Oregon fishing report

Willamette Valley/Metro - The Bonneville pool catch and keep sturgeon fishery is now closed. A summer season will likely be forthcoming.

The catch and release sturgeon fishery on the lower Willamette River remains the best bet in town if action is your goal. Double digit days can be expected if the fish are located and they are relatively easy to find. Looking for the concentration of boats in the Portland Harbor is a common practice, but having a decent depth finder and knowing how to use it makes the "locating" easy. Little pressure and even less action is happening at Meldrum Bar, though the season's first spring chinook could be taken here or at Sellwood any time now.

McKenzie River flows have stabilized with little change expected until the next weather front moves through. Winter fly fishing is fair.

North Santiam levels will be fishable through the coming weekend. While there still isn't a lot of winter steelhead in the system, numbers are improving with a few taken recently by boats drifting from North Santiam State Park to Stayton.

On the Clackamas River, ideal water conditions are inviting but the distribution of winter steelhead is still discouraging. Better times should be ahead as the Clackamas "winters" come later than those of other drainages. Late February through April is generally peak time.

The Sandy River saw some winter steelhead success over the weekend but there is still little to get excited about. Water conditions are again approaching low and clear with more challenging fishing to follow. Fresh fish will still enter the system, but one by one rather than a big push. Best opportunities are available from Lewis and Clark State Park up to Dodge Park.

Northwest – Back to low and clear water conditions, steelheaders on the north coast are left to deal with less-than-ideal scenarios in what is already past prime early season for returning adults. Following the last rain freshet, anglers were already coming across spawned out fish although bright ones still cut orange.

One of the better options, the North Fork Nehalem continues to report low pressure and low catch. Four steelhead were reported off of the handicap platform on Monday and it's likely steelhead will become more motivated to feed after they've dropped their eggs in the gravel. The problem is, they make for poor table fare.

Even larger streams such as the Wilson and Nestucca are unlikely to produce quantifiable catches of quality steelhead in the near future. Anglers typically have to wait until late February or March before the second wave of returns happen; a mix of wild and some broodstock fish to NW watersheds. To find consistent success anglers will have to downsize their offerings and approach pooled up fish in a stealthy manner. Single beads have become popular recently and low water is the perfect time to employ this technique.

Despite moderating weather, the ocean swell continues to keep anglers at bay. Aggressive lingcod will be available when seas allow but rockfish catches will likely remain subdued until ocean temperatures warm and fish begin to school in greater numbers.

The lower Columbia has slowed dramatically for Dungeness crab. It will be summer before catches improve again.

Southwest- Nearly everyone took rockfish limits over the past weekend when boats were able to get out on the ocean. Lingcod catches were also good. Rough offshore conditions are keeping boats at bay most days, however.

Crabbing has been slow at Coos Bay despite little fresh water influence from the last storm. Catches of rockfish have been good off the jetties.

Flows on the lower Rogue have dropped back to pre-freshet levels with catches of adult and half-pounder steelhead slowing as a consequence. While a handful of winters have been caught, fishing on the middle river has been poor to slow and is unlikely to show improvement with water levels predicted to continue dropping through the coming weekend. Upper Rogue steelheaders have continued to hook colorful or spawned out summer fish this week as the population of winters in this stretch remains low.

Following a crest at 4,500 cfs with the storm front earlier this month, the Chetco has been steadily dropping. Steelheaders trying it in the coming weekend will see a result of that trend in low, clear water, flowing at less than 1,000 cfs. These are challenging fishing conditions calling for light lines, long leaders and diminutive baits. Long range trends indicate relief will come in the last week of January when another front is forecast to roll through.

A few winters were taken over the past week at the Elk River but it is now at extremely low and clear conditions in the absence of precipitation.

Little change is reported at Diamond Lake where ice fishing is ongoing with little snow on the lake's surface. Fishing is slow to fair.

Eastern – Fly fishers on the lower Deschutes report fair results for native redsides. Caddis, Midges and Blue-Winged-Olives will remain the patterns of interest through the season.

Most recently reported at 58 cfs, Crooked River flows are getting low even for regulars here. Trout fishing is fair on midge patterns.

Oregon fishing report

Willamette Valley/Metro - The Bonneville pool catch and keep sturgeon fishery is now closed. A summer season will likely be forthcoming.

The catch and release sturgeon fishery on the lower Willamette River remains the best bet in town if action is your goal. Double digit days can be expected if the fish are located and they are relatively easy to find. Looking for the concentration of boats in the Portland Harbor is a common practice, but having a decent depth finder and knowing how to use it makes the "locating" easy. Little pressure and even less action is happening at Meldrum Bar, though the season's first spring chinook could be taken here or at Sellwood any time now.

