Portland/Metro Fishing Report
With little to fish for in the Metro area, anglers are still headed west for early season steelhead and crabbing opportunities.
There are some winter steelhead in the area, but they’ll be somewhat of a unicorn for several more weeks. Meldrum Bar may remain the best option, albeit a poor one, for weekend anglers.
There may be a few catch and release sturgeon fishers working the lower Willamette River.
Find all our fishing reports and forecasts for Members on this page.
Clackamas and Sandy
Clackamas River Fishing Report – With the crummy weather and in-between fish runs, there is very little effort for late-run coho on the Clackamas River. There was however, a fairly reliable report of a winter steelhead caught on the Clackamas this week. It had to start sometime, but there is a lesser-known run of “fall” steelhead that return to the Clackamas, but they are a rare catch indeed. Only 35 have been recorded at the NF facility in the upper reaches. Five wild winter steelhead have bypassed the facility in recent days.
Coho counts for late run fish number almost 1,500 adults so far, with 20 – 90 adults passing the facility nearly daily. The early run coho count is over 8,800 adults to date, another impressive return. The wild spring Chinook run just topped 3,900 adults.
As far as reports go, with so few fishing, reports are scarce, and those fishing the Clackamas right now prefer to keep it that way.
In all reality, there’s certainly some fish being caught but the anglers that fish it this time of year are confident in their ability to find fish this time of year. There’s some quality coho to be had and if you’re really lucky, you may bring an early run winter steelhead to the net. The high point for shoulder season fishing however is that you won’t have a whole lot of people to compete with, water-wise. It’s a pretty fun scenario knowing that there’s fish to be had, you just have to hunt a bit harder for them.
Sandy River Fishing Report – Avid angler Jeff Stoeger shares: “I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope that you have time to spend with family and loved ones. I can vouch that there is some great black Friday sales going on this weekend. Bi-mart is having 30% off all Okuma rods and reels. So if you need a new rod or reel, check out the sale at Bi mart.
The Sandy this week took a good bump going up over a ft and is currently running at 9.17ft and the river temp is 45.32 degrees and the river should climb a few more inches with the rain forecasted over the next couple of days. The river is running clear with a good couple ft of clarity.
There is some late coho being caught from Oxbow to Cedar Creek. Most of the fish are on the colored up side, with a few B-run fish showing up in the lower river. I’m waiting to hear of the first winter steelhead to be caught in the Sandy. On the coast I’ve heard of a few nice big winter fish being caught.”
Find the full report and forecast for Members on this page here for the Clackamas and Sandy Rivers.
North & Central Coast Fishing Report
It’s all but over for north and central coast salmon fishing, but on the heels of a mediocre season is steelhead, and they are showing about everywhere imaginable for this early in the season, and that’s a good thing.
As for salmon, there are still a few late-running fall Chinook still trickling in, with anglers on the Kilchis and Wilson Rivers still finding a few fish. It’s definitely get there early as the few Chinook still remaining in the system are hunkered down in certain locations.
With fall Chinook on the ropes (the season closes after November 30th), anglers are already looking forward to the winter steelhead run, which is showing up in nearly every early season stream already. Steelhead catches have been reported on Gnat and Big Creek, the mainstem Nehalem, lower Kilchis and the NF Nehalem too. While we haven’t heard reports from other early-season systems like the Necanicum, Klaskanine, Three Rivers or the Alsea, they’ve certainly been caught here as well.
The NF Nehalem hatchery hotline reported the river came up to 40″ and was “Root beer brown,” on Wednesday morning, with light pressure and no steelhead caught this week. There were steelhead and coho caught last week however, along with some entering the trap as well. No steelhead in the trap this week, however.
There was one steelhead reported in the Kilchis tidewater, likely targeting fall Chinook earlier this week.
Reports are sparse from the Nestucca, Siletz and Alsea systems, but it’s likely the Alsea is already starting to see some returning winter steelhead.
It’s highly unlikely that anyone headed offshore for bottomfishing but new bottomfishing bag limits are being proposed at the December 12th Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting. We’ll post those when they become more available.
Crabbers working coastal estuaries likely posted good catches under this ideal tide series. With little new freshwater in the river systems, crabs likely headed pretty far up into the estuaries to feast on dead and dying, spawned out salmon. That will change in the coming weeks.
ODF&W announced that the commercial fleet will start their season on December 15th, but with that regulation in mind, the fleet gets to drop their pots 3 days early so it really starts on December 12th. Ocean testing revealed consistent catches up and down the coast, when that isn’t usually the case. Typically, a few reaches of the ocean are more productive than others so we’ll have to wait and see what ports are producing the most abundant catches.
Meanwhile, as you may have read in the Columbia River report, the lower Columbia is producing EXCELLENT catches of crab right now.
People should always call the Shellfish Safety Hotline at 1-800-448-2474 before heading out to harvest any shellfish or visit the ODA Recreational Shellfish Biotoxin Closures Webpage.
Find the complete report and forecast for Members in the Northwest Oregon section.
| Much more on the site for Chinook Members: Buzz Ramsey’s latest post (video) – Winter Trout Tactics. Buzz talks winter trout tactics, an often overlooked opportunity, but perfect for between-season fisheries this time of year. Chinook Members can see his post HERE. Bill Monroe’s latest post – Clam Up and Eat Those Peas. Tiny “pea crabs” hiding inside razor clams turn out to be edible delicacies, and Oregon’s shellfish season is booming with surprises. Chinook Members can see his post HERE. You can find all the articles from these two professionals on this page. The Salmon Trout Steelheader article of the week: Fishing upper Tillamook Bay. Check out this 16:00 video on fall Chinook fishing in the upper Tillamook Bay. Chinook Members can see this post HERE. All the STS articles are located here.Not a Chinook Member? Become a Member or Upgrade here. Members head to the Member’s Landing Page to find everything you have access to. |
SW Oregon Fishing Report – Contributor Jeff Rome reports
First and foremost, I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours — with many tight lines in the future.
This Friday and Saturday bring a couple of Free Fishing Days across Oregon, meaning you won’t need a license to get out on the water. Don’t ask me why it’s not the whole weekend, but hey — I’ll take it! 😉
Rogue River (mid to upper stretches): Still offering the best shot at success, with coho and summer steelhead available.
Chetco, Elk, and Sixes Rivers: Unfortunately, the lack of significant rain has left them too low and clear to be worthwhile.
Ocean fishing: Anglers should have at least a day or two of opportunity, with excellent action for rockfish and lingcod.
Crabbing: The bays at Charleston and Winchester have been hot — plenty of 🦀🦀🦀 to go around.
Enjoy the holiday, make the most of the free fishing days, and here’s to good times on the water! Be safe, be nice, and enjoy! Tight Lines – Romer
Be safe, be nice, and enjoy!
Tight Lines 🎣 – Romer
Jeff’s expanded reports, multiple lake updates, and forecasts, including his past reports, can be found here for Members! There is SO much more.