Oregon fishing report

Willamette Valley/Metro - Last weekend's Willamette River sturgeon opener was disappointing for many anglers intent on getting their last keeper sturgeon this season, or possibly for years to come. A few shorts and a rare keeper were reported, but very little action was had river wide. Another three-day opener will be given this weekend (July 18, 19 and 20), but enthusiasm is low. Shad fishing is done, salmon fishing is also done, so warmwater fish are all that's left on the table for Willamette River anglers. Smallmouth bass and walleye are available in the mainstem Willamette and Multnomah Channel.

The Columbia River shad run has died below Bonneville Dam. All that remains to catch is a few summer steelhead, of what appears to be a low return for 2013. Catch and release sturgeon fishing has drawn little effort but its suspected that good numbers are feeding on leftover shad below the dam.

With steelhead numbers low this season and spring chinook making only a modest showing in the Santiams, fishing has been a challenge here.

Although the McKenzie has been fluctuating over the past several days, the level has continued to gradually drop. Large redsides and some beautiful cutthroat are being caught by fly fishers on the upper river. Caddis dries and nymphs such as Hare's Ear and Prince Nymphs have been effective.

The Clackamas River is low and clear and will give up the occasional summer steelhead if you are willing to put in the time. Early morning and late evening offers the best opportunity, when the swimmers and rafters are off the water.

On the Sandy River, the conditions are similar to the Clackamas. Expect low water, with some color to it thanks to the melting glacier. Summer steelhead and the rare leftover springer can be found in rested water, if you put in your time. The upper river from Oxbow Park upstream offers the best chance at a fish.

Northwest – Coho anglers out of the lower Columbia continue to struggle during a time that should mean easy limits. Fish are largely scattered with the cooler water with baitfish largely absent. The best action has been off of Gearhart and Seaside with nice sized coho coming from depths greater than 200 feet. Biters have also been found uncharacteristically deep with coho coming from 75 to 100 feet down in some instances.

Coho fishing with the rare chinook seem available out of Garibaldi. Most anglers are targeting fish north of Twin Rocks in 200 foot of water of better. Crabbing reports indicate improved catches. When the weather cooperates, albacore will be high on the bucket list.

Nearshore halibut continues to produce fair results with Pacific City one of the highest producing ports this season. The season is scheduled to continue to run Thursdays through Saturdays until the quota is attained.

Chinook are starting to show in the lower Nehalem. Herring trollers working the mouth and Wheeler should expect to see improving catches in the weeks to come with the peak likely in early August. Bay crabbing remains fair at best.

Area rivers remain low and clear but morning cloud-cover should improve opportunities. Summer steelhead in the Wilson and Nestucca Rivers will become the primary focus as spring chinook begin to deteriorate. Hardware in the early morning will occasionally take fish.

Southwest- Boats launching out of Depoe Bay caught plenty of rockfish and lingcod over the past weekend. Coho fishing was also very good.

Properly equipped recreational boats are planning tuna trips this week. Commercial boats are getting into large albacore out of central Oregon ports. Charters are now scheduling tuna trips.

Crabbing in bays has been good for numbers, poor for keepers which have been few and mostly softshells at this time of year. Ocean crabbing is somewhat better.

With high wind keeping boats off the ocean out of Gold Beach over the past week, anglers were thankful for some good days trolling for chinook on the bay. The bite dropped off late in the week however, and was off by Sunday, July 14th. Ocean conditions are expected to improve in the week to come. Lower river fishing is slow and middle Rogue results have been poor. Springers continue to be taken on the upper Rogue early in the day with steelhead fishing turning on in the evening.

Ocean conditions out of the Port of Brookings allowed boats to troll for chinook within a mile of the coast. Conditions further improved throughout the week but with the ocean full of baitfish and krill, salmon are feeding heavily on natural forage and as a consequence, biting light. Hatchery coho catches have been decent.

Eastern – The lower Deschutes opens to hatchery fall chinook fishing on August 1. With a good return expected, the daily bag limit will be two adults and five jacks. The season is scheduled to continue through October.

Crane Prairie anglers are hooking fair to good numbers of rainbow and brook trout with the occasional larger "Cranebow" showing up in catches.

Olallie Lake is fishing well, producing good-sized trout.

Oregon fishing report for 7/12/13

Willamette Valley/Metro - The Columbia River below Bonneville Dam is still kicking out good numbers of shad. Sturgeon fishing is best described as average and fishing for summer steelhead, although there is some effort, has yet to take off.

A few straggler shad are still lingering below Willamette Falls. Fly fishermen are the primary pursuers this late in the game, looking for something to bend rods and to a lesser degree, stocking up on crab bait.

