Fishing has been slow for trollers on the lower Willamette. Most are working the stretch from the Sellwood Bridge to the harbor or Oregon City primarily with herring behind a flasher. The Multnomah Channel has been productive at times. With the water warming, switching to prawn spinners on a short dropper has been effective. Bank fishing for springers is a waiting game although a few have been landed on Spin ‘n’ Glos or prawn spinners at Meldrum Bar.
As water warms and drops on the lower McKenzie River, fishing for trout has been improving. March Browns and Caddis are hatching now with nymphs effective in the absence of hatches.
North Santiam flows moderated mid-week but boating above Mill City is still not recommended. Numbers of summer steelhead are improving but it’s still early to expect much from the Santiam system.
Steelheading on the Clackamas has been slow to spotty although several were landed over the past weekend on hardware at scattered locations on the river. Spinners and jigs have hooked a few for bank anglers. Clackamas spring chinook fishing has yet to start but it’s due with water temperatures warming.
Runoff from snowmelt hasn’t negatively affected Sandy water levels which have been dropping for a week. Steelheaders have seen spotty action. Spoons, jigs and corkies have taken some fish at Oxbow while a few have been taken below the hatchery on bait. Numbers of summer steelhead are gradually improving.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will host a free family fishing event Saturday, April 19 at St. Louis Ponds, near Woodburn from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Northwest – Steelhead season is over on the north coast. Some streams remain open, based on their hatchery fish abundance and spring chinook won’t tee up until later on in May. There have been rumors of a spring chinook taken recently in the Tillamook district however. Depending on the tide swing, the upper or lower estuary will produce steady catches by mid-May. Driftboaters will most likely come across spawned-out fish for the next several weeks.
Although bottomfish, particularly sea bass are becoming quite responsive for offshore anglers, the lingcod bite is slowing slightly and the ocean forecast doesn’t look all that friendly in the coming weeks. Saltwater fishing should take off this spring with halibut soon on tap starting in mid-May.
There are more trout plants coming this week; particularly in south Tillamook County. The stocking schedule can be viewed from the ODF&W web site.
Southwest– Offshore bottom fishing has been excellent for rockfish out of Depoe Bay and Newport with mostly limits reported. Lingcod catches have been good.
Ocean charters report booking dates filling rapidly for all-depth halibut which opens May 8th through 10th and continues every other Thursday through Saturday until the quota fills.
Offshore boaters will get a better than expected coho season this year with a season running from June 21st through August 10th and a quota of 80,000 hatchery silvers. The non-selective fishery (fin-clipped or not) will be from August 30th through the month of September.
Springers are being taken on the Umpqua mainstem by boaters pulling plugs. Best results are coming on the lower river. Steelheading is good but has started to slow for hatchery keepers on the South Umpqua where bait fishing has been most effective.
Coos Bay crabbing remains slow although clamming has been excellent during minus tides. Boats hoping to launch for ocean chinook were prevented from doing so by rough conditions over the past week.
Spring chinook catches have been decent for mid-April on the lower Rogue. Anglers averaged about 20 salmon per day over the past week, mostly on anchovy/spinner rigs. Bank fishers are catching fish around Agness. Clear water has slowed results for winter steelhead and early springers. Upper river anglers are still catching winter steelhead of mixed quality. The first springer entered Cole Rivers hatchery late last week and was promptly recycled downriver to run again. Upper river salmon fishing will start up in May with better results in June and July.
Bottom fishing out of Brookings Harbor has been excellent lately. Anglers launching here will be able to fish for ocean chinook starting May 10 during a 121-day season which is scheduled to continue through September 7. Chetco River fishing will not be allowed until trout season opens May 24th.
SW Washington- District anglers remained focused on bank angling opportunities on the lower Columbia for spring chinook. With the mainstem now closed until steelhead season, effort will refocus on the Cowlitz for both steelhead and spring chinook. Catches are ramping up but peak season for salmon is still a few weeks away. Winter steelhead remain available with a rare summer fish in the mix.
Bonneville Dam will not start likely crossing 1,000+ springers per day, enhancing opportunity for Wind River and Drano Lake anglers. Catches are improving daily and after a few more days of passage, anglers participating in these fisheries will be the first ones to intercept ocean returning fish with the lower river now closed.
Eastern – Lower Deschutes redside fishing continues fair to good with March Browns and BWOs appearing. It’s almost warm enough to trigger Stone Flies which will show when air temperatures hit 70 degrees.
Bull trout fishing has yielded much better results recently than bass angling at Lake Billy Chinook.
Mann Lake has been producing some large, broad-shouldered trout recently.
Kokanee fishing has slowed at Green Peter although trout catches have been filling the void.
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