Oregon fishing report for May 30, 2013

Willamette Valley/Metro - The recent cool, wet weather has revived the spring chinook fishing on the Willamette River. The water temperature had dropped to the mid-50's, putting salmon back on the bite. With the expected continuation of cooler days and some precipitation, we might be in for a spell of late springer action. Fish have been caught in all the usual haunts, but Oregon City has showed the best numbers. Shad continue to be caught at Oregon City as well and should stick around for the next week or two. Catch and release sturgeon fishing remains good on the Willamette River, but anglers are allowed to keep a sturgeon Thursday through Saturday on the Columbia and the fishing has picked up from Kelly Point up to the deadline at Marker 82.

Rising water flows on the McKenzie this week will be moderating as the weather turns dry for the first week of June. Caddis and Pale Morning Dun patterns have been effective recently but look for Green Drakes hatching afternoons when there is cloud cover.

Daily numbers of Chinook have been tapering off at Willamette Falls but nearly 16,000 are upstream now along with about 4,800 summer steelhead which indicates an increasing population of fish in the Santiams. Water levels are high this week but will be improving into the first week of June. Fishing has been fair but spotty on the North Santiam. Most all of the nearly 1,000 summer steelhead which have been counted at Foster Dam were recycled downstream on the South Santiam.

The Clackamas River has been slow overall, but both spring chinook and summer steelhead are available. Recent rains have pushed the river up to a higher than optimum flow, making for challenging conditions. The river is expected to be on the drop and should be back to good fishable condition by the weekend.

Spring chinook and summer steelhead fishing on the Sandy River has been average at best. The river has been running a bit high but not at all unfishable. The forecast indicates a slow drop through next week which puts the river at prime level by the start of the weekend. We are approaching the peak of the spring chinook run on the Sandy, so the coming weeks should give up some fish.

Hard-core anglers typically stay at home for Free Fishing Weekend but it's important that we take a more positive view as this is a great opportunity to personally demonstrate to friends and neighbors why you're so passionate about fishing. OR to take that youngster who's at an age where he'll decide how he'll most enjoy spending his free time: on the couch or on the river? You could be the influence for him or her to make a good decision. Free Fishing Weekend is June 1st and 2nd.

Trout planting has taken place in most regularly-stocked waters in anticipation of additional participation over the coming weekend.

Northwest – Spring chinook have made a decent showing in the Tillamook district but bay angler opportunity will wane as the recent rain freshet put a large portion of the bay population into area rivers. Upper bay anglers did score fair results this week on the big tide swing however. The lower bay should turn on by the weekend as a weak tide series returns. Unfortunately, rough seas are in the forecast, making the ocean a poor option for halibut (Thursday through Saturday), salmon, crab and bottomfish. Lower Tillamook Bay anglers will likely find their best opportunity during the last half of outgoing tide over the weekend.

Driftboaters had a rare opportunity this week with high flows making for decent opportunity for north coast anglers working the Trask, Wilson and Nestucca Rivers. Although catches were only fair, water conditions should remain favorable through Saturday. Summer steelhead have not made a strong showing however; anglers should keep their focus on salmon, targeting the deeper, slower water using plugs or egg/shrimp combinations. The Trask will remain the top option as it receives the greatest number of returning hatchery fish but the Wilson and Nestucca should come on-line with fair catches into the weekend. Bank anglers should also have good opportunity through early next week but if you're going to fish the Trask or Three Rivers, pay attention to the new regulations designed to reduce illegal snagging in these high traffic areas.

Offshore opportunities will remain limited with the rough seas that are predicted. Crabbing in local estuaries is poor.

Southwest- The next opportunity for all-depth halibut fishing off the central coast will Thursday through Friday, May 30-June 1.

Southwest beaches have produced not only large redtail surfperch recently but some remarkably large specimens. Fishing is best when the ocean is fairly calm.

