Oregon fishing reports

Willamette Valley/Metro- With the Portland area rivers swollen and dirty, few anglers will make the effort this week. Sturgeon can still be caught (and released) in the Willamette and Columbia Rivers despite the less than desirable conditions. Look to shallower water than normal and stay out of the heaviest current and present your offering in lanes that are out of the path of floating debris. Remember to offer a bait that has a lot of scent to it, so it may easily be found by the nearly blind sturgeon. Whole squid is the ideal bait as it is durable and has a very strong odor that many sturgeon will not pass up. Try squid, garlic, sardine, anchovy or earthworm oil. Other baits such as smelt, sand shrimp or roll-mop herring will work as well, either alone or in tandem.

 

Early this week, the McKenzie water level shot nearly off the chart - literally. It was 11,000 cfs and rising on November 20th, which means it's unlikely to fish by the weekend.

 

The Santiams are predictably blown out this week and will be slow to recover. Chase steelhead elsewhere over the holiday weekend.

 

The Sandy and Clackamas Rivers should begin to drop by the weekend and might be worth the effort for anglers looking to catch the season's first steelhead. Plunking the lower stretches with spin-n-glows and sand shrimp or coon shrimp will be the ticket. On the

Clack, Riverside Park just below the boat ramp is a great plunking spot. On the Sandy try Lewis and Clark or Dabney for good plunking access. Until the water clears, keep your presentation close to shore as the steelhead will travel in two to five feet of water. They also will travel along the path of least resistance, so inside corners, current breaks and seams will be the preferred water to fish.

Northwest – Prior to the deluge, chinook fishing was fair at best on the lower Wilson River. With the river flooding early in the week, conditions may be ideal again by the weekend. The Kilchis should fish first, maybe as early as Friday, but chinook numbers on this system have been sub-par this season. Driftboats will likely be out in force over the weekend however with the Wilson, Kilchis, Trask and Nestucca most likely to produce in that order.

Tillamook Bay itself may present the earliest option with early morning incoming tides producing the best opportunity for trollers working the Ghost Hole and Bay City for late run chinook. Tillamook Bay should also have some sturgeon available although tides don’t improve until the weekend for this species.

 

The season’s first steelhead have been caught with the Kilchis and North Fork Nehalem producing the first confirmed catches. Given the absence of wild coho to the region, it’s surprising to see productive fishing this early in the season for winter steelhead. Thirty-five steelhead have already been collected at the North Fork hatchery. It should fish well by Thanksgiving Day.

 

Crabbing will be a poor option for most north coast systems except for the lower Columbia, where it’s white hot and Netarts Bay which is mildly productive. The early morning high tide will produce the best results.

 

Southwest- On Tuesday this week, southwest Oregon was still getting hammered by rain storms. Fortunately, the weather is forecast to moderate on Wednesday with a dry day forecast for Thanksgiving.

 

On November 20, the ODFW is reporting all wild coho fisheries except the Alsea, which closed in October, remain open. The Siuslaw has been near quota fulfillment for weeks, however.

 

Ocean crabbing remains closed until Saturday, December 1st. Crabbing in bays had been good but has been negatively affected by freshets this week, particularly in smaller estuaries.

 

While offshore bottom fishing is usually excellent, it won't be on the holiday menu as ocean conditions are predicted to remain rough through the coming weekend.

 

Chinook and coho catches were slow prior to the storms on the Coos and Coquille, drawing little interest from anglers. Rain this week is likely to wrap up chinook fishing for the season.

 

The lower and middle stretches of the Rogue are running high this week but may fish by the coming weekend. Prior to the deluge, a 57-pound chinook was caught on the lower Rogue by a bait angler. Steelheading on the upper Rogue would be a logical option over the long holiday weekend. The water level will be dropping and the freshet this week will have enticed fresh summers upstream.

 

The Chetco River was low and clear until storms hit over the past weekend. It is well above fishing levels this week but is forecast to drop to decent levels by the coming weekend when it should fish well with fresh chinook available. It may be possible to plunk effectively on Thanksgiving Day but almost certainly by Friday this week.

 

High and muddy on Tuesday this week, the Elk and Sixes respond rapidly to changes in weather and are expected to fish later this week with fresh chinook in the systems.

 

Eastern – Steelheading has been fair on the lower Deschutes. Runs are cyclical but this year, observers believe numbers are the lowest since the mid-80s. It's still quite possible to take a fish or two in a day. Fly fishing for redsides has remained worthwhile.

 

Steelheading has been fair to good on the Grande Ronde near Troy. While the run numbers are off this year, summers taken this week have been big ones.

 

Soapbox Update: Save the date! One more commission meeting to go until Columbia River management reform is on the books! Mark your calendars NOW for the December 7^th ODF&W commission meeting in Salem. It’ll be a good one and sport anglers should show up!

 

SW Washington- With the exception of the Lewis River, most tributary systems are done for salmon for the year. Several regulation changes occur at the end of November/December 1^st so study them before departure.

The Lewis should remain a fair to good option for chinook for another few weeks. Fresh fish will continue to arrive.

Winter steelhead have already been taken in several district tributaries this week. The Washougal, Cowlitz and Lewis are top options for motivated anglers.