McKenzie River flows have stabilized with little change expected until the next weather front moves through. Winter fly fishing is fair.

North Santiam levels will be fishable through the coming weekend. While there still isn't a lot of winter steelhead in the system, numbers are improving with a few taken recently by boats drifting from North Santiam State Park to Stayton.

On the Clackamas River, ideal water conditions are inviting but the distribution of winter steelhead is still discouraging. Better times should be ahead as the Clackamas "winters" come later than those of other drainages. Late February through April is generally peak time.

The Sandy River saw some winter steelhead success over the weekend but there is still little to get excited about. Water conditions are again approaching low and clear with more challenging fishing to follow. Fresh fish will still enter the system, but one by one rather than a big push. Best opportunities are available from Lewis and Clark State Park up to Dodge Park.

Northwest – Back to low and clear water conditions, steelheaders on the north coast are left to deal with less-than-ideal scenarios in what is already past prime early season for returning adults. Following the last rain freshet, anglers were already coming across spawned out fish although bright ones still cut orange.

One of the better options, the North Fork Nehalem continues to report low pressure and low catch. Four steelhead were reported off of the handicap platform on Monday and it's likely steelhead will become more motivated to feed after they've dropped their eggs in the gravel. The problem is, they make for poor table fare.

Even larger streams such as the Wilson and Nestucca are unlikely to produce quantifiable catches of quality steelhead in the near future. Anglers typically have to wait until late February or March before the second wave of returns happen; a mix of wild and some broodstock fish to NW watersheds. To find consistent success anglers will have to downsize their offerings and approach pooled up fish in a stealthy manner. Single beads have become popular recently and low water is the perfect time to employ this technique.

Despite moderating weather, the ocean swell continues to keep anglers at bay. Aggressive lingcod will be available when seas allow but rockfish catches will likely remain subdued until ocean temperatures warm and fish begin to school in greater numbers.

The lower Columbia has slowed dramatically for Dungeness crab. It will be summer before catches improve again.

Southwest- Nearly everyone took rockfish limits over the past weekend when boats were able to get out on the ocean. Lingcod catches were also good. Rough offshore conditions are keeping boats at bay most days, however.

Crabbing has been slow at Coos Bay despite little fresh water influence from the last storm. Catches of rockfish have been good off the jetties.

Flows on the lower Rogue have dropped back to pre-freshet levels with catches of adult and half-pounder steelhead slowing as a consequence. While a handful of winters have been caught, fishing on the middle river has been poor to slow and is unlikely to show improvement with water levels predicted to continue dropping through the coming weekend. Upper Rogue steelheaders have continued to hook colorful or spawned out summer fish this week as the population of winters in this stretch remains low.

Following a crest at 4,500 cfs with the storm front earlier this month, the Chetco has been steadily dropping. Steelheaders trying it in the coming weekend will see a result of that trend in low, clear water, flowing at less than 1,000 cfs. These are challenging fishing conditions calling for light lines, long leaders and diminutive baits. Long range trends indicate relief will come in the last week of January when another front is forecast to roll through.

A few winters were taken over the past week at the Elk River but it is now at extremely low and clear conditions in the absence of precipitation.

Little change is reported at Diamond Lake where ice fishing is ongoing with little snow on the lake's surface. Fishing is slow to fair.

Eastern – Fly fishers on the lower Deschutes report fair results for native redsides. Caddis, Midges and Blue-Winged-Olives will remain the patterns of interest through the season.

Most recently reported at 58 cfs, Crooked River flows are getting low even for regulars here. Trout fishing is fair on midge patterns.

Oregon fishing report

Willamette Valley/Metro - Sturgeon fishing in the Bonneville Pool has been just so-so. Participating anglers are reporting fewer keeper size fish than hoped. Expect the fishery to continue through the scheduled closure on Jan 19th.

Catch and release sturgeon fishing has been excellent in the Portland Harbor for the few anglers putting in the effort. Double digit days are the norm and although anchovies have been the preferred bait, most of the fish are pretty indiscriminate about what you feed them.

Meldrum bar is seeing very light pressure with very few steelhead caught per angler. Don't be surprised if a lucky angler catches the season's first spring chinook within the next few weeks.

Water levels at the McKenzie River will be dropping through the coming weekend and beyond. Fly anglers throwing Caddis and Blue-Winged Olive patterns should expect fair results for winter trout.

Angling adventures on the North Santiam remain primarily academic. A few winter trout are available for catch-and-release but there are still too few native winter steelhead to target.