Fishing for redtail surf perch picked up again at Winchester Bay over the Memorial Day weekend following a two-week lull since initial catches were made. Hopefully, the spawning run will provide steady fishing for a while. Bay crabbing has been slow with best results coming out of Half Moon Bay. Shad fishing should be decent in the Umpqua mainstem with water levels dropping. The North Umpqua is on the rise this week but should be recovering by the weekend. Smallmouth bass fishing is improving on the upper mainstem and lower South Umpqua.

Boats were able to get out of Gold Beach over the past weekend for limits of rockfish and lings but blanked on nearshore halibut. Rain this week put some water into the lower Rogue but not enough and levels are rapidly dropping to pre-freshet levels. Needless to say, springer fishing is slow and look no more promising on the Grants Pass stretch. The upper Rogue is still the place to be with springers entering the hatchery daily and water dropping late this week.

While salmon fishing is usually unproductive at the May 1 opener, off shore trollers out of Brookings got a pleasant surprise over the past weekend, hooking several early chinook. As with many southeast rivers, trout season opened on the Chetco over the past weekend. Sea-run cutthroat migrate back to the ocean in springtime, but there are always some which abide. Consequently, fishing has been fair to good here.

The clouds of tiny bugs hatching at Diamond Lake are annoying anglers and results for trout have slowed with foul, cold weather. A head net is recommended for those trying to fish.

Eastern – While the early hatch of big bugs on the Deschutes was fast and furious, it has started to wind down already in the Maupin area. Despite fewer Salmon Flies and Golden Stones in the area, trout will continue to be looking up for them for a while.

Nymphs have been effective for good numbers of trout and whitefish on the Wallowa River.

Trout fishing was good at Wallowa Lake over the past weekend. There are plenty of smallish kokanee with the daily limit recently increased from 10 per day to 20.

Kokanee fishing has been good early mornings at Wickiup. It's best to get out at first light to beat the insect hatch at which time the bite shuts down.

Oregon fishing

Willamette Valley/Metro - Shad fishing is underway on the Willamette River at both Coon Island and Oregon City below the falls. Many anglers have reported flurries of nonstop action if the shad's travel lane is located. Expect the run to continue through the second week of June. Spring chinook fishing is open and the occasional salmon is caught, however effort is at a minimum due to this seasons low catch rates. A few fish have been taken earlier this week in the Multnomah Channel and below Willamette Falls at Oregon City. Many of the sea lions are beginning their mass exodus and heading for their own breeding grounds. Catch and release sturgeon fishing remains open below I-205 at Oregon City and continues to be the best, most under-fished opportunity in the region. Double digit days are the norm for many sturgeon anglers who are experienced at locating the herds of aggressively feeding fish.

Fly flingers on the upper McKenzie enjoyed the whitewater and good fishing over the past weekend as abundant hatches of a myriad of species had fish looking up and grabbing offerings off the surface. This stretch of the Mac should continue to reward anglers through June.

Springers are headed up the Willamette along with summer steelhead. As numbers increase, fishing will continue to improve on the Santiams. Mehama would be a good place to start on the North Santiam. Steelhead counts should top 1,000 this week at Foster Dam with downstream recycling of fish an ongoing process on the South Santiam.

The Clackamas River has both summer steelhead and spring chinook available. The peak of the Spring chinook run is still a couple weeks out and summer steelhead are well spread throughout the system. The water is holding at a favorable level giving access to jet boats and drift boats alike. Bank fishermen find the most opportunity in the upper stretch from Rivermill Dam down to Feldheimers.

On the Sandy River, the water level has dropped to 9 feet, which will soon start limiting the jet boats. Summer Steelhead and a few spring chinook are available and like the Clackamas, the peak of the springer run is still a couple weeks away. Small baits of cured roe and sand shrimp are the favorite but some drift boaters have been doing well back trolling small plugs.

Northwest – Spring chinook continue to show on Tillamook Bay although catches are far from consistent. With the weak tide series, effort has largely been focused on the lower bay. Trolled herring were taking springers on the last half of outgoing tide in the afternoon early in the week but adjacent ocean fishing has been challenging. The new set of minus tides coming up this weekend will shift effort to the upper bay. Significant precipitation mid-week will also likely draw fish in and send them upstream for both bank and driftboat anglers to take advantage of.

