Oregon Fishing Report

Oregon Fisheries Update:

Willamette Valley/Metro - More consistent action is being recorded on the mainstem Columbia with some boats reporting multiple opportunities downstream of the mouth of the Willamette and the lower Multnomah Channel. Good catch rates this early in the run indicate the record prediction is likely to materialize.

Fishery managers set salmon and sturgeon seasons last week. They are complicated and can be studied from a recent press release here: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/news/2010/index.asp. Boat anglers will not be allowed to fish above the I-205 bridge to Bonneville Dam.

Spring Chinook are being hooked by trollers in the lower Willamette at Sellwood. Double digit days were recorded recently with the catch comprised mostly of larger 5-year old adults. Herring is the bait to use. Sturgeon fishing is fair and smallmouth bass are starting to bite.

While Blue-Winged Olives are hatching on the lower McKenzie, nymphs remain most effective for trout.

Drift bait or fish jigs on the North Santiam for a shot at wild winter steelhead. Take a camera & release the fish.

Clackamas steelheading is slow. There are winters in Eagle Creek but they have become spooky in low water. Rain this week may help.

Crowds are at Cedar Creek along with the winter steelhead which have become available in fair number at the mouth of this Sandy tributary. Broodstock steelhead are due in larger numbers in the coming weeks and should provide fair opportunity through March.

Scheduled for planting with hatchery trout are Alton Baker Canal, Cottage Grove Pond, Cottage Grove Reservoir, E. E. Wilson Pond, Junction City Pond, Walling Pond and Walter Wirth Lake.

Northwest - Steelheaders were reporting fair results in the larger north coast streams this week with low, clear water conditions to work with. The Wilson was producing the best but the next rain freshet should provide better results.

The mainstem Nehalem began to fish fair as well but may blow out again with the current weather pattern.

The Nestucca has been producing a few fish but will likely improve into March. Broodstock steelhead are available here as well but the river hasn't produced as good at it did in the earlier years of the program. Anglers are still encouraged to take part in the wild broodstock collection program by registering with ODF&W in Tillamook at (503) 842-2741. Help is needed on the Wilson too.

Anglers pursued rockfish offshore in the calm seas over the weekend scoring easy limits of seabass on the south jetty out of the mouth of the Columbia and nearshore reefs on the north coast. Delicious lingcod were also in the creel as adults near the shoreline to begin the spring spawn.

Crabbing was surprisingly poor in both the ocean and north coast estuaries this weekend. Commercial crabbers fared exceptionally well this winter season with predictions of an even better year next season.

Good razor clam tides are currently underway with the beaches north of Seaside likely to produce well through the weekend although a rough ocean may keep clams from feeding near the surface where diggers have access to them.

Southwest - Minus tides late in the day this coming weekend will provide clamming opportunities for those prepared to seek them after dark.

Umpqua steelheaders continue to pick up a few here and there but most of the fish available here are wild which requires release.

Tenmile Creek once again picked up, producing good catches of winter steelhead as the water dropped over the past week. Bass in Tenmile Lake are starting to come out of their winter lethargy and move to shallower water.

As the Coos and Coquille water conditions improved, steelheaders have enjoyed decent catches. The freshet this week is expected to bring additional fresh winters into these systems. Crabbing has been good in Coos Bay.

Elk and Sixes steelheaders have been taking fish but rain this week is needed to improve water conditions. These rivers are producing the highest percentage of hatchery fish.
Steelheading has been slow on the lower Rogue, fair on the Grant Pass stretch and above for a mix of wild and hatchery fish.

Just as the Chetco was approaching low and clear status earlier this week with steelhead catches slowing, rain arrived to alleviate the situation. It is predicted to crest on Friday this week and drop through the weekend which should provide some steelhead opportunities. The winter run is winding down on this system. Assessments of returns this season indicate numbers have been lower than previous years.

Catch the Lower Umpqua Fly Casters Expo in Reedsport this coming weekend during which local guide Frank Moore will be inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, located in Hayward, Wisconsin.

Eastern - Green Peter has continued to deliver fair catches to trollers, which is quite good for this early in the season.

John Day sturgeon anglers will move to catch and release regulations beginning March 1st. Steelhead catches in the John Day Pool remain good for trollers.