Oregon fishing report

Willamette Valley/Metro - The stormy weather has made fishing impossible on the Columbia River.

The only game in town, for days to come will be catch and release sturgeon fishing on the Willamette. Sturgeon can and will be caught despite the high, murky water. Try the usual Portland harbor sturgeon haunts like Swan Island and the Toyota hole with smelt, anchovies or squid. Next week will be a good time to think about Meldrum Bar springers.

Santiam and McKenzie flows will be too high for consideration by anglers through the weekend.

The Clackamas river is a roaring, brown torrent and it will be days before is approaches fishable. Eagle Creek might come into shape by Thursday or Friday.

Sandy River fishers will be waiting till the weekend for better fishing conditions. Expect the river to drop to a suitable level by late Saturday or Sunday. With any luck, there will be some steelhead around for the catching.

Northwest – Steelheaders may still face high, off-color water late this week as a result of the past storm. If so, plunking should take some fish but try drifting egg clusters as the water clears. Plugs and corkies will produce as conditions improve. February and March are prime months for steelheading.

Bay crabbing will suffer from low salinity levels. Often Netarts Bay will yield better results but it has been slow recently.

Trask levels crested on Monday this week and have been dropping since then. Prospects for steelheaders look fair for the coming weekend as numbers of hatchery fish should be improving.

Pressure on the Wilson River is expected to increase as it comes back into shape. It has been fishing best of the Tillamook County rivers so steelheaders are looking forward to further improvement following the freshet.

The Kilchis will drop and clear the earliest of all Tillamook area rivers although fishing was slow before the storm and it is unlikely for any but wild steelhead to be available at this time of year.

Nestucca steelheaders are being challenged by high, muddy water this week. Predictions are for dropping and clearing into the weekend, which means a mix of hatchery and wild winter steelhead. Catches so far this year have been fair but anglers are hoping for improving results.

Southwest – The ocean has been uncooperative with boaters recently although long-range forecast show some hope for friendly offshore conditions by the coming weekend. When boats have been able to get out, fishing for rockfish and ling cod has been good. Bottom fishing without depth restrictions will continue through March.

Catch-and-release fishing for wild steelhead was good on the mainstem Umpqua before it blew out in the second week in February. Hatchery fish were being landed in fair number on the South Umpqua. These fisheries will resume as water conditions improve but expect to find levels remaining a little high over the coming weekend.

Crabbing is poor in Coos Bay and will remain that way for a while due to fresh water washing into the bay from the recent storm.

Depending on water color, plunkers should have the edge on the lower Rogue this weekend. Levels will be higher than normal. Winter steelhead are available in the Grants Pass stretch but there will be plenty of water to deal with. Too early for decent results for winters, the upper Rogue will also experience high flows through the weekend.

When boats have been able to fish just outside Brookings Harbor, jigging has produced good catches of lings and rockfish. Steelheading was good on the Chetco prior to the latest deluge and those who know this river are anticipating worthwhile fishing as the water drops and clears later this week. Flows are expected to be down to 5,000 cfs by Friday, February 21, then moderate further through the weekend. It should be a good one for anglers.

Local steelheaders got in on some action with winters on the Elk River as it rapidly recovered from the freshet this week. Both the Elk and Sixes will rise and fall rapidly as conditions change.

Eastern - Temperatures warmed on the east side following heavy snows which resulted in heavy runoff and high, muddy water on the Deschutes River. As the weather clears, river conditions will improve allowing fly anglers to try for resident redsides although fair results are about the best that can be expected at this time of year.

Crooked River flows remain low and clear with Blue-Winged-Olive and midge patters producing fair but steady results.