The Trask, Wilson, Nestucca and Three Rivers should all receive a shot of fish from the current rain freshet. Levels are expected to reach ideal heights by Thursday, also the best opportunity to fish the river. By the weekend, flows will likely drop and fish may become more cautionary again. The Trask will offer the best opportunity as that receives the largest number of hatchery plants.

Although no all-depth halibut season will occur this week, ocean conditions look improve by the weekend. Crabbing is very poor but bottomfishing may be productive. Be aware however of the extreme low tide that will create hazardous bar crossings.

Razor clam digging should be excellent along Clatsop Beaches this weekend.

Southwest- Currently, ocean swells under three feet and mild winds are forecast for the long holiday weekend ahead.

All-depth halibut fishing rewarded many with large fish out of Depoe Bay over last Thursday and Friday with rough ocean conditions preventing trips on Saturday. The next all-depth opener off the central coast is May 30-June 1.

Combo trips are not feasible when the all-depth halibut opener is underway but anglers may fish for (and retain) both targeted species during near-shore halibut openers. The regulations are confusing this way so check the ODF&W regulation page carefully before attempting to pursue either of these species.

Rivers opening May 25th with the trout season include the South Umpqua, Coos, Coquille, Applegate, Chetco, Winchuck, Elk and Sixes.

South Coast Estuary crabbing is fair but requires sorting of undersized Dungeness. With molting occurring early this year, start checking for softshells.

Ocean conditions were conducive to offshore trips out of Gold beach over the past week. Then it turned sour for the weekend. While it was decent, rockfish and lingcod limits were the rule with plenty of halibut taken on Thursday and Friday last week as Saturday was rough. Without sufficient rainfall to rise levels of the lower Rogue, chinook fishing remains slow. It has been somewhat better on the middle river with plug-pullers and back-bouncers taking fish. Upriver remains the best bet although springers have been slow to bite over the past week. The numbers are there.

Boats launching out of Brookings are having little trouble limiting on large black rockfish but lingcod have been elusive for some. Small boats and even kayakers are reported to be jigging up fish in nearshore kelp beds. Ocean chinook fishing is on schedule to kick into gear in June.

Trollers are getting fish at Diamond Lake as clouds of tiny bugs create the annual hatch which causes trout to move up in the water column according to the resort. Bait fishers are also taking a few but fishing slows when midges hatch.

Eastern – While big bugs are evident on the Warm Springs to Trout Creek stretch of the Deschutes, trout were slow to react to imitations over the past weekend. Anglers are having success with redsides as they drift from Trout Creek downstream. Stoneflies are popping and trout are responding.

Seasonal warming of the water at Wickiup has triggered surface vegetation to grow. Take advantage of good fishing here early mornings before the wind comes up.

Bait fishing has been productive at Big Lava Lake with decent numbers of trout 15 inches or better being taken.

Oregon fishing report

Willamette Valley/Metro - Many have given up on the Willamette River's spring chinook season. The combination of the poor bite and the overabundance of thieving sea lions has rendered the fishing useless and a waste of time for a large part of the angling public. Anglers intent on the possibility of catching springers in the Willamette are encouraged to carry on as usual, as there will be fish moving through the system for another four to five weeks. The Multnomah Channel, Portland Harbor and Oregon City will have the best action. The catch and release sturgeon fishing has been excellent, for the few who participate. The Portland Harbor is the favorite zone for the sturgeon crowd offering access at Swan Island and Cathedral Park boat ramps. There are also good numbers of sturgeon in the deeper slots of the Multnomah Channel and further upriver from Milwaukie up to Willamette Falls. Look to the deeper holes for the best action, often times reaching depths of 60-80 feet. The shad are in and taking center stage at Oregon City, expect the action to be in full swing by the weekend. Smallmouth bass are on the bite and bass boats are frequenting the river, especially in the afternoons and evenings. Soon, the all too secretive walleye guys will be plying the shelves of the Multnomah Channel looking for their quarry.

