Oregon fishing reports

Willamette Valley/Metro- Mainstem Columbia anglers can only focus on summer steelhead now. Although flows are still fluctuating, adults passing Bonneville Dam are beginning to rise and peak passage is not far away. Temperatures remain favorable for sportanglers and action is likely to get really good as early as next week. Beach fishing on Sauvie’s Island is a great way to introduce this fishery to young anglers.



There are still spring salmon in the Willamette River. Over the weekend there were a handful of fish taken at Scappoose, Rocky Point and the head of Multnomah channel



McKenzie water levels have been fluctuating this week although trout fishing remains good. Steelheading and springer fishing has been spotty but numbers in the river are promising.



North Santiam River conditions are excellent. Try early or late in the day around Packsaddle or Minto Park. Both spring chinook and summer steelhead should be available.



The Clackamas continues to produce some summer steelhead for local fishermen in the know, but the fishing isn't what it was a week or two ago. Spring chinook fishing is winding down although most would say it never got going.



Glacial coloring is going to be the norm on the Sandy River with the warmer weather. This makes for tougher fishing in most cases, but does open other opportunities up river between the mouth of the Salmon River and Revenue Bridge. Fish are most often found in the pocket water so plan on losing a lot of gear in pursuit of these fish.



Northwest – Coho fishing out of the Columbia has been spotty recently but more consistent action is likely in the coming weeks. A good mix of chinook remain in the catch although the nearshore bite off of Long Beach has withered.



Tides are ripe for south jetty bottomfishing near the Columbia bar but NW winds and a high swell will slow interest and success. Catch and release sturgeon fishing remains a good option with anchovies becoming the bait of choice.



Coho fishing out of Garibaldi is slow but should pick up later in the month as Columbia River coho make their way from the south coast to their natal rivers in the Columbia basin. Nearshore halibut should begin to improve.



Tillamook district rivers remain low and clear but summer steelhead are being taken in the upper reaches of the Wilson and Nestucca systems. Cool mornings and evenings seem to produce the best results. Use small baits when pursuing these fish.



Southwest – Boats launching out of central Oregon ports have experienced spotty results for coho and chinook, good lingcod catches and fair fishing for rockfish. Ocean crabbing is excellent for numbers, fair for quality.



Albacore are being taken but it's still a spotty fishery that will improve in weeks to come. Trips of 30 miles have been required at times recently.



All-depth halibut fishing is closed until August although they may be taken inside 40 fathoms. Ocean swells are forecast to build into the coming weekend.



Bay crabbing has been good for numbers but the quality is poor with virtually all crabs coming in soft. These contain only a small amount of watery meat.



South coast beaches are producing good catches of surf perch and some 15-fish limits.



Chinook fishing is slow on the Umpqua mainstem, summer steelheading is fair. Good catches of springers have been taken in the North Umpqua recently. Bass fishing is good in the South Umpqua.



Trollers using baits of anchovy or herring in Coos Bay have seen an improvement in chinook catches over the past week.



Charters out of Gold Beach have been taking decent numbers of rockfish and lingcod. Offshore coho and chinook fishing has been worthwhile. The bay troll fishery for summer/fall chinook has started. Lower river boats are taking a few springers daily. Fishing on the middle Rogue has slowed with the water warming. Upper Rogue springer fishing remains good while summer steelhead fishing is improving. Evenings have been best.



Ocean chinook fishing has been good out of Brookings which bodes well for the upcoming fall season on the Chetco. Boats are also taking mostly limits of rockfish and large lingcod.



Eastern – Wading the lower Deschutes is a good way to beat the heat. Caddis are hatching well and redsides are looking up.



The Wallowa River is the place to go for trout fishing on dries as great hatches of Golden Stones are in progress. It was too high to wade on Tuesday this week but will be dropping.



Bass fishing is good at Davis Lake with best results at first and last light. The Odell Creek arm is productive for trout.



SW Washington – Summer steelhead remain the focus for most district anglers. The Cowlitz continues to be the best producer but the Kalama and Lewis can also produce fair results this time of year.



Most anglers continue to bank on the mainstem Columbia, plunking spin-n-glos tipped with coon shrimp. The stronger the flows, the better the fishing with another minus tide series starting the middle of next week.



Columbia River Gorge anglers start to get excited this time of year as steelhead nose into the Wind River and Drano Lake. Trollers and plunkers can both score results but check regulations before venturing out.



Soapbox Update: Now is the time to act in support of conservation areas on state forest lands. The North Coast State Forest Coalition is organizing NW Oregon stakeholders in engaging the Board of Forestry on July 26th at the monthly meeting. We’re asking the board to adopt the concept of long-term protections of fish and wildlife habitat on state forest lands. Go here to sign the petition and we’ll take your voice to the meeting although we’d much rather have you present in person to convey how our favorite forest product, wild fish, is an important source of social and economic benefit as well. Our petition can be found here: www.forestlegacy.org. If you can join us at the Board of Forestry meeting, contact Bob Rees at brees@pacifier.com.