Oregon fishing report

Willamette Valley/Metro- The torrential Columbia River has been challenging for anglers with the high flows leaving few spots to effectively fish. The water below Bonneville dam has proven difficult at best, with debris, murky water and heavy current. Summer chinook, sockeye and a few shad are still available for the taking here.




Over 30,000 springers and 20,000 summer steelhead have crossed at Willamette Falls. There are still a few lingering chinook to catch on the Willamette but effort has been light. The Portland harbor and Oregon City continue to kick out a handful daily but the Multnomah Channel remains the best option. Shad catches are winding down.



McKenzie water levels are fluctuating this week although summer steelhead and springers have been responding to sand shrimp and drifted corkies.



Many of those fish counted at the Falls are bound for the Santiam system. Counts at Foster Dam have remained steady for steelhead and good for spring chinook.



More steelhead than springers are available in the Clackamas. Most of the effort is from Carver to Rivermill Dam with the best opportunity for springers in the deep holes above Barton up to McIver Park.



Both spring chinook and summer steelhead are available on the Sandy River with most attention directed towards this season’s strong run of steelhead. Trolling the mouth remains a great option for salmon fishermen.



Northwest – Salmon fishing out of the mouth of the Columbia opened this week with good results coming from anglers targeting chinook north of the river mouth. Anglers trolling 30 to 40 foot of water near the lighthouse are taking consistent numbers of chinook from 7 to 20 pounds. Sharon Lemay of San Diego took her chinook and sturgeon limit out of Astoria on Tuesday; the sturgeon measured in at 51 inches. The chinook limit is just one but it can be hatchery or wild. Coho are a bit harder to come by but are likely farther offshore. Ocean crabbing is only fair.



A softening of the tide series should improve bottomfishing off of the south jetty for sea bass and lingcod. Long-term forecasts call for a friendly ocean for anglers to take advantage of a multitude of opportunities.



Sturgeon fishing in the lower river remains challenging but the fish that are coming from the estuary are of quality size. Keepers started responding better to anchovies this week with some of the better success rates coming from the deeper water along the green line.



Tillamook area anglers are awaiting the coho opener now that spring chinook have passed through the system. Coho fishing south of Manzanita opens on July 1st and will not last longer than the month of July. Wild coho are likely to be prevalent but must be released unharmed. Spring chinook anglers are now focused on the Trask, Wilson and Nestucca Rivers but low, clear water will make fishing challenging. The Hatchery Hole on the Trask closes at the end of this month.



Southwest – Ocean swells flattened and offshore breezes softened over the past weekend, creating excellent conditions for bottom fishers. Limits of rockfish and lingcod were the rule. Ocean crabbing has been good.



The highly-anticipated ocean coho season opens July 1st. Unless catches sack the 8,000-fish quota early, it will remain open all month. Only fin-clipped silvers may be kept.



Albacore have been reported offshore in the 30 to 40-mile range. They'll be moving closer to shore along with warmer currents.



Spring all-depth halibut anglers will get two more days as sufficient quota remains to allow fishing on Friday and Saturday, June 29th and 30th.



Spring chinook catches have stalled on the mainstem Umpqua with algae thick. A rise in water levels has slowed shad fishing as well. Try the lower North Umpqua where springer catches have been decent. The South Umpqua has yet to warm in order to boost smallmouth bass catches.



Coos Bay has been producing good catches of Dungeness to boaters, fair for dock crabbers.



As rainfall and water temperatures moderated in the lower Rogue over the past weekend, chinook success improved, providing good catches and a few limits. Catches on the middle river have been slow with best results coming from Hayes and Rainie falls. With flows out of Lost Creek Lake steady recently, catches of spring chinook have remained good on the upper Rogue.



Despite calm seas late last week, boats launching out of the Port of Brookings had a tough time finding willing ocean chinook. Rockfishing has been excellent, however.



Eastern – The salmonfly hatch is done for the year on the lower Deschutes. Stuffed on big bugs, trout are content but are starting to key in on caddis. Water levels spiked on Monday this week.



Nymphs are taking trout on the Crooked River which has dropped to summer level lows. Dries are effective in shaded areas.



Some nice rainbows have been taken on the Wallowa River despite high, roiled water.



SW Washington – As flows continue to drop on the district’s major tributaries, anglers are focusing their efforts on the mainstem Columbia, where steelhead plunkers continue to fare well for the summer variety. Chinook remain available but it’s mostly boaters taking chinook on plugs from the gorge to the mouth of the Cowlitz River. The weaker tide series may slow catches this week.



Summer steelhead are still available on the Washougal River but anglers must employ stealthy techniques on the dropping flows.



The Klickitat system is still an option for spring chinook and summer steelhead will soon be on their heels.