Approaching the sturgeon opener this week, a few devout anglers are preparing to catch and keep possibly their last keeper sturgeon. The open dates for the Willamette below the I-205 Bridge at Oregon City/West Linn are Thursday, Friday and Saturday, July 11th-13th. If the quota isn't caught, the ODFW will allow a second three day opener July 18-20th.

Smallmouth bass are the best available fish to target mid-summer on the Willamette River and it's rarely crowded. Rocky shorelines, back channels and behind Islands are the areas to target.

The lowest water levels seen in years combined with bright, hot days recently has slowed trout fishing on the upper McKenzie River. With a few Golden Stones lingering and trout responding to nymphs, there are still fish to be caught. Dries have been effective in the evenings.

Steelheading has been slow on the Santiams. The North Santiam water level is low and gradually dropping while the South Santiam is low but stable. The occasional spring chinook is being taken. Smallmouth are being caught in fair to good number at Foster Reservoir.

The Clackamas River has been busy with rafters, tubers and swimmers so far this month. This activity coupled with the warm weather and gin clear water make steelhead and salmon fishing tough at best. A few local anglers targeting summer steelhead and late spring chinook have been having minimal success. It's imperative to get on the water at first light, or fish the last couple of hours of daylight for any success.

On the Sandy River the same holds true as does on the Clack, but the water has some color to it due to the melting glacier. Slightly larger baits and presentations are called for in the silty water. A handful of anglers have been fishing the Oxbow Park area with marginal success, picking up the odd summer steelhead and rare late spring chinook.

Northwest – Salmon anglers continue to look to the ocean for the best opportunity in the district. The Columbia remains king as coho are showing with more regularity and chinook remain available to the north of the mouth of the Columbia. With the recent NW winds, temperatures have cooled and mackerel are more scarce. Anchovies remain abundant and if you can find actively feeding birds, there is likely feeding salmon below. This is your best bet at success.

Anglers targeting salmon out of Garibaldi are also finding success but have to work harder to achieve success. Chinook are not nearly as abundant as they are out of the Columbia but a good grade of coho are available for those that put in the time. Ocean crabbing is only fair with some starting to molt.

Catch and release sturgeon fishing on the lower Columbia is excellent. Sand shrimp is hard to find but anchovies make for an excellent bait in the deeper water. Most of the fish are in the keeper range or larger but juveniles seem largely scarce from the population; hence the concern by state fish and wildlife officials.

Beach plunking for summer steelhead is fair even though it should be peaking now. Passage at Bonneville continues to track less than half of last year's counts.

Bay crabbing, even in the lower Columbia is fair at best. The last of the razor clam tides is done; razor clam season closes on July 15th, to re-open on September 30th.

Also closing on July 15th is the expanded areas for bobber and bait fishing on the Trask River and Three Rivers. Outside of these boundaries, anglers may still target fin-clipped chinook and steelhead. Summer steelhead numbers are finally improving on the Wilson River although low water tactics are still required.

Southwest- Launching out of Oregon ports was not possible much of the time over the past week as high winds buffeted the coast. Offshore conditions are forecast to improve somewhat for the weekend. There have been discussions of an albacore hunt.

Surf perch fishing has been good coast-wide although catches fell off as the wind came up over the past week.

All depth halibut season is closed for now with the spring quota filled but will re-open for the summer season August 2 & 3.

Hatchery coho catches have been good out of Newport whenever boats have been able to get out. Herring are being successfully jigged up in Yaquina Bay.

With the Umpqua River mainstem running low and water temperatures high from summer weather, smallmouth bass fishing has been good. Better quality fish may be caught early mornings but action will hold up throughout the day on this easy-to-drift coastal river. Use caution above Yellow Creek, however.

The few chinook are being caught by trollers in Rogue Bay are either late springers or early fall fish. Those catching them don't really care which. A 40-pounder was taken over the past week. The lower Rogue is slow, as is the middle river. Upper Rogue anglers are still catching fish with a mix of chinook and summer steelhead available.

Boats launching early mornings out of the Port of Brookings have been experiencing chinook fishing from good to excellent. The window of opportunity has been small, however, with wind chasing boats inland in a couple of hours. Coho catches have been decent as have rockfish. Consequently, local bait supplies have been limited.

Eastern – The Metolius is running very clear but is producing decent catches of trout including browns and the occasional bull trout.

Wallowa River level and flow are excellent for fishing. Trout are responding to various nymph patterns in larger sizes.

Fishing has been good on the Williamson River with large Mayflies hatching recently.