Hatches have thinned out on the McKenzie River but nymphs remain productive. The Mac has been fishing well since early in the season this year. Rainbows, cutthroat and a few bull trout are available.

Flows at the North Santiam are expected to remain stable over the coming week. With little snow in the mountains, the level may drop a little once it's gone. With strong passage of spring chinook and fair but steady passage of summer steelhead at the Falls, results are expected to improve on the Santiams. Both chinook and steelhead have been caught on the North Santiam over the past week.

The Clackamas River is in good shape and has been giving up both summer steelhead and a few spring chinook. The steelhead will continue to trickle in and the fishing should remain about as steady as its going to get through the middle of July. The springer numbers should build through mid-June. Boaters are getting fish in the runs, back trolling plugs, side drifting small baits and running small divers and shrimp or roe. Bank anglers concentrate in the upper river from Barton upstream. Bobber and jig stet ups are the preferred method of the bank bound fisher, but a skilled hardware fisherman can do some real damage with spinners and spoons. Anglers targeting springers are picking up fish on small baits of roe and shrimp in the deep runs, but the odd fish will sometimes take a small plug. Both summer steelhead and a few spring chinook are present in the Sandy River. Water levels are slowly dropping but remain about par for this time of year. Boater and bank anglers are scoring in the earlier part of the day as well as the evening when shade is on the water. Drift boats are working the water between Oxbow Park and Lewis and Clark State park with average success. Bank fishers are finding the best access at Oxbow Park and Dodge Park.

Northwest – Although still sporadic, spring chinook have made a sizable showing on Tillamook Bay recently. During the current minus tide series, upper bay fishing held some promise, with rumors of a 6 fish day last week and fair action witnessed on Monday. Pat Vining and Keith Braun of the Tillamook area each took a hatchery springer on plugs early on Monday morning. Area rivers saw only a slight rise in levels on Monday but as dry as it has been, even a negligible river rise could have sent more fish upstream on the Trask and Wilson Rivers.

Offshore, all-depth halibut anglers came back largely disappointed after calm seas heightened interest on the last Thursday – Saturday opener. This is usually a slam-dunk fishery but action on the entire north coast was poor during this traditionally productive period of time. Something is amiss. Bottomfishing remains fair to good out of most ports although not as good as it was earlier in the season.

Sturgeon anglers on the lower Columbia fared well on the Saturday opener. Lower than normal flows for this time of year stimulated a fair bite out of the John Day Ramp (near Astoria) with nearly a keeper/boat witnessed on Saturday.

Crabbing both inshore and off remains challenging. Effort is running especially high during open days for halibut. Clamming was good on the last tide series as well. Another minus tide series won't happen until May 23rd.

Southwest- Good catches of rockfish and lings have been taken out of Newport and Depoe Bay, though mostly short of limits. Spring all-depth halibut fishing was decent and will continue May 16-18 and May 30-June 1.

Offshore forecasts for the coming weekend are optimistic about ocean conditions and conducive to bar crossings but the situation can change quickly so get last minute updates before hauling the boat westward.

Halibut fishers launching out of Winchester Bay for the first round of all depth angling had fair to good results. The redtail surf perch run has started in the bay with decent catches occurring recently around Marker 12. Spring chinook catches have been fair to good on the mainstem Umpqua where the shad run has started with best results at Sawyers Rapids. Steelheading is fair in the flies-only stretch of the North Umpqua. Bass fishing is expected to be good on the South Umpqua when it opens May 25th.

Boats launching out of Gold Beach over the past week had hot bottom fishing for rockfish and lings one day, short on limits the next. The first halibut fishery of 2013 was spotty. Spring chinook fishing remains slow on the lower Rogue despite a gradual increase in flows. Catches are poor in the middle river. With springers in the upper Rogue now and numbers building at the hatchery, chances of a hookup are improving daily. The upriver stretch will be the area to fish in the coming week.

