Oregon fishing report

Willamette Valley/Metro- Inclement weather kept most anglers at home instead of pursuing Bonneville Pool sturgeon last week. With better weather in the forecast for the weekend and a possible warming trend on the way, the bite should stay consistent through the weekend. Sturgeon anglers downstream will be biding their time until the spring. Smelt numbers are expected to improve this year although no harvest will be allowed by the sport or commercial interests. A healthy run however could focus keeper sturgeon in the Portland to Longview stretch although fresh bait far out-fishes frozen. Anglers may be able to take advantage of higher concentrations of fish however. Winter steelhead passage, stalled in high water, will resume as the level drops. The 2012 sturgeon retention season on the lower Willamette and Multnomah Channel will consist of two Friday/Saturday periods, February 17th & 18th and February 24th & 25th. Although February is often the first month that a spring chinook is caught in the Willamette system, that won’t happen anytime soon as high, colored water will keep effort and catch to a minimum. The hot-spot in February is Sellwood Bridge, trolling herring on the bottom, just upstream of the bridge abutments. The McKenzie River is expected to be out of shape for several days. The Santiams will not be an option this week due to high water. Clackamas levels dropped earlier this week but have shot back up again. Level and flow are forecast to drop through the coming weekend but may still be off-color. Most anglers will be looking to late February/March for a stronger showing of broodstock fish. Sandy flows were moderating early this week but the water is likely to be roiled with a high freezing level forecast for the week to come. Steelhead were beginning to show in fair numbers prior to the high flow. Northwest – Steelheaders only had a brief window of opportunity late in the weekend, on smaller streams such as the Necanicum and North Fork Nehalem. Action was fair with a few fresh fish still in the catch. After flows subside, the remaining early run will be spawning in tributaries with plenty of kelts in the catch, especially for those using bait. The Highway 30 streams, Necanicum, North Fork Nehalem and Three Rivers may be the only options over the weekend. The dam Hole on the Trask may produce some limited catches for bank anglers. It will likely be after the weekend before the larger systems come back into shape. The Wilson and Nestucca will be the main targets of serious steelheaders, with broodstock fish available for the rest of the winter season. March is peak month for that return. Fair tides for sturgeon anglers through the weekend but it’s questionable as to whether winds will cooperate with anglers. Windy conditions create too much rocking, not allowing anglers to detect the sensitive bites that often occur using sand shrimp for bait. Crabbing remains poor and offshore excursions won’t be an option for a while. Southwest – As weather conditions moderate, offshore conditions are forecast to improve for the coming weekend. If predictions hold accurate, boats should be able to make bottom fishing trips. Crabbing in bays and estuaries will remain poor through the weekend to come. As rainfall moderates and salinity levels improve, Dungeness catches will pick up as well. The Umpqua system is forecast to be out of shape for the weekend to come with the next round of storms pushing up water levels. As precipitation moderates and water conditions improve, steelheading in the upper mainstem and South Umpqua will become worthwhile. The Coos and Coquille Rivers will be productive for winter steelhead once water levels drop and clear. Winter steelhead, which seem to have vaporized from the lower Rogue, have been drawn upstream to Grants Pass where they will entertain anglers as the river recovers, perhaps as early as the coming weekend. On the other hand, the summer steelhead fishery on the upper Rogue is history with tributaries beckoning these fish to spawn. Dropping but still muddy on Monday this week, the Elk River blew out again as heavy rain returned to the south coast on Tuesday. With a dry day forecast on Friday and only light showers to follow, both the Elk and Sixes will produce winter steelhead as conditions improve. Eastern – The Crooked River should provide some fly fishing opportunities this week as it is fairly low and very clear. Midges are hatching so take smaller offerings for whitefish and rainbows. Trollers working The Dalles and John Day Pools may still find a few steelhead if the weather calms down but fish will be close to the spawning stage and most will be wild, requiring release. SW Washington – Accumulated snow, mixed with the current warm front, will likely cause flooding conditions on most district streams. Not that it matters much, as these systems transition from early returning fish to later returning broodstock steelhead. Wild fish should also make an appearance but no one system is expected to get a great run. If smelt enter the Cowlitz system, anglers may have a viable target fishery for sturgeon in the lower Cowlitz as that is where the smelt are surely destined for.