Columbia River Sturgeon Season on the Horizon? Willamette Valley/Metro – Many readers have been asking if there will be a spring sturgeon fishery in the estuary. The state of Washington has been SLOW to negotiate, but ODF&W is talking with the agency across the river to see if a joint-state solution can be had. Oregon…
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Oregon and SW Washington Fisheries Update
Columbia River spring Chinook closes, NO mainstem gillnet fishing either! I wish to thank the nearly 100+ interested anglers that listened in and commented on Wednesday’s Columbia River Compact meeting. YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE! I wasn’t sure how my testimony was going to go, but after hearing the dire straits that the Idaho fisheries are…
Oregon and SW Washington Fisheries Update
More Opportunity for Columbia River Spring Chinook Anglers! Willamette Valley/Metro – That’s right! Fishery managers concluded that the spring Chinook anglers of the Columbia River fell far short of achieving their allocation in the previous 4-day opener that closed on Wednesday, May 13th. Although it seemed catches picked up on Wednesday, fishery managers adopted another…
Oregon and SW Washington Fisheries Update May 8th, 2020
Willamette Valley/Metro – Well, there was a whole bunch of excitement given the re-opening of the mainstem Columbia for spring Chinook on Tuesday. Frankly, I was quite surprised there weren’t more people fishing. We’re in peak migration and with the exception that Bonneville Power Administration is dumping reservoirs in preparation for snow-melt, the river is…
Free Sample of the Fishing Report and Forecast for the week of May 1st – May 6th, 2020
Willamette River Fishing Report – It’s definitely an off again, off again, kinda on, off again fishery here on the Willamette. There’s more challenging day than successful ones. We’re really going to test the number of fish per hour of effort this year. The Multnomah Channel has been a bit of an exception however. There…
Oregon and SW Washington Fisheries Update May 1st, 2020
Willamette Valley/Metro – It’s all Willamette, all the time! We’re in peak season for Willamette River spring Chinook and even though the run is clearly on the downside this year (again), being in peak season still offers and angler a chance at one of the region’s best tasting fish that swims. Rod hours per fish…
Soapbox Update: Keeping a Clear Head in the Face of COVID. May 1st, 2020
Although I am not quite in the dire straits that many American families are in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, things are not going all that well for the recreational sportfishing community. In 30 years of guiding, I’ve found out that it isn’t just fish that our customers need to come fishing, it’s expendable…
Oregon and SW Washington Fisheries Update April 24th, 2020
Willamette Valley/Metro – The Willamette River has been the go-to spot for trollers, with the Multnomah Channel producing the best catches here lately. All reaches of river are producing now, but with the low, clear water conditions upon us once more, the lower river anglers are picking off the cream of the crop before springers…
Update from ODF&W
Beginning Friday, April 10 at midnight, all hunting and recreational fishing, crabbing and clamming in Oregon will be limited to Oregon residents only, in order to limit travel and protect rural communities While most seasons are open, many locations to fish, hunt, crab and clam are closed to public access due to COVID-19 including boat…
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Oregon and SW Washington Fisheries Update April 17th, 2020
Willamette Valley/Metro – Despite stay-at-home orders, effort (and subsequent catch) is above the 5-year average for the Willamette River spring Chinook fishery. It’s far from epic and one experienced (and retired) former fisher manager observed that catch rates sure don’t seem like it’s a 40,000 adult salmon return. We were certainly surprised last year, the…
Soapbox Update: Let’s Keep Fighting for Snake River Salmon, Our Columbia River Season Depends on it! April 16th, 2020
We were OVERWHELMED by the response we got to sign onto our petition to recover Snake River Wild Salmon. THANK YOU! Your names were submitted along with hundreds of others, expressing concern that the federal government had developed ANOTHER FAILED PLAN to recover Snake River salmon. It’s something we simply can not tolerate anymore. Fishing…
Oregon and SW Washington Fisheries Update April 10th, 2020
From ODF&W Beginning Friday, April 10 at midnight, all hunting and recreational fishing, crabbing and clamming in Oregon will be limited to Oregon residents only, in order to limit travel and protect rural communities While most seasons are open, many locations to fish, hunt, crab and clam are closed to public access due to COVID-19…
Oregon and SW Washington Fisheries Update April 3rd, 2020
Willamette Valley/Metro – Effort and subsequent catch did dip this week, but it’s mostly effort that dropped, likely due to the “Shelter” guidelines issued by the Governor’s office lately. That said, effort didn’t suffer that much so we’re hopeful people are adhering to the 6 foot social distancing guidelines that are out there from the…
Oregon and SW Washington Fisheries Update March 27th, 2020
Willamette Valley/Metro – Even though Columbia River salmon fishing remained very slow, we were on the verge of coming into peak season but anglers will be denied access to Columbia River springers until further notice. The press release says salmon and steelhead fishing will remain closed until at least April 8th, but I don’t think…
Oregon and SW Washington Fishing Report March 20th, 2020
Willamette Valley/Metro – Spring Chinook effort and catch stayed relatively similar to last week although statistically speaking, anglers this week caught slightly fewer fish and certainly fewer keepers. Like last year, upper river anglers fishing the Oregon City area only caught wild fish, requiring release. Our theory from last year was that all the keepers…