Willamette Valley/Metro - Smallmouth Bass fishing on the Willamette River is on the upswing with the recent rains and slightly cooling water. Walleye fishing should also pick up with the dip in temperature. Silvers are still absent at the mouth of the Clackamas but are expected any time.
Though the calendar would indicate it's early yet, it's time to think fall on the McKenzie River. Nymphs remain effective but with daylight conditions improving, dry flies are often the better choice. Steelheading is slow with the low return this season.
Water conditions are good on the Santiam system. Trout fishing is good, particularly higher in the system. Steelheading is slow and expected to remain so.
The Clackamas River is a virtual ghost town when it comes to summer steelhead. The first early silvers are due within the next couple of freshets.
Silvers are also due to show anytime on the lower Sandy River. Any precipitation in the forecast should stir the pot and get things rolling in the lower river.
Northwest – After an epic chinook season on the lower Columbia, the stretch between Tongue Point and Buoy 10 is now closed to chinook retention. Anglers may still retain 2 coho but good numbers have yet to show; expect them any day however. Anglers are finding tremendous success just above Tongue Point as witnessed by Bob Keerins from Portland and his group of 7 on Saturday. They took 7 adult chinook, 1 hatchery coho and 2 jacks above Tongue Point by 9:15 a.m. One of the chinook literally jumped in the boat shortly after being hooked. The best action has come on herring throughout the incoming tide, trolling near the bottom in 45 to 50 foot of water. Starting September 6th, from Tongue Point to Warrior Rock near the mouth of the Lewis River, only adipose fin-clipped chinook may be retained.
Wide open opportunity still exists for ocean anglers outside of the mouth of the Columbia River. Effort for the offshore fishery remains low due to success rates inside the river. The offshore weather forecast looks very favorable for salmon and tuna into the weekend but is certainly subject to change.
Upriver, anchor anglers remain frustrated due to the inconsistency of the wobbler fishery. Most anglers report low success rates, laying blame on the warm water temperatures. Anglers fishing the mouth of the Cowlitz seem to be producing some of the best results.
The Columbia River below Bonneville Dam is thick with Chinook salmon, but the bite has been a bit off due to drastically reduced flow and 71+ degree water temps. Fishing for salmon will improve as the water cools and normal flows resume. Sturgeon fishing below the dam is also on the slow side likely also due to the low flow.
Tillamook Bay is yielding good catches of chinook, especially when anglers can get outside and away from the seaweed. Those that pursued wild coho over the weekend largely came up empty. Water temperatures offshore have topped 62 degrees and coho are hard to find.
The Nehalem, Nestucca, Salmon, Siletz and Alsea all now have chinook available but that doesn't mean they will fall easy. Peak season is still weeks away.
Crabbing in most estuaries and adjacent ocean waters is productive although soft-shells are still making up a fair portion of the catch.
Southwest- Offshore chinook salmon fishing out of Depoe Bay slowed on Labor Day following fair to good results over the weekend.
The non-selective (wild or hatchery) coho season continues offshore each Thursday through Saturday from September 5th through September 30th or the 19,580 coho quota. Two salmon per day may be kept.
It's not too late in the year for tuna fishing. Over the past weekend, boats traveling 30 to 40 miles out of Newport made good catches on cedar plugs and clones. The trick has been finding schools of albacore.
If the long-range offshore forecast holds up, launches should be possible this week.
Sea-run cutthroat trout fishing is good and improving on coastal rivers. The best results have been coming on days when it's showery.
Salmon fishing was fair and ocean crabbing good out of Florence over the past weekend.
Winchester Bay salmon trollers experienced a moderation in chinook hookups over the past weekend but it's still quite good. Bass fishing is holding up on the upper Umpqua mainstem. Steelheaders in the flies-only section of the North Umpqua are taking wild steelhead but they are working for them.
Offshore fishing out of Gold Beach has been productive if unpredictable. When the ocean and offshore winds allowed launches, bottom fishing produced well for lings one day, rockfish another. When the wind came up late last week, boats stayed in port. Bay trolling has stalled with chinook heading straight upriver. Half pounder fishing is picking up on the lower Rogue and they are running larger this season. Fishing for steelhead is good in the Grants Pass to Galice stretch with chinook closed from Fisher's Ferry to Cole Rivers Hatchery through October, Upper Rogue waters are flies only with prospects good for summer steelhead.
While most offshore waters are closed to halibut, it remains open through October from Humbug Mountain to the California border. Anglers willing to fish a couple of pounds of lead in nearly 250 feet of water are occasionally rewarded with halibut to 60 pounds. Bottom fishing for lingcod and rockfish is excellent. The 10th annual Slam'n Salmon Ocean Derby took place out of the Port of Brookings over the Labor Day weekend. Over 300 participants were vying for prizes. Sprits were high and the fishing was good if not hot although final results were unavailable at deadline for this report.
Eastern – Conditions on the Deschutes have been variable lately, from great to poor, but there are plenty of steelhead in the river when level, flow and clarity come together.
The upper Snake River is open to hatchery fall chinook fishing from the Oregon–Washington border to the deadline below Hells Canyon Dam through October 31 or until a closure is announced. The daily bag limit will be six adipose fin-clipped chinook salmon. Anglers can also keep and unlimited number of fin-clipped jack Chinook between 15 and 24-inches long.
