Willamette Valley/Metro – Salmon are moving upstream, the mainstem remains closed, but on a good note, anglers will get another day of sturgeon fishing as outlined in THIS PRESS RELEASE this Saturday, October 12th from the Wauna Powerlines to Bonneville Dam.
The Willamette coho fishery is slowing, I explored the above Willamette Falls fishery and will report on that in the full-length version for our paid subscribers. Counts at the falls are dwindling and so is the success of that fishery.
Coho action remains viable, still peak season as a matter of fact, on the Clackamas and Sandy Rivers.
Pro guide Jeff Stoeger (503-704-7920) of O2BFISHN reports on the Sandy River, “This week we had a few rain showers that put some snow on the mountain. The river had gone up with the snowmelt earlier this week. The current river condition shows the river is running at 8.8 ft up from 8.2 ft over the weekend. The freezing level is holding around 4000 ft and it should help with water conditions. I fished this weekend around Dabney Park and most of the fishing pressure was on the lower river, for more coho had shown up in this section of the river. The most effective technique has been casting spinners and twitching jigs. The group I was fishing with went 1 for 2 with a hatchery fish. There are fish scattered throughout the river from Cedar Creek to Lewis and Clark Park.
On the Clackamas, the hydrograph is showing a significant event in about a week, but that’s a week away. That could be a game-changer for the Clackamas (and Sandy) if it comes to fruition. The Clackamas remains low and clear and challenging to fish. Pocket water is yielding biters, especially in the early morning and fish that are pooled up are also taking a few jigs, spinners and eggs under bobbers. The mouth of Eagle Creek remains a staple this time of year, given the number of coho returning to the federal hatchery there.
And since we’re in the same geographical location…
Well, the response to our call for anglers to submit comments on the section 120 permit (Sealion removal) was UNDERWHELMING. Thank you to Blake B., Ryan K., Gary W., Kurt D., Michael M., Steven S., Grayson P., as 7 of our over 5,000 subscribers that took a few minutes to comment. The window is closing for comments, keep reading to see how you can MAKE A DIFFERENCE! You can see the detailed comments submitted by the NW Guides and Anglers by CLICKING HERE (scroll down under “Latest News”). You can see we should leave no impacts behind, feel free to use these bullet points too (no pun intended) and become a member of NWGAA by going HERE.
If there’s one thing ALL sportanglers can get behind, it’s saving endangered salmon and steelhead from going extinct. That’s why it’s CRITICAL that you submit your public comments in support of implementation The Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act we all worked so hard to pass last year. If sportanglers don’t step up and advocate for the recovery of these species, there’s a chance the program may not realize it’s full intention.
We URGE you to submit comments on this very important program so recovery can move forward and the massive investments in time and money we’ve made in the Pacific Northwest don’t go down the throats of these sea lions! COMMENT HERE and you can learn more about the effort HERE.
More TROUT STOCKING of both legals and trophy trout in the Willamette Valley and throughout the state. Fall is a great time to take advantage of these fish that are wanting to put on some winter pounds before the weather hits.
See the full version of Jeff’s, Tim’s and Bob’ reports by becoming a paid subscriber here. It’s just $0.50 cents per week!
Northwest Oregon – The “B-run” coho are on the ropes. Predictably, just as the early-run coho are sure to come in over-predicted, it makes sense that the late-run coho will also come in over-predicted. That said, there are a few coho still being caught in the Buoy 10 fishery. Tides are on the increase, while a good thing for salmon fishing, a crabbing combo becomes a bit more challenging.
See the full Buoy 10 report AND FORECAST by being a paid subscriber or see last week’s edition here.
Tillamook Bay is back to its grassy self but some Chinook are still falling to 360 flasher trollers with spinners shortly in tow. Those taking advantage of calm ocean conditions are still finding way more wild coho than Chinook outside. Ocean crabbing closes after October 15th.
