Willamette Valley/Metro- After a flurry of success by Bonneville anglers, the bite has slowed although fish are still being hooked with some regularity. Backtrollers are scoring the best results with bait-wrapped Flatfish the most common lure of choice. Action should pick back up again in early October.
The anchor wobbler fishery has also slowed in the Portland to Longview stretch but a few fish will still be taken throughout the rest of this month.
Coho are crossing Willamette Falls in good numbers. Steelheaders on the upper Willamette have been catching steelhead around Eugene.
Trout fishing has been fair on the McKenzie. Spring chinook can be observed spawning here.
Summer steelhead remain available on the North Santiam. Chinook appear to have finished spawning.
Rain showers caused a slight bump in flows at the Clackamas on September 9th but the water level quickly dropped back to summer level lows. Rain this week will put coho in Eagle Creek.
Coho are in the Sandy River in good number now although they can be challenging to hook. Spinners were taking some earlier this week.
Northwest - Lower Tillamook Bay tallied some good fall chinook fishing on Tuesday with some boats taking their 1-fish limits of chinook. Julie Chick of Nehalem boated a fresh buck, tipping the scales at nearly 32 pounds. The fish took a plug cut herring on the inside of the north jetty on the soft outgoing tide.
Hatchery coho have been plentiful in upper Tillamook Bay. The adults have fallen to spinners and herring close to high tide. Although only a slight rise in river levels is in the forecast, the rain freshet could send anxious hatchery fish up the Trask and North Fork Nehalem Rivers over the weekend. This should give bank anglers ample opportunity in the early morning hours.
Calm seas allowed anglers and crabbers to recreate on the ocean for much of this week, taking big numbers of dungeness crab in the nearshore and tuna offshore. A southerly influence may bring tuna even closer to shore where anglers should have a great shot at big numbers when seas calm once again.
The Nestucca River opened for chinook today but detailed restrictions remain in place. Check updated regulations for north coast systems by logging onto the ODF&W web site. Chinook are starting to penetrate the mainstem Nehalem in fair numbers. An occasional pink salmon is showing in some north coast basins and by regulation, are allowed to be retained as part of your daily bag limit.
More coho are due back to the lower Columbia but action was very slow over the weekend. A second run of coho typically runs through the area in mid-October, destined for Washington hatcheries. Crabbing remains good in the lower Columbia, especially on the current low tide exchanges.
The Alsea and Siletz are beginning to show signs of promise. Catches have been best near the estuary. The Salmon River near Lincoln City is also beginning to gain attention and should peak this week.
Southwest - Tuna are being caught 20 to 30 miles off the central Oregon coast but the opportunity will be over when the water cools.
Chinook fishing has picked up for trollers at Winchester Bay and the lower Umpqua. Crabbing continues to improve here as in most southwest bays and estuaries.
Salmon fishing has improved on the Coos with jacks supplementing catches.
The Coquille is now open for coho retention. Trollers are experiencing spotty results for chinook.
Rogue Bay has been spotty for fall chinook with evenings most productive. Half-pounder steelhead catches are good at Agness. The middle Rogue is roiled from the Gold Ray Dam removal site although chinook are being landed. Upper river fishing is worthwhile for steelhead in flies-only water. The Indian Creek Salmon Derby will take place on September 18th with $1,500 prize money to be awarded to the top finishers. Sign up at local merchants.
Ocean conditions are forecast to be friendly for offshore boaters out of Brookings this coming weekend. Bottom fishing and ocean crabbing should be good.
The first significant fall rain will kick of the fall fishery at Elk River.
The first Chetco Bay chinook of the season was landed recently by Brookings resident Wayne Sargent. The Chetco remains closed at River Mile 2.2 until November 6th.
There's $5,000 in prize money up for grabs at the Diamond Lake Trout Derby taking place September 25th. Call 541-973-4831 for information.
Eastern - Steelhead counts at Sherars Falls have picked up significantly over the past week and the majority of these are hatchery keepers. Steelheading is good from Maupin to Macs Canyon and fishing pressure is building commensurately. Trout fishing has improved with nymphing effective during the day and dry caddis patterns taking fish in the evening.
It's getting fairly late in the season to expect quality kokanee form Oregon lakes and reservoirs with spawning time approaching.
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