Salmon hopefuls launching out of Brookings have returned to port with nothing to show but that's not unusual at this time of year. Chinook trollers will find success as ocean temperatures warm into the lower 50s which will occur later this month. Rockfish and lingcod were cooperative and several Pacific halibut were landed. Local beaches are producing good numbers of surf perch.

Trout fishing has been good at Diamond Lake following ice-out. Campsites will be available at the resort until the local campground opens for the year.

Eastern – Salmon Flies and Golden Stones are becoming more active daily on the Deschutes. Nymphs have been very effective and redsides are starting to look up for big bugs.

Crooked River flows have been just over 200 cfs and stable for over a week which is good news for fly fishers.

Dry flies have been effective at first light before a breeze comes up at Lava Lake.

Brook trout have been responding to nymphs at Hosmer Lake.

Chinook salmon season on the Umatilla River will close effective 12:01 on Thursday, May 16 under emergency regulations adopted today by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Soapbox Update: Come to the 10th annual Bounty on the Bay targeting spring chinook. It looks like it's going to be a good run here in Tillamook. Fair catches have already been experienced. PLUS, hear the latest and greatest on how Oregon is managing our cormorant population for ODF&W biologist Lindsay Adrean. Lots of great information here, including a spring chinook seminar on Friday, May 31st in Garibaldi! Check out all the details at www.tbnep.org.

Oregon fishing report

Willamette Valley/Metro - The Willamette River is singing the same song it did a week ago. Rather disappointing fishing for spring chinook and ridiculously good catch and release sturgeon fishing. The shad haven't shown themselves as of yet but that could change at any time. For those intent on putting their time in for salmon, there are fish getting caught but most anglers have seen better seasons. What little action there witnessed, is coming from the Multnomah Channel and the head of the channel. Oregon City is producing a few fish, but many are finished off by a California sea lions before making it to the boat. The water temperature is running in the high fifties so salmon anglers would be well advised to try shiny hardware like a spinner.

The deeper holes in the Portland Harbor are giving up constant action for the few participating sturgeon anglers. Smelt, herring, sand shrimp and anchovies are all getting bit by indiscriminate sturgeon ranging from undersize to oversize.

Water flows at the McKenzie River have continued to inch up with snowmelt in warm weather over the past week. Flows are still decent for fly anglers targeting redsides. Continue to throw nymphs in the absence of hatches, but watch for Caddis and March Browns popping in the afternoon.

Steelheading has been fair in the North Santiam and over 500 summer steelhead have been counted at Foster Dam on the South Santiam. With spring chinook counts nearing 10,000 at Willamette Falls, a fishery will develop here as springers move upriver.

Fishermen are faring well on the Clackamas River, catching summer steelhead early in the morning and later in the afternoon and evenings. Some are getting even luckier and hooking into a few spring chinook, although the peak of the salmon run is likely three weeks from now. Steelhead are spread river-wide while the springers will be loitering in the lower river below Barton. Expect more salmon to enter the system in the coming weeks.

The Sandy River continues to cough up a few late winter steelhead, but most have already spawned and are on their way back to the salt. Anglers are encouraged to handle spawner steelhead with care and release them as quickly and as easily as possible. More and more fresh, shiny summer steelhead are entering the river and anglers are finding them throughout the river as well. A couple spring chinook have been confirmed this last week and like the Clackamas, expect those numbers to grow through the month and into June.

Northwest – More spring chinook are being reported from Tillamook Bay and the season is about to enter its peak period. Another minus tide series will focus anglers into the upper estuary but if the weather forecast comes to fruition, a saltwater nearshore or offshore opportunity is certainly in order. This should be the first productive week of spring chinook effort.

For anglers venturing offshore for the California stock chinook, target them over 300 foot of water, fishing between the depths of 150 to 250 foot. They are plentiful but don't expect many large fish.

Not many people have targeted nearshore halibut yet but that will likely change in the coming weeks. The all-depth opportunity opens up Thursday for its first 3-day opportunity and fishing is likely to be good.

District rivers are low and clear but early morning chinook are an option on the Wilson, Trask and Nestucca systems. Don't expect results all that often however.