Tidewater bobber tossers are happy with the tides this week, the tidewater reaches of the Tillamook and Trask River should provide the best opportunity. It’s a bit early for the Wilson to fire off.
The Nehalem remains fairly solid for coho and a few Chinook. The coho catch remains dominated by wild fish, but until a significant rain falls in the watershed, hatchery fish should still be available in fair numbers. Stronger tides this weekend should bolster the upstream bite.
The Nestucca is also seeded well with Chinook and trollers and bobber tossers are taking some fish. A predicted rain freshet next week will stimulate the bite, but the river is only open downstream of 1st Bridge.
The Salmon River is waning as the bulk of the run stages at the hatchery. Better tides this weekend should make for better biters, but fresher fish will become harder to find.
The Alsea should be hitting its stride, but keep in mind that the run is not overly robust this year. The tidewater reach is likely well seeded with trollers and bobber tossers inconsistently catching some quality Chinook. That could change with the next weather event, but there is an extensive tidewater reach for fishing here, take advantage of it.
The Siletz too is hitting its stride. Trollers, anchor anglers and bobber tossers using eggs and shrimp are all catching fish fairly regularly. Again, the Siletz looks to be one of the more consistent fall Chinook fisheries again this season and should hold up for the next several weeks.
Crabbing has been good in most north coast estuaries, but stronger tides this week could slow success. That said, the tides aren’t that extreme, which should work well for those that know how to play the tides.
Tides will improve for razor clam digging next week, not so much this weekend.
Ocean fishing looks possible over the weekend, but keep your eye on the offshore weather. Bottomfish, halibut, crab and even albacore tuna remain an open option!
Central and Eastern Oregon Fishing Reports
From avid angler Tim Moran:
Tim is dealing with an injured family member, thankfully, that family member will be ok. We’ll hope for his time next week, to let us know how it’s going next week.
From the ODF&W
Anglers have been catching decent numbers of steelhead on the lower Deschutes River from the mouth to Sherars Falls.
Chinook and coho fishing continues to pick up on the lower Deschutes, with most fish being caught in the bait-allowed zone below Sherars.
Recent sampling revealed good numbers of good-size bass in Ochoco Reservoir. And trout up to 18-inches.
At Antelope Flat Reservoir, water conditions are excellent and recent sampling showed lots of trout available within 40 of the bank.
Umatilla River salmon and steelhead returns are beginning to pick, and should continue to improve as river flows increase. Anglers are reminded of reduced bag limit starting Oct. 1, the daily bag limit is one adult fall Chinook salmon, or one adult coho salmon or one hatchery steelhead, and 5 jack salmon.
Trout fishing on the Grande Ronde and Wallowa rivers has been good, and should be good throughout the cool days of fall.
Umatilla River salmon and steelhead returns are beginning to pick, and should continue to improve as river flows increase. Anglers are reminded of reduced bag limit starting Oct. 1, the daily bag limit is one adult fall Chinook salmon, or one adult coho salmon or one hatchery steelhead, and 5 jack salmon.
Trout fishing on the Grande Ronde and Wallowa rivers has been good, and should be good throughout the cool days of fall.
Fly-fishing on the Chewaucan River has been excellent, with one angler landing a 28-inch redband!
The Klamath River below Keno Dam is the best bet for good fishing in the Klamath Basin.
In Chickahominy Reservoir, recent sampling suggests there are plenty of trout available in the 17- to 21-inch range.
Fishing in Krumbo Reservoir has been great with anglers catching trout up to 18-inches.
Fall is a great time of year to target trout in Cottonwood Meadows Lake and Duncan Reservoir.
Recent sampling at Fish Lake (Wallowa Mountains) showed there are good numbers of both stocked rainbow and naturally-produced brook trout. Combine with cooler fall temperatures and fishing should be great.
Southwest – From ODF&W
Bottomfishing is now open to fish at all depths. Fishing for lingcod and rockfish has been good when the ocean is calm enough to fish. The daily bag limit for marine fish is 5 plus 2 lingcod.
