Thursday, June 06, 2013

Oregon fishing update

Willamette Valley/Metro - On the Willamette River, plenty of shad are still available and the run has showed no signs of tapering off . At Oregon City, shad anglers are having success with small Dick Nites and tiny green grubs. The sturgeon fishing is tapering off as the bulk of the fish migrate into the Columbia River. On the bright side, the warm water species are on the bite and pre-summer action on the Willamette is steadily picking up. Smallmouth bass are found along rocky shorelines and structure and are generally aggressive towards crank baits, plastics and any other foreseen intruders. A few walleye anglers are giving it a go in the Multnomah Channel and having moderate success trolling worm harnesses along the shelves.

Flows on the McKenzie River are moderating with the water level excellent for fly anglers this week. Fishing has been fair to good, best when McKenzie Green Caddis is hatching. When that occurs, results can be a flurry of memorable activity. Results have been fair to good on the upper river as well.

Water levels on the North Santiam crested on the last day of May, dropping rapidly thereafter. Steelheading has been fair with numbers picking up. The South Santiam is in good shape and is promising with over 1,400 summer steelhead counted at Foster Dam as of June 3rd.

Clackamas River fishers are having a tough spring. Summer steelhead are present, but their numbers are few this season. Spring chinook are also available, but sparsely distributed throughout the river. On the bright side, the water conditions are ideal and a slow drop is expected over the next week.

The Sandy River has been putting out a few springers and the occasional summer steelhead. Drift boaters and bank anglers are doing best in the river above Dabney Park. Boaters are having success back trolling small plugs and running divers with small baits of cured roe or sand shrimp. Bank anglers are getting a few with hardware or bobber/bait or bobber/jig set-ups. The river level is a touch lower than optimum but still very workable. Expect the river to drop through the weekend.

Northwest – Sturgeon fishing continues to improve in the Astoria area with the deep water in front of Astoria producing best on the most recent weak tide series. Deep water produces best in low tide exchanges, shallow water on bigger tide exchanges. The Longview stretch is slowing for sturgeon.

Salmon and steelhead fishing should improve along lower Columbia beaches with the upcoming minus tide series. Plunkers working spin-n-glos close to shore should stand a fair chance at fish.

Minus tides should also produce good clamming along Clatsop Beaches. If the surf remains subdued, limits should be common.

Spring chinook fishing on Tillamook Bay was productive. The 10th Annual Bounty on the Bay event tallied a record number of salmon on Saturday; 19 were brought in for measuring with one boat catching 5 and another landing 4. Both herring and spinners have been working but action has slowed recently. Northwest winds have hampered ocean effort for salmon, halibut, bottomfish and crab. Crabbing has picked up however, more-so in the ocean.

Area rivers are on the drop with no precipitation in the forecast. The hatchery hole on the Trask will remain the best bet but bank anglers working the deep holes with bobbers and shrimp/egg combos should stand a chance at fish. Summer steelhead seem scarce on the north coast.

Southwest- The spring all-depth halibut fishery on May 30-June 1 yielded good results out of Newport and Depoe Bay. Catches of rockfish and lingcod were spotty but decent once fish were located. June 6-8 is the next scheduled all-depth halibut opener if sufficient quota remains available.

Ocean chinook have been cooperating with anglers launching out of Winchester Bay. Fishing for redtail surfperch inside the bay has finally picked up with several limits reported. Striped surfperch and greenling catches have also been good at times. Smallmouth bass fishing is good on the river from Elkton on the mainstem up to Canyonville on the South Umpqua.

ODFW Outdoors will host an adult fly fishing workshop at LaVerne County Park on the North Fork of the Coquille River on Saturday, June 8. Phone 541-888-5515 for information.

Fishing for halibut out of Gold Beach was good late last week. Amongst the halibut taken, a 50-pounder was brought to the docks each day over the past weekend. Rockfish limits have been the rule. Catches of lingcod are expected to drop off in coming weeks while rockfish results should improve. Ocean chinook fishing has been slow but catches are expected to take off soon. Spring chinook fishing has improved along with flows of cooler water in the lower Rogue. Results remain slow on the middle river. The upper Rogue remains the place to be for springers and with summer steelhead nosing upstream, steelheading should be worthwhile in a couple of weeks.

Halibut fishing out of Brookings was excellent with one charter reporting boat limits in two passes on Thursday. Rockfishing was also rewarding but rough offshore conditions starting Friday prevented further effort. Fishing has been slow for sea-run cutthroat in the lower Chetco River.

Trolling at Diamond Lake has been the most productive technique although bait fishers continue to take some trout. Midge hatches have started to thin but will continue to be annoying to anglers.

Eastern – It's a mixed bag on the Deschutes with Salmonflies and Golden Stones enduring, Green Drakes hatching periodically and decent caddis hatches in the evening. It's a good idea to carry corresponding imitations as well as nymphs to match not just the hatch but the whim of resident redsides.

Wickiup has been producing kokanee but the bite has been confined to the early morning hours and turning off as soon as sunlight hits the water.

East Lake has been producing some trout in the 14 to 16-inch range while kokanee fishing has been worthwhile on jigs.