Razor clam digging should be good this weekend on Clatsop area beaches, especially with the low swell predicted.

Southwest- Boats out of Depoe Bay and Newport have been doing well for rockfish but lingcod catches have been spotty. A few halibut were taken during the first nearshore opener May 2nd through 4th.

All-depth halibut will open for the spring season Friday through Sunday, May 9-11. This fishery will re-open May 16-18, May 30-nine 1 and June 6-8 or a quota of 120,947 pounds.

Offshore conditions are forecast to be decent on Friday but could turn marginal over the coming weekend. Be sure to check at the last minute.

Crabbing picked up in Winchester Bay but has been only fair. Redtail surfperch have started entering the bay to spawn but it will be a week or two until this fishery is worthwhile. The Umpqua has been too low to fish well.

Coos Bay consistently provides the most reliable results for crabbing with Half Moon Bay productive recently.

Ocean conditions played nice over the past weekend, allowing boats to get out of Gold Beach for limits of rockfish and lingcod. The lower Rogue was a bust in low water, however, yielding few springers. Rain is forecast over the next few days but it remains to be seen if it will be sufficient to rejuvenate chinook catches. Fishing on the middle river has been poor. As the upper Rogue transitions from steelhead to springers, upriver anglers are disgruntled with skinny water conditions.

Bottom fishing has been excellent out of Brookings. Lingcod catches were particularly good. Anglers who released smaller fish in anticipation of larger specimens were not disappointed.

Diamond Lake produced large trout over the past weekend, with bait fishers on the south end most successful although results for trollers are improving.

Eastern – Big Lava Lake has been fishing well with some anglers taking limits but has been challenging when the wind comes up.

Brownlee Reservoir has been producing scores of yellow perch with crappie a little more challenging.

Oregon fishing report for May 3, 2013

Willamette Valley/Metro - The Willamette River continues to disappoint spring chinook fishermen. Although the count over Willamette Falls isn't too far off schedule, the bite has yet to pick up over the last week. However, there are a few fish to be caught and anglers shouldn't discount the possibility of a fish or two coming to their bait. Oregon City has had the best bite as of late, but the sea lions are in fierce competition for your fish. Expect spring salmon to be available through May, but it's likely the run is on the downhill side of the peak. Catch and release sturgeon fishing is steady to awesome, but few anglers are participating. With the water temperature in the low 50s, smallmouth bass fishing is well underway and fishing should only improve through the spring and summer.

Over on the Clackamas River, the summer steelhead are making a pretty decent showing. Gear and fly anglers alike are scoring and the action should continue to improve through June. A few springers have been taken here. Expect the effort to increase in the coming weeks as fishermen begin to target the salmon over the steelhead. The river below Carver has the best salmon water, while the stretch between Rivermill Dam and Carver will deliver more steelhead.

The first spring chinook was confirmed on the Sandy River on Monday. The lucky angler was John Gallagher of Portland and he hooked the 16 pound hatchery salmon on a metallic blue plug. The peak of the spring chinook run should show by late May. There are summer steelhead available here as well and anglers can expect their numbers to increase through June.

The weekend past was the traditional Oregon trout opener. McKenzie anglers were successful with nymphs mimicking large stoneflies as well as hare's ears and Prince nymphs. Hatches of March Browns and caddis in the afternoon has added some alternate possibilities. Both the lower river and the stretch above Leaburg Dam are in excellent condition for fishing. Expect to see a significant Stonefly component on the McKenzie over the coming weekend.

With chinook and steelhead counts picking up at the Falls, numbers of fish are improving on the Santiams. The North Santiam has been productive to Jefferson and the action will move upstream this week.

The ODFW will hold free family fishing events on Saturday, May 4 at Shorty's Pond in Molalla, Vernonia Pond and Reinhart Park Pond in Grants Pass. On Sunday, May 5, take the family to Alton Baker Canoe Canal in Eugene. All events start about 9 AM with volunteers to offer tips, loan out rods, reels and tackle and provide bait.

