Oregon fishing reports

Willamette Valley/Metro- The Columbia River from Longview to Bonneville is offering some very good catch and release sturgeon fishing. All the popular spots are kicking out good numbers of fish and it’s likely that the less known locations are faring just as well. The beautiful thing about fall/winter sturgeon fishing is that the fish are rarely picky about the bait you offer up. Smelt or sand shrimp are the mainstays but squid, frozen anchovies, herring (pickled or not) , worms and even crawdad tails will get you fish. With the looming winter, the fish sense leaner times are coming and start foraging with reckless abandon.

Willamette River catch and release sturgeon fishing is rivaling the Columbia fishing if not producing better. From Kelly Point up to Oregon City the favorite slots are producing good numbers and loads of action for anglers who offer up fresh baits to the denizens of the freshwater deep. St Johns, Milwaukie and Oregon City have loads of good water and very good numbers of fish. Pick your favorite bait and enjoy the action.

 

Trout fishing has held up well on the McKenzie with best results during the Blue-Winged-Olive hatch at the warmest part of the day.

 

North Santiam levels and flow, extremely high early this week, has started dropping and may fish by Friday. Late summer steelhead and a few coho are in the system.

 

Both the Clackamas and Sandy Rivers have little if nothing to report other than the occasional old summer steelhead reportedly getting caught. It will be many weeks before catchable numbers of steelhead present opportunities.

Northwest – North coast anglers enjoyed another weak rain freshet early in the week, producing fair results on the Wilson and Kilchis Rivers. Kilchis River chinook remain largely absent with chum salmon making up the bulk of the catching on this system. Although anglers are still likely to intercept a chum salmon in pursuit of chinook, targeting chum after November 15^th is illegal.

 

The Wilson is forecast to be on the drop all week, laying the way for good river conditions by the weekend. Fresh fish should be available but the best fishing is likely to occur prior to the weekend. The Trask and to a lesser extent the Nestucca are also options but the runs are waning on these systems.

Tillamook Bay is still a fair option for late season trollers with the Ghost Hole and Bay City likely to yield the best results. Strong incoming tides over the weekend may bring in a fresh batch of chinook. In recent years, interest and success have been good into mid-December.

 

Sturgeon should be present in Tillamook Bay and tides this week are favorable although low slack will happen after sunset. While not beneficial to sturgeon anglers, clam diggers will have some good opportunity prior to the weekend if the surf forecast remains accurate.

Crabbing in the lower Columbia remains excellent but strong tides will require anglers to keep a watchful eye on gear as buoys will easily be swept under-water.

 

Southwest- With friendly offshore conditions this week, bottom fishing excursions have yielded mostly limits of rockfish. Lingcod catches have been fair to good.

Of those waters open to wild coho retention, only the Alsea is closed at this writing although the Siuslaw is close to quota fulfillment. Be sure to check the ODFW web site to be certain your preferred location remains legal to fish.

 

The wild coho fishery remains open on the Umpqua mainstem although catches of both coho and chinook have slowed. On the North Umpqua, where chinook may not be targeted, summer steelheading is slow to fair.

 

Precipitation and the resultant freshet has moved most chinook and coho out of the estuary and upriver on the Rogue. Adult steelhead and half-pounders are being taken around Agness. Middle Rogue steelheading has been fair to good for drift boaters although most are wild, requiring release. Summer steelhead catches on the upper Rogue, good following the lifting of the flies-only restriction, has slowed.

 

Few chinook remain in Coos Bay although wild coho are being caught on pink spinners or anchovies. Coho have moved upriver with fish allowed to the Dellwood Trap.

 

Chetco River water flows were on the rise earlier this week, destined for the productive range. The river level will fluctuate as storm fronts pass through. Keep an eye on water conditions to get out whenever it's dropping as chinook fishing should be at its best over the next ten days or so, then start to wind down.

 

While the Elk and Sixes are too low to fish on this week, chinook move in with the tides, producing best when water conditions have been decent. Fly anglers do well for chinook on the lower Elk.

 

Diamond Lake is closed but will reopen on January 1, 2013, for year-around fishing.

 

Eastern – Redsides are willing when the elements align on the Deschutes. Hatches start mid-day and when it's not raining or windy, fishing has been excellent on the lower river.

 

Crooked River flows remained unchanged over the past week which is good news for fall fly fishers.

 

Steelheaders are taking a few fish on the Wallowa River around Minam. Trout fishing has been fair.

 

With moderate temperatures, the troll fishery in the John Day Pool has produced good catches of summer steelhead lately. Action should hold through much of this month.

 

SW Washington- The Lewis River remains the best bet for late season chinook. Dark chinook are still being caught on the Cowlitz.

 

Late season returns of coho continue to disappoint anglers and managers. Hopefully, this won’t translate into a poor steelhead return. Steelhead should begin to show on the Cowlitz pretty soon.

 

Klickitat casters are still taking an occasional coho. Effort and success will likely wind down in the coming week.