Oregon fishing report

Oregon Fisheries Update:

Willamette Valley/Metro - Bonneville Pool anglers are scoring good catches of keepers right now. Weekend anglers tallied an average of 3 keepers per boat in this under-the-radar fishery. Success should stay consistent as long as the season remains open.

Although only a few serious anglers will participate, early spring chinook catches on the mainstem Columbia below I-5 are not unprecedented. With a good Willamette run in the forecast, a January salmon is a possibility. Fish downstream of the Multnomah Channel at St. Helens for your best opportunity.

Steelhead passage over Willamette Falls has been in the single digits daily since the first of the year. Plunking is slow at Meldrum Bar.

Santiam River levels will be high this week. With just over 1,100 fish passing Willamette Falls, fishing will be fair at best.

Bobber and jigs have been effective for steelhead on the Clackamas. The lower reaches of the Clackamas are likely to produce the best results when flows are down. Eagle Creek has been producing winters but can be crowded when the fish are in.

The Sandy River is in good shape for winter steelheading although catches have been slow to fair recently. Natives and broodstock fish should begin to make a stronger showing later this month. Low, clear water conditions call for early morning starts and small baits and drift bobbers.

Huddelston Pond. Junction City Pond, Walling Pond and Walter Wirth Lake are scheduled to be planted with trout.

Northwest – A cease in precipitation has slowed steelheading on the north coast. Good catches were reported in the middle of last week but tapered by the weekend when most of the angler effort took place. Larger systems such as the Wilson and Nestucca bore the bulk of the effort and fishing was fair, even with some heavy pressure.

Smaller streams remained slow with low, clear water conditions putting fish down. Fair concentrations of fish are said to remain in the lower stretches of some of these rivers however, giving additional hope to those waiting the next rain freshet to hit.

Weather systems modeled through the week should improve fishing conditions on all north coast systems, beginning with the smaller systems when flows are predicted to subside by the weekend. A mix of a few fresh steelhead and numerous spawned out fish will likely be available.

A brief window of opportunity existed for anglers seeking bottomfish and crab offshore on the central and north coasts. Ling cod action was reported as good but crabbing was surprisingly poor. The lower Columbia River however continues to put out good catches of keeper dungeness.

Good tides will occur again over the weekend for Tillamook Bay sturgeon fishers. Coinciding with these tides is good clamming opportunities. Success for diggers largely depends on surf conditions and the combined sea forecast does not look conducive to high success rates.

Southwest – While there are few days during winter when ocean conditions allow recreational boats to fish, ling cod and rockfish catches are excellent at this time of year. Rockfishing is currently open at all depths and cabezon may once again be taken as part of the seven-fish limit.

Rockfishing has been good off the South Jetty at Winchester Bay when it hasn't been stormy. Umpqua steelheaders have been putting in long days with spotty results. The majority of winter steelhead in the
system are wild, which may not be retained here. Fishing has been best at the confluence and into the South Umpqua.

Coos Bay crabbers are taking good numbers of dungeness following the stretch of dry weather. Steelhead catches have been good in the river.

The Coquille River has been producing good catches of winter steelhead.

Elk and Sixes Rivers were low and clear on Tuesday this week but rain is in the forecast and steelheading will be good whenever the water is dropping and clearing following precipitation.

Steelheading has been very good on the lower Rogue. While most of the fish taken here are wild, one unclipped fish over 24 inches may be retained anywhere below the Hog Creek Boat Ramp, up to five per year as of January 1st. Winter steelhead are in the middle Rogue as well where catches have been fair to good. The upper Rogue has been slow with the water low and clear.

The Chetco was producing winter steelhead very well last week as it was dropping. There was a great deal of boat and bank pressure but plenty of hatchery fish were caught. Over the past weekend it fell below optimum level and as of January 11th, was too low and clear to fish at its best. Wild steelhead may be kept on the Chetco with the same restrictions as the Rogue.

Eastern – Trollers working the Columbia mainstem reservoirs have been doing fair for steelhead. The Dalles and John Day Pools will remain the top prospects.

Steelheaders on the Grande Ronde, Wallowa and Imnaha Rivers have poor river conditions to contend with. Ice formation limits angling days but action could pick up with a warming trend.

Crescent trollers made good catches of Mackinaw over the past weekend.