Oregon fishing report

Willamette Valley/Metro- Fishery managers met on Wednesday to discuss additional fishing options for lower Columbia sport anglers over the Memorial Day weekend. After much deliberation, officials decided to re-open the lower river below Bonneville Dam for spring chinook on Saturday and Sunday before reassessing the run again on Tuesday of next week. High flows however will likely keep catch rates in check. Last week’s unusually warm weather brought the Willamette's water temperature up to 60 degrees, pushing the fish on the move looking for cooler, more oxygenated water. Springers were still brought in but at a fraction of the catch rate from the previous week. The lower Multnomah Channel still seemed to shine brighter than other popular salmon haunts upriver but the pressure and the catch rate had noticeably declined. Reports from the head of the channel averaged about one fish for 7 rods most days last week. The Portland harbor to Willamette Park put out the occasional fish but Sellwood has been very slow. Upriver, Oregon City anglers were faced with little current and warm water, but any salmon that was unlucky enough to get hooked was being ambushed by a California Sea Lion. Shad have arrived in droves for Oregon City anglers, providing ample sport and quality crab bait. This fishery will go on strong through mid-June and some years lasts till July 4th. Anglers who have been bringing their sturgeon gear along are also being rewarded with decent "catch and release" action. Spring chinook and summer steelhead are both available on the Clackamas in good catchable numbers. Steady flows with good water color has been the norm but pressure has remained relatively light. A handful of spring chinook have been caught here, but summer steelhead are still the dominant catch. The growing guide presence on the Clackamas indicates two things, the presence of springers and the slow fishing on the Willamette. Expect the boat traffic to increase in the coming week as the springer run gets underway. The lower river from Carver down to the mouth will carry most of the sled traffic, while the Feldheimers to Carver stretch will be the best bet for drift boaters. Power boats rule the lower reaches so drift boat anglers looking for a quiet, lazy drift should plan accordingly. Stick to the upper stretch, but sometimes a late afternoon drift on the lower river can often be tolerable if not pleasant. By mid-June when the water level drops, the drift boat becomes a valuable tool and the sleds start seeing more driveway time. Summer Steelhead are making a good showing this year on the Sandy and anglers who know the holding spots are catching their share. Since the removal of Marmot Dam, the river from Revenue Bridge down to Dabney State park has the best holding water. From Dabney on down, expect most of the traditional deeper holes to be a fraction of their historic depth as silt from behind the now absent dam has found a new home downriver. Still, some opportunity can be found down low but expect the fish to be in more of a migration mode rather than in a holding pattern. Plunking in travel lanes is a good approach and will account for decent numbers especially in higher flows. The river from the I-84 bridge down to the deadline at the mouth continues to kick out a few springers to trollers and back-trollers. As the Columbia continues to hold above 10 ft. on the gauge at Vancouver, this stretch will continue to see some action. The McKenzie should fish well as it starts to drop in the coming weekend. Trout fishing is good and summer steelheading is improving. The water is up this week on the North Santiam but is forecast to drop by the weekend while the South Santiam is predicted to rise through Saturday, dropping in the week to come, providing springer and steelhead opportunities. Northwest – After a week of productive fishing in lower Tillamook Bay, the upper reaches are only producing an occasional fish to trollers. The fish are running between 17 and 22 pounds however but recent rains may send the bulk of the estuary fish into district rivers. Tides remain favorable to fish the upper bay into the weekend. The slight rise in river levels should stimulate catches on the Trask, Wilson and Nestucca in that order. The Trask receives the most hatchery plants and will likely produce the best results. Backtrolled plugs and bait should produce the best with both bank and boat anglers having fair access to these quality fish. Tillamook is in peak season now and fish should be well distributed in area rivers and the estuary. Although action will remain sporadic, quality fish should remain available in good numbers through the first week of June. Although forecasters botched the Sunday ocean forecast, halibut, rockfish and salmon anglers got out over the weekend and scored good catches of all species. Crabbing was fair at best with most pots averaging just 1 to 2 keepers per pot for a long soak. The wind and wave forecast for the 3rd three-day opener for halibut on Thursday indicate anglers may have fair seas to recreate in. Trout anglers can once again target cutthroat trout beginning Saturday with a 2-fish bag limit. Although it seems the population isn’t as prolific as it was last year, fish should be available on most north coast streams but larger fish are commonly found in the estuary ecosystem at this time of year, feeding on salmon fry and small baitfish. Southwest – Offshore bottom fishing has been excellent for rockfish and good for lingcod. Ocean crabbing has improved with pots producing near-limits. Crabbing has been slow in Winchester Bay but shows sign of improvement. Rockfishing has been good from the south jetty. Salmon fishing has slowed on the Umpqua with levels rising. Action should pick up as the river drops over the coming weekend. Plug-pullers and backbouncers should score chinook. Spring chinook fishing was slow over the past weekend on the lower Rogue. With rain showers and cool weather this week, prospects should improve. Fishing has been spotty on the middle river while the upper Rogue has been good whenever outflow from Lost Creek isn't excessive. Boats returned to the Port of Brookings with early season, ocean-caught chinook over the past week. This fishery is expected to turn on in June. Diamond Lake has been fishing very well, providing eight-fish limits of large, fat trout to most anglers. Eastern – The salmonfly hatch is underway on the middle Deschutes and redsides are keying in on them. The lower river will soon be awash in salmonflies as well. Get there before trout are too stuffed with big bugs to be interested in angler's offerings. Crooked River levels are excellent with hatches ongoing all afternoon and into the evening. Wallowa Lake is fishing fair but steady for kokanee with larger fish hard to come by. Green Peter is fishing well for trout and kokanee. Kokanee fishing has been very slow at Wickiup. SW Washington – The Cowlitz, Kalama and Lewis Rivers are peaking for spring chinook although the Cowlitz is clearly the best option. These fisheries should remain viable for another 2 weeks but the Cowlitz will remain a top bet with summer steelhead readily available too. Catch rates on the Wind River and Drano Lake remain good with a fish for every 3 rods on average. Adult salmon passage at Bonneville is slowing and will likely subsequently slow in these fisheries as well. Bonneville shad anglers are scoring good numbers in shallow water.