Kokanee fishing has been worthwhile for good-sized fish with best results coming to trollers in the morning.

Oregon fishing report 7/5/13

Willamette Valley/Metro - A recent resurgence in shad fishing below Willamette Falls is likely due to the high pressure. Even though we are on the backside of the run, a decent handful of fish have been caught in the last few days by a few participating anglers. Traditionally the shad run is over by the Fourth of July. There has been little effort for sturgeon and salmon leaving little to report. Smallmouth bass fishing had been decent, but the hot weather slows the bite and keeps most fishermen off the water.

Spring chinook numbers were tapering off at Willamette Falls toward the end of June with over 25,000 upstream along with roughly 12,000 summer steelhead. Some of these will have entered the Santiams. The North Santiam is low but fishable and a few fish have been taken recently.

McKenzie River water levels are dropping this week but should still provide opportunities for fly anglers using Caddis patterns. Try early or late in the day for best results. There are steelhead in the system which are most likely to respond at first light.

Both the Sandy and Clackamas Rivers are best left to the splash and giggle crowd during the hot weather. Prior to the high pressure system, a few summer steelhead and spring chinook had been present. The fishing and catching has been difficult with the high pressure system coupled with the never ending onslaught of rafters, tubers and swimmers.

Northwest – With freshwater options waning, anglers are taking a hard look at the ocean for what is shaping up to be a great summer season. Out of Astoria, salmon anglers continue to produce good catches of chinook and coho, fishing just to the north of the mouth of the Columbia using fresh anchovies for bait. Unfortunately, the northwest winds have been blowing all morning and afternoon and are forecast to intensify by the weekend. Action is likely to remain good however, when seas are safe to ply.

Ocean crabbing has been best on the Washington side of the Columbia River but be mindful of Washington regulations if you drop pots here. The Oregon side has plenty of female crabs and octopus have been laying egg sacks in some of the pots, rendering them unfit for crab.

Catch and release sturgeon fishing in the estuary remains excellent with the upcoming weaker tide series likely to produce better in the deeper water. They have readily been taking anchovies with keeper-sized fish and oversize making up the bulk of the catch.

Farther south, anglers reported slow coho fishing out of Garibaldi however some did well targeting bait balls although birds often seemed more interested in bait than the salmon did. Another round of nearshore halibut opportunity is coming up Thursday through Saturday but a stiff northwest wind will keep most small boats at bay.

Spring chinook fishing remains best near the hatchery hole on the Trask River and Three Rivers is producing an occasional good bite too. Only another week and a half of opportunity exists on these systems.

Estuary crabbing remains challenging. The last good minus tide series begins tomorrow, before the summer razor clam closure lasting into September.

Southwest- July 1 marked the opening of the offshore selective coho salmon season with initial catches promising out of Newport and Depoe Bay. Hatchery coho may be taken seven days a week for a quota of 10,500 fish. Ocean chinook numbers have also been decent.

Limits of rockfish have been taken off the central coast but the lingcod bite has been off. Many bottom fishers report hooking chinook inadvertently over the past week.

Rockfish catches have been decent out of Winchester Bay although crabbing inside is poor. The Umpqua mainstem is dropping and will be extremely low over the coming weekend. Smallmouth bass fishing will be worthwhile in the warm water.

Offshore boats out of Rogue Bay have been taking limits of rockfish and lingcod with several chinook hitting soft plastics intended for bottomfish. Record low river flows are predicted along with an outstanding troll fishery in the estuary during the month of July. The lower Rogue is forecast to drop this week, hitting and holding 2,000 cfs at Agness, less at Grants Pass. Chinook anglers have taken a few springers every day on the lower Rogue over the past week but it is still scratch fishing. Springers are tough to hook, even in the upper Rogue where it has been best. With summer steelhead numbers improving, catches will start to pick up.

Ocean fishing out of Brookings has been spectacular over the past week with happy anglers bringing limits to the cleaning station. Mostly averaging 20 pounds, a few scaling 30 or better are coming in. Most trollers are scoring with anchovies behind a dodger. Big lingcod are being taken by bottom fishers.

A free Family Fishing Event on Sunday, July 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Lhuuke Illahee hatchery on Little Rock Creek near Logsden. Those 17 and younger are invited to fish.

Eastern – The lower Deschutes is producing on Caddis patterns early mornings with daytime air temperatures soaring.

Crooked River flows are low and gradually dropping. It should continue to fish well in these conditions.

Green Peter is producing good numbers of kokanee averaging 11 inches with several 25-fish limits reported. Most are trolling with flashers and hoochies.