As of this writing, anglers are waiting for the Clackamas River to recede so that they may resume steelhead fishing. Fishable water conditions should be available by the weekend.

The Sandy River is high and dirty as of now, but better conditions will be available by Wednesday or Thursday. Expect winter steelhead to be spread throughout the system by then with bait taking the majority of fish until water conditions drop and clear.

Northwest – Last weekend's rain event was the one all steelheaders have been waiting for. With rivers finally primed after a long dry spell, all coastal systems should produce catches by the weekend. Smaller streams were in ideal shape as of Tuesday with today likely to produce fair catches as well. Although Thursday and Friday are likely to be best on larger systems such as the Wilson, Nestucca and Trask in that order, catchable numbers should still be available for weekend warriors.

The North Fork of the Nehalem produced surprisingly mediocre results for near perfect conditions on Monday; just another indication that the run is coming in sub-par this year. Some systems will already be seeing spawned out steelhead despite the fact we're still relatively early in the steelhead season. Conversely, some wild and broodstock fish should show in other coastal systems such as the Wilson and Nestucca. Following this freshet, anglers will be in a steelhead lull, between the early season returns and later returning wild and broodstock fish that have a strong 6-week window from mid-February through the end of March. It's likely that returns of these late fish will be down as well.

With strong winds and rough ocean conditions, boaters kept their vessels in-harbor for the last several days. Although we're entering a period of calm weather, ocean conditions are expected to remain rough, keeping bottomfishers and ocean crabbers from accessing willing seafood. Windows of opportunity are likely to be limited through March.

Softer tides may once again bring crabbers to the lower Columbia. Although success rates are likely to continue to fall, it may be the best bet for keepers on the north coast. Other estuaries are likely to inundated with fresh water to produce measureable results.

Southwest- The storm watch is over on the coast with the accompanying precipitation welcome as most rivers were critically low at a time when steelheading should be excellent. Now that the storm has passed, water levels are moderating and fishing results are ramping up.

While high swells such as those which pummeled the Oregon coast over the past weekend will create conditions too rough for steelhead to cross, the ocean is laying sown as coastal rivers drop, creating ideal conditions for winters to enter and improved results for steelheaders.

Offshore bottom fishing will resume as the ocean calms sufficiently to allow launches. Rockfish and ling cod results are expected to be good. There will be no depth restrictions through March although cabezon may not be retained until July. Forecasts indicate swells moderating Saturday this week but building again through the weekend. Check current reports for updated information.

Lower Umpqua steelheaders have been enjoying decent fishing for several weeks but with rainfall over the past weekend, upper stretches will share in the bounty. The first hatchery winters will be entering the South Umpqua as well although populations of winter steelhead sufficient to create a decent fishery here is still a few weeks away.

Crabbing has been good for boaters on Coos Bay and fair to good for those crabbing from the docks. Recent rainfall is not expected to affect results. Clam diggers will have an opportunity this week with low tides occurring at late in the day on Thursday this week with best results expected around Charleston, Cape Arago Highway and at Clam Island.

Precipitation fell far short of predictions regarding impact on for Rogue levels. Flows on the lower Rogue increased slightly but fell back to nearly the same as those before rain started to fall. Rain pushed water up on the middle river early this week but anglers will find it at pre-storm levels in the coming weekend. As a result of these lackluster effects from the storm, fishing is slow on the middle Rogue and only a little better on the lower river where half-pounders are also available. Steelheaders on the upper stretch are still picking up the occasional elderly summer fish although a well over 100 winters have made it to the hatchery so there's reason for optimism in the not-to-distant future. Anglers fishing below the Hog Creek boat ramp are now allowed to keep one wild steelhead a day as long as it's 24 inches or better. Bait may be used anywhere on the Rogue now.

As seas calm, jigging for rockfish and ling cod just outside Brookings Harbor is expected to be good. Chetco levels crested over the past weekend and will continue dropping through the weekend to come and are forecast to get skinny once again. Steelheading was fair prior to this freshet and is expected to be good as fresh winters enter the system. The run this season is predicted to be better than average with the height of the season historically occurring during the month of January.

Low, clear water will once again be the condition on the Elk and Sixes rivers by the coming weekend.

Ice fishing is ongoing at Diamond Lake, producing fair catches to most although those who find concentrations of fish are doing quite well.

Eastern – Fly fishers on the lower Rogue are reporting slow to fair results with a few trout being hooked and very few steelhead biting.

Trollers fishing at 50 to 60-foot levels have seen some improvement in Bull Trout catches at Lake Billy Chinook.

