Oregon fishing report for November 04

Willamette Valley/Metro- Salmon fishing at Bonneville remains active although anglers working the area are releasing almost all of the fish. Of the 5 boats fishing there on the weekend, 16 chinook were reported caught but all were released. Plugs remain the most effective but fish are near spawning. Sturgeon action continues to slow although keepers are still coming from the bank and boat fisheries. A keeper for every 10 rods in the boat fishery and every 8 rods for bank anglers. Water temperature has dropped to the low 50s at Willamette Falls. Fish passage is at a near standstill. Steelheading has slowed in the upper Willamette. Catch and release sturgeon fishing is good in the Portland Harbor. Retention for sturgeon likely won’t open until early next year. Fishing remains slow on the Clackamas and slow to fair on the Sandy. Cedar Creek is the likely area to target coho for Sandy River anglers although fish are turning dark. Fly casters on the lower McKenzie are enjoying steady action for trout on nymphs and the occasional surprise summer steelhead hookup. The Santiam system is fairly high and is forecast to rise sharply around November 10th. Fishing is slow. Northwest – Tillamook chinook remains a late-season option although action has been slow with the exception of last Friday. Staging fish made a strong showing for bay anglers in the morning but afternoon winds had boats scurrying for shore. By Saturday, the bite had slowed as fish made their way into area rivers. The Ghost Hole and Bay City remain the best bet for weekend anglers as a mid-morning high tide should push fish in, destined for the Wilson and Kilchis Rivers. Although November fishing has not been all the productive in recent years, it seems this year will be different. North coast streams only witnessed a mild rise in river levels over the weekend but it was enough to stimulate a good bite in tidewater and get fish moving upstream in preparation for spawning. Trask tidewater fished good for bobber fishers on Saturday and remains fair. As the north coast enters the wet season, driftboat opportunities will continue to expand. The Wilson, Kilchis, Trask and Nestucca Rivers should offer up some of the best late season salmon options in that order. Plugs become very effective in freshwater but back-bounced eggs and shrimp will also be a favorite technique employed. Chum salmon have made a showing in Tillamook Bay, surprising herring trollers on some days. Chum historically provided excellent sport opportunity on the Miami and Kilchis Rivers and anglers may still pursue them for catch and release through mid-November. Nehalem Bay remains open for chinook but is nearing its wild coho quota. Check the ODF&W website before targeting wild coho. The first winter steelhead will likely nose into the North Fork Nehalem in the coming weeks. Bay crabbing slowed last week with the strong tides but should improve this week. Netarts will likely remain the best option as winter storms saturate larger estuaries with fresh water. Southwest – Offshore bottom fishing has been excellent when boats have been able to get out. The ocean is closed to crabbing through November. Trollers in Winchester Bay have been catching fish daily but the number of fish has started to wane. Crabbing is good in the bay. Chinook fishing has remained steady in the lower Coquille River for boaters trolling herring. Crabbing is excellent in Coos Bay from boats as well as from the docks although Dungeness are not yet in prime condition. Chinook catches have slowed. Chinook are in evidence but off the bite on the lower Rogue. Steelheading has been good on the middle river. The flies-only restriction on the Rogue above Shady Cove has ended. Bait fishers can now feed real salmon eggs to steelhead which are dining downstream of spawning chinook. No bait is allowed below Shady Cove to the old Gold Ray Dam site but artificial lures are OK to use in addition to flies. Brookings area trollers have been making steady catches of chinook. Jetty anglers throwing spoons are also hooking up with a 50-pounder landed last week. The Chetco is scheduled to open above River Mile 2.2 on November 5th but the opening is contingent upon water levels. While water levels are still fairly low, chinook fishing was very good at the Elk River late last week but slowed as hundreds of anglers stormed the area. The Sixes River is producing fair to good catches of chinook in tidewater. Diamond Lake is closed as of the 1st of November. It will re-open April 23, 2012. Eastern – The lower Deschutes is fishing well for trout on nymphs with best results early and late in the day. Steelheading has been slow for the most part. John Day anglers are beginning to see a surge in steelhead success. Boaters working the mainstem with bobber and jigs along with trollers dragging plugs in the reservoir directly upstream of the dam are reporting good action. Better than a fish per boat was reported last weekend with a slightly higher chance at releasing a wild fish than retaining a hatchery one. This fishery will peak later this month. Grande Ronde steelheaders are doing fairly well fishing deep in low water levels. There is very little pressure on the Imnaha River although there are steelhead to be caught.