Northwest – With low, clear water conditions, anglers remain focused on saltwater options on the north coast. Spring chinook are certainly an option in Tillamook and Nestucca Estuaries but few are being caught. Offshore will remain the best option but the weather forecast still calls for strong late morning or early afternoon trade winds which will make ocean travel uncomfortable.

A rare spring chinook is being reported out of Garibaldi but effort this week was focused on upper Tillamook Bay, where strong tides offered up some fair opportunity for spinner and herring trollers as well as plug pullers. Very few reported success however. Softer tides this week will re-focus effort in the lower bay and stronger numbers should begin to show.

Clammers were out in force, both on the beaches for razor clams an in the estuaries for a multitude of species. Digging for both was productive last weekend but not again until the next minus tide series.

Ocean trollers continue to report good success for California stock chinook out of Garibaldi. Trolling herring or spoons deeper than 150 foot in 300+ foot of water is giving up limits of 10 to 15 pound chinook. It's clear that there are a lot of chinook in the ocean.

Crabbing remains fair as there is a lot of commercial effort still out there. As long as the price for fresh crab remains high, so will the effort.

Bottomfishing slowed somewhat out of Garibaldi for an unknown reason. Anglers are restricted to fishing in shallower depths with the spring time restrictions in place; check regulations for details.

Halibut becomes an option out of some coastal ports but may likely be more productive when the all depth fishery opens up.

Southwest- Boats out of Newport and Depoe Bay are limiting on lingcod while the rockfish bite has been spotty. Inshore halibut opens May 2nd with the spring all-depth halibut fishery opening May 9th through 11th.

Southwest beaches were once again kicking out good catches of redtail surf perch as ocean swells and breezes mellowed out.

Spring Chinook fishing slowed on the Umpqua mainstem as the water has dropped and cleared. Smallmouth bass are being caught with this fishery improving as the water temperature rises. Springers are entering the North Umpqua now and a few have been taken here.

Spring Chinook catches stalled on the lower Rogue in low, clear water. Success rates for salmon have been dwindling on the middle river as well although late winter steelhead catches have been fair. Rain will reverse fortunes here. Upper Rogue fishers are just starting to see springers.

Catches of rockfish greatly improved out of the Port of Brookings late last week when the ocean laid down with many black rockfish over four pounds landed. These results will be typical on calmer days. Ocean Chinook may be kept south of Humbug Mountain starting May 1st.

With the ice gone at Diamond Lake, boaters used night crawlers to take good-sized trout recently, the largest of which topped seven pounds.

Eastern – Redside action has been decent on the Deschutes with hatches occurring from mid-day through the afternoon. Look for spotty, sporadic Blue-Winged-Olive hatches as well as Caddis and Mayflies. Fish nymphs in the absence of bugs popping. The Pelton to North Reservation boundary which opened on April 27th has been fishing well.

Green Peter trollers are taking fine numbers of kokanee averaging 10 inches. Smallmouth are biting with the water temperature climbing into the mid-50s.

The Snake River opens to spring Chinook May 4th from Dug Bar to the deadline below Hells Canyon Dam for one hatchery adult per day.

Soapbox Update: How about you and/or your business join a growing list of businesses that support our wild fish resources by supporting two critical campaigns addressing forest health and banning coal exports from coming to Oregon. Here is some more info:

Please feel free to contact me via phone (503-812-9036) or email brees@pacifier.com if you have any questions. Again, thank you for considering!

On state forest lands- Many of you know, I've been working on this issue for the better part of a decade. It's been a hard push uphill but we've made some real progress over the last year and a half. Governor Kitzhaber has directed the Oregon Department of Forestry to designate conservation areas on state forest lands, lands that have already been deemed of “high conservation value” for either fish & wildlife habitat, recreation or clean water. As a business endorser, we'd be adding your name to a growing list of businesses that endorse our work to designate these areas for longer term protection so that they can continue to grow our wild salmon and steelhead that fuels our billion-dollar industry here on the north coast. Whether you fish the Tillamook or lower Columbia, this affects you and the wild fish you depend on for harvest or simply providing opportunity for hatchery fish. The more wild fish we have returning to these river systems, the more opportunity we have to pursue hatchery fish in AND out of the basin.

