Willamette Valley/Metro- Excellent steelhead reports are coming from the lower Columbia River. From Jim Crow Island, Puget Island and St. Helens on up to Bonneville dam, hatchery summer steelhead are being caught in viable numbers by beach and boat anglers alike. Along with the steelhead, the occasional chinook is hooked, but anglers must now release adult hatchery and wild chinook as well as any sockeye, until the river opens to retention August 1st below Tongue Pt.
The Columbia River Gorge is traditionally peaking for steelhead right now but flows are keeping hot action at bay. That should change as passage numbers ramp up but unlike the lower river, this fishery performs better in lower flows.
Salmon effort is near non-existent on the lower Willamette this late in the season. Bass fishing has been fair to excellent depending on the day. Steelhead counts at the falls have exceeded last season creating good prospects on the upper Willamette. Counts are dwindling with the level dropping and the water temperature rising.
With the water low and stable, the McKenzie is an excellent prospect for trout and summer steelhead this week.
The North Santiam has been dropping over the past week and the entire Santiam system is forecast to remain stable. There are plenty of steelhead available.
Fewer summer steelhead are being caught on the Clackamas as the weather has warmed, but early morning and late afternoon trips to the river still offer the opportunity for a hook-up or two.
A few summer steelhead are still available on the Sandy River, but pressure has dropped off dramatically.
Northwest – Coho fishing remains slow out of most northern ports, despite history indicating some peak activity should be taking place at this time. The best prospect remains out of the mouth of the Columbia where catches remain sporadic with both coho and chinook showing SW of the river mouth. Trade winds are curbing effort with little change in sight.
Nearshore halibut remains one of the better prospects with some quality fish coming out of Newport and Garibaldi recently. Ocean crabbing is picking up as well but many of the crab remain in a soft shelled state.
Catch and release sturgeon fishing in the lower Columbia River is great. With little effort and ample numbers of fish responding to fresh anchovies, action is likely to remain good until water temperatures warm to the upper 60’s. Rich Riley of Rockaway Beach landed several fish in the keeper range just out of the East End Basin on Sunday.
Although recent rains have not done anything for river levels on the north coast, the cooler, unsettled weather may spur inland summer steelhead action on the Wilson and Nestucca Rivers. Fish will remain spooky however so small baits and stealthy tactics remain the key.
North Coast estuaries and tidewater sections of most river systems should start producing consistent catches of sea-run cutthroat trout. Trolled spinners and worms or plugs should take aggressive fish. Check local regulations before taking fish home.
Southwest – Charters out of central Oregon ports are planning albacore trips this week. Ocean crabbing has been excellent. Boats were kept at bay earlier in the week due to rough ocean conditions.
Recreational boats launching out of Newport are finding albacore between 25 and 30 miles out and picking up limits of Dungeness on the return to port.
Offshore conditions are forecast to be marginal this week. Check the most recent conditions before making the trip.
South coast beaches continue to be productive for pinkfin surf perch, often producing 15-fish limits.
Boats crossing the bar out of Reedsport are taking fair to good catches of chinook. Lower Umpqua fishing is tough with algae thick. The disappointing shad season is winding down. Smallmouth bass fishing is decent and improving on the South Umpqua.
ODFW fish counters ranked Coos Bay third on the south coast for ocean chinook catches. Crabbing in the bay is fair to good.
Only fair numbers of chinook are falling to trollers in the Rogue estuary. Despite a slow bite, a 44-pounder was landed over the past week. With water temperatures over 70 degrees in the lower Rogue, chinook will keg in the bay which will improve trolling prospects. Small pods of steelhead are moving through the lower river. Middle Rogue fishing is slow. Upper river fishing is worthwhile although most springers are wild, requiring release. Steelheading is good.
With well over 1,500 chinook landed, Brookings is the top port by far according to the ODFW. Launch early and stay on the troll for best results. Coho are also being landed but have been running 20 to one wild fish over hatchery keepers. A few chinook have been landed in the harbor. Offshore bottom fishing has been excellent.
Eastern – The lower Deschutes is in good summer condition thanks to a wet spring and is fishing well for redsides despite often-scorching weather with caddis on the hatch.
Showers over the past weekend raised & roiled the Wallowa River. It is predicted to be fishable late this week. Chinook season closed July 15th.
Caddis are hatching periodically on the Crooked River. When the hatch is in progress, trout fishing is good.
SW Washington – Boat anglers on the Cowlitz are averaging better than a steelhead for every other boat. Bank anglers are catching a mix of chinook and steelhead although steelhead outnumber chinook about 2 to 1.
The Kalama, Washougal and Lewis are also fair summer steelhead prospects with most fisheries performing similar to last year.
District effort remains largely focused on the mainstem where good numbers of summer steelhead were taken last week for anglers using spin-n-glos tipped with coon shrimp. It’s clearly peak season for this fishery right now.
The Wind River and Drano Lake fisheries should take off for steelhead as Bonneville passage ramps up.
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