Ice fishers auguring holes in the frozen surface at Lake of the Woods are catching yellow perch for their efforts. This fish make excellent table fare.

Oregon fishing report

Willamette Valley/Metro - Willamette River anglers, what few there are, remain focused on catch and release opportunities for sturgeon in the Portland Harbor. Action is good using sand shrimp, smelt and anchovies if you have them. You won't find much competition out there.

Steelheaders continue to bide their time on Meldrum Bar with only an occasional fish being caught. The action is likely to wind down even more as the early season component is past its prime. Many anglers hope to claim the season's first spring chinook. Although an extremely rare catch in January, especially on a low return year like the one predicted for 2014, early February often sees fair action around Sellwood Bridge. The predicted rise in river levels over the weekend will likely put this goal out of reach until later this month.

Clackamas steelheaders remain diligent in their quest for early steel but realistically, it will be several more weeks before a stronger possibility exists. With little effort, anglers can still score results but you'll have to cover a lot of water to find a biter.

The Sandy has seen spurts of good fishing prior to the dry spell but it has been challenging lately. Depending on how much precipitation falls as snow will determine how much flow and color the river will get over the weekend. It's likely that the Sandy will remain the best metropolitan bet for the next several weeks. When colored waters return, anglers can up-size their baits and offerings to entice fish from greater distances. Fish bobbers and worms until the river swells.

Northwest – Reports remain consistent throughout the north coast with most anglers coming home empty handed when pursuing winter steelhead on Tillamook County streams. The first significant rain freshet in weeks is due to hit before the weekend however; it will be an anglers last chance for fresh early season fish before the wild and broodstock run makes a stronger appearance by mid-February.

Anglers plying the tidewater stretches of the Wilson and North Fork Nehalem systems report quiet waters as well, indicating that not many steelhead are even staging in these lower reaches before making the run upriver in the seasonally low north coast streams. There are however steelhead being taken in many of these systems nearly every day for anglers versed in low-water tactics.

The Trask has also been predictably quiet although there has been a rare wild fish taken near the hatchery. Only two wild bucks have been tallied by Tillamook ODF&W personnel for the Wilson River wild broodstock collection program, hopefully, February and March prove more fruitful.

A calm ocean on Sunday prompted anglers to head out in search of lingcod and sea bass. Action was good for those hitting the right reefs and whales could be seen on their annual migration south to Baja. Nearshore waters out of Tillamook Bay are laden with commercial crab gear as the fleet tries to improve soft early season catches. Crabbing in Tillamook Bay remains fair at best with fresh bait, which is hard to come by, producing the best results by far. The lower Columbia is also a fair bet for January crabbers although weekend tides and weather don't look promising.

Southwest- Calm seas offered some limited opportunity for bottomfishers last weekend but big tides likely kept fish from aggressively feeding or at least fishers from effectively catching. None-the-less, lingcod were top on the list as we enter spawning season with fish fairly aggressive. Swells are likely to remain too high for safe boating for the foreseeable future.

Recreational and commercial ocean crabbing remains challenging on the south coast.

Like much of Oregon, area rivers remain low and clear, challenging winter steelhead anglers for the last several weeks. The year's first significant river rise is forecast through the weekend which should stimulate action for plunkers working lower river gravel bars on the rise and side-drifters once swollen rivers recede. The Coquille and Chetco are likely the best prospects as steelhead entering these systems typically start to peak in January anyway. Coquille Basin steelheaders are allowed an additional fin-clipped fish per day, making a three-fish bag limit pretty attractive to area anglers.

The Umpqua is also slated to receive a much needed rain freshet which should jump start the wild run, mostly destined for the mainstem and North Umpqua with a few hatchery fish available in the South Fork.

The Rogue will also be a strong option following the predicted rain freshet. The lower reaches should produce for plunkers during the week when flows are expected to rise and driftfishers when flows stabilize. It appears unlikely that a strong run will show but it will remain a top destination for the next 3 weeks.

Hearty plants of catchable size and larger trout have been recently planted in Fort Borst Lake in Centralia, South Lewis County Park Pond in Toledo, Lake Sacajawea in Longview and Battle Ground Lake.

Eastern – Although the John Day River is reportedly still ice-laden, the Grand Ronde, Imnaha, Wallowa and Umatilla are options for late season steelhead. The Grand Ronde is your best option with the Umatilla reported as slow.

Wallowa Lake can offer some decent winter fishing opportunities when conditions are safe.

