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.
http://www.theguidesforecast.com/
