Willamette Valley/Metro - With the onset of fall chinook season, interest and success for summer steelhead continues to decline, despite peaking numbers at Bonneville Dam. Water temperatures have simply warmed to put fish off the bite. The banner fall chinook season will draw interest for anchor fishers sooner as the estuary fishery is already taking off. The lower Columbia from Portland to Longview will draw the most interest, especially near the mouth of the Cowlitz.
There's very little angler-related boat traffic on the lower Willamette now with the Buoy 10 fishery in progress. Take advantage of early morning hours to enjoy a decent top-water bite from smallmouth bass. As daylight comes on, switch to soft plastics until the ski boats and jet skiers show up. Fish passage has started to decline again at the Falls with this trend likely to continue.
Caddis remains the go-to pattern for McKenzie trout anglers through August. The upper river has been fishing well lately.
Steelheading has been slow on the North Santiam this season despite a decent number of fish in the system. Start early in the morning, high on the river and downsize offerings for the best chance of a hookup.
It's the height of the summer doldrums on the Clackamas River as low water keeps getting lower. Despite this challenge, early morning steelheaders throwing diminutive spoons and spinners have continued to hook up. McIver has produced a few over the past week.
Despite the milky, glacial appearance of the water in the Sandy River, fish are being caught. A few spring chinook have fallen for spinners this week in the early morning hours.
Northwest – Although not consistent since the opener, the Buoy 10 fishery is off to a fast start. Chinook catches were great for the first 2 days of the season and tapered slightly by Sunday. Typically, Rogue strain fish make up the bulk of the catch in the first week of fishing but upriver brights and tules are in the mix already, indicating the predicted run is likely to come to fruition. Fresh and frozen herring seems to be the most productive but the spinner bite should take off soon. Anchovies are also responsible for fair action. Few coho are being seen in the river but the ocean adjacent to the Columbia is putting out easy limits. Chinook are likely to show in greater numbers off of Long Beach in the coming week. Interest is running at an all-time high in the estuary already.
Garibaldi anglers saw a rebound in ocean catches but you still have to work hard for limits. Ocean crabbing remains excellent but only about half of the catch is of high quality.
The all-depth halibut season was productive for many, especially out of Newport. An announcement comes on Thursday, indicating if there is enough remaining quota for another short opener. Over half of the nearshore quota remains south of Cape Falcon.
The Nehalem hasn't taken been off the hook but it's consistently producing fair catches of chinook from Wheeler to the jaws near Brighton. The current weak tide series should play out well for those working herring near the mouth although afternoon NW winds can often hamper success.
Estuary crabbing on the Nehalem, Tillamook and Netarts should be fair over the weekend.
Southwest- Catches of offshore coho out of Newport and Depoe Bay have been reliable and steady, providing mostly limits for ocean anglers. Hatchery coho may be taken through August 10th with the non-select (hatchery or wild) coho season opening on August 30th.
The non-selective coho season quota of 20,000 fish may be supplemented by any additional, uncaught numbers from the current selective fishery.
Salmon fishing is getting most of the attention from those plying offshore waters although catches of rockfish and lingcod have been excellent out of central Oregon ports. Some charters are doing combo trips and returning with limits of everything.
Boats launching out of Newport and Depoe bay with sights set on albacore have gotten into good numbers 30 or 40 miles from port.
Recreational boats out of Newport have targeted halibut inside the 40 fathom line to return with limits.
Despite reports elsewhere to the contrary, the entire Oregon coast remains open to the harvest of mussels.
Bobber and bait fishers have been taking some chinook on the Siuslaw around Cushman and Mapleton.
Salmon are being caught offshore out of Reedsport in 90 foot depths over 200 feet of water. Chinook fishing has been slow to fair in Winchester Bay with the season just getting started. A few are being taken around the Highway 101 Bridge at Reedsport.
While Charleston has been a popular launch point for albacore, as of August 5th, tuna have moved far offshore along with warmer water. Bottom fishing has been excellent and ocean crabbing is fair. The fifth Annual Sunset Bay Angler of the Day is a kayak-only fishing tournament scheduled to take place August 23rd at Sunset Bay State Park in Coos Bay. Points per inch are awarded for each of nine species.
When boats have been able to get out of Gold Beach, bottom fishing has been excellent for lingcod and rockfish. Limits of ocean crab have added to the bounty. Ocean salmon fishing has been fair to good with mostly chinook being taken. Coho catches are fair with a number of wild fish having to be released. Trollers dragging anchovy/spinner combos are taking two to three dozen Chinook out of Rogue Bay every day. Summer steelhead catches have started to pick up on the Grants Pass stretch of the Rogue River. With outflow from Lost Creek stable at 1,500 cfs, catches on the upper river have been steady and reliable.
Ocean chinook fishing has slowed out of Brookings but catches of rockfish, lingcod and halibut are filling the gap. Deep trollers report taking some of each specie on occasion. About half of the southern Oregon halibut quota remains to be taken.
Eastern – Summer steelhead catches on the lower Deschutes are slow to fair but steady with fish being landed daily. Shaded water is producing best.
Trout fishing is fair at best on the Wallowa River with fish off the bite over the past week. Hot weather may be contributive. Fishing remains worthwhile at Wallowa Lake although action has slowed a bit.
Crane Prairie has been producing for the bobber 'n' bait crowd but the trout have been running small.
Trollers are taking kokanee at Odell Reservoir in the mornings with the bite shutting down around 9 a.m.
And here's the latest update on the halibut extension starting the 15th of August:
Central Oregon Coast Summer All-Depth Sport Halibut Open August 15 & 16
The Central Coast Summer All-depth halibut fishery will be OPEN August 15 & 16. During the first opening, 17,788 pounds were landed, this leaves approximately 30,000 pounds remaining. Any additional dates after that will be announced by noon on Friday, August 22.
The Central Coast nearshore fishery, through August 3, has landed 9,508 pounds, leaving 12,766 pounds (57%) of the quota remaining.
The Columbia River summer all-depth fishery is open Thursday-Sunday, and the nearshore open Monday-Wednesday. Both fisheries have the majority of their quota remaining.
The Southern Oregon Subarea (Humbug Mt to the OR/CA Border) through August 3 has landed 2,646 pounds, leaving 1,066 pounds (29%) of the quota remaining.
Reminder: the last of the August public meetings on the 2015 sport halibut season is Monday August 11 at 7 pm at the ODFW Marine Resources Program office in Newport. For those that cannot attend in person, the meeting is available via GoTo meeting (https://www4.gotomeeting.com/join/433276823) or can provide input via phone (541-867-4741) or e-mail (patrick.p.mirick@state.or.us or lynn.mattes@state.or.us ). Thank you to those who attended the Brookings and North Bend meetings this week and who have already contacted us.
