Saturday, August 18, 2007

Oregon fishing reports

Oregon Fisheries Update:

Willamette Valley/Metro- Steelhead numbers continue to peak at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia where some bank and boat anglers are getting into good numbers of fish. Although the bulk of the fish being landed are still the smaller "A" run fish, Idaho bound steelhead of significant larger size are due to make their appearance.

An occasional fall chinook is being landed for boat anglers in the Longview to Gresham stretch of the mainstem Columbia. Although still a few weeks away from peak season, salmon will begin to dominate the catch in this stretch for boaters anchored with hardware.

Oregon and Washington fishery managers met on Wednesday to consider re-opening the retention season for sturgeon in the Wauna to Bonneville section. The staff recommendation was for a continuance of the 4-day retention period (Thursday - Sunday) from August 18th through the end of the year. The compact however adopted a 7-day per week opener for the Wauna to Bonneville stretch and will likely reconsider additional time in the fall if the quota is kept in check. Effort has been light and catches slow.

The Willamette is running 71 degrees at Willamette Falls but there's little in the lower river other than bass fishing of interest to anglers. Sturgeon fishing remains in the doldrums.
Steelheading has been slow to fair on the Clackamas. Spring chinook are evident but too dark to keep.

Fishing remains dead slow at the Sandy although trolling off the mouth may yield summer steelhead.

Summer steelhead and even spring Chinook counts picked up last week at Foster Dam on the South Santiam. Recycling of these fish is ongoing here and has started once again on the North Santiam where fish are being trucked to Mehama.

Trout fishing has slowed on the McKenzie with the water level low.

Waters in the South Willamette Valley scheduled to be planted with trout include Carmen Reservoir, McKenzie above Leaburg Lake and Salmon Creek.

Northwest - Calm seas continue to treat anglers to ample fishing opportunities for salmon, halibut tuna and bottomfish. From Garibaldi, albacore are 20 to 30 miles offshore and some anglers are reporting large Bluefin tuna occasionally breaking water. Salmon anglers are still taking good numbers of mostly coho but limits are not the rule.

Buoy 10 effort is beginning to pick up even though this fishery remains closed to the retention of chinook. If preliminary reports are accurate, the chinook opener on the 22nd should prove productive downstream of Tongue Point reports Pro guide Jim Nicol (503-550-3166).

Anglers fishing offshore of the mouth of the Columbia are witnessing epic fishing for coho. The recreational fleet as taken over 60% of the coho quota and if calm seas persist, the quota is likely to be met for the first time in several years. Best catches are coming from 6 to 12 miles south of the jetty tips in 150 to 250 foot of water. Although high numbers of wild coho and undersized chinook are being released, limits of hatchery fish are easy to come by. Chinook still only make up a very small portion of the catch. Anchovies make the best bait as bait balls are present in good numbers.

Steelhead are available in all of the whitewater areas of the Nestucca. Small baits will work best. There are still some really nice chrome fish around the area of First Bridge, and around Three rivers reports pro guide Jesse Zalonis (503-392-5808).

Albacore fishers are heading west anywhere from 28 to 40 miles out of the mouth of the Columbia. Ample numbers of fish are willing to bite.

Low, warm flows are challenging most freshwater steelheaders on north coast streams. Good numbers of sea-run cutthroat trout are present in tidewater sections of these rivers but remain open to catch and release opportunities only.

Tuna, halibut and Coho were taken out of Depoe Bay on a flat ocean last Sunday.
Pro guide Bill Kremers (541-754-6411) reports that the coho fishing is "pretty good" out of Newport, better out of Depoe Nay.

Southwest - Cabezon may no longer be kept by offshore boaters as of Saturday, August 10th. Fortunately, the survival rate for released fish is excellent. Anglers harvested 11.8 metric tons, which filled the quota for this year. Rock and jetty fishers may still keep cabezon, however.
All depth halibut will remain open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until the 80,000 ton harvest cap is met or October 28th, whichever comes first.

Mild tides, which might make for easy bar crossings won't mean much this coming weekend if the ferocious wind and wave forecast for the southwest coast is accurate.

Smallmouth bass fishing is good with light pressure on the Umpqua. Most smallies are in the one to two pound range. The ODFW announced a rule change on August 10th, which allows anglers to keep radio-tagged salmon taken on the Umpqua. They ask that the tags be returned, however. Steelheading is fair on the North Umpqua, better in the flies-only stretch. Tuna fishing has been great about 45 miles from port.

Anglers launching out of Florence last Sunday found smooth ocean conditions, scattered coho and good ocean crabbing.

Pro guide Jeff Jackson (541-268-6944) reports that Chinook have started entering the Siuslaw and that he took a 27-pounder "with minimal effort."

The Rogue River is open to chinook retention in its entirety with the last stretch where fishing was disallowed, from Gold Ray Dam to Hog Creek Boat Ramp, re-opened August 15th. Numbers of chinook in the lower river are very good, but the bite is only fair. The best fishing is near the mouth at the change of tide.

