Willamette Valley/Metro - With the early fall rains and cooler temperatures, chinook fishing below Bonneville Dam has picked up, particularly for back-trollers using divers and bait wrapped Kwikfish. Anchor fishers are still getting it done but the game has evened out. As of yesterday, the counts over the dam have dropped significantly but remain a steady 13-20K per day since the weekend. Expect good fishing for the next few weeks.
Silvers are present at the mouth of the Clackamas but getting them to bite consistently is challenging. Backtrollers at Meldrum Bar are faring the best, but a few savvy shore-bound anglers are getting a fish or two chucking spinners from the rocks. Remember the barbless hook rule. Coho are headed upstream from Willamette Falls although total numbers are unknown as daily counts are not being updated. Early numbers give reason for optimism, however. It's time to troll plugs or toss spinners at the mouths of tributaries above the Falls.
McKenzie flows increased from 2,500 to 2,700 cfs over the past weekend but with drying weather this week, conditions will be good over the coming weekend. Fishing has been good with Stoneflies and October Caddis taking wing. There are still openings available for the Sixth Annual McKenzie River Two Fly Tournament taking place the first weekend in October. Contact the Caddis Fly in Eugene to register.
Fishing is slow on the Santiams and will likely remain so for a while.
On the Clackamas River, silvers are spread from the mouth up to Eagle Creek. Getting a consistent bite is another thing, as usual, these fish are a moody bunch. Local anglers are still picking up a late summer steelhead or two in the river above Barton Park.
Both silvers and chinook are available on the Sandy River. Anglers are encountering a few bright chinook mixed in with the less desirable tules. All salmon on the Sandy must be adipose fin clipped for retention. The water below Oxbow Park will offer the best opportunity for chinook while the silvers are spread up to Cedar Creek.
Northwest – The Buoy 10 fishery in Astoria continues to under-impress. Although anglers are still seeing fair coho numbers, limits are far from the rule. A rare chinook is still in the catch but jacks may be retained after October 1st. Managers met late on Tuesday, allowing any chinook, fin-clipped or not, to be retained beginning Thursday from Buoy 10 and upstream. Crabbing is good downstream of Hammond.
The chinook fishery is well underway on most north coast systems. Tillamook and Nehalem remain the most popular, and for good reason. On Tillamook Bay, the chinook bite was quite consistent in the Ghost Hole through Monday with good numbers of chinook taken by herring trollers through low slack and near high slack. A rough ocean has kept the bar closed but last Thursday, Dale Goebel of Beaverton had the hot rod, hooking 3 of 7 chinook his family landed trolling herring on the south side of the south jetty out of Tillamook Bay. Dale's fish tipped the scales at 17, 25 and 26-pounds respectively.
Nehalem Bay has been productive as well with good numbers of fish coming out of the Wheeler to Nehalem stretch by herring trollers. Coho numbers were plentiful as evidenced by consistent jumpers in the estuary although the recent rainfall sent many of them upstream. The North Fork of the Nehalem may house ample numbers for bank anglers to access near the hatchery although they are notorious for not biting.
A weak outgoing tide series should keep interest near the bay entrances this weekend, where herring trollers will likely take fair numbers of chinook into early October.
Although the fall rains have begun, a relatively minute amount of rain has risen many coastal streams, albeit slightly. On some systems however, it is enough to get chinook and coho into the systems with the Trask and North Fork Nehalem the best north coast prospects. Chinook should be available in most tidewater reaches right now.
The Nestucca, Salmon, Siletz and Alsea are also reaching their prime right now. Cozy Cove on the Alsea is now closed, making a large portion of tidewater hard to access.
Southwest- Rough ocean conditions have prevented boats from launching out of Newport and Depoe Bay this week. Offshore anglers are looking forward to fishing deep water lingcod starting October 1.
Long-range offshore forecasts are less than optimistic this week.
Although ocean conditions have kept most boats from launching out of Newport over the past week, when they have gotten out, salmon fishing has been tough. Long hours have produced few fish.
Boats launching out of Reedsport have done well for chinook when ocean conditions have allowed them to get out. Trolling inside the bay has been slow with crabbing even slower.
When boats have been able to get out of Florence, ocean chinook fishing has been good. Fish are also being taken inside below the Highway 101 Bridge.
Now that fall is upon us, the ocean is granting fewer friendly days to offshore boaters although offshore fishing for rockfish and lings is excellent out of Gold Beach and ocean crabbing is producing quality limits. Bay trolling is unpredictable. The lower Rogue has been fairly dependable for jack salmon with half-pounders and adult steelhead fishing well at Agness. Adult chinook have been taken below Indian Creek with this fishery improving over the last week of September and into October. Middle Rogue chinook fishing is holding up well. It's legal to keep either hatchery or wild chinook from Hog Creek boat landing to Fishers Ferry boat ramp through the end of September. Flows out of Lost Creek Lake have dropped to 1,150 cfs which should be good for upper river fly-rod steelheaders.
Offshore bottom fishing has been excellent whenever boats have been able to cross the bar out of Brookings Harbor. Chinook are entering Chetco Bay with a few picked up by trollers over the past week. This fishery will improve in coming weeks. Anglers are anxious for the October bubble season.
Eastern – Steelheading picked up on the lower Deschutes as the water cleared early this week. Fishing is slow to fair around Maupin. Chinook, steelhead and coho are being seen in greater numbers in the fish trap at Sherars Falls.
Crooked River flows have dropped below 200 cfs. Fishing with nymphs should be good here.
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