Willamette Valley/Metro - Springer fishing is slow on the lower Willamette. Herring, whole or cut-plug with flashers or not is still getting hit as are prawn spinners. Water temperatures are climbing into the 60s so hardware will soon be an option. Chinook are scattered with a few coming between St. Johns Bridge and the head of Multnomah Channel. Oregon City has been slow but steady although another fishery is rapidly developing as shad are plentiful and willing. Small, shiny spoons and curly-tail jigs are taking these fish but a brass swivel with a Siwash hook attached is working just as well. Sturgeon are biting well in the harbor and smallmouth bass fishing has been good.
Hatches are prolific on the McKenzie making every day pleasant for fly anglers seeking redsides. The transition for a spring river to a summer stream is occurring now.
Spring chinook are moving into the Santiams with catches starting soon near the confluence and into the lower South Santiam River. Summer steelhead are increasing in number on the North Santiam as prospects improve. Steelhead have been taken on spinners at Mehama this week.
The Clackamas River has been giving up a few summer steelhead. Bank anglers at McIver Park will have the best chance of a hookup at first light with hardware getting hits. Spinners in brass, copper or black are taking fish as are small spoons and nightmare jigs. Spring chinook catches have been a rarity in low water conditions.
Spinners in sizes 3 and 4 have been taking Sandy steelhead this week. Most fish are running around the eight-pound mark although a few in the 10-pound range have been landed. Effort is very light with the water level low and dropping. Springers are around with some anglers getting lucky on rare occasion with larger spinners. Algae has been causing headaches here and there's a potential for turbidity from glacial runoff in hot weather this week. The Sandy Classic runs on Saturday, go to www.nwsteelheaders.org to register.
Northwest – Tillamook spring chinook anglers found fair success this past week on the weak tide series. Most effort centered around the lower bay and adjacent ocean. The morning bite produced best on the south side of the south jetty and the Ghost Hole produced surprising results on the incoming tide. Pat Vining and Aubrey Engles produced 3 springers in 1 hour trolling herring along the inside of the north jetty on Sunday. All fish came on trolled herring, late in the afternoon after everyone left. Anglers need to be aware that bait is hard to come by and for those that have it, expect to pay a premium price.
River anglers in the Trask, Wilson and Nestucca Rivers found challenging conditions. As flows drop and clear, fish will become more wary. It's forecast to be much the same for the coming week, making tidewater the most attractive option, particularly in the Trask.
Bottomfishing was good over the weekend with most charter trips reporting limits out of Garibaldi. Halibut fishing was hit or miss however but should remain consistent on the next opener in a few weeks.
Razor clams should be a good option along Clatsop Beaches this weekend. Dig close to the surf for bigger clams.
Southwest- While sport and charter boats reported a slower bite during the recent three day all-depth halibut opener, almost everyone took limits of fish. The next chance for deepwater flatties will be on June 5-7 and June 19-21 with additional dates tentatively scheduled in July if necessary. The summer all-depth fishery opens in August.
Surf perch fishing has been worthwhile for anglers casting from beaches and is expected to produce good catches throughout the summer months.
Winchester Bay crabbing remains too poor to be worth the effort although rockfishing has been worthwhile along the jetties and the perch fishery is picking up on the lower Umpqua. Spring chinook catches have been slow to spotty this week but smallmouth bass fishing is improving and shad are hitting tiny spoons and jigs at Yellow Creek and Sawyers Rapids.
Coos Bay crabbers are picking up a few keeper Dungeness with persistence. Fishing for rockfish and lingcod has been fair to good along the jetties.
With water on the lower Rogue low, clear and too warm to fish well, spring chinook catches have been slow. Springers continue to charge through the middle river, stopping only on rare occasion to take a swipe at bait or lure as they pass by. Upper Rogue anglers have continued to score spring chinook with some real brutes landed over the past weekend.
Salmon fishing out of the Port of Brookings has been nothing short of phenomenal for this time of year. Historically, the opener is not the best time for ocean chinook but catches since the season started have eclipsed those out of Newport many times over. Examination of stomach contents indicate salmon are gorging on krill. Catches of rockfish and lingcod have remained strong. Halibut fishers have taken 27% of the south coast quota.
Eastern – Although Salmonflies should be showing in greater number on the Deschutes, that was not the case over the past weekend with few hatches of any kind on some stretches. Despite the dearth of insects, Golden Stone patterns fooled several large redsides below Maupin.
Crooked River flows continue to moderate very slightly with the flow 240 cfs early this week. It has been reliably productive for trout.
Lemolo Lake produced limits of fat trout over the Memorial Day weekend.
Kokanee fishing was fair for trollers at Green Peter over the past weekend although the wind was problematic at times.
Odell has been producing good numbers of good-sized kokanee this week on the troll.
Wickiup has been poor to slow with the water temperatures too high to fish well.
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