Offshore Chinook catches picked up dramatically out of Brookings over the past week. Albacore have been taken within 25 miles of shore.

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

Eastern - The upper Deschutes is producing good catches of Brook Trout on an assortment of dry flies. Steelheading on the lower Deschutes is improving as numbers continue to enter. Trout fishing has been consistently good.

Scheduled to be stocked with trout this week are Devils Lake, Rouge River and Spring Creek.

Friday, August 03, 2007

Oregon fishing reports

Oregon Fisheries Update:

Willamette Valley/Metro - Water at Willamette Falls is up to 74 degrees. The Willamette and the mainstem Columbia is now closed to the retention of sturgeon until October 1st. Catch and release fishing will remain open river-wide but it’s mostly a shaker show in this region.

Clackamas steelheaders are taking the occasional fish as they move higher in the system. Steelhead are being recycled from the hatchery.

While the Sandy has been unproductive, anglers can look forward to a good coho season in September with strong numbers of fish offshore.

Fishermen's Bend remains the most productive area for steelhead on the North Santiam. As daily counts decline, nearly 3,700 summer steelhead and 900 springers have been counted at Foster Dam on the South Santiam.

The Leaburg hatchery on the McKenzie River reports 580 summer steelhead have returned to the hatchery facility.

Waters scheduled for trout planting this week include Breitenbush River, Clear Lake, the McKenzie River above Leaburg and the North Fork Santiam River above Detroit.
Northwest – Salmon fishing out of Astoria was excellent over the weekend with easy limits coming for most boats fishing as close as Buoy 4 and 2. The coho still have some weight to put on but as long as the water temperature is consistently under 62 degrees, fish seem to be concentrated in good numbers. Fresh herring are still running small making anchovies the best bait.

Seabass fishing is great on the sunken jetty at the mouth of the Columbia but boaters must pay close attention to ocean conditions as this can be a dangerous place to fish. Tide changes are the ideal time to target these plentiful fish when the ocean swell is small.

Albacore catches out of the mouth of the Columbia have picked up as well. Boats fishing 19 to 22 miles out found good catches of fish 20 to 30 pounds but 35 to 45 miles west, larger numbers of tuna were present although smaller in size.

Unfortunately, windy conditions are forecast for the weekend making for hazardous and uncomfortable boating conditions out of most coastal ports.

Garibaldi catches of salmon had also improved before the southerly influence crept back in. Tuna were reported as close in as 7 miles with higher concentrations further offshore. Ocean crabbing has recently improved while estuaries remain only fair.

A return to low, clear conditions once again challenges steelheaders on the Wilson and Nestucca Rivers.

Chinook are being taken daily in lower tidewater on the Siletz but there are far more boats trying than fish bring landed.

Tuna were caught at 20 miles out of the port of Depoe Bay on Saturday, July 28th.

Anglers found albacore out of Newport at 30 miles over the weekend. Quick coho limits came over 220 feet of water.

Southwest – August 3rd marks the beginning of the summer all-depth halibut season off the central and southern Oregon coast. Fishing is expected to be good and will remain open every other Friday through Sunday until the quota fills or September 30th, whichever comes first.

Be sure to fish for tuna or halibut first on a multi-species trip. Once salmon are on board, only barbless hooks are allowed on any rods.

Boaters launching out of Winchester Bay late last week found Chinook offshore about 50 feet deep over 300 feet of water. The bay opens to salmon fishing on August 1st. Tuna were taken anywhere from 23 to 40 miles out. Crabbing is poor in the bay, fair in the ocean. Steelheading is fair in the flies-only stretch of the North Umpqua, slow downstream.

Water temperatures over 70 degrees in the lower Rogue have stalled the chinook fishery in the estuary. Summer steelhead fishing is fair to good on the upper Rogue.

Tuna fishing out of Brookings has held up again over the past week with boats coming in loaded with albacore. Some of these fish are topping the 30-pound mark and one angler took a big-eye tuna which was nearly 90 pounds. A few yellow fin and even dorado have been taken in the near-tropical offshore waters.

Loon Lake and Section 5 of the Rogue River are scheduled to be planted with trout.

Eastern – Steelhead catches on the Deschutes River are better this year than the previous two. The bulk of the catch consists of natives with early run hatchery fish averaging 5 to 8 pounds. Windy conditions call for side-planers and plugs but spinners can also be effective during the morning hours. Tim Robinson of Portland landed 4 wild steelhead in 2 days with the bulk of the fish coming on #5 Blue Fox spinners with a blue body. Water temperatures are around 65 degrees and climbing and boaters need to be aware that the lower 15 miles of the Deschutes are the most hazardous to navigate.Plug-pullers are picking up steelhead at the mouth of the Deschutes River. Caddis patterns will dominate for trout on the lower Deschutes for weeks to come.Spring Creek and Walton Lake are scheduled to be stocked this week.

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