Most of our river systems in the Tillamook and Clatsop State forests are water-temperature limited! That means that during the summer time, they reach such lethally warm levels that wild salmon that over-summer in these watersheds either DIE or are severely compromised in their ability to rear and migrate in freshwater. Juvenile coho, cutthroat, steelhead and adult spring chinook all over-summer in these watersheds and are severely affected during the summer months, particularly mid-July through mid-August. Securing long-term conservation areas will help solve this issue. If you go to our homepage, you'll see a list of endorsing organizations as well as our mission. Our coalition is made up of other fish conservation groups such as The Association of NW Steelheaders, Trout Unlimited, The Wild Salmon Center and the NW Guides and Anglers Association. Our home page is here: www.forestlegacy.org.

On Coal: This issue has gotten much attention from the environmental community lately. And for good reason. There are several reasons to endorse this campaign for environmental reasons but here are the two that I see as most important.

1. Barge traffic- Have you ever participated in the mainstem Columbia fall salmon fishery and been forced to pull your anchor during a hot bite to make way for ship or barge traffic? Well, if you haven't had the pleasure of this exercise, you certainly will as it is modeled that an additional 2,500 barges per year will be added to the lower Columbia River waterway. Here's some more detrimental information:

Ambre Energy proposes to send over 2,500 coal barges per year down the Columbia River to export coal to Asia. This huge increase in barge traffic, especially never-before-seen coal barges, threatens public safety and recreation on the river. Ambre's plans call for strip mining coal in the Wyoming and Montana, sending coal trains to Boardman, Oregon, loading coal onto barges at Boardman, and transferring the coal to ocean-going ships at the Port of St. Helens in the Columbia River Estuary.  Up to 50 coal barges per week will be staged adjacent to Crims Island, a recently completed $2.2 million salmon habitat restoration project.  

Facts:

• Ambre will add 5,029 new barge trips to the Columbia River every year.
• Ambre's coal barges will create a 94% increase in barge traffic from current levels.
• Ambre will stage forty-eight coal barges per week in a prime salmon nursery in the critically important Columbia River Estuary. In fact, the coal barges will dock right next to and impact a $2.2 million salmon habitat restoration project recently completed at Crims Island, funded in part by the Army Corps of Engineers. While the Crims Island project restored habitat used by juvenile Chinook salmon as they transition to the marine environment, the 2,500 coal barges transported by high-thrust tugs will threaten the salmon. 

2. Contribution of ocean acidification- My personal biggest fear of Oregon contributing to coal exports is our hand in further changing the ph levels of the ocean. Already in Netarts Bay, the oyster hatchery there is having a very difficult time keeping oyster spat (juveniles) alive past this stage. It appears that ocean acidification is to blame as these juvenile oysters are not capable of developing their exoskeleton to sustain their own lives. Pteropods, the food source for most juvenile salmonids once they enter the ocean, also form exoskeletons. These are the tiny crustaceans (crab, shrimp, clam larvae) that are just the right size for our juvenile salmon to feed on when the first enter the estuary and ocean. If these creatures fair to lay down their shells (exoskeleton), they won't survive and neither will our salmon. Ocean acidification is already well documented. I'm asking that Oregonians take a stand against further exacerbation of this problem.

Some are asking, “Well, if we don't export coal from Oregon, and create the jobs we need here, won't some other country just do it?”

• Although it is likely that developing countries like China will still need to buy coal from other countries, the cheap coal being proposed for export out of the US will lead to more coal-burning plant start-ups, further degrading air and water quality here on the Pacific Coast. Biologists have found that up to 17% our mercury content found in the Cascade range is from fossil fuel consumption in China. We're already seeing the effects of fossil fuel emissions from over-seas!

Here is an array of reports on coal dust, fossil fuel burning and the transport of coal if you're still not convinced: http://www.powerpastcoal.org/library/#reports