Portland/Metro Fishing Report
After a long period of high water, the Willamette will come back into shape for steelhead plunkers and the most excitable of spring Chinook anglers. Spring Chinook will be a very long shot for the few that will be trying, but plunkers targeting winter steelhead at Meldrum Bar or the lower Clackamas or Sandy Rivers certainly stand a chance at a quality hatchery fish. Wild fish will be present too.
Sturgeon fishing on the mainstem Columbia, upstream of Bonneville Dam, remains open. Anglers are struggling for keepers more so this year, than last. Anglers just need the weather to cooperate, which may not happen until next week.
Clackamas River anglers have only recently been able to fish the river, and it has been high, even under these better conditions. Like the Sandy, the Clackamas should see a slight rise when temperatures continue to rise and low-level snow continues to melt.
Avid angler Jeff Stoeger reports, “Hello All. This last week we saw the Sandy take a huge jump and is currently down to 10.67 ft . Over the next couple of days, the freezing level is going to climb to almost ten thousand feet which will cause the low-lying snow to melt which will cause the river to climb almost to 12ft. There is a wire that came down and is in the river which can be a hazard for power boats and drift boats. The wire is just below the old Tippy Canoe restaurant where the power lines cross the river. Not sure if they had it removed but just in case it wasn’t, just giving a heads up.”
Find the full report and forecast for Members on the Sandy and the Clackamas from this page here.
North Coast Fishing Report
North coast anglers got on the water earlier this week, but were fairly disappointed with results, given the time of year and what should be available. By mid-week, water levels had bumped again, shutting down any semblance of a bite that should have excited anglers. Water conditions on the bigger streams should improve by the weekend however, making for some good opportunity.
Small stream systems are rapidly on their way out, as early returning steelhead are now in full spawn and not that excited to bite, let alone make for good table fare this time of year. The NF Nehalem reported continued high water on Thursday, but as we previously mentioned, most quality fish are gone by now. The Necanicum and Klaskanine Rivers, along with Big and Gnat Creek also fall into this category.
Broodstock steelhead are on the menu from now until the middle of April, it’s shaping up to be a good year. Look for the Wilson and Nestucca to produce the best results, the Siletz and Alsea a distant second.
The ocean swell looks to remain big through the weekend, but long-range forecasts are calling for a calming period after the weekend. That’s like predicting the next winning lotto ticket, however, so take that for what it’s worth…
See the full report and forecast for Members right here.
Eastern Oregon Fishing Reports
Contributor Glenn Zinkus reports:
(Glenn will be providing fresh reports every OTHER week through the winter season.)
Weather Outlook Across Central and Eastern Oregon:
Northeast Oregon will see highs in the upper 30s through the next week, with nights in the 20s. ranging from the teens to 25 degrees. Some snow on Thursday, and then clear.
Southeast Oregon will see highs in the 30s and 40 on the weekend. Some snow on Thursday, and then mostly clear.
EASTERN/SOUTHEASTERN OREGON WATERS
Ana Reservoir: Fishing on Ana Reservoir remains steady for legal and trophy size trout, but will slow down with colder temperatures. Trout will go for slowly stripped leeches and streamer patterns.
Trolling lures and flies, and bait are taking fish.
Blitzen River: No new reports. Latest water temperatures are in and around 32 degrees, meaning the trout will go to the bottom and get lethargic. The banks will begin icing over if not already. Flows remain low in the 30 to 32 CFS range.
If fishing there, it will be a nymphing game: PTs, Euro nymph style flies.
Lofton Reservoir: Likely iced over for the season.
Chewaucan River: Cold water and starting to ice over for the winter.
Krumbo Reservoir: Fishing well in November. No new December reports, but colder weather may start icing the reservoir over.
Sprague River: Closed for the season. North Fork public lands are inaccessible from last summer’s Bootleg fire.
Williamson River: Closed for the season.
Check out Glenn’s detailed report with much more information and forecast in this week’s Member’s version.
Central Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Glenn Zinkus reports bi-weekly. This is a repeat from last week.
