Willamette Valley/Metro- Although not consistent every day, summer steelheading in the gorge remains excellent. Bank anglers witnessed an unprecedented ½ fish per rod average over the weekend with half of those fish needing to be released because of their wild origin. Boaters did well for steelhead too with the seasons first fall chinook showing in the catches. Steelhead will remain the main focus for another week but with the strong return of salmon in the forecast, fishing should pick up earlier than normal for the chinook fishery above Tongue Point.
With daily counts dwindling, roughly 44,000 spring Chinook and 21,000 summer steelhead are now upstream from Willamette Falls, the majority of which are in the tributaries. Lower river temperatures are approaching the mid-70s. Smallmouth bass fishing is good in the upper Willamette.
Water conditions remains good with the McKenzie stable. Trout fishing has been fair to good.
Steelhead are available in the North Santiam with best results early in the day around Mehama. Spinner fishers landed a few springers on the South Santiam over the past weekend.
First light steelheading has produced a few on the Clackamas recently. Try the upper river with bobber & jig.
Fishing has been very slow on the Sandy over the past week.
Northwest – Fishing on the lower Columbia is picking up for chinook. Coho catches remain light in the river but chinook anglers are targeting their quarry at the mouth of Young’s Bay. The Rogue River strain of chinook are plentiful right now, indicated by a modified left ventral clip. These are high quality fish raised in net-pens in Young’s Bay, primarily for the terminal gillnet fishery inside Young’s Bay. Action here should be strong through this week when mainstem fish make a stronger showing.
Although trolled herring are a staple on the lower river, the new size 8 Flash Glo spinner has been responsible for several chinook this week near Young’s Bay. Troll spinners about 30 inches behind a chartreuse fish flash in 19 to 22 foot of water for a good chance at a chinook.
Offshore salmon fishers out of the mouth of the Columbia are finding more consistent catches of chinook in close and coho in about 260 feet of water NW of the river entrance. Fishing should continue to pick up off of the mouth with both coho and chinook staging and feeding heavily over the next few weeks.
Although effort increased this week for offshore coho, catches remained subdued out of Garibaldi. The offshore fishery is slated to close after August 13th but will remain open to chinook. Nearly 60% of the coho quota is likely to remain underutilized although many of those fish are destined for the Columbia fishery.
Chinook catches remain fair in the Wheeler area on Nehalem Bay. Some chinook are being caught just outside of the jaws of the Nehalem although this is a dangerous place to fish. Fishing inside the estuary is likely to pick up later this month but you have to be knowledgeable of the changing regulations in this area.
Tillamook Bay is likely to see their first chinook closer to the end of the month. A stronger return is predicted from the last 2 years. Wild coho returns are expected to be higher as well.
Tuna remain far offshore but anglers willing to travel are taking fair numbers of fish. Trolling success will likely continue to wane as live bait and jigging become more popular this month. The weekend offshore forecast looks favorable for a run to the tuna grounds.
Southwest – A few chinook have been taken at the Winchester Bay jaws contingent upon ocean conditions. Bay crabbing has been slow to fair with sorting of softshells required. A few chinook have been caught at Reedsport but it's early for this fishery although the occasional fish has been caught in the lower mainstem. Steelheading remains good in the North Umpqua with smallmouth bass fishing only fair in the South Umpqua due to lower than normal water temperatures.
Charleston coho anglers experienced an improvement in catches offshore over the past week. Ocean crabbing has been fair although some are soft. Check regulations for upcoming closures.
Boats out of Gold Beach have been scoring limits of rockfish and lingcod when offshore conditions have allowed safe crossing. Trollers in Rogue Bay have done well on some days although chinook have been going off the bite periodically. Fall chinook are upriver in higher than normal water conditions with boaters using plugs to take them as high as Galice. Summer steelhead and half-pounder catches are improving in the lower river. While chinook fishing is over in the upper Rogue, summer steelheading has been good and should hold up for a while.
Ocean chinook fishing has picked up out of the Port of Brookings over the past week. As salmon appeared only a few miles offshore and offshore conditions moderated, the bite was actually good at times. Bottomfishers reaped offshore rewards of rockfish, lingcod and the occasional pacific halibut. Tropical ocean water temperatures have been far offshore, preventing recreational tuna fishers from pursuing them but that situation may soon change. Surf perch fishers have been taking limits casting from area beaches. The Chetco River is closed to all fishing above River Mile 2.2.
The blue-green algae advisory remains in place at Diamond Lake. Fishing has been worthwhile but trout should be skinned before cooking.
Eastern – Warm water in the lower Deschutes has kept summer steelhead numbers low although counts at Sherars Falls picked up a little in the first week of August. Trout fishing is best early and late in the day on the lower river.
Wallowa River fly fishers are doing well on nymphs for smaller fish during the day with large trout hitting attractor patterns in the evening. Wallowa Lake has been productive for stocked trout.
SW Washington – The Cowlitz, especially the lower reaches, is a fair option for summer steelhead.
Anglers should start to see chinook penetrating several district streams but regulations vary so study them carefully before venturing out.
Good steelhead counts at Bonneville should continue to fuel fisheries on the Klickitat River and Drano Lake. Action should stay favorable until fall chinook arrive in the coming weeks.
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