Oregon fishing report

Willamette Valley/Metro - Anglers anxious for a consumptive opportunity for sturgeon will be racing towards favored fishing spots above Bonneville Dam today. Action is likely to be good and effort intense, causing quick utilization of the winter quota in the coming weeks. The winter segment of this season lasts through January 19th with a daily bag limit of 1 keeper sturgeon between 38 and 54 inches to the fork of the tail, 2 keeper sturgeon per year.

McKenzie water levels have continued moderating in mostly dry weather with the flow dropping to 2,500 cfs at Vida. Catch-and-release winter trout fishing is slow to fair.

The Santiams get about 25% of the steelhead that cross Willamette Falls. With recent counts right around 200 and only single digits crossing daily, there aren't enough fish in the North Santiam to target yet. It may be worthwhile to do so in February depending on water conditions and how run numbers stack up.

The Clackamas River has dropped down into great shape but anglers are not expending a lot of effort this early in the season. Some early season steelhead remain available below Barton to the mouth but most are awaiting the larger return later in February. Most anglers fishing this area opt for Meldrum Bar, just downstream of the mouth of the Clackamas, where mainstem Willamette steelhead are more plentiful this time of year.

After a period of high water on the Sandy, freezing levels have dropped and so have water levels. The lower flows are slowing what few steelhead exist in the river system, making the lower reaches downstream of Oxbow the most likely area to intercept early returning fish. Bobbers and bright colored jigs often work best under these conditions but small baits will produce results as well.

Northwest – Action for north coast steelhead remains subdued even though we're officially in peak season for the early run. Low and clear water conditions haven't helped anglers harvest fish but savvy anglers working small baits and bobbers and jigs or pink worms have done fairly well this week. River systems that receive the heaviest plants such as the North Fork Nehalem hold the greatest promise in higher flows, with consistent action off of the handicap platform each morning.

Big Creek and the Klaskanine, Necanicum, Wilson and Three Rivers remain the best prospects but with no significant rises in the river forecast in the coming week, action isn't likely to improve all that much. Any change however will likely improve the bite somewhat and a slight rise is forecast for the weekend.

The Trask is likely to start seeing larger numbers of native steelhead but some anglers looking for late season chinook scored well last week. Chinook season closes on the north coast starting January 1st.

Clam diggers struggled on the great tides this week, largely due to a big surf that kept clams from feeding near the surface. Crabbers working the lower Columbia on high tide were still taking fair numbers of keepers last week. The lower Columbia will remain the best prospect for crabbers into the New Year.

The offshore forecast may hold promise for bottomfishers over the weekend. Lingcod remains the best bet but sea bass may come on the bite in the coming weeks.

Southwest- Boats launching out of Newport and Depoe Bay over the past weekend reported catches of rockfish, lingcod and crab had slowed.

Cabezon may no longer be retained as part of a rockfish limit as of January 1, 2014. The limit remains seven rockfish in the New Year and the lingcod limit of two per day, 22 inches or longer, same as 2013.

Winchester Bay has been slow for crabbing. When many rivers are running too low to fish well, the mainstem Umpqua can be a blessing for steelheaders. Fishing has been decent from Sawyers rapids and recently on the river above.

Lack of rain has maintained salinity levels in Coos Bay, resulting in fair to good results for crabbers. A minus tidal series will occur after dark if adventurous diggers want to take advantage of the excellent clamming available here.

Crabbers in the lower Coquille have been taking fair to good catches of Dungeness.

Low, clear, cold water is the story on the Rogue River where these conditions have stalled results for early winters in the lower river and kept them from running upriver to the Grants Pass stretch. While summer steelhead are being taken on the upper Rogue, they're not in any condition to be considered keepers. Some fish taken recently had already spawned.

When boats have been able to slip out to the ocean just outside Brookings, jigging for rockfish has been good. Water levels are low and running cold in the Chetco and while a few winters are taking bait in the lower portions, it is challenging to get them to bite.

The year wrapped up as one of the driest ever in southwest Oregon. The Elk River levels remain low and optimism about the chinook run this season is plummeting to similar levels. Many local anglers are speculating if rain, when it comes, will be too little, too late. There's still hope for a winter steelhead season here.

About five inches of ice covers Diamond Lake with few venturing out to cut holes and fish. Trout catches are slow as the fish are acclimating to winter conditions.

Eastern – Lower Deschutes anglers are taking a few redsides and far fewer steelhead. Overall, results have been slow. Caddis are the primary pattern of interest for fly fishers targeting trout.

Winter trout fishing has been worthwhile on the Metolius for those who can crack the code. Double nymph rigs have been effective.

Ice fishing is underway at Lake of the Woods where seven to nine inches of hard ice covering the surface is making it safer to walk on but watch out for thin spots at the edge. Trout and yellow perch are being caught.