The harvest of cabezon along with copper, quillback, and China rockfish are now all closed to boat anglers. Shore anglers will still be able to harvest these rockfish species (but are encouraged to release them) and 1 cabezon a day.
Anglers may also choose to fish the offshore longleader fishery outside of the 40-fathom regulatory line, which is open year round. The longleader fishery has a daily bag limit of 10 fish made of yellowtail, widow, canary, blue, deacon, redstripe, greenstripe, silvergray, and bocaccio rockfish. No other groundfish are allowed and offshore longleader fishing trips cannot be combined with traditional bottomfish, flatfish or halibut trips. Find information about a longleader setup here.
Ocean salmon fishing for Chinook salmon from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt is open 7 days a week through Oct. 31. The non-selective coho season is now closed. Chinook must be a minimum of 24-inches long.
Halibut anglers may now keep two halibut per day as of Aug. 23. The Nearshore Halibut season is open Monday through Thursday each week in the Central Coast Subarea. As of Sept. 29, there is 68 percent of the Nearshore quota remaining. The summer All-Depth season for the Central Coast Subarea is open every Friday through Sunday through October 26 or attaining the quota of 67,898 lbs. As of Sept. 29 there is 31 percent of the All-Depth quota remaining.
The Southern Oregon Subarea is open seven days a week for halibut. There is still 70 percent of the quota remaining for the Southern Oregon Coast halibut season.
Recent rains have dispersed salmon throughout tidewater on the Coos River.
On the Coquille, fall Chinook are spread throughout the river from Bandon to Coquille.
Adult steelhead fishing continues to be good throughout the middle Rogue with spinners and flies bringing in some nice large fish.
Bass fishing in Hyatt Lake should be worthwhile for a few more weeks, try lures near the submerged tree trucks.
Fall is a good time to plan a trip to one of the high Cascades hike-in lakes — brook trout are hungry and active this time of year, and fishing will be good until the snow flies.
Lost Creek Reservoir was stocked last week with legal-size and larger trout, with the cooler temperatures the fishing will be good and both boat ramps are accessible.
SW Washington – From the WDF&W web site, September 30th:
For regulation updates, go HERE.
Fishery Reports: Salmon/Steelhead: Columbia River Tributaries
Cowlitz River – I-5 Br downstream – 56 bank rods released 1 Chinook and 1 coho jack. 65 boats/159
rods kept 41 coho, 9 coho jacks and released 49 Chinook, 4 Chinook jacks, 39 coho, 13 coho jacks and 1 steelhead.
Above the I-5 Br – 36 bank rods kept 5 coho and released 14 Chinook and 2 Chinook jacks. 4 boats/14
rods kept 1 coho, 6 steelhead and released 5 Chinook, 2 coho and 10 coho jacks.
Kalama River – 6 bank anglers had no catch. 1 boat/1 rod had no catch.
Lewis River – 75 bank anglers released 2 Chinook, 1 Chinook jack and 1 coho. 5 boats/11 rods kept 3 coho and 1 coho jack.
Washougal River– 10 bank anglers had no catch. 4 boats/9 rods released 3 Chinook.
Wind River – 12 boats/16 rods kept 1 Chinook, 9 coho and released 1 Chinook, 10 coho and 3 steelhead.
Drano Lake – 4 bank anglers had no catch. 15 boats/42 rods kept 28 Chinook, 5 Chinook jacks and released 6 Chinook.
Klickitat below Fisher Hill Bridge – 75 bank anglers kept 38 Chinook, 1 Chinook jack, 1 coho and released 1 Chinook. 1 boat/2 rods kept 1 Chinook.
Klickitat above #5 Fishway – 14 bank anglers kept 2 Chinook and released 1 Chinook.
Sturgeon:
Cowlitz River – I-5 Br downstream – 26 bank rods had no catch. 22 boats/65 rods kept 5 legal sturgeon and released 12 sublegal and 3 oversize sturgeon.
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