reports good fishing for browns a Wickiup with some over the six pound mark.

Waters scheduled to receive hatchery trout this week include Badger Lake, Campbell Lake, Deadhorse Lake, Fall River, Shevlin Pond and Spring Creek.

The Guide's Forecast would like to congratulate Jenni Logsdon Martin of www.ifish.net for being selected again this year as one of the top 25 most influential people in Oregon.

Friday, July 06, 2007

Oregon fishing report


Oregon Fisheries Update:


Willamette Valley/Metro- Summer chinook season closed on July 2nd from Bonneville Dam to Priest Rapids. No adult chinook may be retained from Tongue Point upstream until August 1st when fall salmon arrive. Overall, it wasn’t a productive season but sport anglers did exceed their catch allocation. Dam passage is tracking behind preseason estimates.Shad fishing is slowing making it more difficult to find quality bait for oversized sturgeon. Floater shad is the best option.Steelhead counts continue to climb and weekend tides make for ideal fishing conditions along lower Columbia River beaches. Plunkers should take fair numbers of fish on spin-n-glos.While the shad run is tapering off at Oregon City, it was still possible to take scores of them in a couple of hours over the past weekend. Sturgeon fishing has been slow. Smallmouth bass have been cooperating with anglers above the Falls as they're pitching crankbaits in the low, clear, mid-60 degree water. A little more flow, depth and color would improve prospects, however.


Reports of only an occasional steelhead are coming from the Dodge Park area on the Sandy River. Action on the Clackamas slowed recently as the water cooled but weather this week should turn that situation around. Numbers of both summers and springers are good and improving. Boaters must exercise extra caution navigating the lower river as the water is very low.North Santiam steelheaders are taking a few fish floating bobber and jigs. It's recommended that anglers trying this technique take a number of different colors of small-sized jigs. The South Santiam is getting a great deal of boat traffic with many of those anchoring in drifts. Fishing is fair for summer steelhead with fish being trucked downstream from Foster to Waterloo or Pleasant Valley.Waters scheduled for trout stocking include Faraday Lake, North Fork Reservoir, Trillium Lake, Big Cliff Reservoir, Breitenbush River, Detroit Reservoir, Leaburg Lake, McKenzie River above Leaburg Lake, Salt Creek, North Santiam River above Detroit, Trail Bridge Reservoir and Middle Fork of the Willamette River above Hills Creek Reservoir.
Northwest – Sturgeon fishing closed on July 4th in the estuary. Catches remained good until the closure making catch and release fishing a strong option with little competition from other anglers. Anchovies may be difficult to find during the week making sand shrimp the best option in shallow water and fresh herring in the deeper slots. Anglers can also find success jigging their own anchovies for bait.


Out of the Columbia, offshore anglers found coho from the CR Buoy southward 5 miles. Most fish are still averaging 4 to 6 pounds but a few larger fish have been taken. Ocean crabbing has been good.


From Garibaldi, a band of warm water scattered previously schooled coho but tuna are within 25 miles of shore. Bay crabbing remains challenging.


Low water favors only the stealthy bank angler seeking pocket water steelhead on the Wilson and Nestucca Rivers. Small baits or bobbers and jigs early in the morning will produce the best results.


Good catches of coho are being taken by many of the boats launching out of Newport and fishing over 150 feet of water. Better than half the silvers being hooked are fin-clipped keepers. Chinook are being landed on occasion, but there aren't many out there. Crabbing is fair at Yaquina Bay although many softshells are in the mix. Herring are still available but numbers thinned early this week. Crabbing has been poor at Waldport.


Southwest – All-depth halibut will open again this week July 5th through 7th. One more spring opener is possible if sufficient poundage remains, but if so, it may not be a full three days. The summer central Oregon coast all-depth halibut fishery opens August 3rd and is scheduled to be open every other Friday through Sunday until the combined spring and summer quota of 226,989 pounds is taken or October 28th, whichever comes first.Tuna were out of Winchester Bay 50 miles Monday this week although anglers over the weekend found them at 27 miles. In both instances, action was great once the albacore were located. Coho fishing has picked up offshore but the majority of fish landed have been wild, requiring release. One boat picked up 25 but kept only the four which were fin-clipped, another caught 15 to keep two. Ocean crabbing has improved with double-digit catches coming from 40 to 50 feet of water.


Boats did well out of Florence for coho earlier this week with many limits returned to port. Ocean crabbing was good as well although no limits were reported.


Halibut have been taken fairly close to port out of Coos Bay. This week's opener should be productive. Rogue anglers have given up on the spring chinook season for the most part in the lower river. An occasional springer has been landed in the Grants Pass stretch but fishing is best in the Hatchery Hole. A few summer steelhead are being taken in the upper river.Fishing for sea-run cutthroat trout was very good on the lower Chetco over the weekend.Section 5 of the Rogue River is scheduled to be planted with trout.


Eastern – Scheduled for planting with hatchery trout in the Deschutes watershed are Campbell Lake, Deadhorse Lake, Miller Lake, Olallie Lake, Spring Creek and Spring Creek.

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