Willamette Valley/Metro - Fishery managers met on Tuesday, extending the lower Columbia River salmon fishery from July 4th – July 7th in anticipating of high interest over the holiday weekend. The chinook run is expected to come in as predicted but the sockeye return was upgraded significantly and remains open to catch and keep through July 31st.
Shad fishing is about done in the lower Willamette. Catch-and-release sturgeon fishing remains a decent option in Portland Harbor. There is almost no effort for springers in the warm water of the lower Willamette. With hundreds of summer steelhead crossing the Falls daily, fishing on the upper Willamette in the Eugene/Springfield stretch known as the Town Run has been improving. Fly rodders using sink-tip lines to swing brightly-colored flies are hooking up regularly.
Fly fishing for trout is fair to good on the McKenzie River with best results occurring evenings. Caddis patterns are effective with Green Drakes and Golden Stones fading on the upper river. Steelheaders are catching a few with the best chance coming at first light in sunny weather.
With a fair number of salmon and steelhead having crossed Willamette Falls, fish populations on the Santiams make it a favorable destination. Try jigs or spinners on the South Santiam for spring chinook with the same combination effective for summer steelhead on the North Santiam.
Bait fishers continue to fare best for spring chinook on the Clackamas; bobber fish or driftfish good-quality roe for the best chance of a hookup. A few summer steelhead have also been caught over the past week on spoons or spinners.
Steelheaders hitting the Sandy River at first light or late evenings have been taking a few summer steelhead and fewer springers.
Northwest – Coho fishing out of Garibaldi is hit or miss. Some anglers are reporting good success coming from 200 to 220 foot of water SW of the Tillamook Bay entrance. Chinook are rare in the catch. Even with a liberal ocean coho quota, fishing will not likely get better until Columbia River bound coho migrate their way north in late July.
Ocean crabbing is improving but soft-shelled crab remain prominent in the catch. Bay crabbing is improving as well with Garibaldi Marina reporting rental boats coming in with 12 to 16 keepers per boat for an incoming tide.
Few anglers are taking advantage of the spring chinook opportunities that still exist for spring chinook in the Trask, Wilson and Nestucca Rivers as well as Three Rivers. Early mornings are best and success rates are low but ample numbers remain available for savvy, early morning anglers using light, fluorocarbon lines and small baits. Deadlines near the hatcheries at Three Rivers and the Trask Hatchery are best.
Summer steelhead are available on the Wilson and Nestucca systems but like spring chinook anglers, you must be stealthy and center your effort around early mornings.
Catch and release fishing for sturgeon remains epic for estuary anglers. Fresh anchovies are producing very well but sand shrimp is an excellent choice too.
Southwest- Salmon fishing is good out of Depoe Bay with the majority of the catches consisting of coho although a few chinook are being bagged as well. Rockfish limits are being taken but lingcod have been elusive over the past week.
As predicted in an earlier column, offshore fishers took a big bite out of the spring all-depth halibut quota during last week's opening, shutting down deep-water flattie fishing until the summer season opens August 1 & 2.
The central coast nearshore fishery opened July 1, seven days a week inside the 40-fathom regulatory line and will remain open until the 22,274-pound quota is reached or until Oct. 31, whichever comes first. Unlike last year, the fishery is open 7-days per week.
Catches of red-tailed surf perch are good from beaches along the coast with many anglers scoring 15-fish limits.
The entire Oregon coast is closed to mussel harvesting due to a naturally-occurring organic toxin. All other shellfish harvesting is open.
Offshore chinook catches have been fair to good just outside Winchester Bay with mostly fin-clipped coho being caught a little further out. Ocean crabbing has been good but a percentage are soft at this time of year. Fall chinook will start entering the bay in just a week or two. Pinkfin perch catches are ongoing on the lower Umpqua and smallmouth bass fishing has been excellent on the South Umpqua.
Salmon fishing is reported as slow out of Coos Bay. Albacore are offshore but it's a 25-mile trip to reach them and high winds have been preventing sport boats from making it out that far. Bay crabbing is fair.
The Coos Forest Protective Association has imposed a regulated closure on all private, county, state and BLM lands in Coos, Curry and western Douglas counties as of July 2. This means no open fires except at managed campgrounds and no fireworks.
Salmon fishers launching out of Gold Beach report good catches of coho but as this is a fin-clipped only fishery, having to release wild fish is part of the game. Ocean salmon fishing has been fair out of Gold Beach but has shut off whenever there has been a rise in water temperature.
Recent rainfall had little effect on the Rogue. Spring chinook fishing has been fair at best in the low, clear, warm waters of the lower river. Fishing remains poor on the middle Rogue. Despite fluctuations in water flows causing a slowing of spring chinook catches on the upper river, this stretch is still offering the best chance to catch one. There are enough summer steelhead around now that some anglers are successfully targeting them.
Boats launching out of Brookings have been returning to port with a plethora of sea creatures. Salmon fishers have done best heading south about five miles. Best results are coming at depths of 100 to 150 feet on anchovies or herring. Catches have been mostly chinook but a few coho are being bagged as well. Bottom fishers are taking limits of lingcod and rockfish.
Eastern – Lower Deschutes fly anglers can expect fair results for redsides early and late in the day with Pale Morning Duns and Caddis patterns predominant in early July.
Caddis are starting to hatch on the Wallowa River where Golden Stones maintain a strong presence. The water level remains high but fishing has been good.
The lower 45 miles of the Imnaha River will open for spring chinook fishing on Saturday and Sunday, July 5-6 only for two adults 24 inches or better.
Fishing at picturesque Lava Lake has been slow.
East Lake has been fishing very well with Callibaetis patterns effective. There are rainbows and kokanee here, as well as a few Atlantic salmon.