Weather Outlook Across Central and Eastern Oregon:
Dry weather and daytime temperatures above normal will prevail over the next week. Temperatures will be in the 40s along the forested spring creeks and the lower Deschutes, and climb into the 50s for next week. Night-time temperatures will be in the 30s through much of the region.
ODFW News – Angling Restrictions
Deschutes River
Mouth at westbound I-85 bridge upstream to the Pelton Dam regulating reservoir –
- Closed to all angling for and retention of steelhead from Jan. 1 to May 31, 2022.
- All other permanent rules for the Central Zone, as stated in the 2022 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations, remain in effect.
Lower Deschutes River:
Lower Deschutes flows have dropped from last weekend’s spike, and are remaining steady at typical winter levels – currently at 5400 CFS at Moody.
With the onset of winter temperatures and conditions, blue wing olives are the primary hatch during the early afternoons. Nymphing will produce on the Lower Deschutes. Best fishing starts during the late morning and continues through the afternoon up until sunset.
Lower Deschutes River:
Fish have moved into the slower water for the winter. Go to the mellow, slower trout water. Back eddies, slow flows along the banks, and the pools (think those small, or micropools within the main river) are examples of winter holding water.
Whitefish are spawning, and a small (1/8”) peach-pink egg fly will get attention from redsides. Check out Glenn’s detailed report and forecast in this week’s paid version for Chinook and Steelhead Members both!
SW Oregon Fishing Report
Contributor Jeff Rome reports
The 2022 New Year came in with a big rain and snow storm providing big river flows and bringing in the winter steelhead in all the steelhead catching rivers and streams. Now that the “monsoons” have receded, most if not all of these systems are in prime shape and have been providing winter steelheader’s some nice New Year action…. WINTER STEELHEAD SEASON IS OFFICIALLY ON!!! 👏🎣
If you haven’t got your 2022 angling license and tags, now is the time to get em because now is the time to get out there and try out your new fishing gear you got for Christmas…… it don’t get much better than this!
Some summer steelhead are still being caught in the mid to upper Rogue with a few winter fish in the mix. River conditions throughout the system should be good into next week (although the upper is significantly on the low side of good).
Virtually all coastal rivers and streams from the Elk, Sixes, Chetco on up to the Coos system- Millicoma and Coos and North into the Umpqua system should be good and fishable with decent numbers of winter steelhead to make it a rewarding trip.
Crabbing in the bays and ocean look to be an opportunity as well as bottom fishing for rock fish and lings are also on the menu for the weekend.
Surf perch are biting along the rocky jetty’s and sandy beaches too!
Expect a crowd and be patient with newbies…… “one can educate whilst not being a jerk” 😉
Jeff’s detailed report, multiple lake updates, and forecast in this week’s version for Members!
SW Washington Fishing Report by Terry Otto
Vancouver Metro Area
Winter weather and flooding nixed river fishing this past week, but the systems are dropping back into condition. The heavy rains even affected local trout fishing, which has slowed and is poor to fair.
Many streams were pushed into flood stage this past week by the rain on snow event, but the smaller systems should fish well by this weekend. The larger rivers may take a little longer to come back.
Even the trout fishing, usually immune to heavy weather, has dropped off considerably. Some lakes even have dirty water, which can slow the bite. Watch for fresh trout plantings, as well as big broodstock trout and steelhead plantings HERE
Sturgeon fishing success was better this week, especially in the Bonneville Pool, and walleye fishing is improving in the Gorge as well.
Drier weather forecast for the coming weekend should delight anglers of all kinds.
Lewis and Washougal Rivers Fishing Report—The Lewis topped out at over 18 feet last week, but it has since dropped to about the 14-foot stage. The river is still high, and still dirty, with debris being an issue. The water was high enough to produce unsafe boating conditions, and the river was well up into shoreline vegetation, leaving both bank and boat anglers frustrated. With the river out of condition, there have been few, if any, anglers giving the stream a try.
The Washougal was also out of shape for most of last week, and although there had been reports of steelhead coming from the lower reaches, there have been no reports of angler activity this week. The river reached action stage last Thursday, and then bumped up again a few days later. It is now on the drop.Check out Terry’s detailed report (he crushes it every week!) and forecast in this week’s SW Washington Member’s version!
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